31 Days of Horror: Day 1-- Welcome to Today's Horror from the Library Perspective

Hello and welcome to 31 Days of Horror, a blog-a-thon series entering its 14th year. Every single day for 31 straight days, I will have a post here focused on Horror during its most popular season.

While we all know that people read Horror all year long, I spend this, our spotlight month, where the rest of the world and media pays closer attention, intensely focusing on Horror as it is right now. 

This is NOT the place to find long thought pieces about the history of the genre or list of books by dead writer. Rather, it is the place to find out about today's writers, what today's readers are looking for, and most importantly, conversations about why I love Horror. My entire focus here on 31 Days of Horror is to give you a snapshot of Horror and its appeal. In fact, the entire point of the "Why I Love Horror" essays is to offer you, the library worker, an example of why someone loves horror so that you can understand even if you are not a fan yourself. It is also to give you a chance to get to know a current author, add their books to your collection, and/or suggest them to a reader.

Recently, I did a live event with my publisher, a book discussion of my library textbook, The Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror, third edition. It was me, writer/poet Linda Addison, librarian Lila Denning, writer Gabino Iglesias, writer Hailey Piper, and writer Matthew Salinas. The video of that 60 min event is now available here for free. I think it does a very good job explaining the current state of Horror and what I see as my part in it. You can watch it here or below

 

Now, what can you expect day to day here during 31 Days of Horror? Well, it will be similar to previous years, with a few changes to note:

First, I am going to move my links roundups to every Sunday. Mostly you will not see lists and posts from other places here on 31 Days of Horror as I tend to focus on original content, but I don't want those awesome lists and articles to get lost either. Expect those on 10/6, 13, 20, and 27.

Second, giveaways will not happen on Thursdays only. During this month, giveaways can be offered on any day of the week, but all winners are pulled Friday after 5pm. For example, I have already announced one giveaway this week and there will be another one tomorrow. So, if you want to be eligible to win, enter now. Click here for the rules.

And third, and this is the biggest change. I normally have over a dozen new entries into the Why I Love Horror essays that debut this month. But good news, bad news here. As was announced back in June, next Fall I will have a a book of new essays, by 18 authors, on why they love horror, edited by me. Currently, I have those essays and am actively working to turn it into a draft of that book (due before the end of the year). Click here or on the book announcement below for more details. 

Now, I want to be clear, this does NOT mean that I will not have new essays this year. I do have some very good new entries, including one tomorrow, but I will also be reposting essays from the past 10+ years. I want to pull out some of the very best essays that have appeared here on the blog over time and highlight them for you in 2024. 

As I was working on the pitch for my book, I spent time combing through the backlist of Why I Love Horror essays (which you can access anytime here), and I realized there are some amazing essays worth revisiting. But you will have to wait to see what I pick out.

In the meantime, I also have all of the resources that are here all year long. See the pages in the side bar for lists, resources, approved publishers, and of course the link to  my reviews of hundreds of horror books.

I can't wait to do this with you-- 31 Days of Horror 2024!

Get Ready for Spooky Season with 40% Off My Book and a Chance to Discuss It

 I am very excited to announce that ALA Edition is beginning a FREE book club and my book is the first one. See below for the details. Not only do you get to talk horror just as the Spooky Season is getting into full swing with me, but I have invited some of my friends. 

Did I mention it is FREE? Oh, wait, I did. And if you miss it, they will have it on their YouTube page for free as well.

But if you act now, there is a code to get my book for 40% off. You need this book to help you help your Horror readers all year long but especially during the Fall. 

Use this link or the ones below to register and join me and my star studded list of guests as we talk about the state of horror today and how to my book can help you help more readers.

REGISTER for the first event in this free series now! 

ALA Editions | ALA Neal-Schuman launches Edi and Neal's Book Club for professional development with The Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror, Third Edition by Becky Siegel Spratford as its inaugural selection. 

Join I Love Libraries editor and host Phil Morehart (moderator) for the first Zoom meeting from 1 to 2 PM CT on Wednesday, September 18th. Expected guests from the world of horror and libraries include author Becky Siegel Spratford, writer/poet Linda Addison, librarian Lila Denning, writer Gabino Iglesias, writer Hailey Piper, and writer Matthew Salinas for panel discussion and audience Q&A. 

