If Books Could Kill...

Super (Un) Natural Reads…

Horror fiction is having a moment. And it’s about damn time!

At its finest, horror fiction triggers a myriad of extreme responses. Heart thumping, stomach plummeting, skin crawling, pulse quickening, breath catching, spine tingling good fun. It’s an onslaught of paranoia about what’s hiding under the bed or looming in the shadows. It’s an awakening of every fiber of your being, followed by a sublime respite when the adrenaline wears off. But during the last couple of decades the literary world decided to inoculate itself against such intensity.

Bookstores removed the dedicated sections and publishers scraped the word “horror” off the book spines and replaced it with innocuous “thriller”. Where am I, in my rock t-shirt, jeans and cool kicks, to go to browse what had apparently been delegated by outside forces as my secret shame? How was I to follow my path to the dark Narnia? How was I to add to my coveted stack of scary delights?

It’s been quoted by Stephen King that “the great appeal of horror fiction is that it serves as a rehearsal for our own deaths.” So, when we explore scary stories is that allowing us to explore death at arm’s length so that we might come to understand it? Is the heightening of terror and anxiety when consuming these tales thru fictional realms providing us with peace of mind in real life?

Whatever way you cut it, there’s an irony that it’s at risk of nightmarish death that our bodies come fully to life.

So reader, follow me into the darkness. I dare you.

Page Fright…

Curse Of The Reaper – Brian McAuley (Psychological Horror)

Decades after playing the titular killer in an ‘80s horror franchise, Howard has been reduced to signing autographs for his dwindling fanbase at second rate genre conventions. When the studio announces a reboot starring the new hot young actor, Howard becomes consumed with reclaiming his role. Taut and wicked!

Empire Of The Vampire – Jay Kristoff (Supernatural Horror)

For nearly three decades, vampires have waged a war against humanity, even taking the light from the world. Gabriel is a one of the last living members of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending the realm and the church from these creatures. Now imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy; he is forced to tell his story. One of legendary battles and forbidden love. Meticulously crafted bloodbath!

Reluctant Immortals – Gwendolyn Kiste (Gothic Horror)

A reimagining unlike any other! This novel looks at two men of classic literature, Dracula, and Mr. Rochester, and the two women who survived them, Bertha and Lucy. Both of whom are now undead immortals residing in LA in the sixties when the boys making a shocking return. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…

Sign Here – Claudia Lux. (Comedy Horror)

Peyote has a pretty good gig in the deals department, located on the fifth floor of hell. I mean nothing ever works properly and the coffee machine is permanently out of order, but he’s got a plan. He needs just one more member of the wealthy Harrison family to sell their soul to secure his big promotion. Easier said than done. Dark and twisted fun with a dash of unexpected sweetness.

Even Though I Knew The End – C.L. Polk (Supernatural Horror)

An exiled diviner who sold her soul to save her brother’s life is offered one last job before serving an eternity in hell. When she turns it down, the client sweetens the pot by offering up the one thing she can’t resist, the chance of a future where she grows old with the woman she loves. The job? She has three days to track down the White City Vampire, the city’s most notorious serial killer. A horror with a Noir feel.

Devil House – John Darnielle (Psychological Horror)

Years after his breakthrough grisly success as a true crime writer, Gage is now being offered the chance for his big break. Move into a house where a pair of notorious murders occurred, rumored to be the work of disaffected teenagers during the Satanic Panic of the 1980’s and write about it. Gage is now forced to confront his own artistic obsessions and moral compass in this mashup of horror and true crime.

The Book Eaters – Sunyi Dean (Gothic Horror)

Devon was born to a secret line of people for whom books are food. Who retain all of a book’s content after consuming it. But books don’t all come with happy endings and when Devon’s son is born, his hunger is much darker and much rarer. It is the hunger for human minds. This gritty and wildly imaginative book gives a whole new meaning to voracious reader.

