Categories
The Fright Stuff

Happy Tentacles Week!

Hey‌ ‌there‌ horror fans, ‌I’m‌ ‌Jessica‌ ‌Avery‌ ‌and‌ ‌I’ll‌ ‌be‌ ‌delivering‌ ‌your‌ ‌weekly‌ ‌brief‌ ‌of‌ ‌all‌ ‌that’s‌ ‌ghastly‌ ‌and‌ ‌grim‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌world‌ ‌of‌ ‌Horror.‌ ‌Whether‌ ‌you’re‌ ‌looking‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌backlist‌ ‌book‌ ‌that‌ ‌will‌ ‌give‌‌ you‌ ‌the‌ ‌willies,‌ ‌a‌ ‌terrifying‌ ‌new‌ ‌release,‌ ‌or‌ ‌the‌ ‌latest‌ ‌in‌ ‌horror‌ ‌community‌ ‌news,‌ ‌you’ll‌ ‌find‌ ‌it‌ ‌here‌ in‌ ‌The‌ ‌Fright‌ ‌Stuff.

I couldn’t help myself. There are just so many great horror books featuring tentacles/tentacle monsters that I feel duty bound to provide you with a sampling of wiggly, squiggly terror. So welcome to tentacle week!

Nothing says “I love you” like tentacles? Right?

Now I’m not here to judge, so if you prefer your cosmic horror tentacle free, you can go check out this list from Nightfire. They’ve got your back. With hands! Not suckers. But here on the Fright Stuff we love all our friendly neighborhood tentacle monsters and I can’t wait to introduce you to this week’s picks!

Speaking of “ifs”: If you’re looking for a new bookish podcast to add to your life, be sure to check out First Edition where BookRiot.com co-founder Jeff O’Neal explores the wide bookish world. Subscribe to hear what’s new and exciting in the world of books and publishing, and stay to hear Book Riot’s editors pick the “it” book of the month.

Bookish Goods

3D watercolor tentacle bookmarks by wingsofthewest

3D Watercolor Tentacle Bookmarks by WingsOfTheWest

See, the thing I love about Etsy is that the question wasn’t “can I find a tentacle bookmark”, it was “how do I choose only ONE tentacle bookmark?” I was blessed with a wealth of choices! But when I saw these 3D tentacles crafted out of polymer clay and painted in eye-catching watercolors, I knew it just had to be this one. There are four different styles available, with variable prices, and you have your pick of all four colors for each style. May all your reading adventures be wiggly. $9+

New Releases

cover of at the end of every day by arianna reiche

At the End of Every Day by Arianna Reiche

Who had creepy collapsing theme park on their July new release bingo? Anyone? You win! Set in an amusement park referred to only as The Park, At the End of Every Day is an intense psychological roller coaster of evil death cults and questionable realities. Delphi is a longtime employer of The Park, where she ended up after fleeing her traumatic childhood and landing in California. But when an upcoming starlet is found dead in The Park, the decision is made to shut it down, and Delphi ends up with the responsibility of closing up shop. But the starlet isn’t the only one to die or disappear in The Park. There are a long string of employers who have vanished, never to be found. As Delphi goes about the process of shutting down The Park, she begins to unravel the dark mysteries at the heart of the once beloved theme park, and the question becomes not how will she leave The Park behind, but whether The Park will let her leave at all.

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

Cover of No One Will Come Back for Us by Premee Mohamed

No One Will Come Back For Us and Other Stories by Premee Mohamed

I would just like to say: This whole newsletter is Premee Mohamed’s fault. The gorgeous, eerie cover of her recent short fiction collection No One Will Come Back for Us (another beautiful book brought to you by the one and only Undertow Publications!) captivated me and I had to pay it tribute. Combining science fiction and dark fantasy with harrowing cosmic horror, the stories in No One Will Come Back for Us catapult readers from the forgotten realms of ancient gods deep beneath the sea to the vast, merciless depths of space.The only thing guaranteed is that monsters await in all the shadowed, forgotten corners of the world that Mohamed crafts. And they probably have tentacles.

Cover of The Book of Living Secrets by Madeleine Roux

The Book of Living Secrets by Madeleine Roux

I loved this weird, creepy, queer Lovecraft-inspired YA horror so much, and I am begging you to please read it and then come talk to me. Adelle and Connie are best friends and super fans of an obscure gothic romance novel called Moira. So much so that when offered the opportunity to be transported into the novel and experience the world of Moira for themselves, they decide to take the chance. But inside the pages of Moira, things have gone terribly wrong. Instead of a lush Gothic setting, dripping with romance and velvet, the two girls find themselves trapped in a horror story, surrounded by the creepy servants of the tentacle monster that’s squatting in the harbor, and entangled with the book’s characters in a desperate bid to save both themselves and the fictional world they love

Hammers on Bone by Cassandra Khaw

If you love Cassandra Khaw’s more recent books, but have caught yourself thinking: “you know what The Salt Grows Heavy needs? More eyes and tentacles!” Oh jiminy do I have a book recommendation for you. Hammers on Bone, and its sequel A Song for Quiet, are an excellent mix of arcane monsters and hardboiled detective work. A bit Lovecraft, a bit noir, it’ll scratch all your cosmic horror itches (even the ones the tentacles can’t reach). John Persons is a P.I. with a talent for handling the ancient and abominable, being ancient and somewhat abominable himself. Which makes him the perfect person to hunt down the stepfather of his newest client, a man infected with a monstrous alien presence.

cover of wild spaces by s.l. coney

Wild Spaces by S.L. Coney (August 1)

My last pick of the week is S.L Coney’s forthcoming, Wild Spaces, a cosmic horror novel about an 11-year-old boy and a dark family secret. He lives with his parents and his dog on the remote South Carolina coast, and his childhood, though isolated, was not unhappy. Until the day his estranged grandfather turns up at the house, and his unwanted visit begins to expose the inconsistencies in the boy’s life that he cared to question before. Now it’s clear that his parents are and have been keeping secrets from him. Things they still refuse to explain. Things that, just maybe, have something to do with the strange and frightening changes happening to the boy’s body, transforming him into something new and monstrous.

As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

Categories
The Fright Stuff

2023 Queer Horror Books Coming to a Shelf Near You

Hey‌ ‌there‌ horror fans, ‌I’m‌ ‌Jessica‌ ‌Avery‌ ‌and‌ ‌I’ll‌ ‌be‌ ‌delivering‌ ‌your‌ ‌weekly‌ ‌brief‌ ‌of‌ ‌all‌ ‌that’s‌ ‌ghastly‌ ‌and‌ ‌grim‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌world‌ ‌of‌ ‌Horror.‌ ‌Whether‌ ‌you’re‌ ‌looking‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌backlist‌ ‌book‌ ‌that‌ ‌will‌ ‌give‌‌ you‌ ‌the‌ ‌willies,‌ ‌a‌ ‌terrifying‌ ‌new‌ ‌release,‌ ‌or‌ ‌the‌ ‌latest‌ ‌in‌ ‌horror‌ ‌community‌ ‌news,‌ ‌you’ll‌ ‌find‌ ‌it‌ ‌here‌ in‌ ‌The‌ ‌Fright‌ ‌Stuff.

This June I’ve had the pleasure of promoting so many wonderful queer horror books for readers of all ages in celebration of Pride month. And since today is, sadly, our last Fright Stuff of the month, I thought this would be the perfect time to share just a few of the exciting new titles being published this year. After all, 2023 is only half over! There’s still plenty of queer horror on the way.

