Horror fans, it’s me, Emily, your friend in all things frightful. Y’all. Halloween is TOMORROW! This is not a drill. I know we probably got up to Halloween things over the weekend (and I also went to see the Taylor Swift movie), but tomorrow is the real deal! How are you celebrating? Horror movie marathon? Trick-or-treating? ANOTHER costume party? Please make sure you do something, because we only get to celebrate this once a year. After this, the Christmas fiends take control. Take a deep breath and enjoy our final moments.
And now let’s talk horror things. Also, TBR things because you can sign up for our TBR service, where our bibliologists match you with your next perfect read. Sign up here
Bookish Goods
Scary Claws Bookmark by PiznPumpsClassic
I am OBSESSED with these bookmarks. They come in a bunch of different colors, and they immediately make every book you’re reading a little bit scarier (including I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy, which I also highly recommend…even though it’s not horror). You pick your color and how long you want the bookmark to be. 2.5 inches is $6.75; 4.75 inches goes for $7.75. What a deal.
New Releases
Nestlings by Nat Cassidy
We’ve got a bunch of exciting new horror releases coming out tomorrow, which is not surprising because, like I said, HALLOWEEN. But these are the ones I’m most excited about. First up, Nestlings by Nat Cassidy. This one’s giving serious Rosemary’s Baby vibes. After a horrifically difficult birth, Ana is scarred in more ways than one. Now, she and her husband, Reid, are desperate for some good news. When they win an affordable apartment in one of New York’s most preeminent apartment buildings, they think this is it. But if something seems too good to be true, then you know it probably is.
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
At long last, this novel is finally coming out this Halloween! I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve gotten a new Tananarive Due novel, and it’s finally here! After kicking a white boy’s leg, Robert Stephen Jones Jr. is sent to Gracetown School for Boys in Gracetown, Florida. The reform school is a house of horrors full of racism, injustice, and the ghosts of the boys who died there.
Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris
Last but not least, this incredible horror novella is out this Halloween as well. Following the death of her estranged father, Rita wins a week-long artist’s residency in a secluded cabin. This is an opportunity for Rita to spend a week focusing on her painting, but it’s also a chance for her to reconnect with the father she never knew. After all, this cabin is located close to where her father grew up. But you’re a horror fan, so you know a cabin in the woods is always a site for creepy things.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
Can’t wait for tomorrow’s new releases? Want to read horror RIGHT NOW? Here are a couple of horror novels released earlier this year that I highly recommend. Natural Beauty is a mind-bending story about an unnamed narrator who quits her job as a pianist to care for her parents in New York City. There, she takes up a job at a high-end beauty and wellness store called Holistik and grows close to the owner’s niece, Helen. The two form a friendship that slowly becomes more, and the narrator becomes deeply wrapped up in the products and ideology of Holistik. But underneath its glossy surface, Holistik hides something sinister.
Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez, Megan McDowell (Translator)
Don’t let the page count of this one get you down. This is one of the best horror novels, not just of 2023 but of the 2020s. After his wife Rosario’s mysterious death, Juan and his son Gaspar set off on a journey to return to Rosario’s ancestral home, where her family gathers as a maniacal cult called the Order, committing horrifying acts in search of immortality.
I cannot stress this enough, everyone. I hope you have an incredible Halloween, and I wish you the best of luck as we bid October goodbye and head into November (SAD). I’ll see you on the other side. In the meantime, you can follow me (and message me) on Instagram at emandhercat. Sweet dreams, horror fans!