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The successful series Exotic Gothic published in the beginning by Ash-Tree Press and then taken up by PS Publishing has now reached its fifth installment, continuing to provide dark short stories of modern gothic from every corner of the world. Volume five has been divided in two volumes, possibly because the response to editor Danel Olsen's call for new stories has been so overwhelming that it was too hard for him to exclude too many tales he deemed to be worthwhile. Personally I have my reservations. Judging by the content of volume 1, a portion of the selected stories included could have been easily left out, including the one by acclaimed author Joyce Carol Oates. Don't get me wrong, the anthology is not bad at all and therein the reader will find some excellent stories.

Deborah Biancotti's "All the Lost Ones" is a disturbing, subtly horrific ghost story set in a darkly atmospheric Venice (and never mind if the phrases in Italian she throws here and there are full of mistakes...) while Simon Clark's "L'Amour est Mort" is another ghostly tale taking place in a gloomy yet fascinating Bruges with its canals and ancient houses.

Georges-Olivier Chateaureynaud provides "The Open Mirror," a delightful supernatural tale with a spicy touch of eroticism first published in French and here translated into English by Edward Gauvin, while Theodora Goss contributes "Elena's Egg," an enchanting example of modern gothic reporting the memories of a Hungarian woman.

The strong and tense "Burial Grounds" by Nick Antosca explores family dramas and hidden secrets which end up getting buried beneath the ground in rural America.

"Moonrise on Hermit Beach" by Nancy A. Collins is a very nice mix of horror and crime where three old friends meet again, lured back to the site of a murderous episode of their past.

Finally, in the dark, excellent "The Girl Next Door" by Gemini Wahhaj, the disappearance of a young girl finds a grim and unexpected explanation years later.

Thus the book, although not every story is top notch, includes some remarkable modern gothic fiction apt to elicit pleasurable shivers without resorting to gore and violence.

Mario Guslandi lives in Milan, Italy, and is a long-time fan of dark fiction. His book reviews have appeared on a number of genre websites such as The Alien Online, Infinity Plus, Necropsy, The Agony Column and Horrorwold.