Category: The Fright Stuff

Getting Critical with Horror Nonfiction

Post author By Jessica Avery
Post date March 26, 2021

The Palgrave Handbook to Horror Literature edited by by Kevin Corstorphine and Laura R. Kremmel

Palgrave’s literary criticism texts are unparalleled, really. Just so good. The Palgrave Handbook to Horror Literature, specifically, is a fantastic in-depth examination of the horror genre. Each section explores the various origins and evolutions of the genre throughout its history, highlighting themes, digging deep into classic and modern texts, and considering horror through a variety of theoretical lenses. Many chapters discuss at length issues that we see the horror community grappling with daily: gender and sexuality, race, censorship and morality, disability, and more. For a deeper understanding of the horror genre, and as a jumping off point for future inquires into horror criticism, this handbook is where you want to start! It’s a but pricy, though, so reach out to your local librarian because I bet she can find a copy for you in a university library somewhere!

Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction by Melanie Anderson and Lisa Kröger

At this point, every knows about Monster, She Wrote, right? This book took the horror scene by storm when it was published and rightly so! Though the breadth of its a subject matter vs its length means that Anderson and Kröger’s history of women in the horror genre can sometimes feel a bit cursory in places, where this book really excels is in its role as an invitation to further study. Diving deeper than the known mothers of the genre, like Shelley and Jackson, Anderson and Kröger said “here are some incredible women you may or may not have heard of, and here are some incredible books they wrote, go forth!”. Monster, She Wrote, explores lesser known historical speculative fiction authors like Margaret Cavendish (The Blazing World) as well as modern paragons like Helen Oyeyemi (White is for Witching).

Searching for Sycorax: Black Women’s Hauntings of Contemporary Horror by Kinitra D. Brooks

Brooks’ Searching for Sycorax provides an in-depth study of Black women creators and characters within in the horror genre. Examining the works of women across the African diaspora, Brooks presents a racially gendered critical analysis of the genre that is unparalleled among modern horror criticism. Looking at both “canonical” horror texts and those by modern authors like Nalo Hopkinson (Skin Folk), NK Jemisin (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms), and Chesya Burke (Let’s Play White), Brook examines how these authors’ works interrogate and subvert the prejudices and anxieties of the modern horror genre.

Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix

Or maybe your interest in the genre lies more in its fascinating paperback history during the horror boom of the ’70s and ’80s. Mass market paperback horrors were an astounding phenomenon that, for being relatively short lived, nevertheless laid the groundwork for the modern genre, shaping horror as we know it today. Grady Hendrix’s Paperbacks from Hell is a beloved genre history (and an absolute stunner of a book, thanks to Quirk Books) that has not only draw attention to the lost titles of horror’s early heyday but has also lead to the rediscovery and republication of many of these incredible early authors and their works.

Obviously this is just a small sample of the critical texts on offer about the horror genre. And largely based around my own interests, I admit. But one of the most beautiful things about a critical texts is the reference list in the back. One book leads to 10 or 20 others and the next thing you know you’re down rabbit hole! Go forth an enjoy!

Fresh from the Skeleton’s Mouth

Last thursday (March 25) was publication day for Stitched Lips: An Anthology of Horror from Silenced Voices, featuring works from Gabino Iglesias, Hailey Piper, Lee Murray, Lucy Snyder, and others! All profits from sales of the anthology will be donated to the Southern Poverty Law Center, whose goal is the advancement of human rights for all people.

You know those gorgeous, rainbow spine trade paperback editions of Stephen King’s novels? The ones that pop up in painfully beautiful stacks all over your Instagram feed, but you can never claim them for your own because they’re out of print from their UK publisher? Well do I have some good news for you: Hodder & Stoughton are bringing them back!

Yesssssssssssssss. Listen. I love What We Do in the Shadows more than life. They can make as many spin offs of the original as they want. It’s fine. Take my money and sign me up.