Before we get started stacking your TBR: Are you looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more drawn from our collective experience as power readers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and bookish professionals? Subscribe to The Deep Dive, a biweekly newsletter to inform and inspire readers, delivered to your inbox! Your first read (The Power Reader’s Guide to Reading Logs & Trackers) is on the house. Check out all the details and choose your membership level at bookriot.substack.com.

Bookish Goods

gay and spooky t-shirt by gabyandtali

Gay & Spooky T-Shirt by GabyandTali

Pride month might be almost over but, hey, if June has to end at least it leaves us officially in the second half of the year and on the descent into fall. Haunted days are just around the corner! May this delightful T-shirt (which comes in many color options, but I love the traditional black and orange myself) remind you that, just like Halloween, Pride is a year round affair! Keep it Gay & Spooky ghoulies.

$26+

New Releases

cover of the archive undying by emma mieko candon

The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon

If you like your sci-fi with an alarming amount of body horror (and of course I mean that in the best way), this is the book for you. Welcome to The Archive Undying, the first book in Emma Mieko Candon’s The Downworld Sequence series, where AI powered robots once worshiped as gods have become corrupted and gone mad, destroying the very worlds they created. Enter Sunai, who many years ago was offered a final gift from a dying god. If a gift is what you call it. Sunai is frozen in time, un-aging, un-dying. He roams from one dying city to the next on the run from his own past, until one bad night and too much to drink finds him waking up exactly where he doesn’t want to be: on the road back to a faith and a broken world he tried to escape.

cover of are you afraid of the dark: the tale of the gravemother by rin chupeco

Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of the Gravemother by Rin Chupeco

Were you also a ’90’s kid who grew up watching Are You Afraid of the Dark? Does that super eerie intro music set you atingle with nostalgia? Well get ready my fellow fans of the frightful, because Rin Chupeco’s new middle grade horror (the first in a new Are You Afraid of the Dark? book series) has all the creepy goodness you remember. It’s also a great way to introduce the junior scary book readers in your life to the series that shaped so many of us into horror fans! The Tale of the Gravemother is a classic ghost story about a spirit who haunts an old mansion on the outside of the little town of Solitude and kidnaps children. Zane and his family just inherited said haunted mansion — yikes! — and now it looks like the Gravemother has set her sights on his little sister. Unless Zane and his new friend Garrett can figure out the Gravemother’s secret, Emmy might disappear forever!

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

cover of the death I gave him by em x liu

The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu (September 12)

The Death I Gave Him is actually the first of two horror/dark fiction Shakespeare retellings on this list. Which, as an eternal English major, I find just so delightful. The name of the game is Hamlet through the lens of a locked room sci-fi thriller, with plenty of murder, gore, and body horror to satisfy any horror reader. A scientist on the verge of a momentous discovery — the defeat of death itself — has his work interrupted in brutal fashion when his father (and co-researcher) is murdered in their lab. In a bid to catch the killer himself, Hayden steals his own research. Only to discover that his father had suspected his death was near and left a message charging Hayden to avenge him. What ensues is a deadly game of whodunnit within the locked down laboratory. There are only four other people in the building besides Hyden, and one of them is a murderer.

cover of brainwyrms by alison rumfitt

Brainwyrms by Alison Rumfitt (October 10)

Now, see, that’s an Upsetting cover. So squiggly. So wiggly. Slimy. Pulpy. I just love it, and I can’t wait for Brainwyrms to hit shelves this October. I absolutely devoured Rumfitt’s oh so disturbing and terrifying Tell Me I’m Worthless when it came out earlier this year, and I have been eagerly anticipating the release of Brainwyrms ever since. When the aftermath of a transphobia-motivated bombing at her workplace upends Frankei’s life, it leaves her grasping for someway to cope with the fallout. Along the way she finds herself falling hard and fast for a mysterious woman with too many secrets. The more time Frankie spends with Vanya, the more she’s sure Vanya’s hiding something sinister from her, and unfortunately for Frankie, she’s right.

cover of where the dead wait by ally wilkes

Where the Dead Wait by Ally Wilkes (December 5)

Someone give me this book already. Please, just put it in my hands so I can put it in my eyes. December is such a long time away and, as someone who absolutely adored Wilkes’ All the White Spaces, I am impatient! Taking us back to the cold and the dark, Wilkes steers us towards the Arctic this time, following in the footsteps of William Day who is returning to the ice 13 years after his disastrous Arctic expedition. His then second-in-command, Jesse Stevens, has vanished, and if Day can find Jesse, just maybe he can redeemed himself in the eyes of society. But things soon go from bad to worse when Day’s rescue mission descends into chaos and darkness. The ice is unforgiving and its memory is long. Day will have to face the horrors of his own past if he hopes to survive the dark days ahead and bring Jesse home.

cover of but a dream by caitlin marceau

But a Dream by Caitlin Marceau (December)

Caitlin Marceau’s But A Dream is the aforementioned second Shakespeare retelling on this list, and honestly December can not come fast enough. Because as excited as I am for all the new queer horror we’re getting this year, I am absolutely over the moon that Marceau is giving us a dark retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, my absolute favorite Shakespeare play. But a Dream is about a group of four friends whose camping trip in the Canadian wilderness goes awry. Horribly awry. Cataclysmically, terribly, violently awry when they kill and eat what they assume to be a deer but is in fact a witch in disguise. A witch whose magic, upon consumption, produces some very…unpleasant side effects…

As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

Categories
The Fright Stuff

3 Middle Grade Scares for Junior Horror Fans

Hey‌ ‌there‌ horror fans, ‌I’m‌ ‌Jessica‌ ‌Avery‌ ‌and‌ ‌I’ll‌ ‌be‌ ‌delivering‌ ‌your‌ ‌weekly‌ ‌brief‌ ‌of‌ ‌all‌ ‌that’s‌ ‌ghastly‌ ‌and‌ ‌grim‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌world‌ ‌of‌ ‌Horror.‌ ‌Whether‌ ‌you’re‌ ‌looking‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌backlist‌ ‌book‌ ‌that‌ ‌will‌ ‌give‌‌ you‌ ‌the‌ ‌willies,‌ ‌a‌ ‌terrifying‌ ‌new‌ ‌release,‌ ‌or‌ ‌the‌ ‌latest‌ ‌in‌ ‌horror‌ ‌community‌ ‌news,‌ ‌you’ll‌ ‌find‌ ‌it‌ ‌here‌ in‌ ‌The‌ ‌Fright‌ ‌Stuff.

Real quick, before we get started! Are you looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more drawn from our collective experience as power readers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and bookish professionals? Subscribe to The Deep Dive, a biweekly newsletter to inform and inspire readers, delivered to your inbox! Your first read (The Power Reader’s Guide to Reading Logs & Trackers) is on the house. Check out all the details and choose your membership level at bookriot.substack.com.

Now let’s get creepy, because this week’s Fright Stuff is all about queer middle grade horror! I really wanted to ensure I made room for this topic during Pride this year, though — as we’ve all seen recently — it’s a year-round issue. Kids deserve to have access to queer books across a whole spectrum of age categories and genres. But it’s particularly important to me, as someone who was such a spec fic kid growing up, that they have access to queer sci-fi and fantasy stories to remind them how to dream, and queer horror stories to remind them that, yes, the things they fear are real, and it’s alright to be afraid. Horror stories about queer kids just like them, who manage to persevere in the face of things that are truly frightening and terrible.

