Horror Dads

Let’s be honest: horror films are full of dads. In case you are interested, here are my six favorite father figures in film (GET IT? SIX? SEE WHAT I DID THERE?).

1. Gregory Peck in The Omen
2. Jack Nicholson in The Shining
3. Winston Duke in Us
4. Gabriel Byrne in Hereditary
5. Gong Yoo in Train to Busan
6. Ralph Ineson in The Witch–or, alternatively, Black Phillip in The Witch, depending on where your allegiances lie.

But let’s be even more honest: family takes all forms, and so do fathers. In horror literature, the dynamics of fatherhood get infinitely more complicated…and they’re never really simple in films, either. You might have already deduced it, but you’re in The Fright Stuff, Book Riot’s latest and greatest in horror. I’m Mary Kay McBrayer, and I’ll be your Virgil though this realm of hell, horror dads, in observance of Fathers’ Day.

Earworm: “Father Figure” by George Michael. (Okay… it’s not scary so much as THE BEST SONG EVER.)

Fresh Hells (FKA New Releases):

Garden of Monsters by Lorenza Pieri, translated by Liesl Schillinger

Though this novel certainly has an air more of “family drama” than “horror,” it definitely has a deep root in the occult. Even its contents are drawn up based on the Major Arcana. Set in the urban Italian countryside, tourists and artists from Rome show up to build sculptures based on the tarot in the mountainside. Annamaria navigates coming of age and her father’s libertine nature.

Are You Afraid of the Dark? by Seth C. Adams

When 15-year-old Reggie’s father passes away, he finds a father figure in the injured stranger whom he takes care of in his treehouse. Reggie is faced with a pretty significant dilemma when the new stranger reveals himself as a killer for hire.

 

 

Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett

In the macabre Florida setting of the Morton family taxidermy shop, the daughter Jessa-Lynn works hard to fill the role of her father in taking over the store… after she comes upon him having died by suicide in the skinning room. Meanwhile, her mother makes erotic artwork in the store window with the taxidermy pieces, and the entire family grieves the abandonment of Brynn, everyone’s love.

Cryptkeepers (FKA horror from the backlist):

The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

While seven-year-old Wen vacations with her parents, Eric and Andrew, she meets Leonard, a friendly stranger. While they are playing, three more strangers approach the family cabin with weapons. I can’t say any better that this narrative is an “unbearably tense, gripping tale of paranoia, sacrifice, apocalypse, and survival that escalates to a shattering conclusion, one in which the fate of a loving family and quite possibly all of humanity are entwined.” And if you like Paul Tremblay, be sure to pre-order his next novel, Survivor Song, too.

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

I recommended this novel last week, too, but it’s just so truly amazing that ICYMI, here she is again. In this narrative, Jesmyn Ward illustrates the hereditary nature of pain in the form of racism and the prison industrial complex, and a boy-ghost who really looks up to the patriarch of their family. (If you only get to read one book on this list, this one should be THE one, IMHO.)

 

Skin Folk by Nalo Hopkinson

According to Caribbean folklore, the Skin Folk take shapes because of their skin. In this collection of stories ranging from science-fiction to folklore retellings, father figures take many different forms, whether the superstitious new husband, the elder brother, or your own skin. Regardless, it’s a must-have for this summer’s reading.

 

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

In many ways, the dad in The Road is the horror dad gold standard: his only mission is to protect his son, perhaps the only good person left in the world, from the post-apocalyptic society that has degenerated in every conceivable manner. Get this book. I mean, it won a Pulitzer for a reason, y’all.

 

 

Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel García Márquez

The Marquis of Casalduero is maybe the worst father figure, period. He ignores his daughter, allows her to be raised by his slaves, until she turns 12 and gets bitten by a rabid dog. Convinced she has rabies, he hires every cure practitioner that he can manage. When she is not cured of her weirdness, he takes her to a convent to be exorcised. Actually, I take back my earlier statement: her exorcist is the worst father figure, period. He falls in love with her. (I’ve taught this book several times in world literature, and I can promise you IT SLAPS.)

Harbingers (FKA news):

In case you were wondering how the film, Shirley about legendary horror writer Shirley Jackson was received, viewers say that it’s basically a fanfiction… and awesome.

Want to know the latest on FANGORIA’s relationship with the #metoo movement regarding Cinestate? According to one article, “Fangoria and Birth.Movies.Death joined together for a statement saying that, ‘since our initial statement, we have come to understand and respect that Fangoria and Birth.Movies.Death cannot continue under the Cinestate banner.’”

If you loved our recommendation Catherine House by debut horror author Elisabeth Thomas, check out these books that she recommends.

“No Name Woman” by Maxine Hong Kingston is an essay that gives me chills through every re-read. If you want to know about this genre-defying author and her life and inspirations, click here.

Here’s your summer full of YA horror books, courtesy of Book Riot.

And we also did you the service of discussing the vast and violent and sublime imagery of Tim Lebbon’s Eden.

This week in 1976, Octavia Butler’s classic sci-fi/horror novel, Kindred, released for the first time!

Win a 1-year subscription to Audible.

Enter to win $250 to spend at Barnes & Noble.

Until next week, follow me on Twitter @mkmcbrayer for minute-to-minute horrors, or on IG @marykaymcbrayer to see them come to life. Happy Fathers’ Day to you and yours!

Your Virgil,

 

Mary Kay McBrayer
Co-host of Book Riot’s literary fiction podcast, Novel Gazing