As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

The Fright Stuff

By the Seaside, Ooooh, By the Beautiful Sea

Post author By Jessica Avery
Post date March 19, 2021

Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys

So I might be a tiny bit obsessed with Winter Tide. There’s something about the feel of it. It’s like I can taste salt. Like a post-Lovecraftian Innsmouth-inspired sea salt lick… ANYWAY. In 1928 the government relocated the people of Innsmouth, taking them as far as possible from their home ocean and their sleeping gods. They deposited them in dusty camps in the desert and left them to die. Aphra and Caleb Marsh were the only ones to survive their camp. Now, the same government that destroyed her people needs Aphra’s help recovering dangerous secrets they that they believe the Communists have stolen from Miskatonic University. A task that will lead her home to the ruins of Innsmouth and the sea beyond.

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor

Lagoon definitely leans more towards sci-fi than horror on the multi-axis sliding scale of genre fiction. But there are moments frightening enough and themes dark enough to qualify as both, so I’m slipping it in here. Lagoon charts the fraught encounter between humanity and extraterrestrial life, as a massive object falls from the sky and lands in the ocean off the coast of Lagos. The descent of this impossible object unites the lives of three strangers–a marine biologist, a rapper, and a soldier–as they band together to save their country and their world.

All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter

You might recognize All the Murmuring Bones from last month’s list of forthcoming horror tiles for 2021. In fact it just came out a couple of weeks ago at the start of March! And, as with all things saltwater and scary, I’m all over it (or I will be… once I bust down the rest of my TBR a bit. I’m starting to feel like my unread books are judging me.) Many years ago, the Mer asked for one child of each generation in return for granting the O’Malley’s the guaranteed safety of their ships upon the sea. But by the time Miren O’Malley was born, her family had long since been unable to keep their side of the bargain and their fortunes have fallen. Miren’s grandmother will do anything it takes to regain the favor of Mer, even if it is Merin who may end up paying the price.

The Route of Ice and Salt by José Luis Zárate

The Route of Ice and Salt is beautiful, haunting, and a real gem in the history of queer horror that has finally been translated (gorgeously) to English by David Bowles, thanks to Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Innsmouth Press. Zárate’s cult vampire novella is a queer retelling of a small portion of the plot of Bram Stoker’s Dracula: the journey of the doomed Demeter. Varna to Whitby is a route the steadfast captain of the Demeter has traveled many times, alone among his men, dreams full of longings and pleasures he cannot permit himself. But something about this journey is different. Wrong. Rumors spread that something evil is stalking the captain’s ship and the crew are uneasy, looking to their captain to protect them.

I don’t have words for how much I loved this book. The prose is perfection. There are scenes that will stick with me forever. It’s like someone handed me a part of Stoker’s novel that was missing, and I can never unread this now. Not that I’d ever want to. Suggestion: Do yourself a favor. Buy The Route of Ice and Salt, and S.T. Gibson’s January release, A Dowry of Blood, and have yourself a queer Dracula fest. Please. It’s self care.

Fresh From the Skeleton’s Mouth

March has been a busy month for new releases! Worried that you might have missed something? Never Fear! Nightfire has you covered. Check out their This Month In New Horror Books post and be sure you didn’t forget any can’t miss March releases!

You might remember me enthusing about Mina and the Undead earlier this winter and I am so excited to say that publication day is nearly upon us! Amy McCaw and Dawn Kurtagich are going to join forces for a virtual launch party on March 27th so don’t forget to register!

As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

The Fright Stuff

Cover Reveal: Rachel Harrison’s CACKLE

Post author By Jessica Avery
Post date March 12, 2021

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.

The Fright Stuff

Grab the Salt, We’re Having an Exorcism Party!

Post author By Jessica Avery
Post date March 5, 2021

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

That cover is so deliciously ’80s horror throwback neon and I love it – almost as much as I love this book. It’s gross, hilarious, nostalgic, and just a fantastic read. I picked it up one night intending to start it, and read it all in one sitting! Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since they were little kids, but a strange and frightening incident before the start of high school throws their friendship into jeopardy. No one really know exactly what happened to Gretchen that night in the woods, not even Abby. And when Gretchen’s behavior suddenly changes, becoming increasingly bizarre and alarming, Abby is forced to accept the one possible explanation that presents itself: Gretchen must be possessed.