Use code ENSEPT at alastore.ala.org to purchase the book for 40% off the ALA Member price between now and September 30, 2024. Offer valid only while supplies last.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 122: A Signed Copy of The Complex by Brian Keene

This week I have a signed copy of a book that I proclaim in my book as a "start with" title for one of the genres top authors. Details below, but first, here is how you enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see giveaway #121. Our winner was Christopher from Buncombe County [NC] Library. Now on to today's giveaway.

In Chapter 2 of my book, I give an overview of the genre right now. In it, I name Brian Keene as one of my "Old Guard." I write about his work as a protector of the genre and a mentor to many of its best new voices. But then I get to his writing as I say:

However, while his importance as a mentor is unparalleled, he is also a fantastic writer. The undisputed king of mainstream pulp horror, Keene is a master at describing the dismemberment of bodies. He writes blue-collar horror featuring the people he encounters in his own life, from all political spectrums, and as a result. all of his characters are fully realized, heroes and villains. He also does not shy away from writing from the point of view of women or marginalized voices. Readers new to Keene can try The Rising, but the autobiographical and more recent, The Complex is the best place to begin.

The Complex is the best book to showcase how Brian Keene writes today. It perfectly captures why readers love him.

Last week, Brian came Bucket O'Blood in Chicago for an event and I was there. I bought a copy of The Complex with the intent to have him  sign it and give it away to one of you. 

So this week, a signed, finished copy of The Complex is going to one of you to add to your library collections. But to all of you, I want to remind you to add Brian Keene titles to your circulating collections. Since he mostly publishes with small presses, you have to order from a book store. Here is the Bookshop.org link to Keene's catalog to make it easier for you.

Make sure you have The Rising (credited as part of a trifecta that marked the beginning the 21st Century zombie craze- info in the link), Earthworm Gods (one of the first cli-fi horror novels of this era and an OG Summer Scares title), Ghoul (an emotional coming-of-age horror story), and of course, The Complex (being given away today), at a bare minimum. I promise you, they will be very popular.

Enter now and you are entered going forward. And forward includes books by Isabel Cañas, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Clay McLeod Chapman, Paul Tremblay, lots of Nightfire authors, and more. 

Good luck!

Photographic proof that Brian signed
the book just for my winner.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 116: The Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror

Today in honor of the impending release of my friend and colleague, Robin Bradford's, Reader's' Advisory Guide to Romance, I am giving away a finished copy of my Horror book from the same series. Details below, but first, here is how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see giveaway #115. Our winner was Kelsey from the W. Anne Gibson-Esmond Station  Library [AZ]. Now to this week's giveaway.

Click on the image
for more info

As I mentioned on the general blog today, I am celebrating Robin's Romance book release by giving away a copy of my book from the series, The Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror, Third Edition,

There isn't much more to say here on about this book because this blog is literally the online home for this book, your free update to the print copy. I even have a page for the overflow titles I had to cut from the book here for free.

I believe that this book, and every book in the series (well the up dated ones at least), should be owned by every library in America. They are written to be used both as an equational tool for yourself AND as a go to resource to suggest books to readers on the fly. 

Enter today. This is a $65 value for FREE.

This giveaway is courtesy of me. But if you don't win, I highly suggest you order a copy of both my guide to Horror and Robin's guide to Romance. I promise you, they will help you to help your readers immediately.

And stay tuned because next week I will have 2 winners of one of the most anticipated books of the year, Eric LaRocca's debut novel. My STAR review will be appearing in the April 2023 issue of Library Journal. You don't want to miss  this one.

Good luck this week and every week going forward. 

31 Days of Horror: Day 2-- Becky Created Horror Resources [w/ a coupon]

Yesterday, I introduced the "why" behind this annual blog-a-thon, but today, I want to point out a few of the original resources that I have for you to use right away or anytime.

First and most obviously is the third edition of my book which came out last year. That book plus the bonus annotated lists are available immediately for you to help readers. You can get the book in print, ebook, or both. And the bonus annotations by subgenre/theme are here.

And for those of you reading this post can use the coupon code RAGH22 for $5 off at this link.

Each year I am also hired by at least a few people to give an updated version of my Horror RA program. This year, I gave it for the first time last month, but here are the slides for when I am presenting in late October. This is the most concise and up to date assessment of the entire genre for the general library worker. 

