Winner of the 2021 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Collection

"Unsettling in the best way." - KIRKUS, Starred Review

"Wonderfully terrifying." - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review

"Gets under your skin." - GEEK MOM

"Striking drawings and suspenseful storytelling." - io9

A masterful collection of tales from the faded border between our day-to-day world and the horrifying unknown on the other side of midnight.

An old woman living alone on the edge of a bog gets an unexpected - and unsettling - visitor, throwing her quiet life into a long-buried mystery. An isolated backwoods family stumbles into good fortune for a time with a monstrous discovery in the lake behind their house, but that time is running short. And a misfit little girl, struggling to make friends, meets an understanding soul one day at the beach: but why will he only play with her alone at night? All these lonely souls - and more - have reached out into the darkness, not knowing what they might find.

Around the dark edges of reality lurk unknown beings with unknowable intentions - ordinary objects can become cursed possessions, entities who seem like friends can become monstrous, and those who seem monstrous can become the truest companions. In this collection of evocative, unnerving slice-of-life horror, five stories explore what happens when one is desperate enough to seek solace in the unnatural, and what might be waiting for us at the Crossroads at Midnight.

About the Author
Abby Howard is a cartoonist whose interests include dinosaurs, horror, and Spoons, her beautiful cat. She's been drawing comics since first discovering there was such a thing, eventually putting them online and gaining a following that led to a full-time cartooning career. She's the creator of the self-published humor comic, Junior Scientist Power Hour, the gothic adventure The Last Halloween, the horror collection The Crossroads at Midnight (both from Iron Circus Comics), and the Earth Before Us series from Amulet, a three-book educational series about ancient beasts.

Reviews

"The art is stunning, with various shapes and shading used intentionally to amp up the drama. . . . Unsettling in the best way." - KIRKUS, Starred Review

"Howard's black-and-white art style, brilliantly lit and textured with hatching, creates chilling atmospheres. . . . Wonderfully terrifying." - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review

"Howard holds readers spellbound with this collection of horror comics." - SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, Best Graphic Novels 2021

"Strong Neil Gaiman vibes. All five of the tales included here were the type that gets under your skin." - GEEK MOM

"Abby Howard's stories are told with sharp wit and a pacing that places them in the tradition of M.R. James and Shirley Jackson." - Fangoria

"Striking drawings and suspenseful storytelling." - io9

"Desolate fields, missing sisters, ghosts, and swamp creatures? Is this book haunted?" - NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY, 2021 Best Books for Teens

"Read these five terrifying stories only if you're brave enough to venture in an empty field by yourself, face a creepy kid who tries to lure you into the ocean, and defend yourself against zombie neighbors." - CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY, Best Teen Graphic Novels and Manga of 2021

"The black and white illustrations are beautifully drawn and portray inclusive and diverse settings for each story, while also harnessing the horror and the emotion they invoke." - YALSA "The Hub"

"A powerful collection of comic book horror stories." - CEMETERY DANCE

"All these tales together offer a glimpse into the unsettling horror that can be awaiting each and everyone of us." - NO FLYING, NO TIGHTS

"There is not a bad tale in this book. They're all terrifying and will shake you to your core." - HORROR DNA

"Like any horror auteur worth their salt, Howard doesn't just portray the terrors that can happen to our bodies. She excises the fears of our minds, too." - CINNAMON MAGAZINE

"Through the darkness of its shadows, Howard's work shines an unflinching light on the anxieties of growing up and growing older in the company of monsters." - WOMEN WRITE ABOUT COMICS

Book Information
ISBN 9781945820687
Author Abby Howard
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Iron Circus Comics
Publisher Iron Circus Comics