The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco

Even though The Girl from the Well is told from the perspective of a dead girl (and what an eerie, unique perspective it is), she is not directly involved in the book’s possession plot. Which is to say that she is neither the possessed (after all she has no physical form to be invaded), nor, as you might expect, the possessor. Okiku admits to having possessed people in the past, but Tark already has something dark and terrible living under his skin, he doesn’t need the extra help from her. A murdered spirit, unavenged and fated to walk the world punishing the murderers of children, Okiku seems like the least likely spirit to help Tark, but the two form an unexpected bond as they cross the world in attempt to free him from the evil that stalks him.

Goddess of Filth by V Castro

I preordered my copy of Goddess of Filth months ago and I am SO glad that it’s finally March. When friends Lourdes, Fernanda, Ana, Perla, and Pauline get together one hot summer night to drink and summon some fun, it starts out all fun and games. Until it’s not. “Not” being Fernanda Exorcist-crawling towards her friends, chanting in the language of their Aztec ancestors. Over the next few weeks Fernanda’s behavior just gets more frightening. The local priest, Father Moreno, is crying demonic possession but Lourdes has a suspicion that it’s something more powerful and much much older than that. She enlists the help of her “bruja Craft crew” and a professor to try and understand what is happening to Fernanda. Hopefully before Moreno’s obsession with her can lead to disaster.

Teeth in the Mist by Dawn Kurtagich

AKA that time Jessica made an unplanned trip to the bookstore to buy a book just because Twitter promised her there was a creepy black goat in it. And I never regretted it! Quite the opposite, as I now considered Dawn Kurtagich to be one of my favorite horror authors. Teeth in the Mist is the epitome of everything I love: big, isolated Gothic houses located in vast, empty, weather-swept landscapes. Evil that seems to rise out of the land itself. Ominous goats (as promised!). Witches. The possibility of the devil lurking in the background. The novel uses its multimedia format to simultaneously tell the stories of three girls, separated by centuries yet bound together by the haunting presence of Medwyn Mill House. I do not have words enough to tell you know much I love this book, but I will tell you that if you are looking for a book that should not be read in a dark room, you want this one.

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

I wanted to make sure that I left room for this book on the list, because I love the way that Tremblay flips the traditional exorcism script. Are we dealing with a teenage girl that is actually possessed by the devil? Or are we dealing with a mentally ill 14-year-old who one local priest decided to make his ticket to fame? When the Barretts’ 14-year-old daughter Marjorie develops what appears to be acute schizophrenia, and all medical attempts to help her fail, the family turns to the church for aid. But a local priest’s suggestion that he perform an exorcism on Marjorie is tainted with suspicion when he also invites a camera crew to accompany him. Then tragedy strikes. Fifteen years later, Marjorie’s little sister Merry agrees to an interview about the events of that night, and as buried memories surface it soon becomes clear that what she remembers, and what she’s been told, are two complete different stories.

Fresh from the Skeleton’s Mouth

Everyone loves book mail, particularly of the special, swag-filled subscription box kind. So check out this post over on Book Riot about the best horror book subscription boxes and fill your mail box with goodies and good reads.

This is looking like a busy year for the horror genre, and March is no exception. Check out this list from Nightfire of all the terrifying titles debuting this month. There are so many!

As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

The Fright Stuff

Looking for the Real Monster in Alex White’s ALIEN: INTO CHARYBDIS

Post author By Jessica Avery
Post date February 26, 2021

Fresh From the Skeleton’s Mouth

Grady Hendrix has a new book coming out in July of this year and I am absolutely in love with the blood-smeared cover of The Final Girl Support Group!

Tor Nightfire sat down with Tonia Ransom, editor, producer, and writer of the Nightlight podcast to talk about her career, the podcast, and celebrating the work of black authors in the horror genre.

Ciannon Smart, author of the highly anticipated Witches Steeped in Gold (April 20 from Harper Teen) has shared a sneak peek at the pre-order campaign for her book!

As always, you can catch me on Twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

The Fright Stuff

2021 Adult Horror Releases by Women

Post author By Jessica Avery
Post date February 19, 2021

Dead Space by Kali Wallace (March 2)

Hey so if we haven’t breached this subject yet in the Fright Stuff, I am obsessed with space horror. I don’t know if it’s the vast vacuum of space, or the fact that said vastness isolates and confines you to the strict boundaries of what is basically a haunted house in space, or the tantalizing possibility of the unknown, but I love space horror more than life. So I am beyond excited for Kali Wallace’s forthcoming novel, Dead Space. Sometimes when your big life plans go awry you end up working a dead-end job in an asteroid belt. Hester Marley is a security officer for a mining company, spending her days on petty crimes, when an old friend resurfaces. They’re both survivors of the terrorist attack that ruined Hester’s life, but before she can learn what her friend claims to have discovered about their shared tragedy, he’s murdered. Leaving Hester to search out both his killer, and his secrets.

