BOOK REVIEW | COME SING FOR THE HARROWING | DAN COXON

BOOK REVIEW | COME SING FOR THE HARROWING | DAN COXON

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ CLASH Books
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ 21 April 2026

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 260 pages

ABOUT THE BOOK

The newest collection from award-winning writer, Dan Coxon, Come Sing for the Harrowing is a terrifying menagerie of the strange and weird. Unsettling, poignant, and always masterfully crafted, these 16 stories are a feast of folk horror where the fine line between the mundane and the malevolent is blurred beyond repair.

With five never-before-published stories as well as tales featured in publications such as Beyond the Veil and Great British Horror 7, this collection is a tour de force from one of the most talented rising stars in the horror fiction landscape.

REVIEW 

Come Sing For The Harrowing is the newest collection of stories by British Fantasy Award Winner, Dan Coxon. 

The book is a re - release as whilst it was originally published in 2024, the original publishers Weird Little Worlds went bust and the book hid in the publishing wild until Clash Books picked it up in 2025. 

The collection is a compendium of stories based around folk horror but warped through a modern lens. 

There are eighteen stories in the collection ranging from out and out folk horror such as the title story to subliminal horror that plays with the senses. 

Rather than going for out and out horror, Coxon teases the reader, giving them the opportunity to use their own imaginations as to how the stories end, each one creeping into the back brain to give that sense of u ease that slowly creeps down tge spine, reminiscent of writers like Robert Aickman or Ramsey Campbell. 

As with all story collections, some hit harder than others, whilst some don’t have as much lustre as some of the shining stars, particularly when the ending is too open or the story cuts short with little resolution. 

One of the things that really jarred me was the use of language in some of the stories, particularly The Darkness Below which unfortunately was spoilt by the use of Americanisms and stereotypical views of bikers that resembled old fashioned American bikers rather than their  British compatriots. And whilst the story has a really good idea behind it, the language really boggled me. I don’t know if this was an editorial decision or a stylistic one, but ultimately it didn’t work.

All in all, Come Song For The Harrowing is a good collection of folk horror / Weird Fiction that on some occasions dials the creep factor up to ten, but unfortunately some of the stories missed their mark. 

It will be interesting to see what his new novella Where Once He Stood is like when it comes out in May.