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The Fright Stuff

Spooky Season Isn’t a Time of Year. It’s A State of Mind.

Horror fans, it’s me, Emily, your friend in all things frightful. It’s November, but that doesn’t mean we horror aficionados have to shrink back in the shadows. I’m grabbing a gingerbread latte and picking up some new horror novels to read on my upcoming trip. The scary times live on! Let’s go!

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Bookish Goods

nevermore shirt

Edgar Allan Poe Shirt by Jennymeadow

Still riding the high of Netflix’s adaptation of Fall of the House of Usher? This is the shirt for you. It features a lovely picture of a raven and, of course, his famous words, “Nevermore.” $26+

New Releases

Gorgeous Gruesome Faces by Linda Cheng book cover

Gorgeous Gruesome Faces by Linda Cheng

I’m living for this cover, friends. Now that 18-year-old Sunny Lee’s pop star career has crash-landed, all she can do is reflect on the past. Once upon a time, she and her best friends Candie and Mina were inseparable. But then Mina unexpectedly jumped to her death, and everything changed. Now, Sunny has a chance to attend a K-Pop workshop with Candie and get some answers. But instead of getting the closure she wants, Sunny finds herself haunted by strange visions, and the other competitors in the workshop start getting hurt.

we are the crisis book cover

We Are the Crisis by Cadwell Turnbull

We Are the Crisis is the second book in Cadwell Turnbull’s Convergence Saga. A few years after the events of No Gods, No Monstersthe world is still reeling from the revelation that supernatural creatures actually exist. A werewolf pack is investigating the disappearance of some of their members, and the pro-monster activist group New Era is trying to work to bridge the conflict between monsters and humans and fight against the human-supremacist group, the Black Hand. As conflicts escalate, they reveal dark secrets about the gods that could change everything.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

secret santa book cover

Secret Santa by Andrew Shaffer

Still not convinced horror can happen in any season? Check out these holiday horror books that will have you sleeping with all the lights on. First up, Secret Santa. This book mixes horror with satire to tell the story of a publishing firm that holds a very spooky Secret Santa gift exchange. How can a gift exchange be scary? Read and find out.

mistletoe book cover

Mistletoe by Alison Littlewood

Now for something entirely different (but still set during the holidays). Mistletoe is about Leah, who has recently lost her husband and her son. Determined to refocus her energy and avoid the pitying looks over the holidays, Leah escapes to a run-down Yorkshire farmhouse. But right away, something doesn’t seem right. And she keeps hearing the sounds of a child playing in the show. Is it the ghost of her son? Or is it something else?

See? It’s going to be okay in November. Plenty of things to still be scared about. Until next time, you can follow me (and message me) on Instagram at emandhercat. Sweet dreams, horror fans!