Star Eater by Kerstin Hall (June 22nd)

This forthcoming dark fantasy novel sounds like it’s going to be 110% my thing. Shadowy cabals, espionage, power, deceptions, violence? Yum. Elfreda Raughn can handle the day-to-day duties of serving the Sisterhood of Aytrium, no matter how gruesome. But she will do whatever it takes to avoid becoming pregnant and fulfilling her part in preserving the Sisterhood’s magical bloodline. There are different kinds of sacrifices, and in order to avoid the fate she most despises, Elfreda will have to choose a path that leads her into the upper echelons of the Sisterhood, and a lavish world of parties and power struggles. This is definitely going to be one of those reads where I’m up all night because I couldn’t put it down.

The All Consuming World by Cassandra Khaw (June 22)

Oh look. More space horror. I told you how much I love space horror, right? A team of former criminals, disbanded in the wake of a mission-turned-disaster, must rejoin forces if they want to uncover what really happened on their last, fateful last job. And if they want to rescue their missing team member. These women, half-clone and half-machine, must return to Dimmuborgir, the site of their past failure, but they are not the only ones in search of the planet’s secret. In a world where the universe’s AI have evolved into an independent force with their own agency and will, the team must face down not only their own pasts but also a sentient force determined to see that humans never regain control.

I mean she had me at sentient ships, so someone just give her my money and I’ll be over here waiting for June.

Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn (September 7)

I admit that I haven’t been able to find much information yet about Flowers from the Sea for all that, according to the publisher’s site, it is due out in September. But that just makes me more curious! I’m willing to wait because this novella sounds fantastic. Survivors of a flooded land exist in isolation, fighting for their continued survival on an ark. Supplies are dwindling, hungry, terrifying sea monsters circle – in other words, circumstances are NOT ideal. Among the survivors is Iraxi, pregnant with a child that may not be entirely human. The future of the ark and its survivors is uncertain, and Iraxi’s own fate may be darker still.

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Catilin Starling (October 19)

You might remember me shouting enthusiastically about the cover of this book earlier this month, and it’s definitely not just the cover that I’m excited about. This promises to be the very height of Gothic horror goodness and I’m so excited. Jane Shoringfield has a carefully calculated plan: husband, marriage of convenience, the ability to remain independent and pursue meaningful work. She sets her mind on Doctor Augustine Lawrence, and the reclusive physician agrees with one (suitably ominous) condition. His family are the Lawrences of Lindridge hall, a (suitably crumbling heap of a) manor outside of the town, and Jane must never, never go there. But, as these things tend to happen in any good Gothic novel, fateful weather sees Jane stranded at the door of Lindridge Hall on her wedding night, and the haunted, paranoid man within bears little resemblance to the man she thought she married.

Please, universe, just put this in my eyeballs. October is so far away.

Fresh from the Skeleton’s Mouth

Need more books to fill out your 2021 TBR? Don’t forget to bookmark Nightfire’s excellent list of all the horror they’re excited about in 2021!

Here’s your reminder that the Horror Writers Association’s second Females of Fright panel has been scheduled for next Friday, February 26th and will feature authors V. Castro, Larissa Glasser, Alma Katsu, Nicole Givens Kurtz, Cynthia Pelayo, Sarah Read, and Danielle Trussoni!

Looking ahead to the rest of your reading year? The Horror Writers Association (HWA), in partnership with United for Libraries, Book Riot, and Booklist, have announced their 2021 Summer Scares reading list so get those TBR’s prepped!