So that’s why this week we celebrate just some of the amazing queer middle grade horror books that are out there. Buy one for the young reader in your life! Or ask your local library to order a copy if they haven’t already, and help them stock their shelves with books for all the queer horror kids in your community!

Bookish Goods

crocheted pride ghosts by minighostshop

Mini Crochet Pride Ghosts by MiniGhostShop

Get yourself a little ghost friend for pride this year! These tiny crocheted ghosties from MiniGhostShop are too cute (as is everything in their shop, by the way!) and would make an excellent companion for your desk, side table, or bookshelves. Aside from the flags shown in the image, if you select the “Other” option on the drop down menu, you can request any pride flag of your choice in the customization box and MiniGhostShop will crochet you up an adorable boo buddy of your very own.

$5

New Releases

You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight cover

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

Tomorrow is publication day for You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight! Slasher fans get ready to hit that order button, because this is one summer read you won’t want to miss out on. Bayron is taking us all the way back to our bloody, messy genre roots with this gem of a lakeside summer camp slasher. Horror fan Charity scored the perfect summer job when she got cast to play the “final girl” in an interactive attraction based on the classic slasher, Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. It’s a full-contract experience where guests pay to immerse themselves in scenes from the film. The more frightening the better. Until the last weekend of the season when things at Camp Mirror Lake take a deadly turn, leaving Charity and her girlfriend Bezi fighting to survive the unknown killer that’s picking off Charity’s fellow cast members one by one.

cover of night's edge by liz kerin

Night’s Edge by Liz Kerin

I actually just finished Night’s Edge the other day, and it was so good! I found Kerin’s take on vampirism fascinating. We’ve seen “viral vampirism” before, sure, but there was something about the Saratov virus in Night’s Edge that felt fresh and frightening. Mia doesn’t have friends. She doesn’t go to clubs after school. She doesn’t date. She doesn’t let anyone in to her life, because no one can ever find out about her mother. It isn’t Izzy’s fault that she needs blood to live, it’s all because of that deadbeat she was dating, but if the world finds out she’s infected with the Saratov virus, she’ll disappear, stuffed into one of the special facilities designed to “rehabilitate” the modern vampire. But it’s a lonely life, being her mother’s blood donor and caretaker, and Mia feels the weight of her isolation. So when she meets Jade, a musician with a family history (almost) as complicated as Mia’s own, and gets her first taste of freedom, everything starts to change. For better or worse.

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

Quick note: I didn’t intend to end up with two graphic novels on this list. I was pulling together books that sounded amazing, only to realize I ended up with one prose book and two graphic novels. But we all agree that graphic novels are just as valid as prose books, yes? It’s 2023, and no one’s going to DM me, angry that I suggested graphic novels and not “real books?”

Okay. Cool. Don’t make me set the bats on you.

Cover of Artie and the Wolf Moon by Olivia Stephens

Artie and the Wolf Moon by Olivia Stephens

Werewolves vs. Vampires! A horror rivalry for the ages, and one at the heart of Olivia Stephens’ graphic novel Artie and the Wolf Moon. When Artie Irvin sneaks out of the house one night and catches her mother turning into a werewolf — or rather, a werewolf turning back into her mother — her whole life turned upside down. Reluctantly, Artie’s mom tells her everything: about where they come from, about the father that died when Artie was small, and the long line of werewolves from which they are descended. But even though Artie couldn’t be more excited about uncovering her own wolfish tendencies and becoming part of the larger werewolf community, not every new discovery is a good one. It turns out werewolves aren’t the only monsters in the world.

the cover of Too Bright to See

Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff

You’ve heard me say it before: the best ghost stories are about more than ghosts. So it is with Kyle Lukoff’s Too Bright to See, about a young trans kid discovering who they are while trying to uncover the truth about the ghost haunting their house. Bug is 11, just getting ready to start middle school, and even though summer is supposed to be the best part of the year when you’re a kid, Bug’s isn’t off to a great start. Bug’s best friend Moira only wants to talk about boys and how to be the right kind of girl for middle school, which Bug couldn’t care less about, and oh by the way, Bug’s house is haunted! But the more Bug digs into the mystery of the ghost and what it wants, the more difficult the questions Bug has to answer. And not just about the ghost.

cover of Another Kind

Another Kind by Trevor Bream (Illustrated by Cait May)

Another Kind is one of those great graphic novels that’s going to appeal to so many readers. It’s Stranger Things meets D&D meets just enough creepy monster goodness to tip it into the dark side of fantasy, veering towards horror. Six children, each a little bit more than human, are forced to flee a secret government facility known as the Playroom, where they were being raised and taught how to control their powers. The Playroom kept them safe and hidden from the world. Now they only have each other to rely on as they try to navigate their frightening new reality, and evade the clutches of the mysterious shadowy being stalking their every move. The thing that calls itself The Collector.

As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

Categories
The Fright Stuff

Gays in Spaaaace! (But Make it Scary)

Hey‌ ‌there‌ horror fans, ‌I’m‌ ‌Jessica‌ ‌Avery‌ ‌and‌ ‌I’ll‌ ‌be‌ ‌delivering‌ ‌your‌ ‌weekly‌ ‌brief‌ ‌of‌ ‌all‌ ‌that’s‌ ‌ghastly‌ ‌and‌ ‌grim‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌world‌ ‌of‌ ‌Horror.‌ ‌Whether‌ ‌you’re‌ ‌looking‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌backlist‌ ‌book‌ ‌that‌ ‌will‌ ‌give‌‌ you‌ ‌the‌ ‌willies,‌ ‌a‌ ‌terrifying‌ ‌new‌ ‌release,‌ ‌or‌ ‌the‌ ‌latest‌ ‌in‌ ‌horror‌ ‌community‌ ‌news,‌ ‌you’ll‌ ‌find‌ ‌it‌ ‌here‌ in‌ ‌The‌ ‌Fright‌ ‌Stuff.

Did anyone else have a muppet childhood, and now there are just certain references you can’t unhear? I am completely incapable of hearing the words “in space” without my brain following it up with “Pigs in Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!”. It’s engrained upon the fleshy bits of my brain, so now you have to hear it too. 

Anywho, my delightful ghosts and goblins, I think it’s pretty clear from the title what we’re going to be talking about in this week’s Fright Stuff. Space horror is one of my comfort sub-genres, and we’re having a bit of A Week here at the ol’ Tomb Sweet Tomb. So I hope you’ll indulge me while I indulge myself and revel in the vast emptiness of the void and its many monsters. And since it’s Pride month, and there’s been some really great queer space horror published recently, I thought we’d have some fun!

Before we jump into this week’s unfathomable cosmic terrors: are you looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more drawn from our collective experience as power readers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and bookish professionals? Subscribe to The Deep Dive, a biweekly newsletter to inform and inspire readers, delivered to your inbox! Your first read (The Power Reader’s Guide to Reading Logs & Trackers) is on the house. Check out all the details and choose your membership level at bookriot.substack.com.

Bookish Goods

i love scary stories sticker by chincela

“I Love Scary Stories” Waterproof Vinyl Sticker by Chinchela

Anyone else collect stickers for their book carts, bookshelves, laptops, or just any flat surface in your home that’s looking a bit uninspired? What can I say? I guess I just never grew out of the satisfaction of slapping a sticker on things to fancy them up, especially when the stickers in question are book and/or horror- related. So share your love of scary books with pride!

