In These Hallowed Halls: A Dark Academia Anthology

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In my time chasing after the inimitable after-effects of novels like "Babel," "The Secret History," and "If We Were Villains," I've found that true dark academia is both commonly-attempted and commonly-fumbled. As so many short story collections tend to be, "In These Hallowed Halls" is an intriguing package of both the noteworthy and the (mostly) unexceptional. As such, I find it best to review its parts rather than its whole and worthwhile to mention that its noteworthy dark academia names (Rio, Fargo, and especially Blake) fell utterly flat for me, while names I didn't hold high hopes for soared to new heights. 

Beguiling and sinister not so much, "In These Hallowed Halls" is further testament to the fact that I simply might not be the right audience for short stories. I always find them, dare I say it, too short, and I long for a connection to their characters that they simply can't offer. 

1000 Ships, Kate Weinberg, 3 stars: Promising, dark, but too on-the-nose academic; abruptly short and made for a clunky beginning to the collection. An odd choice as a starter, to say the least. 

Pythia, Olivie Blake, 1 star: A complete swing-and-miss with an intriguing prose setup that left me feeling completely detached from the story. Superficial and blithely unoriginal, a letdown from Blake. 

Sabbatical, James Tate Hill, 2 stars: Another clunky tale that felt like it was forcing the necessary tenets of dark academia. I began to lose hope after this one. 

The Hare and the Hound, Kelly Andrew, 5 stars: Hope restored! I wanted so much more of this eerie, suspense-laden story. These characters felt like those of the world of "The Secret History." A beautiful snippet of true dark academia. 

X House, J.T. Ellison: 4.5 stars: Hope further restored! Another story that would've have developed flawlessly into a full-fledged novel. A remote, all-girls school, unsolved murders, sinister characters. It checked all the boxes. 

The Ravages, Layne Fargo, 2 stars: An oddly-executed story of relationships and revenge riddled with characters I was fully-averse too. Not even remotely the Layne Fargo I came to love in "They Never Learn," sadly. 

Four Funerals, David Bell, 4 stars: An incredibly heavy, difficult read about the aftermath of a school shooter and the professor who's held partially responsible for the tragedy. Certainly an odd and academia-adjacent choice for this collection; well written but felt starkly out of place. 

The Unknowable Pleasures, Susie Yang, 3 stars: A story of excellence, obsession, and possibly-forbidden romance. The pieces were there, but again, some odd choices throughout the story made this one fall flat. Had it gone a different direction, it could've been brilliant. 

Weekend at Berties, M.L. Rio, 2 stars: Saved by Rio's writing alone, and even that barely did it. My heart! Another story that felt as if it had no business being in a dark academia collection; this felt unformed, strangely-empty, and tedious to get through. 

The Professor of Ontography, Helen Grant, 4.5 stars: Hope restored after a slow descent with the previous stories! Dark academia-meets-American Horror Story--mysterious, creative, and not for the faint of heart. 

Phobos, Tori Bovalino, 4.5 stars: I'm biased, I'll admit it! But a dark academia set at the University of Pitt with multiple accurate references to Pitt college culture? This one hit the right notes and would've been even better had it been longer. 

Playing, Phoebe Wynne, 3 stars: Its lack of true mystery detracted from what could've been greatness here, but this story of a lonely, gifted organist was still a delight. Not the strongest end-note for the collection, "Phobos" would've been far better.

Rating: 3 stars
Publication Details: Out now, Titan Books

*Many thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for providing my advanced review copy of this title!*


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