As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

The Fright Stuff

Getting Gothic for Women in Horror Month

Post author By Jessica Avery
Post date February 12, 2021

The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni

I have heard SUCH good things about this gloriously Gothic novel from Danielle Trussoni. So many that it’s possible just writing about The Ancestor for this newsletter may have resulted in a copy magically appearing on my kindle. How? Who knows. That’s the magic. It certainly felt like magic worthy of a fairy tale when Alberta “Bert” received a letter addressed to Countess Alberta Montebianco telling her that she inherited not only a title and a fortune, but also a castle in Italy. Talk about a Cinderella-style dream come true! Or not. Because what Bert has really inherited from her mysteriously ancestral line is a house full of history and dark secrets (and and expensive wine cellar so, I mean, worth it?) that threaten all she’s ever believed about herself and her family.

(Also, is anyone getting Castle Freak vibes? Maybe it’s just me. Horror Genre what have you done to me? I vaguely regret watching that movie. It was a LOT. A lot of what, I still don’t really know.)

Catherine House by Elizabeth Thomas

Chances are, you’ve heard of Catherine House. Elizabeth Thomas’ gothic novel about a Pennsylvania boarding school gone wrong is delicious dark academia in its finest form. In the vein of all good dark academia novels, it is as much about the horrors of toxic competitiveness in education as it is about the desire for knowledge to a dangerous degree. For three years students are given one of the finest educations available for completely free – but the price is three years of their life completely cut off from the world they left behind. No family, no friends, no contact with the outside world. Ines is ready to trade in her old life for a new world of intense study and discipline, but what she finds instead is a gilded prison of luxury and permissiveness. When tragedy strikes, Ines begins to suspect that the truth of Catherine house is not at all what it seems.

The Companion by Katie Alender

The implications of this cover are SO upsetting. I honestly can’t even look at it. Maybe it’s because I have stabbed myself a bazillion times with those little dressmaking pins and can only imagine what a spoonful would do to your insides? I don’t know. Big yikes, though. There have been some fantastic Gothic YA titles in recent years. Really some of the best, most atmospheric on offer, and The Companion is a perfect example. Margot, orphaned when she lost her parents in a terrible accident (classic Gothic orphan trope anyone?), has finally been taken in. The Suttons are a prestigious family with a large estate, and the other orphans in the group home think Margot couldn’t be more lucky to have been chosen to be companion to the Suttons’ daughter Agatha. But life in the isolated manor soon leaves Margot wondering if she’s really all that fortunate after all.

The Deep by Alma Katsu

Gothic on a boat? Well technically it’s Gothic on two boats with a whole lot of saltwater-ghost goodness in between. This book was so beautiful. If you’re looking for a tense, fast-paced read, The Deep is not the one you want. It’s excellence lies in it’s slow-building storytelling and creeping, dread-filled tone. What begins on the Titanic with a forbidden attachment and inevitable tragedy, finds its resolution on the equally ill-fated Britannic. Annie, on of the survivors of the Titanic, has brought her demons with her to her stint as a nurse on board the luxury liner turned hospital ship, the Britannic. The past has a way of clinging that even the sea can’t wash away, and when she comes across an unconscious soldier who she recognizes as young man who she believes could not have survived the disaster of the Titanic, Annie is forced to confront her past and question the very memories that haunt her.

Fresh From the Skeleton’s Mouth

First up! The Horror Writers Association’s second Females of Fright panel has been scheduled for Friday, February 26th! Featuring authors V. Castro (Hairspray and Switchblades), Larissa Glasser (F4), Alma Katsu, Nicole Givens Kurtz (whose short fiction has been included in a number of fantastic anthologies such as Sycorax’s Daughters), Cynthia Pelayo (Children of Chicago), Sarah Read (Out of Water), and Danielle Trussoni!

Apex Publications is holding a Women in Horror Month Sale! 30% off all horror titles written by women, print and digital, so say goodbye to your book budget!

As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

The Fright Stuff

2021 YA Horror Releases by Women

Post author By Jessica Avery
Post date February 5, 2021

The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur (April 20)

From the author of last year’s chilling The Silence of the Bones comes a new book about families, secrets, and deception. Hwani’s family and life have fallen apart ever since she and her younger sister vanished and were found unconscious in the forest on the edge of a crime scene. Though the family fled their small village to escape the incident, some histories are not so easily banished. Years later Hwani’s father, Detective Min, is drawn back to their hometown by the unsolved cases of 13 other girls who recently vanished under similar circumstances as his own daughters. But when he returns to investigate, he too vanishes, leaving Hwani to follow in his footsteps in an attempt to find her father and finally put an end to the mystery that tore her family apart.