The Butcher – Laura Kat Young (Psychological Horror)

When Mae turns 18, she’ll inherit her mother’s job as the Butcher, dismembering settlement fives guilty residents for their petty crimes. A finger taken for spreading salacious gossip or a foot for blasphemy. No one is exempt from punishment. But one day her mother refuses to butcher a six-year-old boy and is murdered right in front of Mae. Years later Mae will have to choose between fleeing for safety and vengeance. Unflinching and utterly original!

Full Immersion – Gemma Amor (Psychological Horror)

Magpie has tried everything to overcome her trauma, counselling, pills, meditation, you name it she’s done it and now she is out of ideas. Just when she thinks her life can’t get any worse, she discovers her own dead body. A vaguely familiar man stands over her and she has no memory of how she got there. Magpie has no idea that she is being watched from behind an observation screen. A speculative horror novel that the reader will find torturous and terrifying in equal measure.

Sleep With The Lights On…

Daphne – Josh Malerman (Slasher Horror)

It’s the last summer for Kit before college. Last summer to hang with her high school basketball team and her friends. The last summer before her life begins. But on the night before the big game, one of the players tells a ghost story about Daphne, an ex-student who died under mysterious circumstances. Some say she committed suicide; some say she was murdered. They also say she is still out there, obsessed with revenge. When Kit’s teammates vanish, one by one, suddenly she thinks the stories could be true. A new vision of classic horror that is also a coming-of-age story.

Suburban Hell – Maureen Kilmer (Comedy Horror)

After leaving the city for the suburbs, Amy quickly found her clique. Gathering for a monthly wine and whine get together, where snark is a prerequisite, they concoct a plan for the She Shed, a space just for them, no partners or kids allowed. But when their home improvement project starts to emit a demonic force, their quiet enclave turns into a nightmare. Funny and spooky.

The Sleepless – Victor Manibo (Psychological Horror)

A mysterious pandemic causes a quarter of the world’s population to permanently lose the ability to sleep. When Jamie’s irascible boss dies of an apparent suicide, he’s not buying it. As he decides to solve this mystery, he is shocked to discover that he was the last person to see his boss alive. And he doesn’t remember anything about that night. You’ll lose sleep staying up past your bedtime to read!

The Pallbearers Club – Paul Tremblay (Psychological Horror)

Art is so NOT cool. He’s a seventeen-year-old loner who listens to hair metal while longing for friends. None of that deters him from starting the Pallbearers Club, where volunteers can provide this particular set of skills for poorly funded funerals. Art is thrilled that his secret crush thinks it’s cool! But when she shows up with her Polaroid to take pictures of the corpses, that’s only the tip of the iceberg of how weird things are about to get. The terror will sneak up on you, Tremblay is a master at that.

Don’t Fear The Reaper – Stephen Graham Jones (Slasher Horror)

December 12th, 2019, Jade returns to the rural lake town of Proofrock the same day a convicted serial killer escapes during a prison transfer to return to town to complete his revenge killings. Thirty-six hours and twenty bodies later, on Friday the 13th, it would all be over. An homage to slasher films that still manages to transcend the genre.

The Weight Of Blood – Tiffany D. Jackson (Supernatural Horror)

When Springville residents, at least the ones still alive, are questioned about what happened on prom night, they all say the same thing. Maddy did it. As an outcast in her high school, Maddy has always been a target for bullies. When her fellow students discover she is biracial, a viral video pulls back the curtain on the school’s racist roots. They decide to hold the school’s first integrated prom in an attempt to salvage their reputation. Turns out there is still more about Maddy to discover.

Last House On Needless Street – Catriona Ward (Gothic Horror)

In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild woods lives a family of three. A teenage girl who isn’t allowed outside, not after the last time. A man who drinks alone in front of the TV, trying to forget the gaps in his memory. And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible. When a new neighbour moves across the street the unspeakable secret that binds them together starts to seep out. A deeply chilling nerve shredder of a novel!

