Drowning in the Dark and Other Stories by Matt Tighe
Drowning in the Dark and Other Stories by Matt Tighe is a collection of twenty short horror stories. Published by IFWG Publishing International, it releases on October 6, 2025 and weighs in at 200 pages.
The book starts out with blurbs from some authors whose work I’ve enjoyed over the years, singing the praises of the collection I was about to devour, and I’ll admit, it made me even hungrier for the stories.
I read books from cover to cover, and the acknowledgments as well as the introduction by Tighe both had me laughing a bit, perhaps putting me at ease before I became consumed by the horrors within and my own existential fears. I’ll just say I understand the neck towel having tortured my own psyche with scary visions as a child!
I am so thankful Matt Tighe reached out to me to read his collection. When I saw the email, I replied with a resounding yes. After all, I’d read some of his work already in three of Deborah Sheldon’s horror anthologies, and as I’m apt to do, I mentioned his tales in my favorites in each of the reviews. Much to my delight, two of those stories are nestled in this book. I will tell you, though I’d read them prior, I didn’t skip one syllable in either of them. And they still hit me like a Mack truck—especially “A Good Big Brother.”
I noticed patterns in the themes of the stories. There are a lot of bits that touch on fathers, parents, spouses, memory, and a child’s point of view (both young and adult). Readers will relate to so many moments in these stories, which can be a little jolting. In a great way. Talk about a story coming to life before your very eyes as your chest aches with emotion for the characters and perhaps moments in your own life that mimic them. I experienced a gamut of emotions as I read through the collection, and I’m not ashamed to say my eyes teared up a few times.
Readers of my blog reviews probably know I love a visceral reaction to stories, and Tighe’s book brought that for me over and over. Sadness, horror, ache, suspense, disgust, fear, sympathy, disdain, shock, surprise—I felt all of these things in the span of 200 pages. I’ve learned that Tighe is an author that can rip your rapidly-beating heart from your chest and still have you begging for more. Terror, horror, sublime emotions. This book has it all.
I can confidently say this is one of the best collections of short horror I’ve read in 2025, and I’ll venture to say it will hold its own for a long while. I even urged my daughter who isn’t a horror reader to check it out solely based on the emotional draw of the stories.
Some authors just seem to write what you need and it clicks and you thoroughly enjoy it. That’s how it’s been so far when I’ve read Tighe’s work. I’ve yet to dislike one thing I’ve read of his. And, as an author myself, the flow and gorgeous prose throughout inspired me to want to write more.
I’d like to share some thoughts I jotted down on each story, because I can’t just choose a few. These are in order of appearance in the book.
“A Good Big Brother” - First read this in Spawn! A stressful and amazing tale. It makes me want to turn back time every time I read it. A gut punch in the best possible way.
“Monstrous Behavior” - Extremely creative story! Unpredictable, full of monsters, and a touch of comedy.
“Memories of Blue” - I have a similarly-themed story in Exposed Bone Vol. I, and this still broke me. Wow. Excellent writing.
“Wriggleteeth” - So much suspense, and a beautiful braiding of two storylines.
“Dead-Go” - What a great story!!!! Super short but an absolute gut punch. It’s so fitting in today’s society, especially in the US.
“Trial By Fire” - This story hits so hard, because our world is indeed burning in so many literal and figurative ways. You can’t escape it. What happens when you want to help but things go awry? Fantastic story and idea!
“A Tomorrow With You In It” - Another clever and gut-punching tale. As a mother, it hit me hard.
“Renting Space” - Loved the writing in this piece. The voice of the main character kept me rooted in the whole time. Spooky.
“The Cogwork Mermaid” - There is so much depth to this story! Lots of emotion and realization of how the world works. Lovely and sad.
“Beach Memories” - OMG! Very short story, but it hit so hard! The premise of this shook me! Wow! Tighe totally got me in only a few pages.
“Guess Who’s Coming to Christmas Dinner?” - It was a pleasure watching this unfold. Great characters!
“On the Big Screen” - Another great story packed to the brim with inner turmoil and dread. Creative, creepy, melancholy.
“Jericho and the Cursed Forest” - Introspective!!!! Folly, fantasy, and a purely mesmerizing story. Its gentle nature spoke volumes. Beautifully written and full of lingering emotions.
“Familiar” - A unique tale of love and horror.
“There Are Things On Me” - From Killer Creatures Down Under! A great creepy story that will have you scratching your own flesh! Grossed me out in a great way! Fantastic! The visuals and the little bits that creep into your mind will make you feel like this story is alive.
“The Taste of Immolation” - Very short story but potent.
“Death Meets Noel Samuelson” - I’m holding back tears sitting in a coffeehouse reading this beautiful tale about death. So touching and relatable.
“Sleep, Empty” - You might feel like you’re also losing your mind while reading this! I caught myself holding my breath a few times! Very well written!!!!
“The Past Laid Out On The Table” - I love how these stories have you suspend reality in your mind, yet they seem as normal as can be. Another fantastically-written story with emotions and revelations.
“Drowning in the Dark” - The first line grabbed me. This was written so precisely in the young main character’s voice that I felt like I was there. There are twists and turns in this story you’ll never see coming, which is what made it so wonderful to read. I’ve thought about this one after reading it multiple times, and the title is so fitting in numerous ways.
Drowning in the Dark and Other Stories was an absolute pleasure to read, a true treat of horror.
Who is Matt Tighe?
I am a dad and a husband (he/him). I run most days, especially since I hit 40, and I try to be kind (always trying...). I wrote a few short stories over a decade ago, and came back to it at the end of 2019. I write horror and sci-fi and fantasy, probably in that order. I won the 2021 Australian Shadows Award for short fiction and a 2024 Aurealis Award. I've been shortlisted for several awards as well. I'm also an academic and environmental scientist.
*** taken from Matt Tighe’s website
Here are the three anthology reviews I wrote where I first read Tighe’s work:
Who is IFWG Publishing?
IFWG Publishing is a publishing house based in Gold Coast, Australia, specialising in speculative fiction for middle grade, YA and adult readers, sold throughout the world. Its parent company, SQ Mag Pty Ltd, also runs a comics and graphic novel line which is global in reach but focuses heavily on the North American market.
*** taken from the IFWG Publishing website