Mark of the Wicked by Georgia Bowers (August 10)

So if you’ve ever seen the 2017 British psychological thriller Beast, you might know why the synopsis of Mark of the Wicked caught my eye: a young woman, infatuated with the mysterious new boy in her town, finds herself suddenly surrounded by death and violence on all sides. The guilty party seems obvious, but are things really as simple as they seem? Matilda has always been told that her magic is to be used only when necessary. But Matilda isn’t a good witch – she wants more from her life. She wants privilege and power. She wants vengeance, and conquest without consequences. When a spell gone wrong brings Oliver into her life, everything changes. As they grow closer, darkness piles up on either side and when a young girl dies all fingers point to Matilda. Matilda swears she isn’t responsible! At least… not that she can remember.

Small Favors by Erin A. Craig (July 27)

BEES. Erin Craig has been promising horror bees on her Twitter feed ever since this book was announced and I need it. The Blackspire Mountain range is comprised of five sharp peaks bordered by a nearly impenetrable forest. And nestled amidst the Blackspires is the little town of Amity Falls. Visitors are rare and the wood is full of devils. This is Ellerie Downing’s home, and the quiet life she’s always known. But a sudden disappearance raises fears that the monsters the villagers once fought for survival may have returned, bringing with them honeyed promises of desires fulfilled. Asking only the smallest favors in return. Which, by the way, makes the hair on my arms stand up because oh my god do NOT strike deals with unknown creatures in the woods. Every nerve I have is screaming that this is some fair folk level nonsense. Of course I am excited.

Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood (November 9)

Blackwood had me at “Jane Eyre retelling”, because there is no version of this reality in which I am not obsessed with that novel. Entirely. Which is why I am absolutely dying to get my hands on Within These Wicked Walls. A debtera is an exorcist who is hired to cleanse households of the Evil Eye. So Andromeda, as a debtera, is familiar with the shadowy corners of reality. Still, when Magnus Rochester hires her to cleanse his castle of the evil that haunts it, Andromeda soon realizes that she is up to her neck in horror far beyond what she has been trained for. But despite the risk to her life, Andromeda cannot leave Magnus to face down this evil alone.

All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter (March 9)

Here comes Jessica again with her obsession with sea-themed horror and dark fantasy, but in my defense I offer: highly suspect mer folk who want your children for unspecified reasons. Or at least unspecified in the synopsis – I’m curious to find out what the real reason ends up being that the Mer asked for one child of each generation in return for granting the O’Malley’s the guaranteed safety of their ships upon the sea. Of course that was many years ago, and by the time Miren O’Malley came along her family had been unable to keep their side of the bargain and their fortunes had long since fallen. But Miren’s grandmother will do anything it takes to regain the favor of Mer, even if it is Merin who may end up paying the price. Briefly I refer you back to my statement about making deals with unknown entities in forests and extend that to ocean dwelling somethings as well.

Fresh from the Skeleton’s Mouth

Sarah Langan has written an article for LitHub about the archetype of the mother in fiction, and challenging that archetype in her new book Good Neighbors (Atria Books, February 2)

The Horror Writers Association is celebrating Women in Horror Month by presenting Females of Fright, the Zoom edition! The first of the two evening panels with members of the HWA is scheduled for February 12th at 8PM EST and is free to attend! Panelists include, among others, authors Christa Carmen (Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked), Sara Tantlinger (Cradleland of Parasites), Jessica Guess (Cirque Berserk), and Zoje Stage (Baby Teeth).

Speaking of Sarah Tantlinger, she’s conjured up a list of Horrormance titles if you’d like to make your Valentine’s day a little bloodier!

As always, you can catch me on Twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

The Fright Stuff

Women in Horror Month: Terrifying Short Fiction Collections

Post author By Jessica Avery
Post date January 29, 2021

Thin Places by Kay Chronister

I have to open with Kay Chronister’s debut collection, Thin Places, because it is the epitome of everything I love in the horror genre. Her work is such aesthetic catnip for me. When this gorgeous cover from Undertow Publications first popped up on my Twitter feed I was intrigued because it definitely looks like a me thing. So I read the titular story “Thin Places”, which was published in The Dark magazine and is still available on their site, and loved it so much that I turned right around and ordered her collection. Gothic, monstrous, emotional and strange – this collection is everything.

