It’s Monday, which means it’s Fright Stuff time, horror fans! I know I always say this, but this is truly the best day of the week, because I love talking about horror. You know what else I love? Horror stories about weird apartment buildings. I just read one I loved, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to share this horror subgenre with all of you! Enjoy!
Want to make your book club the best club? Sign up for our In the Club newsletter. In the Club will deliver recommendations for the best books to discuss in your book clubs. From buzzy new releases to brilliant throwbacks, the books highlighted in this newsletter will drive your book club discussions. We’ll also share some book club-friendly recipes and interesting bookish updates from all over. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations, plus community features. In other words, we’ll keep you well-met, well-read, and well-fed. Sign up today!
Bookish Goods
Rosemary’s Baby Tannis Root Charm Necklace by Fantasia Trinkets
Speaking of weird apartment buildings…we can’t talk about this genre without talking about the most iconic of them all…the weird, witchy, Satan-worshipping apartment dwellers in Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin. I mean, if you are getting ready to birth the spawn of Satan, you really shouldn’t try to do it without this gorgeous and super demon-friendly Tannis root pendant necklace. It starts at $21, but can you put a price on Satanism?
New Releases
The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones
I’ve been hyping this one up for some time, and it’s here this week! Hooray! We’re finally getting the final chapter in Stephen Graham Jones’ Indian Lake Trilogy. Four years after the events of the first novel, our heroine Jade Daniels has returned to Proofrock, Idaho, to rebuild her life after protecting her friend Letha and her family all those years ago. It’s also a chance for one final confrontation, to face the Lake Witch and end the curse once and for all.
Diavola by Jennifer Thorne
I’m so obsessed with this cover! My copy just came in the mail, and I was immediately like, “Oh yes, this is top-tier horror novel cover design stuff right here.” But also, this story sounds soooo creepy, and I can’t wait to dive in. This is a story about a family vacation gone very, very wrong. The Pace family has planned a vacation in a remote villa in Monteperso. But, for Anna Pace, who has always felt like an outsider in her family, this is all way too much family time. And now, to make matters worse, she keeps hearing strange noises at night, and the villagers approach the family with unsettling warnings about the villa’s violent past.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
Nestlings by Nat Cassidy
Okay, let’s get into it. The book that inspired the theme for this whooole newsletter this week. Nestlings by Nat Cassidy is such an intense, spine-tingling story about an apartment unlike any you’ve seen before. And while this one definitely has Rosemary’s Baby vibes, trust me that it goes in surprising new directions. A difficult birth has left Ana paralyzed. Meanwhile, her husband Reid is working a thankless job for people he loathes. So, when the couple wins a lottery for an affordable apartment in one of New York’s most preeminent apartment buildings, they think they’ve finally gotten some good news. But it quickly becomes apparent that something sinister is going on in this building.
The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike
I know I have recommended this one before, but I have to bring it up again because, if you’re looking for apartment horror, you have to read The Graveyard Apartment. You would think an apartment building right next to a grave would be an immediate no-go; but for the young married couple in this novel? This seemed like the perfect location to move in with their young child. But then strange things start happening here, and one by one, people start moving away. Eventually, the young family is all alone in this giant, creepy apartment…or are they?
And that’s all for today! We’ll do this all again next Monday. Until then, you can follow me (and message me) on Instagram at emandhercat. Sweet dreams, horror fans!