I also want to highlight my page where I archive all of my original work in one place. Here is the direct link to my Archive of Becky's Lists, Articles, and Presentations but I have also recreated the page below.

This page has links to my best of the year lists going back to 2005, access to the interviews I do for LJ, my genre previews, and more. This page is the best place for you to go for up to date and vetted backlist Horror RA materials.

Again, I am posting the entire page below but you can always access  it here. Tomorrow, I am back with my 2 most recent reviews from Booklist as we being our march through October together for yet another year. I promise to make it worth your time.

Over the years I have created many annotated lists of horror books worth your time. This page will serve as an archive of those pre-blog lists and as a repository for any new lists.

Archive of Becky's Lists, Articles, and Presentations [updated October 2022]

• Horror Recap 2005-2006
• Horror Recap 2007
• Horror For the Squeamish (last update 2007)
• Horror Recap 2008
• Horror Recap 2009
• Horror Recap 2010
• Horror Recap 2012
• Horror Recap of 2015
• Becky’s Horror Top Ten of 2016
• Becky’s Favorite Horror Reads of 2017
• Becky Favorite Horror Published in  2018
• Becky's Top 10 Horror of the Year [Published in 2019]
• Becky Top 20 Horror For Libraries of the Decade [2010s]
• Becky's Top 10 Horror of 2020
• Becky's To 10 Horror of 2021

Occasionally, I take over Library Journal Readers Shelf Column:

• October 2012
• October 2013
• October 2014
• April 2015
• October 2015
• April 2016
• October 2016
• April 2017
• October 2017
• April 2018
• October 2018
• October 2019
• October 2020

I often include an Interview with my Library Journal Horror Review Columns which appear 4x a year [beginning in 2020].

• Interview with Daniel Kraus 
• Interview with Silvia Moreno Garcia
• Interview with Mary SanGiovanni about Cosmic Horror 
• Interview with Usman Malik
• Interview with Amanda Desiree
• Interview with V. Castro
• Interview with Alma Katsu
• Interview with Gabino Iglesias
• Interview with Stephen Graham Jones
• Interview with Sadie Hartmann and Ashley Sawyers [coming October 2022]

I regularly write articles and give presentations about horror. Here is a link to the most up to date presentation slides from October 2022. [Older slides can be found by some deep searching of the blog or by contacting me.]

Here are some of the articles I have written:

• Five Things to Know in Horror [A Booklist Live Presentation with video access, 5/16]
• Making Horror Less Scary [Library Journal, 5/1/17]
• Fear Not: Genre Spotlight: Horror [Library Journal 7/1/18]
• Wicked Good Reads: Horror Genre Spotlight [Library Journal 7/1/19]
• Rise of the Monsters: Top Horror Titles  and Trends Coming This Season [Library Journal 7/1/20]
• Frights and Delights: 60 Horror Titles To Thrill Readers [Library Journal 7/1/21]
• Fear is Always in Season: Horror Preview 2022 [Library Journal 7/1/22]

31 Days of Horror Begins Year 10 Tomorrow But Let's Begin With a #HorrorForLibraries Giveaway #57 Today!

Today's giveaway is MY NEW BOOK! In celebration of the 10th Anniversary of 31 Days of Horror [beginning tomorrow], I am celebrating big time. But first, the rules:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that  week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see giveaway #56. The winner was Meghan from Sargent Memorial [MA] Library  

And now on to my latest giveaway.

I have a copy of my BRAND NEW book: The Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror, third edition. Literally hot off the presses as my author copies arrived this past Sunday. And I have reserved 1 of those copies for one of you. I will even sign it.

I am extremely proud of this book. Maybe the third time really is a charm. It has everything you need [and more] to help readers find horror through the local public library. And, it doesn't matter how comfortable you or your patrons are with the genre. From novice to hardcore terror-fiend, all can learn something from this book. 

I hope your libraries all order a copy, but in the mean time, here is the link to the official press release and below. I am also re-posting this piece, an excerpt from the opening of the book that ran in the August 2021 issue of The Corner Shelf, a Booklist newsletter. 

As a Booklist contributor, I am not allowed to have my book reviewed in the magazine, but because the book is also published by the same arm of the ALA, they have been very supportive.

Click here or see below to get a taste of what you can expect from the book. And don't forget, if you are ordering a copy for your library, click here, use an ALA member's login, and enter the coupon code below [expires today] or at the top of this blog [which does not expire today but is not as good a coupon].

