Category: The Fright Stuff

I’m already a huge fan of N.K Jemisin’s frequently horror-infused fantasy novels. I remember starting The Fifth Season for the first time and being amazed (and delighted!) at how dark it was. So of course I had to include The Killing Moon — which I haven’t had the pleasure of reading yet — on my list of 2012 backlist titles for this week. Set in yet another stunningly constructed fantasy world, this time inspired by ancient Egypt, The Killing Moon is about a group of people called the Gatherers, priests whose job it is to take magic from the sleeping minds of the populace. Magic they then use not just to heal, but also to judge and execute those citizens of Gujaareh that are deemed to be corrupt. Until the day Eihru, one of the Gatherers, discovers a conspiracy to use the Gatherers’ justice to murder innocent dreamers instead.

Scott Sigler’s specialty is combining action-driven horror with terrifying monsters to create stories that you’ll have a hard time putting down, and Nocturnal is no exception! Bryan is a San Francisco homicide detective who is stripped of his badge when he gets caught up in a shadowy conspiracy behind a string of recent murders. Unwilling to give up on the case, Bryan follows the threads of the conspiracy deep into the underground ruins beneath San Francisco and discovers a hidden world of monsters who feed upon the living. The closer he gets to the truth, the more Bryan learns about his connection to these strange creatures. It also becomes more and more evident that he may be the only one who can stop them.

Kendare Blake’s Anna duology is a fantastically creepy YA horror series, which begins with the well-known Anna Dressed in Blood and concludes in Girl of Nightmares. The series is about the vengeful ghost of a teenage girl, Anna, who becomes attached to a living boy — and ghost hunter — named Cas.

Spoilers follow in the blurb, so if you haven’t read Anna Dressed in Blood yet, continue at your own risk!

In the sequel, Girl of Nightmares, it’s been months since Anna vanished into Hell, leaving Cas behind to live his mortal life. But Cas still sees Anna everywhere he looks, asleep or awake. He knows that Anna is in trouble, and that whatever is happening to her in Hell is a gruesome fate she doesn’t deserve. Which means Cas has only one option: walk into Hell and get Anna back.

Another exciting series conclusion, Blackout brings Mira Grant’s zombie apocalypse series, Newsflesh, to a thrilling end. In Feed, a deadly virus infects the planet, wiping out society, and two bloggers try to get to the dark truth behind the infection. The story concludes in Blackout when, 27 years after the Rising, Georgia and Shaun Mason find themselves embroiled in a conspiracy far larger than either of them could ever have imagined. Now the clock ticks down as they and the remaining staff face down an increasingly bizarre and dangerous barrage of obstacles, from mad scientists to the remnants of a government gone awry, in their ongoing quest to find the truth.

Okay, so technically the subway itself cannot be blamed for a creepy cult snatching people out of abandoned subway terminals. Or for any sinister, ancient evils lurking beneath (far, far beneath) the New York City streets, putting strange and unknowable plans into motion. But that scene at the beginning of the novella, when Monique’s girlfriend Donna disappears and there’s just the big, dark, echoing void of the tunnel where she used to be — that’s scary. And the uneasiness of that scene, the pervading sense of wrong, is something Piper carries through the whole book, right up to it’s wormy, unnerving finale. I love this book so much, and oh did you hear: Off Limits Press has announced two sequels, one in 2023 and one in 2024!

Of the three books on this list, The City We Became is the only one that doesn’t take place almost entirely underground. BUT, there is a rather memorable scene featuring a giant worm (oops, secondary newsletter theme, apparently) made up of old, decommissioned subway cars, and I felt that at the very least that earned The City We Became an honorary mention on a list of reasons why maybe sometimes it’s just better to stay aboveground. Jemisin’s cosmic horror novel about five New Yorkers who represent the soul of the city and must come together to protect it is probably one of the most innovative books I’ve read in recent years. And with the sequel, The World We Make due out in November, now’s a great time for a re-read.

