Strange Highways is Koontz’s only collection of short stories to date. I’ve always found it difficult to rate short story collections as a whole because there are strengths and weaknesses in every compilation. This one is no exception, though I would say it’s pretty strong overall and fans of Koontz will not be disappointed. He is a master of weaving together thrilling stories with an overall focus on light conquering darkness. Stories are rated individually below:

Strange Highways: A typical Koontz story where a struggling writer returns to his hometown and is swept into a strange chain of events that may allow him to right a wrong from the past. ★★★★★

The Black Pumpkin: A young boy and his older brother bring home a scary-looking pumpkin from a weird guy on a farm. Terror ensues. This felt like something I would expect to find in one of Stephen King’s short story collections. Satisfyingly creepy. ★★★★★

Miss Attila the Hun: An alien attempts to take over a small town. Decent story, though I personally found the “love overcoming evil” theme a little too on the nose. ★★★☆☆

Down in the Darkness: A man and his wife buy a new house and a mysterious cellar door appears, beckoning him to make a terrible choice. I thought this one was excellent. ★★★★★

Ollie’s Hands: A man with a unique affliction saves a young woman and uses his power in an attempt to save her life. A tragic, well-written story. ★★★★☆

Snatcher: This story follows a thief who steals a handbag that contains more than he bargained for. Another one that felt like something written by Stephen King. ★★★☆☆

Trapped: A widow and her young son are held prisoner in their own home by mutant lab rats. I feel like Koontz has explored similar concepts before, but executed them better. ★★☆☆☆

Bruno: A quirky story of a private eye who teams up with a mutant from another dimension to track down an alien who has set out to destroy the world. Not a great story overall, but it reminded me of an old-time radio drama, so I gave it an extra star for nostalgia’s sake. ★★☆☆☆

We Three: A tale of three young siblings who think that they’re destined to take over the world. Probably my least favourite story in this collection due to unlikeable characters, an incest-heavy plot, and the lack of a proper ending. ★☆☆☆☆

Hardshell: A policeman chases an alien killer through a warehouse, but he has a secret of his own. ★★☆☆☆

Kittens: A clever but disturbing story about a small girl whose parents aren’t telling the whole truth about where her kittens have gone. ★★☆☆☆

The Night of the Storm: A post-apocalyptic story about a group of bored robots who go on a hunting trip in the woods and encounter humans for the first time. ★★★☆☆

Twilight of the Dawn: A story about a man who is determined to hate everything about religion, even if it means hurting the people he loves. I found the protagonist a bit too unlikeable in this one, and thought it could have been told just as well in fewer pages. ★★★☆☆