But also, enter today for a FREE, SIGNED copy. Only 1 winner. Good luck! 

Excerpts from the Experts: The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror By Becky Spratford.
		FEATURE. First published August 13, 2021 (Booklist Online).

Horror reads are intriguing, terrifying, and very popular. Unfortunately, guiding horror readers can be a daunting undertaking if you fear the genre or are unfamiliar with it. In The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror (ALA Neal-Schuman, 2021), author Becky Spratford shares the many reasons why readers seek horror, how to have conversations with them about their favorite types of terrifying reads, where to find titles, who the most popular authors are, and, of course, many annotated lists to help you match books with readers. In this excerpt taken from the book’s preface, she answers the all-important first question, “Why do we need horror?”

Here’s a special offer for Corner Shelf readers: Get 10% off (20% for ALA Members) The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror with coupon code CSRA21 (expires 9/30/21).

Why We Need Horror
by Becky Spratford 

Readers love fantasy, but we need horror. Smart horror. Truthful horror. Horror that helps us make sense of a cruelly senseless world. —Brian K. Vaughan^[1]

Horror has seen an explosion in mainstream popularity, one that I don’t think anyone saw coming. Here are just a few obvious examples: The Walking Dead went from a cult graphic novel series to a pop culture, television obsession; Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties (2017) was a National Book Award finalist for fiction; multiple horror titles by people not named King made the New York Times year-end Notable Books list; and new horror voices, authors who were not even mentioned in my previous edition, have appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers list.

It is clear, as Brian K. Vaughan noted in the above epigraph, that people need horror, and, in fact, they have always needed it. But why has it been in such demand over the last ten years? I am sure many of you can posit some reasons, but quite simply, our current world is a dumpster fire, with crisis after crisis piling up day after day, unfolding in real time through social media and phone alerts. It is nearly impossible to avoid being bombarded with messages of doom and gloom from the real world. As one of the hottest authors in horror today, Stephen Graham Jones, noted in 2019, “Horror is the perfect vehicle for our current set of concerns, horror ismost definitely booming.”^[2]

He elaborated on this concept further in a podcast appearance earlier that year: “It [horror] makes me feel alive because if I’m feeling fear, it’s fear for something that can be taken away which is to say I still have something, that I am still alive.”^[3]

Horror feels real right now, but the complex, biological processes that elicit fear, dread, and anxiety in humans have their roots deep in the evolution of all animals. Every person experiences fear, and in their own unique way, and that is why horror tales go back to the dawn of storytelling. However, that is not to imply that the genre is stagnant. Each time horror reemerges and stretches its tentacles into the mainstream public consciousness, it does so because of fresh voices and perspectives. Take 1922 and the birth of Weird Tales. H. P. Lovecraft and his contemporaries created an entirely new type of horror, cosmic horror,^[4] a subgenre that is seeing a resurgence 100 years later as its current practitioners grapple with its racist and misogynistic history. Or 1974, when Stephen King’s Carrie was published and our current era of modern horror began. And into the twenty-first century, when horror is being embraced by those whose voices have been marginalized by the hegemony of a constructed white, heterosexual norm, those who have lived in real fear and horror, and are now turning their experiences into the best examples of the genre, causing a renaissance, as John Fram, debut author of The Bright Lands, which features an unapologetically queer hero, noted in Library Journal: “It’s a trend I don’t see stopping anytime soon. We live in a gaslit era, a time when straight, white society is finally being visited by the fears and uncertainties that the rest of us have been battling all our lives. Horror seems ready to tell us that yes, things really are more terrifying than you could have imagined. . .What a time to be alive.”^[5]

As best-selling horror author Brian Keene has noted, “The writers may change, but the genre prevails.”^[6]That was as much the case when Mary Shelley published Frankenstein as it was when Jordan Peele won an Oscar for Get Out, and it remains to this day.

---

[1]. Brian K. Vaughan, introduction to Locke and Key: Crown of Shadows, by Joe Hill, illus. Gabriel Rodriguez (Idea and Design Works, 2010).

[2]. Becky Spratford, “Stephen Graham Jones Primes Us for the Second Wave of Summer Scares,” RA for All: Horror (blog), February 13, 2020, http://raforallhorror.blogspot.com/2020/02/stephen-graham-jones-primes-us-for.html.

