Emporium of Superstition ♦ Anthology | Review

Are you a fan of mythological stories with a whiff of horror, fantasy and paranormal beings? Then you should read this anthology.
Twelve talented young female writers will abduct you into amazingly written short stories, also known as old wives' tales.



Emporium of Superstition ♦ Athology

The anthology Emporium of Superstition is just wonderful! Each one of these short stories were remarkably written, even though not all could catch me completely! I was reading one story at a time. Once I started a story it was hard to put my Kindle down. But I just couldn't indulge in the next one. Some just needed to settle with my emotions.

All the authors who participated in this anthology are new to me, but I will definitely keep my eyes open for more of all twelve of them.

Next to ghost stories, I found mythological stories about and with demons, witches, and other paranormal beings and I felt delighted reading all these tales. As I informed myself about them, I found out those were retellings. As a German I am not very familiar with typical US American Old Wives' Tales. Therefore, with some I had to do some research for a better insight to the new tales.

Bottom Line

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

In case you are looking for some spooky short stories for this Halloween season, you should get this anthology.
Emporium of Superstition will not disappoint.


I have to thank BookSirens for the ARC in exchange for my personal opinion.


This review was first published at The Art of Reading. ( )

A collection of suspenseful stories in which 12 authors draw on ancient tales. The stories cover demons living among humans, ghosts lurking in shadows and gods looming above. Each story is sure to inspire some level of fright. The collection is full of superstition, horror and suspense.
The book literally decided to have a prologue that started out creepy and referenced the cover of the book simply to start the creep vibe... Not gonna lie I still have questions about Melissa and her mom. After the introduction that could start a million different horror movies, we start right in on the 12 gruesome stories that follow. And let be just say some of them are straight up gruesome. We have people cutting out an eye, dismembering bodies, stealing identities, messing with ghosts... It is just all around a lot of things YOU SHOULD NOT DO!
Early on in the collection all the stories tied back to superstitions of some sort, but I felt like this faded in some of the later ones (which was kind of sad). However, the creep factor does not let up at all. The vast majority of the stories are incredibly different reflecting the various author styles, but a few tie in well together. I have to admit that some of the stories got a little descriptive in the "ick" factor and were disgusting, but I could not stop reading them! And let me tell you this baby is a chunky one, but it was worth every second.
A number of different mythological ideas and old wives tales are tied into the stories and we even get some IT vibes and a Bigfoot! Oh and cats are clearly evil. Towards the end a few of the stories lost their appeal and felt like they were dragging, which is why I'm only giving this one four stars. I think a couple of the stories didn't really shine the same as say that 2nd to last chapter, which I will eagerly await the movie for. But, if you like spooky stuff, old wives tales, cool takes on superstitions or all of the above check out this book. ( )

This was the perfect Halloween read! I must admit I love horror year round, but this really made my Halloween memorable this year. I loved all the stories, each author brought their own unique flair to the collection. The nice part is you can stop after one story, and read it piecemeal. Or you can be me, and read it through in as few sittings as possible because the short stories are so engaging and well written. I loved that this wasn't just a straight horror antholog, but pulled in some mythology and folk tales to supplement the supernatural and horror ones. I can't say I had one favorite story, but honorable mentions to One Last Breath by Elle Beaumont and The Seventh Crow by Leslie Rush. ( )

A Hidden Gem..................

Emporium of Superstition, An Old Wives' Anthology Tales is like a hidden gem in the horror world. The book has some of the amazing stories based on superstitions. I really enjoyed the stories. They are full of mystery and every story has a different vibe. The book got my attention right from the first story
and maintained the pace throughout all the stories. It was really an amazing and exciting read.

I would like to give the book 4 stars. Thanks to Book Sirens for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book. ( )