A review by taylorhathcock
Emporium of Superstition: An Old Wives' Tale Anthology by Elle Beaumont

4.0

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.