[3]. Stephen Graham Jones, “Episode 38: Why Does Horror Matter?,” in Ladies of the Fright, produced by Lisa Quigley and Mackenzie Kiera, podcast, recorded live at StokerCon 2019, www.ladiesofthefright.com/podcast/2019/6/28/lotf-38-why-does-horror-matter-stoker-con-2019-panel. Transcribed by the author.

[4]. Cosmic horror will be discussed at length in chapter 12.

[5]. Becky Spratford, “Rise of the Monsters: Top Horror Titles and Trends Coming This Season,” Library Journal, July 8, 2020, www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=rise-of-the-monsters-horror-genre-preview-2020.

[6]. Brian Keene, End of the Road (Baltimore, MD: Cemetery Dance, 2020).

Horror Content in August Spotlight for Booklist Including an Excerpt from my New Book

 My personal favorite issue of the year for Booklist is out now-- the annual Spotlight on Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. And since my book and Booklist are both under the ALA publishing umbrella, they are also running this excerpt from the preface of my about to be published [any day] new book, and if you click through, there is an even better coupon than the one at the top of this page! 

This year there are the standard top 10 lists for books in these genres: one for debuts and one for the rest. Click here for the Top 10 SF/F/H and one for the Top 10 Debuts. Both feature books reviewed by me.

Also of note is a great list by Summer Scares committee member and Booklist editor, Julia Smith entitled, Scaring Up YA: Adult Horror Novels for Teens. This list features books both brand new and a bit from the backlist. All are great and many I have read and reviewed in either Booklist or Library Journal. Click here to access that one.

But my favorite part of the entire issue is a list that was my editor Susan Maguire's idea, one that we worked on together entitled: "Spectrum of Horror: From Shivers to Terror." Click here to access it or click on the screen shot of the page [below] as it is laid out in the print issue.

But to get you as excited as we are about this list, here is the introduction:

Spectrum of Horror: From Shivers to Terror

By Susan Maguire and Becky Spratford.

Horror is a genre that elicits strong feelings, and readers look for those thrills and chills. But not everybody wants an all-out gore fest, nor does everybody want a light sense of spookiness, and fortunately horror writers provide many levels of fright in between these extremes. This Spectrum of Horror will help you match the right intensity of scariness with the right reader. Of course we understand that “scary” means different things for different people, but between a horror-reading veteran, Booklist horror reviewer Becky; and a real scaredy-cat, Booklist senior editor Susan, we think we’ve placed each book in the right place.

Click here or below to keep reading.

Halloween is coming and you need to get ready and Booklist is here to help. And now I am off to finish another review for a future issue of Booklist which is due today! 

Click here to access the list online

New Book Bonus Annotations: Chapter 13: Body Horror

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. 

Bonus Annotations

Chapter 13: Body Horror

[+] Denotes Becky’s Picks

Armfield, Julia. Salt Slow: Stories. 2019.

In this provocative and creepy debut story collection, Armfield examines the experience of being a woman by using the female body as the center of her tales and then adds supernatural experiences to heighten the sense of unease to provocative results. Standout stories include one where a teenger’s new stepsister is a werewolf and another where a woman, pregnant during the apocalypse, realizes the baby she is carrying is not what she expected. The characters are all relatable because the author retains just enough realism to keep the stories grounded with the terror firmly rooted in the body, while her lyrical language and imaginative monsters keep readers turning the pages.

+Booth, Naomi. Sealed. 2019.

Combining body horror and climate science fiction, Sealed is the story of an anxious and terrified young woman, Alice, who fled the city with her husband to get away from severe climate change and a spreading virus, a disease which causes human skin to grow unabated until it covers your mouth and nose, suffocating you. Is Alice overreacting because she  is grieving for her mother and unsure about her impending motherhood or is everyone else not taking the horrors unfolding around them seriously enough? Readers need to decide for themselves as Alice is their only witness. This is a fast paced story marked by unrelenting tension and a menacing tone that will haunt readers after completion

Cesare, Adam. Video Night.

Billy Rae and Tom are best friends, on the eve of high school graduation and going in separate directions. The one thing they have in common is their love of horror movies, which comes in very handy when alien invaders sweep into town, taking over their  victims' bodies and transforming them into something monstrous.Nostalgia, body horror, and  alien invasions collide in this terrifyingly fun tale that perfectly captures what  viewers love about the very best horror films of the 1980s in novel form. A twisted wish fulfillment tale where the more you know about horror movies, the better your chance at survival.

