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Hey there all you bewitchers and bedevilers, I’m Jessica Avery and I’ll be delivering your weekly brief of all that’s ghastly and grim in the world of Horror. Whether you’re looking for a backlist book that will give you the willies, a terrifying new release, or the latest in horror community news, you’ll find it here in The Fright Stuff.
Oh do I have a treat for you today, hex fans. A little something witchy to brighten up your Monday. I’m sure you all remember Rachel Harrison’s oh-so-creepy 2020 horror debut, The Return, which instilled in me a deep and abiding suspicion of any hotel even the slightest bit more unusual than a Holiday Inn. Even if you didn’t get around to reading The Return (No shade intended. There are three and four year old books in my TBR that I bought when they were released. Yikes, Jessica.), you probably remember seeing its gorgeous, photogenic hot pink cover making the rounds on your social media feeds.
Well get ready, because Harrison will be making her way back to your TBR this fall with a brand new horror read and a cover that I have delighted to be able to reveal to you right here, exclusively on The Fright Stuff.
Break out your cauldrons, candles, and hex bags people, and get ready to meet Cackle:
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Okay, can I just? I mean? I don’t even have sufficient words for how much I love this cover. The spider teacup? The bright, wicked witch green font. It’s so simple but so immediately compelling. You know me, I never say no to a witch-themed horror book, and since Harrison has already shown a propensity for creating truly chilling, character-driven horror, suffice it to say: my body is ready.
Annie is an ordinary woman, living a safe, ordinary life, until the day her longtime boyfriend dumps her flat and leaves Annie eager for a fresh start and a chance to do something more with her life. She leaves Manhattan behind in exchange for a teaching position in a small village in upstate New York – a town almost too good to be true. The town is picture perfect. The townspeople are vaguely reminiscent of the cast of a Hallmark movie. Even her apartment is instagram ready – except of course for the spiders. Still, even a persistent eight-legged infestation can’t put a damper on what looks like a shining start to her new life. Especially once Annie meets Sophie. Sophie who is confident, beautiful, charming, and independent. Sophie who wants to be Annie’s friend, and to help Annie start living her life. If the definitely-not-a-hallmark-cast-of-extras townsfolk seem a little frightened of Sophie, so what? So what if Sophie lives in a mansion in the middle of the woods, and seems a bit… unusual? What is there really to be afraid of? It’s not like witches are real. Right?
In the last few years the horror genre has been blessed with a veritable feast of witchy horror books. And, better still, we’ve seen a number of horror books – adult and YA – that explore how the figure of the witch has always been both a means of persecuting the unwanted and the outsiders of society, and a means for those targeted to liberate themselves. Witches are powerful. Witches are feared. It’s clear that Harrison intends to add Cackle to the ranks of witch-inspired horror fiction that explores what it is to find freedom, power, and friendship, even through the darkest means.
Cackle will hit bookshelves on October 5th!
Other Witchy Reads to Keep the Cauldrons Bubbling
Bubble, bubble, toil and – well you get it. October is a long way off, and as always it is shaping up to be a big month of horror releases. As we, as always, count down the days to that most revered of horror months, may I make a couple recommendations to tide you over?
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Yadriel is determined to prove to his traditional family that he is a real brujo so that they will finally accept his true gender. But when he sets out to find and free the spirit of his murdered cousin he accidently summons the ghost of resident school bad boy, Julian Diaz, who now refuses to leave him alone. Until Yadriel helps Julian find out what happened to him, Julian is determined that he isn’t going anywhere.
Boneset and Feathers by Gwendolyn Kiste
Odette knows the danger of crossing path with the witchfinders. Her whole family is gone, and her own life nearly lost at the same time. No amount of magic had been enough to save her mother and sister, and now Odette is alone. Five years after the fires Odette lives deep in the woods outside her village, swearing off magic and hoping only for peace. But, as far as the world is concerned, that’s too much for a witch to ask. When her magic begins to spin out of control, menacing the village, it summons the return of the witchfinders. And this time they will not leave until Odette is dead, leaving her no choice but to defend herself. By any means necessary.
Still not enough witches in your life? The contributors over at Book Riot have put together a ton of fantastic lists full of witch-themed reads. Enough to keep your TBR stocked clear through Halloween. Be sure to check out our witches archive over at Book Riot!
Fresh from the Skeleton’s Mouth
Need more Gothic Romance in your life? (Of course you do. Is that even a question?) Make sure to check out this list over on Book Riot! I’m particularly excited for Clipstone’s Lakesedge. Yet another book for the October order list.
Speaking of forthcoming titles, Catriona Ward’s The Last House on Needless Street is available to request on Netgalley! This one promises to be a real blood chiller!
As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.