You know what’s a terrible idea? An all-night underground rave in an abandoned subway tunnel. Call me a stick-in-the-mud if you want, but I’m prefer to think of myself as horror educated. I refuse to be the “don’t go in there” girl, and that definitely includes parties in dark tunnels, with music so loud that nobody could here me, say, being brutally killed and disemboweled in a nearby tunnel. That’s what happened to poor Julie, and she’s just the first when the subway party at the heart of Danielle Vega’s Survive the Night starts to go seriously off the rails. (Ba dum tish). When Casey stumbles on Julie’s dead body and sounds the alarm, she and her friends find themselves trying to escape the subway, only to find every exit barred. Someone doesn’t want them getting out.

So first of all, a quick plug for the publisher here, because The Magpie Coffin is actually one of a whole series of splatter westerns by Death Head’s Press, and they all have these gorgeously graphic, pulp-esque covers. Now splatter horror isn’t always my thing, but some stories just wouldn’t be the same without simply massive quantities of blood and gore. The Magpie Coffin is a historical horror western set in 1875 about outlaw Salem Covington, whose wartime exploits have earned him the nickname The Black Magpie. When his mentor is murdered, Salem vows to take revenge and sets out to find Dead Bear’s killers. Revenge is a classic trope of the western genre, and Salem’s is a particularly brutal, violent quest for vengeance.

This next book is a bit of a genre blend — which of course I love. Gemma Files A Book of Tongues is the first in the Hexslinger series, and a historical western that also blends in elements of horror and fantasy. And it’s queer, which is always a plus! In an alternative post-Civil War America, the outlaws of the West work dangerous magics, and one — Rook, a “hexslinger” — has come up with a desperate plan to unleash a pantheon of sleeping, bloodthirsty gods through whatever bloody means necessary. Hidden among Rook’s men is Ed Morrow, a Pinkerton in disguise whose mission is to discover the degree of Rooks power. He finds himself forced to team up with Rook’s lover and second-in-command, Chess, if he hopes to stand a chance of surviving whatever Rook has planned for himself, for Chess, and for the world.

This week’s last recommendation is another blend of genres, mixing elements of horror, sci-fi, and the western. The Good Luck Girls is set in the fictional country of Arketta, rather than the American West, but its roots are undeniable. It combines familiar genre tropes to create a story about a group of outlaws on the run, in pursuit of freedom, justice, and vengeance that is quintessentially western. The Good Luck Girls were sold as children to a “welcome house” where they were branded with cursed markings and destined for a life of prostitution, but when one of their number murders a man, the girls risk escape for a chance to finally be free.

I’ve shared my love for Burn Down, Rise Up in this newsletter before. It’s a heartbreaking, terrifying, queer, rage-inducing work of YA social horror, and it will absolutely blow your mind. But today, in particular, I want to pay homage to its amazing, subway-after-dark gorgeousness where incandescent pinks and teals give this illustrated cover an eerie glow. And the pink fades into a scalding orange, reminiscent of a burning flame. This is a Bronx-set horror novel about teen girl, Raquel, whose life has just been upended by a violent attack that leaves her mother in a coma. At the same time, the cousin of Raquel’s crush — Charlize — disappears and eye witnesses identify him as the person who attacked Raquel’s mother. Together, Raquel and Charlize must venture into a world of ghosts and dark histories, chasing a dangerous urban legend that may hold the key to saving their loved ones. But only if the girls can survive the Echo Game.

When it comes to neon (or rainbow!) horror, look no further than Cassie Daley. Her Etsy store LetsGetGalacticArt is a wonderland of fluorescent horror goodness, from art prints, to apparel, to accessories. And — a recent and very exciting addition — her debut novella, Brutal Hearts, with its gorgeous neon pink and yellow cover. A perfect retro color scheme for the ’90s-set novella about a young woman searching for her lost fiancé. It’s been a year since Simon went missing off a remote mountain hiking trail, but Leah can’t let it go. Which is how she and her new girlfriend Josie end up back on the same mountain on the anniversary of Simon’s disappearance, trying to help Leah say goodbye. But the mountain has a secret, a dangerous and wild one that lurks in the trees, turning Leah’s quest for closure into a fight for survival.