Grant, Mira. Parasite.

Set in a near future where humans have been implanted with a biologically altered tapeworm that protects them from disease, the company that created the technology has grown as everyone accepts and ingests this preventive medical technology. However, years later, strange alterations in people’s brains seem to be happening.The tapeworms are changing and they are not content with their preassigned job anymore. Told through the eyes of Sally, who lost her memory in a car  accident and her parasitologist boyfriend as they begin a desperate search for answers, with the counter perspective of the evil corporate doctors in this is a gruesome and suspenseful crowd pleasing Biomedical-Horror Thriller. The Parasitology trilogy continues with Symbiont and Chimera.

+Hall, Polly. Taxidermist’s Lover.

In two alternating styles and timelines, Scarlett tells readers of the year when her lover  got serious about the artistic expression of his work as he stopped merely stuffing animals, and instead actively combined creatures into new, grotesquely beautiful pieces  of  art. But this is a year that ended very differently than it began for  Scarlett as well. One timeline is recounted as a monologue by Scarlett to her lover from Christmas Day, while the other is a month by month account of how Scarlett got to the place she is in, both in physical body and spirit. This is a slow burn, a harrowing  tale of creeping dread and disorientation that will slowly inhabit the reader with its disquieting realizations and perfectly rendered horrific conclusions. Hall’s debut showcases a promising genre talent.

+Nonami, Asa. Body.

This atmospheric and unsettling story collection features characters whose perceptions of their bodies lead them directly into a tale of terror. Featuring five stories, each titled for a part of the body, readers are introduced to a new character in each tale and their corporeal obsessions such as the young man with thinning hair, the women who start getting plastic surgery but cannot stop, or a married man with a knee fetish. These are psychological tales where the unease begins with a single body part, but eventually it spreads out to permeate every page of the volume.

Pohlig, Molly. The Unsuitable.

Iseult’s father wants to marry her off as quickly as possible, but Iseult , at age 30, is a spinster by Victorian standards. She is also extremely troubled. You see, her mother who died in childbirth, is living inside her, constantly chiding and nagging her. The only way she can quiet the voice, is to jab repeatedly at the scar on her neck, trying to let her mother out. With a suitor found and marriage impending, Iseult’s mental state is deteriorating while the self harm is increasing. Written in a modern style but set in the world of VIctorian England, this is a disorienting tale of self mutilation where the monster’s origin may be supernatural or societal, but the visceral body horror is inescapable.

Sena, Hideaki. Grillo, Tyran, Translator. Parasite Eve.

When Dr. Toshiaki’s wife dies in a car accident, some of her organs are donated. A young girl gets her kidney, but soon after she is plagued by unsettling dreams and  depression. Both Toshiaki and the girl’s doctors discover that the mitochondria in the kidney cells themselves have evolved into a monster, more sentient than humanity, a creature that is growing in strength and is ready for more hosts. With a chilling biomedical threat and told in alternating past and present storylines which helps to magnify the mourning dread, the horrors in this novel fester inside both the characters and readers. Parasite Eve won the 1995 Japan  Horror Novel award but was not published in English until 2005.

VanderMeer, Jeff. The Southern Reach Trilogy, begins with Annihilation. 2014.

This title was added because I had room with the inclusion of the appendix. See my review of Annihilation here.

Whiteley, Aliya. The Beauty. 2018.

Sometime in the future  exists a world where all women have been killed by an epidemic, readers are introduced to “The Group,” a community  of men and boys who are living, biding their time until they die, Narrated by Nathan, the group storyteller, we learn of  how a mushroom  that  grew from the graves of the dead women, took on an approximation of their  shae, and “meld” with the men. Are they there  to  help the men or are these  fungi  monsters meant to torment them? Atmospheric and bleak, yet  peppered with gorgeous language, this novel contemplates gender and the body in original, thought provoking and chilling ways.

Wong, David. John Dies At The End. 2007.

