The Spirit of Poe anthology

This collection was designed as a fundraiser for the Poe House in Baltimore. Underfunded and in trouble, all proceeds went to help keep the house up and running. Other than supporting a great cause, there's not much to get excited about here.

I'm not sure what the editors wanted with this one. Did they want stories in the Gothic style of Poe himself? If so, that goal really falls short. Most of the stories here don't even come close to capturing the elements of Gothic literature. Some tried, but the effort felt forced. It seemed as if some of the authors weren't even sure who Poe was let alone having ever cracked one of his books open!

There were a few that worked. My personal favorite was "Peanut Butter and Jelly" by Pam Hawley. "Gum for the Soul" by Jackson Creed was a unique look at those dark places in the human soul. Two of Poe's stories were here, including my favorite "The Fall of the House of Usher."

I was disappointed. After months of waiting on this release, I just got another horror anthology. Nothing Gothic, very little creepy, very flat.