Mothered – Zoje Stage (Psychological Horror)

Grace isn’t exactly thrilled when her newly widowed mother, Jackie, asks to move in with her. In need of help with finances and despite never being particularly fond of each other, they decide to go for it. Soon old wounds begin to fester and new ones open. When Jackie discovers Grace’s insomnia born nighttime hobby, she makes an accusation against her that changes everything. Sleep deprived spirals begin to close in.

The Babysitter Lives – Stephen Graham Jones (Psychological Horror)

When high school senior Charlotte agrees to babysit the Wilbanks six-year-old twins she has every intention of putting them to bed early and spending a quiet night studying. But the next day is Halloween, and the kids are too excited to cajole into bed. And then the mysterious noises start and soon they come to realize what should have been obvious: they are not alone in the house.

Stranger Things…

Patricia Wants To Cuddle – Samantha Allen (Comedy Horror)

When the final four women in competition for an aloof and sleazy bachelors heart arrive on a mysterious island they are prepared for salacious melodrama, but they are not prepared for Patricia, a local girl living alone in the woods, desperate for human connection. Suddenly they aren’t just competing for love, they are competing for their lives. An unhinged, no holds barred delight!

Mary – Nat Cassidy (Psychological Horror)

Mary is a quiet, middle-aged woman doing her best to blend into the background. Unremarkable. Invisible. But lately, changes have been happening inside Mary. Along with hot flashes and body aches, voices in her head have been urging her to do unspeakable things. When she gets fired from her job she moves back home. Then the killings begin. Fun fact: the author is a huge fan of Stephen King and decided to write a novel that depicted the horrors at the other end of a women’s menstrual cycle. Carrie, then Mary…hilarious!

Vampire Weekend – Mike Chen (Comedy Horror)

Everything you’ve heard about vampires is a lie. They can’t fly. No killing is allowed. And turning into a bat or mind control? Completely ridiculous. Really vampire life is just a lot of blood bags and night jobs. Louise can’t bear this lonely routine anymore, it’s time to fulfil her dream of joining a punk rock band. What can possibly go wrong?

The Cloisters – Katy Hays (Gothic Horror)

Ann expected to spend her summer in New York working as a curatorial associate for MOMA. Instead, she finds herself assigned to The Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden renowned for its medieval art collection and enigmatic researchers studying the history of divination. Ann has no idea that her innocent research into fortune telling has the potential to turn deadly. A made-up story set in a real-life place. Or maybe not so made up…

Vicious Creatures – Ashton Noone (Psychological Horror)

Ava never wanted to go home again. But after a bitter divorce, she and her daughter are back living with her parents. As she finds herself pulled back into old patterns, her daughter becomes intrigued by an urban legend about the forest’s secret power. Her questions bring to the surface Ava’s repressed memories of traumatic events from her teen years. Soon strange events start happening and all the secrets begin to come out. A gothic suspense of the best kind!

Ricky’s Hand – David Quantick (Paranormal Horror)

Ricky is a nobody, a paparazzo who scrapes by snapping second rate celebs. One day he wakes up and realizes there is something wrong with his hand. It’s not his. It’s someone else’s hand. He’s a bit freaked out, but it works so…but then other body parts start to change too. Ricky begins to think he is losing his mind as well as his body, but those seedy photos aren’t going to take themselves. Hold on for this wild ride!

The Girl With All The Gifts – M.R. Carey (Monster Horror)

Every morning Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointed at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don’t like her. She jokes that she won’t bite. But nobody is laughing.

Hell Followed With Us – Andrew Joesph White (Monster Horror)

Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him, a fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. In his desperate search for a place they can’t get their hands on him, or the bio-weapon they infected him with, he is rescued by a group of people that make him feel like he belongs. If only he can contain what is mutating inside him and prevent it from getting out. Written with gleeful ferocity.

The Getaway – Lamar Giles (Psychological Horror)

Jay is living his best life at one of the world’s most famous resorts, he gets to hang out with people he likes and has a great job. It’s a place where people come to get away from the mess of the rest of the world. But trouble starts seeping in when people start disappearing, but never really leaving. The reader will be horrified to discover what might lurk behind those perfect customer service smiles.