Why You'll Love This
Some of these stories will unsettle you, and the ones that don't are almost more disturbing for it.
- Great if you want: short, punchy horror that shifts tone unpredictably between entries
- The experience: quick, uneven bursts — best read in single sittings after dark
- The writing: Howard leans into dread through ordinary domestic details, not gore
- Skip if: you want consistent horror intensity — lighter entries interrupt the tension
About This Book
Some doors are better left closed. Night Portals: Season One collects eight short works of horror fiction that range from romantic suspense to something far darker and harder to name. Ernie Howard isn't interested in cheap shock—these stories dig into ordinary people caught in moments where love, obligation, and dread converge in ways that feel uncomfortably familiar. The emotional stakes are grounded and human, which makes what follows all the more unsettling.
What makes this collection worth your time is its variety and efficiency. At 106 pages, Howard wastes nothing—each entry arrives fully formed, drops you into its world, and leaves you somewhere unexpected. The writing moves fast without feeling thin, and the tonal shifts between stories keep the pacing unpredictable in the best way. Some entries lean into quiet domestic unease; others accelerate into something more visceral. That contrast is the point. Season One reads like a well-curated anthology from a single confident voice, one that understands horror works best when it earns its darkness rather than announcing it.