$2.50

New Releases

everything the darkness eats book cover

Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca

A happy (almost) publication day to Eric LaRocca, whose latest novel Everything the Darkness Eats will be out tomorrow from Clash Books! Set in a small Connecticut town plagued by a series of disappearances, a handful of otherwise unrelated individuals are drawn towards the same dark secret lurking beneath the floors of the big mansion outside of town. Ghost, wracked with guilt and pain after the accident that killed his pregnant wife and their expected child, crosses paths with a strange older man, Heart Crowley, who claims to need Ghost’s apathy towards God to complete an ancient ritual. Malik, the detective assigned to the disappearances, struggles to find answers while fighting the vicious homophobia being directed at he and his husband. And Crowley himself, whose dark secret is the deadly lure, brings all the pieces together. Reader be forewarned: as with most of Eric LaRocca’s books, Everything the Darkness Eats is not for the faint of heart. It’s an extremely violent, macabre study in grief, survival, hatred, and what it means to realize the universe’s indifference to our existence. I highly recommend checking the reviews before reading if you have subject matters you’d prefer to avoid.

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

cover of your mind is a terrible thing by hailey piper

Your Mind is a Terrible Thing by Hailey Piper

Ah. Nothing like the chilling knowledge that the starship you’re literally trapped on has been infiltrated by an unknown threat. I know that’s the premise of most space horror stories, but it just never gets old. Or less creepy. I mean, when the monster’s in the house and the house is floating through space, it’s not like you can just check into a motel! When every crew member on board the starship M.G Yellowjacket suddenly disappears except for communications specialist Alto, what should have been an ordinary shift in an ordinary workday takes a frightening turn. Something has made its way onboard the Yellowjacket, something with the ability to dig into the minds of crewmembers and control what they think and feel. Alto’s only chance is to risk a journey through the now infected passages of the Yellowjacket to reach the bridge and reunite with what remains of the crew before things get even worse.

cover of the scourge between stars by ness brown

The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown

Have I convince you to that you definitely want to read The Scourge Between Stars yet? Because I’m happy to keep trying! Set on the starship Calypso, one of a flotilla of ships (possibly the last of a flotilla of ships for all anyone on board knows), is in imminent danger. They’re trying to make the journey home to Earth ever since their colony failed centuries ago, but at the speed they’re traveling, and beset as they are by invisible deep space forces that bat their ship around like a cat with a toy, it seems unlikely that the crew and ex-colonists will ever make it home. Especially when a series of brutal murders on board make it suddenly clear that there’s a dangerous stowaway lurking somewhere within the massive hulk of the Calypso. Jacklyn Albright is acting captain, responsible for the Calypso’s survival in her father’s absence, and if she wants to have any chance of seeing her ship and her people home safely, she and her team will have to hunt the creature down one deck at a time. Get ready to be STRESSED, because this novella had me on my toes.

Cover of The All-Consuming World by Cassandra Khaw

The All-Consuming World by Cassandra Khaw

A found family of queer cyborg clones just trying to deal with their traumas while surviving the heartless void of space and the all-powerful AI who rules the known universe? Don’t mind if I do. In a bid to discover what truly happened on their last, disastrous mission together, this group of soldiers turned criminals reunite in search of their missing comrade and the secret hidden at the heart of a planet that might hold all the answers they’re seeking. But the secret deep inside Dimmuborgir is also the key to controlling the universe, and the AI will do anything to make sure it never falls into human hands. If they want to solve the mystery of their past, our ragtag band of former friends will have to pull together if they want to get to the heart of Dimmuborgir alive with a whole universe full of enemies at their heels.

As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

Categories
The Fright Stuff

4 New Queer Horror Books to Kick Off Pride with a Scream!

Hey‌ ‌there‌, I’m‌ ‌Jessica‌ ‌Avery‌ ‌and‌ ‌I’ll‌ ‌be‌ ‌delivering‌ ‌your‌ ‌weekly‌ ‌brief‌ ‌of‌ ‌all‌ ‌that’s‌ ‌ghastly‌ ‌and‌ ‌grim‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌world‌ ‌of‌ ‌Horror.‌ ‌Whether‌ ‌you’re‌ ‌looking‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌backlist‌ ‌book‌ ‌that‌ ‌will‌ ‌give‌‌ you‌ ‌the‌ ‌willies,‌ ‌a‌ ‌terrifying‌ ‌new‌ ‌release,‌ ‌or‌ ‌the‌ ‌latest‌ ‌in‌ ‌horror‌ ‌community‌ ‌news,‌ ‌you’ll‌ ‌find‌ ‌it‌ ‌here‌ in‌ ‌The‌ ‌Fright‌ ‌Stuff.

Well, we made it to June, folks. And as much as I would love to just say “Happy Pride!”, I think we can all agree that recent and ongoing events have put a bit of a damper on the mood. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t still celebrate, and, more importantly, come together to support one another and fight for change. So instead, I want to wish you all a safe and happy Pride month. One I think we all are hoping will be filled with community and companionship, not marred by hate or violence.

Now more than ever I am reminded of the importance of horror as a genre that is, and always has been, fundamentally queer. And the more frightening the world becomes, the more grateful I am for the scary books on my TBR and the amazing authors who write them. So I have decided that I’m going to keep up the tradition I started last year of promoting only queer horror books during Pride month! From recent releases to forthcoming titles and a few themes in between, we’re going to seize some joy for ourselves and celebrate the incredible works of queer horror that keep us going long after the last of the confetti is swept up on July 1st.

Before we jump into this weeks picks — are you looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more drawn from our collective experience as power readers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and bookish professionals? Subscribe to The Deep Dive, a biweekly newsletter to inform and inspire readers, delivered to your inbox! Your first read (The Power Reader’s Guide to Reading Logs & Trackers) is on the house. Check out all the details and choose your membership level at bookriot.substack.com.

Bookish Goods

rainbow gilly gillman pride pin by feltphantom

Gillman “Gilly” Pride Pin by FeltPhantom

Oh no I love him so much. Okay, so I know Gilly isn’t bookish, technically, but come on just look at the little face! And who doesn’t love our classic monsters, right? You should have seen my face when I found this rainbow Gillman pin. It’s so cute I almost cried on the spot. Creature from the Black Lagoon is my favorite of the classic monsters, and I can’t think a better way to show off both my LGBTQIA pride and my horror pride than with this adorable enamel pin.

$7

New Releases

cover of boys weekend by mattie lubchansky

Boys Weekend by Mattie Lubchansky

If horror graphic novels are your delicacy of choice, get ready to feast, friends. Because Mattie Lubchansky’s Boys Weekend sounds like a must read for fans not just of graphic novels, but of queer horror and creepy cults as well. Sammie is only newly out as trans when they’re invited to their friend Adam’s bachelor party on some weird floating pleasure palace out on international waters, which: suspicious. Right? Especially once it turns out that not only is Sammie now trapped in the oceanbound mini-Vegas known as El Campo, they’re stuck there with a pack of Adam’s “bros” who are so busy indulging in the pleasures of El Campo and ragging on Sammie for being trans that they don’t seem to notice they’re sharing their hotel with a blood-happy cult that’s ritually dismembering the other guests. Yikes. Frightening and darkly funny, if you like your horror on the satirical side with more than a bit of camp, make sure you pick up a copy of Boys Weekend when it hits shelves tomorrow.