All the Fabulous Beasts by Priya Sharma

Oh look Jessica’s talking about All the Fabulous Beasts again. But listen: I love this collection. It is breathtakingly gorgeous and I want to just crawl inside it and disappear. Priya Sharma’s collection is a powerhouse of imagery and tone. All 16 stories are a glorious blend of the monstrous and the beautiful, full of nature and humanity, life, death, and transformation. But my personal favorite was “Pearls”, a continuation more than a retelling of a Medusa myth, and a lushly emotional one too. I also loved “Fish Skins” about a man whose wife came from the sea, and “The Sunflower Seed Man”, a harrowing look at the nature of grief and how we survive.

Ghost Summer: Stories by Tananarive Due

Due’s collection Ghost Summer is well known and beloved in the genre for a reason. It’s a captivating selection of 15 short stories and an award winning novella that really showcases Due’s impressive range, from emotional realism to chilling horror. There’s a section of viral/contagion/zombie horror stories in this collection that will for real turn you into a hypochondriac. Due’s writing in this collection is as vivid and unforgettable as ever, and this is one of those books you’ll want to add to your permanent library so that you can revisit it again and again.

The Very Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan by Caitlín R. Kiernan

Kiernan, though a member of the Horror Writer’s Association, is not really – or at least entirely – a horror author. While many of their stories are rife with horror elements, Kiernan’s short fiction covers a broad range of subjects and genres, from science fiction to fantasy to the cosmic horror that they’ve become so well known for with their novella Agents of Dreamland. Their stories are strange, beautiful, and full of emotion, possessing the sort of staying power that makes them linger with you for months. Kiernan is also one of my favorite Lovecraftian authors, giving me all that eerie, sea-themed weirdness I need in my life without having to resort to actual Lovecraft who is, of course, Not Great.

Everything That’s Underneath by Kristi Demeester

DeMeester’s work is another perfect example of my favorite horror aesthetic, steeped in powerful, unsettling nature imagery, with the horrors coming from deep below the earth. It’s the gritty, earthy feel of folk horror meets the vast, unknowableness of cosmic horror, and I could eat it with a spoon. In her debut short story collection Everything That’s Underneath DeMeester pens 18 terrifying stories that drag her readers into the dark corners of the world and the human soul.

Fresh from the Skeleton’s Mouth

How gorgeous is this cover reveal for Caitlin Starling’s forthcoming The Death of Jane Lawrence?! Starling describes it as lush, gross, gorgeous, and sinister and she is NOT wrong!

Ladies of Horror Fiction’s YA/MG horror spotlight for January has been posted!

To celebrate Women in Horror Month, Sadie Hartmann (AKA Mother Horror) is leading a group read of Kenzie Jennings’ Reception – a gruesome wedding from hell meets cannibalistic in-laws horror novel – starting quite appropriately on Valentine’s Day!

As always, you can catch me on Twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

The Fright Stuff

The Recuperative Power of Nostalgia

Post author By Jessica Avery
Post date January 22, 2021

Sponsored by Black Spot Books, an imprint of Vesuvian Media Group.

Despite the twinkling lights and steaming cocoa, the winter months are the darkest time of the year—a season of short days, long nights, and cold skies. In this special anniversary anthology, the best-selling and award-winning authors of Black Spot Books mix Ye Olde Yuletide hauntings with modern-day holiday horrors to weave a chilling new collection of eight chilling winter tales to read under the Cold Moon. From frozen forests stalked by eerie Christmas ghosts to rotting gifts of winter malice, the spirits of Christmas come home for the holidays in the Dead of Winter.

Life hasn’t been easy on any of us lately, and I don’t know about you but my usual coping methods have started to fail me one by one. When all this started last spring, I was devouring horror content non-stop, which proved a wonderfully cathartic way to deal with my anxiety and anger. But in the last few months I haven’t been able to read or watch horror. I was starting to worry it was going to be permanent, which – among other things – would have made writing this newsletter a little difficult.

