Category: The Fright Stuff

This incredible novel mixes sci-fi, fantasy, body horror, and gothic horror. Vern is seven months pregnant and is desperately trying to escape the strict religious compound where she was raised. So she flees to the forest, where she gives birth to her twins and plans to raise them far away from the outside world. But to truly escape, Vern will have to fight hard against the community that refuses to let her go, all while her body is going through inexplicable and horrifying changes.

This one blends historical fiction, horror, and fantasy. Nephthys Kinwell is not your average taxi driver. Her 1967 Plymouth Belvedere has a ghost in the trunk, and when the car is summoned, Nephthys must use it to drive ill-fated passengers across the city. Aside from driving, she spends her days grieving the loss of her twin brother, who was murdered and dumped in the Anacostia River. But when her nephew shows up on her doorstep with a cryptic note about the River Man, everything changes.

2020 was a year, wasn’t it? It feels like yesterday and yet…it feels like another world entirely. That year, I was so thankful for people who were still creating art. So this week, I wanted to highlight books that came out that year. This one is an all-time fave. Brookhants School for Girls is an old boarding school with a troubled and mysterious past, which includes many mysterious deaths. One hundred years have passed since the horrors that befell the school took place, and writer Merritt Emmons has written a book celebrating the queer, feminist history of the school that was so cursed. Her book inspires a horror film adaptation of the story.

A book about the Titanic, but make it ghosts. Yes, really. On the Titanic’s maiden voyage, several of the passengers are convinced the ship is haunted. Years later, one of those passengers — Annie Hebbley — survives but cannot remember the details of what happened on the Titanic. Now, she’s working as a nurse on the sixth voyage of the Titanic’s sister ship, the Brittanic. And suddenly, all of the memories are coming back to haunt her.

I am such a huge fan of Tiffany D. Jackson, and this book is one of the many reasons why. While you might have heard that The Weight of Blood is a retelling of Carrie, what you might not know is that this version of the story is told in the style of a true crime podcast. As the podcast retraces the events that lead up to one fateful (and deadly) prom, the question is never who is responsible, but why did she do it?

We’re ending with what is probably my favorite documentary-style horror novel. I know I’ve mentioned it before, and this won’t be the last time. This story uses reality television and online commentary to tell the story of The Barretts, a seemingly normal suburban family dealing with what might be a demonic possession. With nowhere else to turn, the family agrees to become a part of a reality TV program called The Possession.

Dr. Grace Park has been appointed to the survey ship The Deucalion to observe the 13 crew members aboard. They’re all headed to an icy planet called Eos in an unexplored galaxy. But, before they even get there, tensions are building between Park and the rest of the crew. She finds herself befriending the androids on the ship, preferring their company to that of the human crew members. When they land, things only get worse. The crew gets trapped by a storm with no means of communication or escape, and the androids start behaving strangely.

You know we had to include an actual Aliens book if we’re going to talk about sci-fi/horror, right? This is the origin story of Jenette Vasquez, written by Latina horror author V. Castro. Jenette Vasquez’s children Ramon and Leticia were raised by Jenette’s sister. As adults, Leticia followed in her mother’s footsteps and joined the military, while Ramon joined the corporate hierarchy of Weyland-Yutani. Their stories converge when both Ramon and Leticia arrive on an unnamed planet.

In this spooky terrorling, a group of friends go to a haunted mansion in Japan to hold a wedding. A strange location for a wedding, for sure, but these friends love the fun, scary vibes. But what starts off as a fun celebration turns into something much more terrifying. The hauntings are not just rumors. The ghosts are very, very real.

Stephen Graham Jones is an author I just mentioned last week, I know, but I had to bring this book up since we’re talking about horror novellas. One night, a 15-year-old boy sees a strange figure walking through his house, someone who resembles the father he lost before they moved from the reservation. As he follows the man through their home over the next few nights, the boy attempts to map out his house…endangering his family in the process.

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.

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?

Here’s a fabulous queer YA horror novel set in Vietnam. When Jade Nguyen arrives in Vietnam for a visit with her estranged father, all she wants to do is smile and get along so she can get away with the college money her father has promised her. But there’s something strange about the house her father is restoring. Every night, Jade wakes up paralyzed. The walls are thrumming. And the ghost of a beautiful bride keeps leaving Jade cryptic warnings.

This literary horror/thriller is one I read back in 2021, and it’s still on my mind. The Quigley House is a full-contact escape room where survivors have the opportunity to win a cash prize. They just have to make it to the end without saying the safe word, “reprieve.” Told through court transcripts, flashbacks, and cross-examinations, Reprieve tells the story of one group who makes it to the end, but not all of them will make it out alive.

Want some more monster horror novels to celebrate Monster Monday? Here’s one of my favorites. When the finalists for the dating reality TV show The Catch go to Otters Island to film the last episodes of the season, they’re expecting to compete with one another for the lead’s attention (and, of course, the social media clout that comes with that). What they’re not expecting? Patricia, a woefully misunderstood creature who hides in the dark and is looking for a connection of her own.

We can’t really talk monsters without mentioning Frankenstein at least twice, right? And this is a really great retelling worth checking out as well. Set in U.S.-occupied Baghdad, this is the story of Hadi, a scavenger who collects human body parts and stitches them together as a statement to the government about recognizing body parts as people and giving them a proper burial. But when his stitched-up body goes missing, troubling news begins circulating around the city. A horrifying criminal who seemingly cannot be killed is indiscriminately murdering people.

Jade is spending the summer in Vietnam with her estranged father. All she has to do is seem like the perfect (straight) Vietnamese American daughter so she can leave with the college money he promised. But as she spends more time at the French colonial house her father is renovating, she becomes more certain that the house hates them. Jade teams up with a delinquent girl to prove to her family that this house will destroy them if they let it.

If you’re looking for a haunted house story that blends horror and humor, Grady Hendrix is the author for you. Louise and Mark are siblings forced to work together to sell their family home after their parents die. The house will take some time to fix up because it’s crammed full of their parents’ things…including their mother’s extensive doll and puppet collection. Unsurprisingly, the creepy puppet house is haunted, and it doesn’t want to be sold.

A new classic in the haunted house stories subgenre is Mexican Gothic. When Noemí receives a letter from her cousin begging for help, she sets off to the Mexican countryside to save her cousin from her life with her new husband. There, she finds her cousin’s husband’s family is menacing, her cousin is mysteriously ill, and Noemí has violent dreams while at their estate. As she investigates, she finds a dark history of how this family accumulated their wealth. As the title suggests, this is a gothic horror story that slowly builds unease until the reader feels the same claustrophobic terror that Noemí does.

Horror fans, the year is going by so fast; you might have missed these two books that are already out right now! This dark academia horror novel follows Sunny Behre. When a classmate is murdered at her private school, everyone looks to Sunny’s youngest brother, Dom, who was previously found guilty of second-degree murder. Dom swears he is innocent, and while Sunny isn’t sure she believes him, she promised her mother she would take care of her little brother. Together, Sunny and Dom race to prove his innocence, a mission that becomes all the more urgent as more and more dead bodies are discovered.

I’m so obsessed with the cover of this one. Cymbals Eat Guitars is about three friends who are doing one last Farewell Tour with their punk band. But when they make a stop in a small mountain town, they are forced to face off against a population that has been turned into zombies.