Oh hey, it’s that book that Jessica can’t stop talking about, but listen: I should be commended for only buying one copy, and not two just so I could have both the U.S. and UK covers. But as much as I love the the art for the UK cover, the bright, psychedelic cover of the U.S. edition is too good to be missed. Reluctant Immortals is a sort-of-sequel to two legendary Gothic novels, Dracula and Jane Eyre, starring Bertha Rochester and Lucy Westenra as immortals in Los Angeles in 1967. They have moved beyond their tragic tales and are living their best undead lives. At least until Dracula and Rochester, equally unalive, make a sudden reappearance, throwing Bertha and Lucy’s new lives into disarray.

Crema is probably going to go down as one of the most beautiful graphic novels I’ve read this year. Not just because of the art, but also the love story that makes up the heart of the book. It starts with Esme, a barista who sees ghosts when she drinks too much coffee. Esme falls in love with Yara, the heir to a coffee plantation, who every one wants but who falls for the awkward but sweet barista. When a strange ghosts appears to Esme and begs her to take a letter to Brazil for him so he can be reunited with his long lost love, Esme finds herself following Yara home to Brazil, where she’ll uncover a sinister tale of love, lust, and loss.

I have made 0 attempts to hide my excitement about Blackwater, this creepy, atmospheric graphic novel takes place in the haunted town of Blackwater, Maine where strange, supernatural happenings are an every day occurrence. Two teenagers, Tony Price and Eli Hirsch, who couldn’t be more different, become unlikely friends (and a whole lot more) as they set out to solve the mystery surrounding their little town. Provided, of course, that they can survive not just the monsters they encounter but the everyday perils of being in high school.

Sailing to the top of my most anticipated reads for the fall is Hollow, a graphic novel abut a new generation of Sleepy Hollow inhabitants who come face to face with the dreaded horseman himself. 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 sick 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.

When it comes to fae-themed horror, Tori Bovalino’s recent adaptation of Rossetti’s “The Goblin Market” is a must have. When Lou’s Aunt Neela is stolen away to the Goblin Market, it upends everything Lou thought she knew about superstitions or magic — namely, that they didn’t exist. The market is just a fictional place she’s read about. A forbidden place of magic and temptations, intended to lure and trap humans. But in order to save Neela, Lou will have to learn to embrace all the things she’s never believed in before she and her aunt become lost to the Market forever.

Infusing faerie lore with a healthy dose of the Gothic, Jeannette Ng’s Under the Pendulum Sun is a dark, fantastical journey through a dangerous magical land know as Arcadia, ruled over by the Queen of the Fae and her twisted Court. Catherine Helstone’s brother, Laon, volunteered to be a missionary in Arcadia, trying to convert the Fae to Christianity. (Which… I mean I’m sorry, whose terrible idea was that?) Desperate to know what has become of her brother — despite his poor life choices — Catherine sets out for Arcadia to find him. Written in true Gothic fashion, with a bit of Goblin Market meets Tam Lin going on, expect surreal and beautiful world building, with a healthy dose of slow building, menacing dread.

But reader be duly warned: Like many of its Gothic predecessors, Under the Pendulum Sun does come with a content warning for incest.

Welcome to the horror genre, where nothing good ever comes out of the woods. Especially not the woods around Mouse’s dead grandmother’s house, which is home to a whole colony of strange, frightening creatures. Mouse agreed to help clean out the house after her grandmother’s death, thinking it would be an easy job, but instead finds herself faced with cleaning up a literal hoard of useless junk. Junk, and a set of strange, rambling journals that once belonged to her step grandfather and describe terrible creatures living in the trees beyond the house. All his ranting stories seem like delusional nonsense. Until the moment when Mouse herself comes face to face with the monsters in the woods.