Turns out what I needed wasn’t a break from horror, it was a healthy dose of nostalgia.

When I was younger I had a massive vampire obsession – in fact it was vampire fiction that originally made me into a horror reader! I don’t remember what age I was when I first read Interview with the Vampire, but my collection of Vampire Chronicles hardbacks still occupy valuable shelf space in my apartment. I found Mary Downing Hahn’s Look for Me By Moonlight in my school library and it blew my tiny fangophile mind. And I still love that book so much that I write about it every chance I get (thank you Book Riot for perpetually indulging my obsessions). I was born at the end of the ’90s vampire craze, was in my late teens when it came around again, and now it seems that finally – after a general vampire burn out following the Twilight explosion of the early 2000’s – vampires are making (yet another) come back. Last year gave us the amazing anthology Vampires Never Get Old, and 2021 will see the publication of the book that single-handedly freed me from my book slump: Mina and the Undead.*

(*I’m not sure it has a US release day yet, but Mina and the Undead will be out April 1st in the UK from Uclan Publishing. So remember: Book Depository is your international book friend, friends.)

Amy McCaw’s debut YA horror novel set in 1995 New Orleans, is a nostalgia-driven, retro trip through the vampire fervor of the ’90s. Twin sisters Mina and Libby find themselves embroiled in the nightmarish game of a serial killer who is draining his victims of blood and staging them in macabre scenes of violence across the city. In a city drunk on vampire mania, it’s hard to say if this killer is a pretender, or a true immortal.

Nostalgia is a common theme in the horror genre. Moreso, I think, than other genres. Sometimes you’ll see works in romance, fantasy, or sci-fi that allude to or play homage to their genre’s history, but there is something about horror that really seems to invite that perspective. Too much nostalgia can be counterproductive, of course. There have been times when the horror genre has shown a tendency to use nostalgia to gloss over a history of racism, homophobia, misogyny and more. As responsible readers we want to be aware of these tendencies, of our history, and our need to consider the horror genre critically.

But – particularly in the right hands – nostalgia can serve a genuine purpose in storytelling. It evokes feeling. We are nostalgic about things we enjoyed and loved. Indulging in doing or consuming things we love makes feel happy, and finding ways to make yourself happy is one of the best ways that you can take care of yourself. It can be hard to find joy when it seems like everything is figuratively, and sometimes literally, on fire around you. We’re all tired/sad/mad/scared/grieving right now. It’s ridiculous how much we’ve been through, and that – despite absolutely EVERYTHING going on – many of us are still called to go about our day to day lives as though everything were normal.

We need joy in our lives right now, more than ever. Mina and the Undead brought me joy! McCaw made me remember how much glee I used to get out of vampire fiction, something that I indulge in far too infrequently these days. At one point McCaw referenced Rasputina’s “Transylvanian Concubine” as the song in the background of one of the club scenes and I was just overwhelmed with all these happy, fuzzy nostalgia feelings and memories of watching Buffy re-runs on the tiny screen of the TV in my parent’s bedroom after school.

It was such a small thing, but it made me genuinely joyful. So many of the little nods to vampire classics in this book were so delightful, and McCaw’s love for the genre so clear. Mina and the Undead was all fake fangs, a few real ones, cheap velour, underground blood bars and black lace parasols, and I ate it up.

So here’s a little end of January reading challenge: in the midst of keeping up with what’s hot off the presses, and in between the horror that shocks you viscerally or rocks you emotionally, add a horror book that sets off your warm, fuzzy nostalgia feelings. Maybe it will be something drowning in 80’s neon like Grady Hendrix’s hilarious but so gross My Best Friend’s Exorcism, or something like Stephen Graham Smith’s amazing The Last Final Girl which is a loving homage to slash films everywhere. The Rewind or Die series by Unnerving Books is a whole line of short novels based on a love of retro-horror and creature features.

Just find something that makes you happy. Something that reminds you why you love horror, why you’ve always loved horror, how you got started loving horror. Find a little pocket of nostalgia and let it bring you some much needed joy.

As always, you can catch me on Twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

The Palgrave Handbook to Horror Literature edited by by Kevin Corstorphine and Laura R. Kremmel

Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction by Melanie Anderson and Lisa Kröger