John and David, friends and recent college dropouts are living for the moment and partying all the time. They hear about a new recreational drug that allows its users access to unseen dimensions; however, they soon find out that it is way more nefarious. It opens a portal for aliens to come and take over human bodies. Our protagonists quickly turn from slackers to heroes as they  use  their video game experience  to try to save their friends and  family from being sucked into a wormhole from which they will be  unable to climb out. A humorous spoof on Horror that simultaneously crafts a satisfying entry into  the genre on its own, John Dies at the End is the book that took Wong from an internet creator to a novelist. 

New Book Bonus Annotations: Chapter 12: Lovecraftian and Cosmic Horror

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. 

Bonus Annotations

Chapter 12: Lovecraftian and Cosmic Horror*

[+] Denotes Becky’s Picks

Baker, Jacqueline. Broken Hours: A Novel of H.P. Lovecraft. 2016.

 

It’s 1836 and Arthor Crandle is offered a job to be an assistant to a reclusive author in Providence, RI. Crandle has no idea what he is getting himself into, but readers will know right away due to the setting and novel’s subtitle. What follows is a story of Crandle’s odd experiences including nightmares, strange happenings, and even tentacles all of which are now a part of his everyday experience. This is a story that is more focused on recreating the atmosphere and tone of a Lovecraft novel and less interested in crafting terror. There are also basic Lovecraft biographical details sprinkled in amidst the weirdness. A great choice for Lovecraft novices who want to understand both the man and this subgenre.

Campbell, Ramsey. Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach. 2015.

Most of Campbell’s work tends to fall within this subgenre and this is a recent example of how Lovecraftian horror manifests itself in our modern world. Three generations of a family head to a Greek Island for a vacation. The grandparents are hiding a dark secret, but the island itself is holding onto an even darker one. A secret that is slowly infiltrating itself into the family, and it might not ever let go. A terrifying story that is all about the oppressive atmosphere, the details piling up on top of one and other, pressing down on the characters and the reader. Another recent option is The Searching Dead, the first book in a new autobiographical, Lovecraftian trilogy. 

Cantero, Edgar. Meddling Kids. 2017.

Scooby Doo meets H.P. Lovecraft as four kids and their dog spent the summer of 1977 solving a series of mysteries. But 13 years later, one of those mysteries, involving a lake monster, draws these now troubled and aimless adults back, and the truth is way more sinister and dangerous than they ever realized. Mixing fast paced horror action with a witty tone, this is a quirky and nostalgic tale, filled with monsters, ghosts, and extremely likable protagonists. 

Emrys, Ruthanna. Winter Tide. 2017.

This, the first book in the Innsmouth Legacy alternative history series mixes details from the Cthulhu Mythos with the Cold War paranoia through a Jewish lens. It’s 1948 and Aphra and Caleb are the only two survivors from the massacre and internment of the “Deep Ones,” a species of humans who lived in the sea and worshipped the Cthulhu elders. The FBI recruits them to reconnect with their spiritual culture to help fight the Russians who have harnessed some of their people’s supernatural powers. While this series is in direct conversation and debate with Lovecraft’s “The Shadow Over Innsmouth,” Emrys has created her own world that will appeal to fans of dark fantasy, cosmic horror, and even spy thrillers. Deep Roots is the sequel

Johnson, Kij.  The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe. 2016.

Dramatic and lyrical, this novella is set at a prestigious women’s college where the eponymous professor must go on a quest through the Dreamlands to rescue a star pupil. Inhabited by elder gods, the land is beguilingly beautiful and terrifyingly dangerous. Boe’s adventure is two-fold: to save her student and come to terms with her own life choices as she traverses a landscape that will enthrall readers, captivating those new to the subgenre with wonder and roping in experts with places straight out of  the Lovecraft cannon.

Keene, Brian. Darkness on the Edge of Town. 2008.

The residents of a small Virginia town wake up to find that they are cut off from the outside world. It is just gone. There is nothing but impenetrable darkness surrounding them with no way for others to get in, or they to get out. The story follows the citizens as it explores their isolation and varying reactions as darkness permeates their lives and the entire tone of the book. Action and character development work hand in hand to create an unsettling, richly detailed story of survival in the face of unknown supernatural forces that easily eclipse human civilization. 

Kenemore, Scott. Lake of Darkness. 2020.

Click here for my review in ALA Booklist. I added this one to the book's appendix at the last minute.

Kepnes, Caroline. Providence. 2018.

