I guess I should have known what I was getting with a title like "Certain Dark Things," but the use of subjects like rape, spree shootings and domestic violence really turned me off.
I should probably also add that part of the reason for the lower score was the choice of subject matter. She does best when she's exploring her own ideas (as in "Everything Has a Season") rather than re-telling sequences from Trick 'r Treat or reimagining the story of the Silent Twins.
I think Pack maybe also relies too much on her favorite horror movies, books, true crime stories, etc. Certain turns of phrases and literary techniques are over-used, the male machismo in some of the stories feels pretty forced, and the similarity between stories becomes obvious when you're binge-reading them. In a short story setting, though, a lot of her smaller weaknesses become exacerbated. Her work really reads like something you could have stumbled across in an Internet rabbit hole, or heard over a campfire with friends. "Message board horror" is a bit of a craft, and Pack is great at it. Pack's writing on Creepy Catalog, which I really think is her best platform.
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