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A review by beanith
In These Hallowed Halls by Marie O'Regan, Paul Kane
3.0
Average Rating: 3.14/5 ⭐️
I don't think the subgenre of Dark Academia easily lends itself to the format of a short story. Dark Academia seems to succeed most when a story can take it's time to establish a mood, atmosphere, cast of characters, and (usually) some type of commentary. I think this collection is fine (with a few truly great short stories) but I wouldn't recommend it to someone just starting in the genre. Stick to The Secret History or Bunny, watch Dead Poet's Society (1989) or Saltburn (2023) - and then maybe get around to this.
A few of these stories I loved but many of them were just okay, and some of them made me wonder why the editors included them? Or why the authors would think they qualify as Dark Academia?
For this reason I'll also be adding an "Is it Dark Academia" rating between 1-5.
I don't think the subgenre of Dark Academia easily lends itself to the format of a short story. Dark Academia seems to succeed most when a story can take it's time to establish a mood, atmosphere, cast of characters, and (usually) some type of commentary. I think this collection is fine (with a few truly great short stories) but I wouldn't recommend it to someone just starting in the genre. Stick to The Secret History or Bunny, watch Dead Poet's Society (1989) or Saltburn (2023) - and then maybe get around to this.
A few of these stories I loved but many of them were just okay, and some of them made me wonder why the editors included them? Or why the authors would think they qualify as Dark Academia?
For this reason I'll also be adding an "Is it Dark Academia" rating between 1-5.
"1000 Ships" by Kate Weinberg - 2.75/5 ⭐️
Is it Dark Academia? - 3/5 📚
- This is the shortest story in the collection and it's a prequel to the author's novel, The Truants, so I was disappointed with how thin this one felt. The writing lacked the rich quality I want from the subgenre. Made feel less enthusiastic about The Truants.
I also found it hard to believe that a professor with a PhD would steal the work of a first year college student. If the main character had done anything brilliant in the story I might have bought it (or if she'd been a masters student, or getting her own PhD). But a supposed expert taking an 18 year old's work and submitting it to an academic journal? Unlikely.
“Pythia” by Olivie Blake - 3.75/5 ⭐️
Is it Dark Academia? - 2/5 📚
- “Pythia” pushes the concept of dark academia to its very edge and steps completely into science fiction (or science fantasy, maybe). Part of me wonders if it truly belongs in this anthology. I think yes, if only to inspire others to mix genres. I had a bumpy experience reading this; some parts worked, some didn't. I didn't like the ethos either, felt a little too 'millenial, reddit philosophy' for my taste.
“Sabbatical” by James Tate Hill - 0.5/5 ⭐️
Is it Dark Academia? - 0/5 📚
Is it Dark Academia? - 0/5 📚
- A lot of reviews for "Sabbatical" just say 'this isn't dark academia' (true) but it actually reads more like 50s pulp. Seedy motels, corrupted people and institutions, a missing person. The main character seems to be a self-insert for the author (no comment). I think it's either a prequel or condensed version of the author's novel Academy Gothic. I didn't care for the writing at all. A total miss for the anthology.
“The Hare and the Hound” by Kelly Andrew - 4/5 ⭐️
Is it Dark Academia? - 4/5 📚
- Loved the writing - not overwrought but still evocative during key moments. The author also managed to pack in a lot of story into 20ish pages. I think this is just in the realm of dark academia. There’s not really enough page space to allow it, but I think if the author wanted to they could expand it into a novella and have the main character study
Norse mythology himself (instead of being delivered info by his roommate). That would fully plant this work in the subgenre.
“X House” by J. T. Ellison - 3/5 ⭐️
Is it Dark Academia? - 2/5 📚
- This one certainly has the dark academia setting down - remote, rainy all girls school surrounded by woods and cliffs. But I think the reveal of the teacher being
a private security guard hired by one of the girls fathers steered this almost directly out of dark academia territory. Honestly, it felt kind of goofy. The ending also felt Steven King-eque, which made the mood more like a standard horror/thriller rather than a work of Dark Academia.
"The Ravages" by Layne Fargo - 4/5⭐️
Is it Dark Academia? - 4/5 📚
- Very different from my usual reads (sapphic revenge story is not something I’d normally pick up) but I really enjoyed this and would pick up another story by this author. I bought into every moment of the story except the resolution - I thought some of it was a bit convenient.
The other woman is a very talented immersive theater designer AND she ends up dating the main character? I dunno, wraps up a little too neatly.
"Four Funerals" by David Bell - 2/5 ⭐️
Is it Dark Academia? - 0/5 📚
- I don’t think there was any chance for me to rate this piece highly. I can appreciate that it’s difficult to write about such a serious topic but I don’t think this really offered anything? The subject matter is inherently tragic but the way the author wrote about it didn’t move me or challenge me (which I think was what Bell was trying to do by
having the professor and the mother mourn a shooter ).
“The Unknowable Pleasures” by Susie Yang - 3.75/5 ⭐️
Is it Dark Academia? - 1/5 📚
- I was going to give this a 5 (even though it's not very Dark Academia) but the ending really disappointed me. The main character exhibits the obsessiveness that's common in Dark Academia, but the ending doesn't commit to the insanity the rest of the story had been building up to. I also feel like this story would work better in anthology about fannish culture - the themes seem more relevant to shipping discourse of that world than to academia.
"Weekend at Bertie’s" by M. L. Rio - 4/5 ⭐️
Is it Dark Academia? - 3/5 📚
- Having just finished If We We’re Villains a week ago I feel confident saying that I really like the way M. L. Rio writes. I also feel like, even though this piece is so much shorter, I can see how her work has gotten stronger. She’s great at crafting characters and putting them in situations and different relationship dynamics. Not exactly sure if I’d call this one dark academia, but it’s not as distant from the subgenre as other entries in this anthology.
"The Professor of Ontography" by Helen Grant - 5/5 ⭐️
Is it Dark Academia? - 5/5 📚
- Part of me is worried that this score is a little inflated simply because there hadn't been any 5 star reads in this collection yet. But at the same time, this is such a me-coded story - truly dark academia, decent into madness,
immortality , and horror. Love and obsession andgross human experiments !
"Phobos" by Tori Bovalino - 4/5 ⭐️
Is it Dark Academia? - 5/5 📚
- This is another one that feels very dark academia - secret societies, classism and elitism, morality vs amorality. The aesthetic is there also - secret meeting houses with fireplaces and study rooms, cream stationary with wax seals. I loved the build up to the ending but not the ending itself. I could see this story getting expanded into a bigger concept for a novel or novella. I would read from this author again.
"Playing" by Phoebe Wynn - 1/5 ⭐️
Is it Dark Academia? - 0/5 📚
Is it Dark Academia? - 0/5 📚
- Really frustrated to end the anthology on a low note (music joke?). This was boring. Obsessive, yes, but lacking the flourishing atmospheric and environmental details that might sell it as dark academia.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Mass/school shootings, and Murder