John, an odd kid, disappears. His best friend Chloe holds onto the hope that he will be found, and four years later, he is, but he may not be the same boy she knew. He wakes up with no memory of what happened after his teacher kidnapped him. He also has new powers, powers he doesn’t quite understand, powers that cause others harm just by being near him, powers that might be explained by a Lovecraft book. A move to Providence, RI, a series of strange murders, lead John, Chloe, and the detective on the case on a journey to find answers. A compelling, haunting, and suspenseful cosmic horror-thriller hybrid that is a great option for introducing the trendy subgenre and its themes to a wider audience.

+Klinger, Leslie, ed. The New Annotated HP Lovecraft. 2014.

Renewed interest in Lovecraft has drawn readers to his stories, but given the problematic nature of his beliefs it is important to provide the right edition. Award winning editor has multiple volumes collecting the cosmic horror master’s stories which he extensively annotates providing insight, context, and details to enhance the experience of reading Lovecraft in the 21st Century. This particular volume includes both an introduction by Victor LaValle and an annotated version of “The Horror at Red Hook,” the story that LaValle used to frame The Ballad of Black Tom.

Liu, Marjorie M. Monstress series. 2016.

Set in a lavishly rendered, art deco inspired, steampunk world, of an alternate early 1900s, matriarchal Asia, readers follow the strong but flawed teenager, Maika Halfwolf, as she struggles to discover her personal history in the aftermath of war, how she is connected to a monster, and what this discovery means for the world, both human and supernatural. Over multiple compiled volumes of this popular and critically acclaimed  graphic novel series, Maika goes through dramatic, emotionally resonant, and violent adventures framed by well-trod cosmic horror themes and tropes.

+Miller, Sam J. The Blade Between. 2020.

Ronan had to leave small, blue collar hometown of Hudson, NY in order to safely live as a gay man and pursue his career as a photographer, but now returns to care for his dying father. However, to his surprise,  the town has been completely transformed into a hip retreat for wealthy city dwellers. Reconnecting with his first love, Dom, a police office and his community organizer wife, Attalah, Ronan begins to realize that their fight against gentrification is complicated by a supernatural power buried in the land itself, a menace that doesn’t see humanity as a significant obstacle, a terror that might be on their side this time, but is not under their control. Intense dread and unsettling unease permeates this Lovecraftian tale from the very first lines while the issue oriented small town horror tropes keep the cosmic plot grounded enough for subgenre novices to easily follow along.

+Piper, Hailey. The Worm and His Kings. 2020.

It’s 1990 in New York City and Monique’s girlfriend, Donna, has simply vanished. After hearing of the disappearances of other women who, like themselves, live on the fringes of mainstream society, Piper learns that Donna might not be the victim of a human monster. Rather a crack underground has opened a wormhole, a portal to a cult world where strange, dangerous creatures rule, creatures that may have Donna in their talons. Piper must take the plunge to save Donna, but is her mind ready for what she will find hidden just below the surface? Both an exploration of the holes in our modern social services that force many into poverty and a fun, cosmic adventure through multiple, mind-bending, dimensions set in an original and wholly new mythos with obvious Lovecraftian roots, this novel announces Piper as an emerging voice in the horror community that cannot be overlooked.

Snyder, Lucy. Garden of Eldritch Delights. 2018.

One of Snyder's numerous story collections, this one contains 12 tales that are unapologetically Lovecraftian and feminist; fact, many of the stories make obvious nods to Lovecraft and his peers, ones that you don’t need to “get” in order enjoy this volume. A woman wakes up realizing that her girlfriend has ripped her heart out of her chest, a fresh take on the vampire trope, and revenge against a rapist are example plots of these tales featuring inclusive characters in original and shocking cosmic horror situations. In general Snyder’s story collections are reliable, sure bets in this subgenre.

Wong, David. What the Hell Did I Just Read?: A Novel of Cosmic Horror. 2017.

Combining his trademark comic horror tone with Lovecraftian elements, Wong bring in the characters from his previous novels to send them on another gruesome, intricately plotted, dangerous adventure that uses all of the tropes of cosmic horror to create the satisfying emotions of fear that horror fans crave while at the same time actively satirizing both the subgenre and the absurdity of modern life. Readers need not be familiar with Wong’s previous novels to enjoy this one in all of its weird and psychologically terrifying glory. 

*This chapter also relies on a longer essay that Mary SanGiovanni wrote for me in the October 2020 issue of Library Journal which you can find here.