Hide is definitely the book that inspired this week’s theme. This book is hands down one of the most tense, white-knuckling the pages, heart-racing all the way books I’ve ever read. It’s exactly that kind of terrifying, cat-and-mouse survival horror that I love, and thanks to White’s unforgettable storytelling, Hide was an instant favorite.

For a deadly game with fourteen players, the objective simple: seven days hiding in an abandoned amusement park. The game starts at dawn, and ends at sunset. The last one standing, wins. The prize? A new life, a second chance, all your dreams finally in reach. But somethings really are too good to be true. And when the other players start disappearing, Mack – who’s particularly experienced at hiding and surviving thanks to her haunted past – realizes that “last one standing” may have a more sinister meaning where this particular game of hide and seek is concerned.

Extreme haunt meets escape room in a chilling work of social horror that you won’t soon forget. Set in 1997, Reprieve tells the story of four contestants competing to survive the Quigley house, a full-contact haunted escape room. They’ve made it to the final cell, and if they can make it through without shouting the safe word, there’s a big cash prize waiting at the end. Success seems guaranteed. Until a sudden intrusion and the violent murder of one of their party upends all their hopes. The novel unfolds in a series of alternating perspectives, as each remaining contestant narrates their version of events. But as their personal stories are told, slowly the truth is is revealed. And the ways in which they all – through their lies, misunderstandings, obsessions, and prejudices – may have played a part in what happened that night.

Now some might contest my classifying Gideon the Ninth as survival horror. But listen: there’s only so much bone and blood you can fit in a book before it starts to edge across that genre line. I mean, the number of corpses alone has to qualify. And the reanimated corpses. And the horrifying constructs of bone and sinew that defy nature and the imagination. Harrowhark Nonagesimus is one of nine house scions competing to serve the Emperor as a Lyctor. But no necromancer can ascend to that hallowed role without their loyal, steadfast cavalier. Unfortunately for Harrow (and luckily for all of us) she’s got Gideon. Her rude, crude childhood nemesis, who she must trust with her life if she hopes to survive the trials that await. Particularly when the other competitors start turning up dead.

Because I said so.

There will be rage, and there will be shallows.

“Yes, Jessica,” you might be thinking, “We know that you love All the Fabulous Beasts, you don’t have to keep telling us.” But listen: in my defense, many if not all of the stories in Sharma’s collection are about love, grief, sexuality, nature, or all four together. Which makes it the perfect book to read while you wait for The Trees Grew Because I Bled There. They’re thematically compatible! And as much as I love all horror, I particularly love horror that deals with, well, love! Both the beautiful, the horrific, and the beautifully horrific things that love can do to us and those we choose to take it from and share it with.

LaRocca’s horror has always been unapologetically, blatantly queer, and the Gothic pervades much of his work, whether in his settings, his themes, or both. So it seems only fitting to include Unspeakable, given that it is also both delightfully queer and Gothic. This anthology from Nyx Publishing features everything from uncanny sea creatures to the quintessential Gothic haunted house in 18 tales of the grim and horrible. And now is a great time to pick up a copy, because the sequel anthology, Unthinkable, is currently only less than $2000 away from meeting its fundraising goal on Kickstarter! In fact, one of the donation tiers includes paperbacks of both Unthinkable, and the republished edition of Unspeakable with a new introduction by editor Celine Frohn.

If it’s the surreal quality of Eric LaRocca’s books that appeals to you, I absolutely have to recommend Isabel Yap’s 2021 collection, Never Have I Ever. Her work has a similarly surreal feel to it, and her stories span the whole range of speculative genres, from sci-fi to horror to fantasy and back again as Yap blends urban legends with Philippine folklore into stories you won’t soon forget. I mean it. Never Have I Ever is a one of a kind collection of strange and beautiful (and frequently queer!) stories that will challenge and expand your notions of dark fiction.