Here’s the Goodreads summary:

A collection of chilling stories from the leading writers in horror and suspense, exploring elusive urban legends.

Join Michael Monelo, one of the creators of the Blair Witch Project, and TV writer/director veteran, Nick Braccia, on a journey through urban horror and suspense.

Explore the world of Maynard Wills, PhD, professor of folklore and fan of the podcast, Video Palace. The podcast followed a man named Mark Cambria, who along with his girlfriend Tamra Wulff, investigated the origins of a series of esoteric white video tapes. Cambria went missing in pursuit of these tapes, but not before hearing whispers of an ominous figure called the Eyeless Man.

Fascinated by the podcast and Cambria’s disappearance, Wills embarks on his own investigation into the origins of the tapes and the Eyeless Man, who he believes has lurked in the dark corners of media culture and urban legends for at least seventy-five years. As part of his study, he has invited popular writers of horror and gothic fiction to share their own Eyeless Man stories, whether heard around the campfire or experienced themselves.

Get swept away in this thrilling and terrifying horror anthology—which can be read on its own or as a companion to the hit Shudder podcast, Video Palace.

Short stories include:
-“Deep Focus” by Bob DeRosa
-“The Satanic Schoolgirls” by Meirav Devash and Eddie McNamara
-“Doorways of the Soul” by Owl Goingback
-“A Texas Teen Story” by Brea Grant
-“Two Unexplained Disappearances in South Brisbane, Recalled by an Innocent Bystander” by Merrin J. McCormick
-“Dreaming in Lilac on a Cool Evening” by Rebekah McKendry and David Ian McKendry
-“Ecstatica” by Ben Rock
-“The Inward Eye” by John Skipp
-“The Real Sharon Lockenby” by Graham Skipper
-“Ranger Ronin Presents…” by Gordon B. White

Although this collection is inspired by Shudder’s Video Palace, you don’t need to be familiar with it to understand this collection. How can I be so sure? Well, going into this collection, I knew nothing about Video Palace. I don’t think my lack of knowledge about the Eyeless Man mythos hurt my enjoyment of the pieces, either.

With choosing a rating for this collection, I really struggle. I didn’t love it enough to rate it five stars, and there were several points I put the book down because it didn’t keep my interest. However, there were some strong stories here that make me want to round up the whole collection, such as “Ranger Ronin Presents…” and “A Texas Teen Story.”

I’ll also admit to being influenced by other reviewers’ opinions, including Mother Horror, Sadie Hartmann. She rated the book three stars out of five and felt like she wasn’t being let in on a secret that she would’ve known if she’d listened to the podcast first. Maybe I’m wrong about what I said earlier. For me, though, the stories that fall flat don’t work for me, but I wasn’t bored enough to give the collection three stars. This one gets three and a half stars from me.

Like I mentioned, there are some gems in this collection. The preface, too, got under my skin. But the first story beyond the preface made me want to skip it, which is never a good sign. I can totally see what this collection tried to do, and I only wish it had really come through on that premise.

I might go back and give Video Palace a listen when my schedule is less busy. I bet if you listen to it, you’d rate this collection higher. Anyway, you can check out the Video Palace podcast on Shudder, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. You can check out the book on Amazon and Goodreads. Also, if you’re on the fence about getting Shudder in general, I can’t recommend it enough. I’ve gotten to check out so many great shows and films that I otherwise wouldn’t have seen. I’ll see you all back here next week for another Fully Booked.

What book should I review next?

P.S.: My own book, an adult vampire novella called Mouth Full of Ashes, was released on October 4. You can order it here! Thanks so much for your support.