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

the cover of Chlorine

Chlorine by Jade Song

So you were all just going to let me sleep on the queer “I’d do anything to be a flesh eating mermaid. Anything” horror book, huh? To be honest, I have no idea how Chlorine slipped under my radar, but as a girl who has wished on more than one occasion that she could fling herself into the ocean, sprout gills, and consume unwary sailor folk, I am so glad that I know about it now. Because that’s all that Ren Yu wants, really: to become a mermaid. (And feast on the flesh of tasty sea goers.) She’s already a swimmer, whose love of being in the water butts up against the expectations that she’ll use her skill at swimming to advance in life. Get into a good college on an athletic scholarship. Be successful — a state of being highly defined by everyone in Ren’s life except herself. When really all she wants is to escape from landlocked concerns and sink deep into the ocean until she’s nothing but fins and teeth. She wants to be free, and she’ll stop at nothing to make it happen.

monstersona book cover

Monstersona by Chloe Spencer

Monstersona is the kind of mad scientists, monsters, and government conspiracies romp that you won’t want to miss. It’s about 16-year-old Riley, who lives in Little Brook, Maine — headquarters of Titan Technologies. She wakes up one night to find her town on fire and full of monsters. With her dog in tow, Riley beats feet out of town, stopping just long enough to scoop up a passenger from the roadside: Aspen, Riley’s crush and quite possibly the only other survivor of the fire. The two girls set off on a dangerous cross-country journey to try and reach Riley’s father in Oregon, but nothing about the fire or the now-destroyed Titan Technologies is what it seems to be. And neither is Aspen. If Riley wants to survive long enough to see her father again, she’s going to have to get to the bottom of the shadowy conspiracy she’s found herself enmeshed in. No matter how terrible the truth may be.

Book cover of Heart, Haunt, Havoc

Heart, Haunt, Havoc by Freydis Moon

This is my romance-meets-horror addition to this week’s list, because there’s been some Chatter lately (or so the internet tells me) devaluing romance in comparison to other genre fiction. And since it is frowned upon to fight strangers from the internet in a Walmart parking lot, I’m just going to point out, not for the first time, that romance and horror can not only peacefully coexist, but actually make rather spectacular bedfellows. As it were. Something Freydis Moon understands very well, as evidenced by their newest book Heart, Haunt, Havoc about a trans exorcist, Colin, who was hired to deal with what seemed like a standard domestic haunting. Only to find that the home in question, owned by the handsome Bishop Martinez, may prove more of a challenge than Colin first anticipated. It’s awash in restless spirits, drawn by the house’s dark, heartbreaking past. As he navigates the horrors of the house and his budding romance with its owner, Colin finds himself digging into secrets that Bishop would rather forget, further muddying an already messy supernatural situation.

As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

Categories
The Fright Stuff

Must-Read Horror Books for AAPI Heritage Month

Hey‌ ‌there‌ horror fans, ‌I’m‌ ‌Jessica‌ ‌Avery‌ ‌and‌ ‌I’ll‌ ‌be‌ ‌delivering‌ ‌your‌ ‌weekly‌ ‌brief‌ ‌of‌ ‌all‌ ‌that’s‌ ‌ghastly‌ ‌and‌ ‌grim‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌world‌ ‌of‌ ‌Horror.‌ ‌Whether‌ ‌you’re‌ ‌looking‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌backlist‌ ‌book‌ ‌that‌ ‌will‌ ‌give‌‌ you‌ ‌the‌ ‌willies,‌ ‌a‌ ‌terrifying‌ ‌new‌ ‌release,‌ ‌or‌ ‌the‌ ‌latest‌ ‌in‌ ‌horror‌ ‌community‌ ‌news,‌ ‌you’ll‌ ‌find‌ ‌it‌ ‌here‌ in‌ ‌The‌ ‌Fright‌ ‌Stuff.

This month is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and I didn’t want to let May get away from me entirely without taking time to celebrate some of the amazing AAPI writers of the horror genre. And when I say “some,” I definitely mean some! Because just in the last few years alone there have been so many incredible, terrifying horror books published by AAPI authors that this newsletter cannot possible contain them all. So I’ve picked a few of my favorites, and I hope you’ll love them too.

But before we get started: Not content with the amount of bookish content to your life? Have a void in your soul that cries out for more of the latest news and recommendations? Try First Edition, Book Riot newest podcast offering! First Edition includes interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books. You can subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.

Bookish Goods

scary shark book sleve by mapleleafstitching a padded fabric book sleeve made with a patter of little shark heads, mouths open, and in the mouths it says things like chomp or dangerous waters

Scary Sharks Book Sleeve by MapleLeafStitching

Does anyone else get that first taste of summer sunshine and instantly begin craving shark and ocean horror films? I mean, in my apartment, marathoning the entire Jaws series and/or all the questionable shark horror films available on my various streaming options is a start-of-summer tradition. And hey, Jaws started out as a book, right? So it counts. Also, come on. This fabric is too cute. And it comes in three possible sizes so you can order the right fit for your preferred reading medium. It’s the perfect protection for all your summer beach reads!

$18+

New Releases

cover of this world belongs to us an anthology of bug horror

This World Belongs to Us: An Anthology of Horror Stories about Bugs, Edited by Michael W. Phillips

Happy terrifying bug anthology day! Tomorrow, This World Belongs to Us hits shelves, ready to fulfill all your worst, leggy, too-many-eyes-having nightmares. And, if the allure of a whole anthology of bug-filled horror is not enough to entice you to hit that preorder button, these stories are written by some of the most exciting and talented voices in the horror community, including Cynthia Pelayo, V. Castro, Paula D. Ashe, Laurel Hightower, Bitter Karella, and many more! So grab a can of bug killer, just in case, and get ready to feel your skin crawl.

cover of attack of the killer tumbleweeds by antonia rachel ward

Attack of the Killer Tumbleweeds by Antonia Rachel Ward

Sometimes, you just want your horror to come with a dose of humor. A laugh or two (or several) to punctuate all that darkness and violence. And Antonia Rachel Ward’s new horror comedy novella, Attack of the Killer Tumbleweeds, sounds like it’s going to offer plenty of both! Between the gorgeously pulpy cover and the plot description of what is obviously a loving tribute to the best of early B-horror monster films, I’m sold. Set in 1958, Attack of the Killer Tumbleweeds is about former showgirl Glitter and defunct Hollywood actor Dean Valentine, who set out to seduce a pair of Vegas newlyweds only to find themselves in the midst of an invasion of marauding, malicous tumbleweeds bent on destruction!

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

Cover of Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap

Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap

If short fiction is your horror form of choice, this week’s first pick is for you! I love this debut collection from Isabel Yap. I know I’m a sucker for collections in general, but this one really was an instant favorite. I’m pretty sure that “Good Girls,” which kicks off the whole collection with a horrifying bang, has imprinted itself on my brain permanently. The 13 stories of Never Have I Ever, inspired both by urban legends and the folklore of the Philippines, span the whole range of speculative genres, from sci-fi to horror to fantasy, to form a haunting, surreal collection that you won’t soon forget.

cover of fairest flesh by kp kulski

Fairest Flesh by K.P. Kulski

Y’all know I love horror retellings of the Countess Bathory legend. What can I say: I see a beautiful, evil monster woman and I fall in love. Now, obviously I know that legend is not history, and that the real Bathory was more maligned than malicious, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying books like Kulski’s Fairest Flesh, which marries the Bathory legend with the kind of bloodshed and dark magic that only the most brutal (and therefore the best) of Grimm’s fairy tales can provide. If you’re looking for a stunner of a debut novel that takes a well known horror story and actually manages to make it even more horrifying, Fairest Flesh is the one for you!

cover of tortured willows horror poetry anthology

Tortured Willows: Bent. Bowed. Unbroken. by Lee Murray, Geneve Flynn, Christina Sng, Angela Yuriko Smith

Intended as an expansion on the theme of “otherness” the began in the Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women anthology, Tortured Willows is a companion poetry anthology featuring the work of four Southeast Asian horror writers. The anthology focuses specifically on exploring the symbolism of the willow, and its associations with femininity, desire, death and rebirth. If you enjoyed Black Cranes, and the follow-up nonfiction collection, Unquiet Spirits: Essays by Asian Women in Horror, I highly recommend picking up this next installment.

cover of She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran; illustration of an Asian woman with flowers growing out of the corners of her mouth and a tear running down her cheek

She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

This is the most recent title on this week’s list, and if you haven’t added She is a Haunting to your TBR yet, I highly recommend that you do! When Jade agreed to return to Vietnam to visit with her estranged father in hopes of persuading him to release the college funds that he promised her, she thought the hardest part would be pretending to enjoy herself while pretending to be someone she’s not. Just five weeks playing happy family at the house he’s restoring, and she’ll be able to walk away with her education funded. But there’s something undeniably wrong with the house — the strange noises, the alarming number of creepy bugs, the beautiful ghost that keeps trying to warn her not to eat. And if Jade can’t uncover the house’s secrets in time, this family vacation might be her last.

As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

Categories
The Fright Stuff

3 Horror Moms You Wouldn’t Want to Mess With

Hey‌ ‌there‌ horror fans, ‌I’m‌ ‌Jessica‌ ‌Avery‌ ‌and‌ ‌I’ll‌ ‌be‌ ‌delivering‌ ‌your‌ ‌weekly‌ ‌brief‌ ‌of‌ ‌all‌ ‌that’s‌ ‌ghastly‌ ‌and‌ ‌grim‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌world‌ ‌of‌ ‌Horror.‌ ‌Whether‌ ‌you’re‌ ‌looking‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌backlist‌ ‌book‌ ‌that‌ ‌will‌ ‌give‌‌ you‌ ‌the‌ ‌willies,‌ ‌a‌ ‌terrifying‌ ‌new‌ ‌release,‌ ‌or‌ ‌the‌ ‌latest‌ ‌in‌ ‌horror‌ ‌community‌ ‌news,‌ ‌you’ll‌ ‌find‌ ‌it‌ ‌here‌ in‌ ‌The‌ ‌Fright‌ ‌Stuff.

If you’re looking to add even more bookish content to your life, Book Riot has a new podcast you might want to check out. First Edition will include interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books. You can subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.

The horror genre is having something of a pregnancy/motherhood horror boom recently and I am both delighted by the influx of amazing new horror stories, and so uncomfortable, y’all, to be completely honest. I don’t know what anxieties I have about motherhood and pregnancy that these books are stirring up, but they make me feel like a cat brushed backwards. But hey, that’s why we read horror, right?

And if there’s one thing I’ve taken away from these books, it’s that all of them challenge the damaging societal idea that mothers have to be perfect, “good,” and happy at all times. These mothers are not perfect. They stumble, and struggle, and sometimes they fail. But they are fearsome in defense of themselves and the children they love, whether against monsters or against the whole world.

Bookish Goods

skullpot planter by horrorromance

Skullpot Planter by HorrorRomance

Now, see, this makes think that I need to seriously step up my planter game. I’ve been using regular terracotta pots like an idiot! I’ve shamed my plant children. Because this is just delightfully macabre and, as I’ve said before, I just love skulls so much. Honestly, if you also looked at this skelly plant pot and thought to yourself “ah, yes, my aesthetic,” HorrorRomance’s entire shop will probably appeal to you.

$40

New Releases

cover of a long time dead by samara breger

A Long Time Dead by Samara Breger

I have been waiting for this book for what feels like forever, and I’m so excited that it’s finally here. Queer vampires are something I’m just never going to have enough of in my life. Set in 1837, A Long Time Dead is about two vampires — the newly turned Poppy and the ancient Roisin — who start out the story in a country house, with Poppy having just woken up as a vampire. Roisin guides Poppy through her transformation and her new life as a vampire, and soon an attachment forms between the two immortals. But you don’t live for hundreds of years without accumulating some secrets and before long, Roisin’s past comes calling, uprooting their peaceful coexistence. What follows is a raucous adventure in classic Gothic fashion, spanning continents and full of wild events and unforgettable characters. And in the background, behind the pirates and the found families, lurks the villain of the piece, waiting to destroy Poppy and Roisin’s happiness once and for all.

No One Will Come Back For Us Book Cover

No One Will Come Back For Us and Other Stories by Premee Mohamed

Premee Mohamed’s new collection comes out tomorrow! Author of The Annual Migration of Clouds and And What Can We Offer You Tonight among other titles, Mohamed has teamed up with the excellent Undertow Publications to release her debut collection of short fiction, and I could not be more excited. Combining science fiction and dark fantasy with harrowing cosmic horror, the stories in No One Will Come Back for Us catapult readers from the forgotten realms of ancient gods deep beneath the sea to the vast, merciless depths of space. The only thing guaranteed is that monsters await in all the shadowed, forgotten corners of the world that Mohamed crafts.

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

cover of the haunting of alejandra by v. castro

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

Motherhood is a central theme in V. Castro’s frightening yet hopeful story of grief, anger, and generational trauma. The Haunting of Alejandra is told through the history of a family cursed by a monstrous creature from beyond our world, who feeds on the pain and suffering of the families it stalks through the generations. But Alejandra doesn’t know about the monster or the curse, all she knows is that she feels haunted. Both by the life she lives but no longer wants, and by a spectral figure in white who encourages her darkest, saddest thoughts. As she struggles to learn more about herself and her history in order to try and heal, Alejandra finds a legacy of sorrow and loss. A line of ancestors who suffered tragedy, oppression, and cruelty, leading back and back into the past. But alongside their grief, Alejandra also finds their strength, and the means to fight back against the monster before it can consume her and everyone she loves.

Cover of Graveyard of Lost Children by Katrina Monroe

Graveyard of Lost Children by Katrina Monroe

I hope y’all are ready for some body horror, because Katrina Monroe didn’t come to play with her newest book, Graveyard of Lost Children. She begins the novel by putting a body horror twist on birth and then builds on it as Olivia struggles, first with the changes to her body after giving birth to her daughter Flora, and then with the certainty that her body is dying when she becomes convinced that her baby has been replaced with a creature that is slowly draining her life with every feeding. Changeling lore intersects with a heavy discussion of postpartum depression and the societal pressures around being not just a “good” mother, but a “happy” mother. No one can see the horror that Oliva sees, no one seems to see her wasting away. But they see that she’s not as happy as she “should be” now that she’s a mother. They don’t see the black-haired woman who’s dogging her steps, they just see a woman wracked with paranoia and fear. But Olivia can see the woman, and so could Olivia’s mother, Shannon. If Olivia wants to protect herself and her daughter, she will have to seek the black-haired woman out where she lives, and confront a past full of silence and family secrets.

Cover of Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester

Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester

Told from two perspectives across two timelines, Such a Pretty Smile covers a span of 15 years in the lives of Caroline and her 13-year-old daughter, Lila. In 2004, Caroline is a young artist weighed down by her duty to her dying father and the overbearance of her fiancé, an insecure man who is supposed to be in love with her but seems more interested in suppressing her talents in favor of his own career. In 2019, Lila is struggling with societal and parental expectations, the neglect of her distant father, and her own developing sexuality. When Lila’s growing resentment and unrequited feelings start to manifest in strange and frightening ways, she begins to clash with the fragile façade of a life that Caroline has constructed to protect them both. And in doing so, she opens the door to a darkness in Caroline’s past that threatens both their lives.

As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

Categories
The Fright Stuff

The Year of the Slashers

Hey‌ ‌there‌ horror fans, ‌I’m‌ ‌Jessica‌ ‌Avery‌ ‌and‌ ‌I’ll‌ ‌be‌ ‌delivering‌ ‌your‌ ‌weekly‌ ‌brief‌ ‌of‌ ‌all‌ ‌that’s‌ ‌ghastly‌ ‌and‌ ‌grim‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌world‌ ‌of‌ ‌Horror.‌ ‌Whether‌ ‌you’re‌ ‌looking‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌backlist‌ ‌book‌ ‌that‌ ‌will‌ ‌give‌‌ you‌ ‌the‌ ‌willies,‌ ‌a‌ ‌terrifying‌ ‌new‌ ‌release,‌ ‌or‌ ‌the‌ ‌latest‌ ‌in‌ ‌horror‌ ‌community‌ ‌news,‌ ‌you’ll‌ ‌find‌ ‌it‌ ‌here‌ in‌ ‌The‌ ‌Fright‌ ‌Stuff.

Of all the many horror subgenres I love, I will always have a special spot in my heart for slashers. The killer lurking in the dark, weapon in hand. The ensemble cast slowly diminishing, one unfortunate victim at a time. The last player standing fending off the killer, locked in a deadly game of survival. Oooh it’s fun. Which is why I could not be more excited about 2023’s crop of new horror books, because we are going to be swimming in slashers by year’s end!

But before we jump into this week’s picks: Book Riot has a new podcast for you to check out if you’re looking for more bookish content in your life. First Edition will include interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books. You can subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.

Bookish Goods

slasher tote and bookmark by theghoulsroom

Slasher Book Tote and Bookmark by TheGhoulsRoom

This tote and bookmark combo was too deliciously on theme not to be my Bookish Goods pick for the week. You can order the bloody knife bookmark, the “Slash Your TBR” tote, or both together! I consider it a creepy but wonderfully aspirational credo, given the mountainous nature of my own TBR.

$25

New Releases

cover of our hideous progeny by c.e. mcgill

Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill

Alright Frankenstein fans (it’s me, hi), this one’s for you! Both a spiritual and a literal successor to Mary Shelley’s original novel, Our Hideous Progeny is about another Mary, this one the great-niece of the titular Frankenstein, who is in search of the truth about what happened to her uncle when he disappeared in the Arctic. Set in 1850s London in an era of new science and knowledge, Mary and her husband Henry are impoverished scientists with exceptional minds but little wealth. Until Mary stumbles across some old family papers and learns the shocking truth about her uncle’s work.

cover of I'm Not Supposed to be in the Dark by Riss M Neilson

I’m Not Supposed to Be in the Dark by Riss M. Neilson

Aria Cayetano can see the dead. Or at least she used to be able to, until she started drinking a special tea to suppress her abilities. Now the dead only haunt her dreams. But when unusual things begin happening in her neighborhood, and her estranged friend Derek suddenly starts talking to her again, Aria finds herself having to use her gift for the first time in years. Because it’s not Derek talking to her, it’s a ghost possessing his body, searching for something it’s desperate to find. And if it can’t, Derek will die. Aria and Derek will have to work together to solve the mystery if they hope to free the ghost and save Derek’s life.

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

cover of the pledge by caleb dietrich

The Pledge by Cale Dietrich

Cale Dietrich’s The Pledge kicked off our year of slashers back in February with a delightfully classic slasher setup: a masked murderer on the loose on a college campus. Someone is picking off the frat boys of Monroe University. Sam already survived one murderous masked killer on a spree — in fact he was the survivor of a long night of terror that left his friends dead and Sam’s life in ruins. College was supposed to be his chance to start over. He can have a new life and, thanks to his fraternity, a new group of friends. A brand new beginning. Until, that is, one of his frat brothers is found dead. It’s the first death in a violent spree that, to Sam’s horror, seems to have been inspired by the one that haunts him. If Sam wants to protect his new life, and the lives of his new friends, he’ll have to work fast to identify the killer before his bloody history repeats itself.

You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight cover

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron (June 20)

Make sure you add Kalynn Bayron’s forthcoming slasher, You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight to your TBR, because it’s going to be the perfect summer horror read. Take it to the lake! What could go wrong? Horror fan Charity scored the perfect summer job when she got cast to play the “final girl” in an interactive attraction based on the classic slasher, Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. It’s a full-contract experience where guests pay to immerse themselves in scenes from the film. The more frightening the better. Until the last weekend of the season when things at Camp Mirror Lake take a deadly turn, leaving Charity and her girlfriend Bezi fighting to survive the unknown killer that’s picking off Charity’s fellow cast members one by one.

cover of there's no way i'd die first by lisa springer

There’s No Way I’d Die First by Lisa Springer (September 5)

I’m so excited for There’s No Way I’d Die First. What can I say? I’m a horror child from Stephen King country, and I love a scary clown. When Noelle Layne uses her horror movie expertise to throw the biggest, most exclusive Halloween bash for her senior class, she expects the night to go down in history as one of the best parties of her high school career. Not one of the most deadly. That is, until the knock-off creepy clown that she hired puts an ax in one of her guests, and a serious wrinkle in her party plans. As the night descends into terror, Noelle will have to rely on everything she’s learned from a lifetime of watching horror movies if she wants to be the Final Girl in her own personal slasher film.

As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

Categories
The Fright Stuff

Tra La, It’s May, the Frightening Month of May

Hey‌ ‌there‌ horror fans, ‌I’m‌ ‌Jessica‌ ‌Avery‌ ‌and‌ ‌I’ll‌ ‌be‌ ‌delivering‌ ‌your‌ ‌weekly‌ ‌brief‌ ‌of‌ ‌all‌ ‌that’s‌ ‌ghastly‌ ‌and‌ ‌grim‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌world‌ ‌of‌ ‌Horror.‌ ‌Whether‌ ‌you’re‌ ‌looking‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌backlist‌ ‌book‌ ‌that‌ ‌will‌ ‌give‌‌ you‌ ‌the‌ ‌willies,‌ ‌a‌ ‌terrifying‌ ‌new‌ ‌release,‌ ‌or‌ ‌the‌ ‌latest‌ ‌in‌ ‌horror‌ ‌community‌ ‌news,‌ ‌you’ll‌ ‌find‌ ‌it‌ ‌here‌ in‌ ‌The‌ ‌Fright‌ ‌Stuff.

I know that the Spring Equinox is in March, but there’s just something about the first day of May that makes me feel like, yes, it’s finally spring. So I thought we’d celebrate this flower-strewn prologue to summer with the kind of horror that I always find myself craving when the bees start humming and the birds are aloft: Folk Horror.

Because nothing says “ah, the rebirth of nature” like terrifying goings on involving/taking place in nature. Birdies singing. Sacrifices screaming. Sweet advent of the season.

Before we jump into this week’s picks: Book Riot has a new podcast for you to check out if you’re looking for more bookish content in your life. First Edition will include interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books. You can subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.

Now let’s ring in the mellow days of another spring as it rolls down into summer the best way that we frightful folk know how: with books!

Bookish Goods

wee wicker man candle by wailing dip

Wee Wicker Man Candle by WailingDip

Do you ever see something so macabre but delightful that you just laugh and laugh and laugh in a way that might make other people uncomfortable? Because that was my reaction to this adorably awful tiny Wicker Man candle. All of Wailing Dip’s candles — including their full size Wicker Man vs this more affordable “Wee” version — are wonderfully macabre, but something about the Wee Wicker Man just makes me giggle. And hey, technically the film was loosely based on a book, so I’m counting this as bookish and an all around horrific way to bless your harvest this glorious May Day.

$20

New Releases

cover of The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw; illustration of a plague doctor and a long-haired skeleton holding a skull over a pile of skulls

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

Tomorrow is finally the day! I’m so ready for you all to read The Salt Grows Heavy, also known as: the one in which Ariel ditches her Prince (or, rather, leaves him to be devoured by his own carnivorous offspring, if you want to be technical), and hits the road with a strange but charming Plague Doctor. The two stumble upon a super creepy village, deep in the forest, with a bunch of kids who make the Children of the Corn look friendly. On top of all that, they’re being governed by three ghastly Surgeons. When the Plague Doctor reveals that the Surgeons have a dark, violent secret that is a part of the Doctor’s own past, the two travelers find themselves attempting to unravel the Surgeons’ powers and put an end to their terrible work.

cover of we don't swim here by vincent tirado

We Don’t Swim Here by Vincent Tirado

Speaking of May releases, you won’t want to miss — hot on the heels of last year’s incredible Burn Down, Rise Up come’s Vincent Tirado’s newest novel, We Don’t Swim Here. In Hillwoods, nobody goes in the water. No pools, no lakes, no swimming period. Everyone is all weird and secretive, telling Bronwyn “don’t go in the water.” But no one will tell her why. Which is unfortunate, because she’s stuck in her Grandmother’s strange little town all summer. Anais, meanwhile, just wants Bronwyn to stop asking questions. Anais grew up in Hillwoods, and she has her own means of protecting herself from the town’s secrets. But she won’t be able to protect Bronwyn if she can’t keep the other girl from trying to seek the truth about Hillwoods’ painful history.

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

cover of white pines by gemma amor

White Pines by Gemma Amor

If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading any of Gemma Amor’s work before, I highly recommend starting with her 2020 folk horror novel, White Pines. It has all the things that make folk horror so compelling: a remote, isolated town with a secretive history and a penchant for old traditions; a protagonist whose life is in disarray, making them uniquely susceptible to what is about to happen to them; a bit of cult activity (are you even having fun if no one’s in danger of being inducted into a mysterious cult?); and a slow, spiraling descent in which the character’s perception of reality begins to distort. Ah. That’s the good stuff. Megan, the main character of White Pines, suddenly inherits a cottage in the Scottish Highlands, and since her marriage has just fallen apart, she makes the decision to move to the small community while she works out what to do next. But the longer she stays at the cottage, the less real the world around her begins to feel, and the more it becomes apparent that there’s something very wrong with the village and the nearby island with its eerie white trees.

cover of the sacrifice by rin chupeco

The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco

If you’re looking for a folk horror novel that’s not centered on European folklore, I highly recommend grabbing a copy of Rin Chupeco’s The Sacrifice. I really enjoyed this book, which deftly marries action scenes with the eerie ominousness of folk horror, while also offering a blistering commentary on both historical and modern colonialism in Southeast Asia. On the surface, the island of Kisapmata seems like a perfect oasis of white sand and green jungle. But the legends tell another story, one of sleeping gods and tormented ghosts. The locals know well enough to steer clear of Kisapmata, so when an overbearing team of Hollywood producers and their entire crew descend on the island with the intention of monetizing its tragic past, the only local who steps in to try and protect them from Kisapmata’s dangers is Alon, a teen who knows the island better than anyone living. But even Alon’s knowledge of Kisapmata and its secrets may not be enough to protect the crew from the island’s curse. Or its hunger.

Cover of Slewfoot by Brom

Slewfoot by Brom

I would like it to be noted that I have gone (nearly) a whole calendar year without pestering you (again) to read Slewfoot. But it’s spring and I’m back on my bullshit folks, so listen up: NATURE. Nature is at the heart of this delightful, witchy, folklore-ish/adjacent book that you should definitely all be reading. Fantastical and horrifying, Slewfoot is a dark, magical story about how monsters and witches are made. When Abitha is widowed suddenly by a suspicious accident, she finds her self desperately trying to hold on to her freedom in the midst of a pious and patriarchal society that would rather see her tucked neatly under the thumb of another man. Enter Slewfoot, a newly woken forest spirit who, like Abitha, is searching for his place in the world, for good or for evil.

As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.

Categories
The Fright Stuff

Bloody Bloody Backlist: The Return of 2018

Hey‌ ‌there‌ horror fans, ‌I’m‌ ‌Jessica‌ ‌Avery‌ ‌and‌ ‌I’ll‌ ‌be‌ ‌delivering‌ ‌your‌ ‌weekly‌ ‌brief‌ ‌of‌ ‌all‌ ‌that’s‌ ‌ghastly‌ ‌and‌ ‌grim‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌world‌ ‌of‌ ‌Horror.‌ ‌Whether‌ ‌you’re‌ ‌looking‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌backlist‌ ‌book‌ ‌that‌ ‌will‌ ‌give‌‌ you‌ ‌the‌ ‌willies,‌ ‌a‌ ‌terrifying‌ ‌new‌ ‌release,‌ ‌or‌ ‌the‌ ‌latest‌ ‌in‌ ‌horror‌ ‌community‌ ‌news,‌ ‌you’ll‌ ‌find‌ ‌it‌ ‌here‌ in‌ ‌The‌ ‌Fright‌ ‌Stuff.

Hello and welcome to another edition of Bloody Bloody Backlist for this our last newsletter in April! This week’s chosen year is 2018, which, I realized as I was putting this list together, was my last year as a non-horror reader. Okay that’s a weird way to phrase it, but basically: I used to read horror all the time as a kid. I’m not sure exactly when or why I stopped, but it wasn’t until the spring of 2019 that, as I was getting more and more into dark fantasy fiction, I started asking myself “what happened to that creepy, vampire-obsessed kid who read Interview with the Vampire at a very impressionable age and used to devour Goosebumps books by flashlight”?

Now here I am, in my third year of writing this newsletter (which is: whoa), and getting to share my love of horror with you all every week! And I absolutely wouldn’t change a thing.

Before we jump into talking about some of the amazing horror books of 2018: if you are looking for more book related content for your inbox, like fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more from experts in the world of books and reading, Book Riot’s new subscription-based newsletter, The Deep Dive, is a way to get exclusive content delivered to you. Subscribe and choose your membership level today at bookriot.substack.com.

Bookish Goods

dracula watercolor print by beyondtheshelfshop

Dracula Watercolor Print by BeyondtheShelfShop

I know I’m always telling you to go check out the entire shops of the creators whose work I feature here, but if you ever were going to take that advice, do it for BeyondtheShelfShop’s watercolor collection. These prints are so unbelievably gorgeous that I want to put every single one of them on my walls. If you share my love for these colorful, dreamlike paintings, good news! They also offer curated sets under the “Special Offers & Bundles” section of their shop.

$16+

New Releases

cover of this delicious death by kayla cottingham

This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham

So, say you survived the “zombie apocalypse.” What then? That’s what best friends Zoey, