When I was writing the Third Edition of the Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror, I originally had over 20 annotated choices per subgenre appearing in chapter 4-13. However, for word count sake, I had to reduce each lists to a well packaged dozen. Obviously making the cuts was hard, but I was able to include the tittles of those deleted annotations in an appendix at the end of the book with a promise that the annotations would run here on the blog.
And that promise begins today. Each list will be posted on the blog over a series of 10 weeks, every Tuesday, beginning June 1, 2021 and running through August 3, 2021. This weekly series will serve to promote the book's upcoming release in August of 2021, but I have also created an archive of all of the lists that will live here. That page is the official index of this bonus content.
In the book, my top three choices in each list are marked to denote Becky's Picks. I will also do that in these lists to give you a place to begin as you suggest. Just like the titles in the print book, every title appearing here is a great options for all public libraries. You can use these lists for collection development, displays, lists, and suggestions. Each subgenre has an essay discussing its history and appeal in the book which you can order here.
Chapter 8: Monsters and Ancient Evil
[+] Denotes Becky’s Picks
Ahlborn, Ania. The Devil Crept In. 2017
Jude disappears, leaving his cousin and best friend, ten year old Stevie distraught and searching for him. Told from two perspectives, that of the very perceptive and sympathetic Stevie and Rosie, an old woman who lives in the woods, this is an atmospheric and creepy tale, with a tension that builds steadily as Stevie’s encounters bring him into contact with unfriendly townspeople, oddly behaving cats, and what is a very real monster in the woods. A coming of age horror tale that is a perfect suggestion for fans of early Stephen King.
+Beukes, Lauren. Broken Monsters. 2014
A terrifying twist on the monster story, a serial killer is fusing the bodies of his victims with animals and leaving the grotesque creations in abandoned buildings across Detroit. What follows is a fast paced, gruesome mystery, told through multiple perspectives of a city on the brink of ruin and its broken residents as they both come to terms with the horrible monster in their midst and their connection to the horror. A nice bridge title that can draw serial killer readers to horror, this tale of real life monsters has all of the markings of a monster tale with enough of a hint at a possible unnatural force driving the horrors to satisfy genre readers. Broken Monsters was nominated for just about every horror and thriller award the year it came out.
Brogden, James. Heckla’s Children. 2017
With a prologue introducing a monster stalking the land and terrorizing the people who lived there centuries ago, readers are then thrust forward to modern times when four teens disappear while on a survival skills field trip in a British park on that same land. Only one returns, but with no memory of what happened. Nine years later an archeologist is called back to that park to identify some bones, but these are not the bones of modern teens, they are from the Bronze age. With an engrossing plot that establishes the intense unease from page one and steadily increases it from there, an interesting and diverse cast of characters, shifting points of view, and excellent world building, this is a stellar choice for fans of ancient evil. Bone Harvest is another good choice in the subgenre.
Campbell, Ramsey. Grin of the Dark. 2007
Clowns are a classic horror novel monster and British genre master Campbell has one of the best entries into this trope. Simon is doing research into the forgotten silent film star, Tubby Thackeray, a contemporary of Chaplin’s whose entire oeuvre has been lost. Simon’s research takes a strange and dark turn very quickly, and the deeper he digs, the more terrifying it all becomes. Evil clowns are just the start, there may be a much larger ancient evil at work. This inventive, suspenseful, and chilling tale with a found footage frame will appeal to a wide swath of readers and even a few fans of classic cinema.
Cutter, Nick. Little Heaven. 2017
In 1980 a monster lures a girl away from her home, kidnapping her. But this is no random monster, it wants to settle a score with the girl’s father and his two closest friends, a score that goes back to 1965 and the isolated religious community of Little Heaven. The story, told in alternating time frames, a technique which adds suspense, is gruesome and oozes fear from its very first lines. Readers are drawn to the obviously flawed, but sympathetic protagonists and are horrified as they are besieged by terrifying and violent monsters. However, this is also a story that makes time for contemplation of the meaning of family and community in between its most disturbing moments.
Deady, Tom. Haven. 2016
In 1961 the town of Haven, MA experienced a spate of child murders. Now 17 years later, Paul, the man who was sentenced for those murders has served his time and returns home, reaching out to those who still believe in his innocence namely a local priest, his a young boy named Denny, and his best friend Billy. When the killings begin happening again, Paul is accused, but it is becoming clear that the culprit of it all is a monster in the woods. With compelling characters, both good and evil, a shifting narration that keeps this epic story moving, and breathless action sequences, this is a horror novel that harkens back to classic Stephen King while still asserting its own original identity. Haven won the 2016 Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel.
Hamil, Shaun. A Cosmology of Monsters. 2019
In this grotesque and foreboding debut, a family is haunted by a monster for generations. It all begins with Noah’s Lovecraft loving parents and their comic book shop and well known Haunted House attraction, but fairly quickly tragedy befalls the family, tragedy that may very well be linked to a monster, one that befriends young Noah, following him into adulthood. But monsters, no matter how friendly they appear, are still monsters. A leisurely paced story of family, coming of age, and of course, horror, with an obvious nod to Lovecraft, Hamil’s novel leaves the reader in a prolonged state of unease long after completion.
+Keene, Brian. Castaways. 2009
A television crew and contestants in a Survivor-esque reality show are literally caught in a fight for their lives—the island they have been left on is populated by an indigenous tribe of bloodthirsty monsters and there is a giant storm bearing down on them! This novel, written as a tribute to the late Richard Laymon, is a grisly, disturbing and compelling page turner but Keene adds humor and builds characters readers actively want to root for and against to help buffer the gore and sexual violence. Also try Ghoul, a more traditional coming of age, ancient evil resurfaces, monster tale.
+LaValle, Victor. Victor LaValle’s Destroyer. 2018
Using Frankenstein as the frame, LaValle tells a very modern story of revenge, race, and science in a graphic novel format. It’s 2017 and the monster is angry. Forced to wander the earth for decades, it is now bent on destroying all of humanity. Enter Dr. Baker, a descendent of the Frankenstein family whose anger at humanity may rival the monster's own. In many ways this reimagined classic is much scarier for today's readers as it keeps the themes of the original but strips the historic feeling of it, both because there is no denying it is about our current situation and because of the detailed superhero comic inspired art.
Little, Bentley. The Bank. 2020
Little has made a career writing small town, pulp horror that pits ordinary people, living mundane lives, up against a monster. Here he ups the ante, mixing in the real life horrors of identity theft, economic downturn, and aggressive marketers as a new bank opens in town, claiming to want to help everyone, but actually run of a supernatural evil. Following the points of view of various community members, including tension at every turn, that ratchets up to violent terror, this is a fast paced, fun roller coaster ride of horror with a monster at its core. Most Little titles fit into this subgenre and are worth exploring for monster fans.
Partridge, Norman. Dark Harvest. 2006
It’s Halloween in 1963 and the local boys are taking part in their town’s traditional hunt to find the “October Boy.” This is no ordinary hunt however. The boys must be locked away without food for five days before being let out for the hunt, and he who manages to kill the monster, gets a big reward. Readers follow Pete on this particular hunt and together we find out the horrifying truth behind the ritual. Dark Harvest is a critically acclaimed, original, and shocking story that monster fans should not miss. It regularly makes horror readers’ overall best lists.
SanGiovanni, Mary. The Hollower. 2007
The Hollower is a monster that stalks the residents of Lakehaven, NJ but this monster cannot see its prey. It cannot see them or even touch them, but it is able to destroy them from the inside out, tormenting them from inside their heads. A small group of residents who can see the Hollower band together to try to stop it. Pedal to the metal action and unrelenting terror that doesn’t let up from page one until the conclusion, and ending that wraps up the story but leaves just enough of the terror alive for the sequel, this is a crowd-pleasing pulp horror novel featuring an intriguing edition to the monster trope. The Hollower series continues with Found You and The Triumvirate
Shea, Hunter. Creature. 2018
Kate lives with a host of illnesses that rob her of a normal life, but her husband Andrew takes great and loving care of her. As a treat, he surprises her with her dream trip to a lake cabin in Maine. The first half of the story works to build up Kate and Andrew as characters and to get the reader emotionally connected to their story in order to make everything that happens in Maine that much more terrifying. This is a rare treat, a creature feature with characters as strong as the menacing monster. Shea is a popular and skilled pulp author and this is only one of his excellent offerings in the subgenre.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 1818/ 2017 Annotated Edition.
Often cited as the first horror novel ever written, Frankenstein is the story of a scientist’s effort to create life. Shelley uses her Gothic novel to describe the horrors humankind can expect to confront when it foolishly tries to conquer nature. While many modern readers will no longer find Frankenstein “scary,” its place in the history of the genre cannot be denied. It will also be a title with which most of your patrons will be familiar, even if they have never actually read it themselves. Libraries should seek out the 2017 annotated edition, edited by Leslie Klinger for their collections.
Southard, Wesley. One for the Road. 2019
In this fast paced story filled with a menagerie of terrifying and creative monsters, readers are introduced to Spencer, the guitarist for a heavy metal band, as they are all on their way home from a long tour. Spencer cannot wait to quit as soon as they get home, except instead of making it home they are abandoned outside a town where monsters attack the band members. This is a short, compelling, visceral, and extremely creative story filled with creatures who wreak havoc in original ways. It is the story about a band at the end of its life who are stuck in a kind of hell; or are they? Spencer’s strong narration carries this story, but also leaves the truth up for grabs, meaning the unease stays with the readers beyond the final page. One for the Road won the 2020 Splatterpunk Award for Best Novella
Strand, Jeff. Dweller.
Toby is an outcast who finds peace in the deep woods behind his home. He also finds a monster living there-- a monster named Owen, who becomes Toby’s best friend for over 50 years. But when your best friend is an actual monster, he can inflict horrible things on your enemies. This is a can’t miss, original, heart-breaking and chilling story that was recently reissued by the author.
Wood, Bari. The Tribe.
First published in 1981 and recently brought back as part of best selling author Grady Hendrix’s Paperbacks from Hell reissue series, The Tribe is an example of the Golem trope, a monster from the Eastern European Jewish tradition. In the prologue, an American soldier liberating a concentration camp finds a group of Polish Jews thriving, but how? Flash forward to the novel’s present and eight of those survivors, “the tribe” still protect their own in Brooklyn, but they may also have the help of a giant monster. Violent, disturbing and gruesome, this novel includes an introduction by Hendrix which adds important context for today’s reader.
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