Hey there horror fans, 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.
I hope ya’ll are ready, because this is going to be one wild month for the horror genre. Yes, it’s finally October! Halloween season. The penultimate month in the horror calendar and so, as you might expect, the busiest month in horror publishing. If you thought there were a lot of amazing new releases to keep up with in September I can only say, with love and respect: buckle up, and kiss any semblance of control over your TBR goodbye.
In fact, in this first week of October alone there are so many new horror books coming out that this week’s Fright Stuff is going to be entirely dedicated to exciting new releases. So let’s kick this creepy season into gear!
Bookish Goods
Haunted House Book Nook by Woodsmokedesigns
I have wanted to do one of these adorable shelf adornments as my bookish good pick for ages and have been trying to land on one that’s cute, detailed, and affordable for us mere mortals. Then I spotted this adorable haunted house book nook by Woodsmokedesigns! The longer I look at it the more adorable details I spot, it comes with an LED array so you can light it up, and if you were so artistically inclined, I dare say you could even undertake the challenge of painting it to make this little haunted world your own!
$34
New Releases
Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison
At this point, Rachel Harrison is definitely one of my insta-buy authors. After falling head over heels in love with Cackle last year, I have been eagerly awaiting Harrison’s next horror novel, and now Such Sharp Teeth is finally here! (Or it will be tomorrow, anyway.) That means it’s werewolf time! When an animal strike during a late night drive turns into a vicious attack, Rory Morris counts herself lucky to have gotten away with her life. But soon after the attack, Rory starts to notice strange changes in how she looks and acts: unnatural strength, an aversion to silver, and a fixation on the moon. Rory reluctantly returned to her hometown to help her struggling sister, but now she’s turning into a monster and even those she loves most may not be safe around her.
The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco
If you love haunted, mysterious islands in the middle of the ocean from which unfortunate visitors never return, wow do I have a book for you. All white sands and lush green jungle, Kisapmata seems, on the surface, like a perfect oasis. That is, of course, if you like ghosts, monsters, curses, and a sleeping god who, on waking, could crack the whole world like an egg if it so chose. The locals know well enough to steer clear of Kisapmata, and manage to keep most of the tourists out of harm’s way as well. When an overbearing team of Hollywood producers and their entire crew descend on the island with the intention of monetizing its tragic past, however, the only local who steps in to try and protect them from Kisapmata’s dangers is Alon, a teen who knows the island better than anyone living. But even Alon’s knowledge of Kisapmata and its secrets may not be enough to protect the crew from the island’s curse.
For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter!
Riot Recommendations
Hollow by Shannon Watters and Branden Boyer-White, illustrated by Bernice Nelle
I can’t believe I’m finally going to get my hands on Hollow. I’ve been making heart eyes at this graphic novel since I found out about it, and I honestly can’t wait. I just know it’s going to join Mooncakes and Blackwater to form the perfect, autumnal, cozy graphic novel trifecta of my heart. Izzy Cane has just moved to Sleepy Hollow with her family, and she can’t understand why the people she meet keep having such a bad reaction to her last name. And it only gets worse when she bumps into local teen celebrity Vicky Van Tassel of THE Van Tassels. Vicky, who is stick to death of the legend and her family’s part in it. But now the horseman rides again, and regardless of how Vicky and Izzy feel about the legend— or each other— if they want to survive they’ll have until Halloween night to break the curse that drives the Horseman to put an end to the Van Tassel line.
Jackal by Erin E. Adams
When Liz Rocher returns to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, it’s not to reminisce about her past. The mostly white town wasn’t a comfortable place to grow up as a Black girl, and it’s still not somewhere she prefers to spend her time. But her best friend is getting married, so for one weekend Liz commits to putting up with Johnstown, and its inhabitants, for the sake of her friend. When the other woman’s daughter, Caroline, suddenly vanishes during the reception, however, Liz finds herself in the middle of a town-wide search for the missing child, confronted with memories she’d almost forgotten. Caroline isn’t the first Black girl to go missing in Johnstown. It happened when Liz was young, and now its happening again. In an effort to get to the bottom of the town’s secrets and bring Caroline home, Liz begins researching Johnstown’s past, only to find that the deeper she digs the darker the truths she uncovers.
Earthdivers #1 by Stephen Graham Jones, Illustrated by Davide Gianfelice
Stephen Graham Jones (of The Only Good Indians and My Heart is a Chainsaw fame, among many, many other excellent works of horror) has teamed up with illustrator Davide Gianfelice to create a new comic series about time travel and murder that you won’t want to miss. Set in 2112, Earthdivers is about a world decimated by an ongoing climate crisis, where civilization has collapsed and what little remains of humanity has all but given up. Except, that is, for a small band of Indigenous survivors, who make an incredible discovery hidden deep in the desert: a portal through time, and the means of changing the world as they have known it. So they send one of their own to the past, tasked with a dangerous mission to kill the man responsible for it all. To kill Christopher Columbus.
Fresh From the Skeleton’s Mouth
If you want a look at all the amazing horror that has or will come out this year, as always be sure to check out Tor Nightfire’s excellent list of all the horror they’re excited about in 2022!
Have you seen the trailer for Knock at the Cabin yet? Based on Paul G. Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World, it will be in theaters in February of 2023 and it looks amazing!
Aside form being the studio responsible for the gorgeous new adaptation of Interview with the Vampire, AMC has more horror incoming for its viewers. And one of their two new series is based on authors Victor LaValle’s novel The Devil in Silver!
As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.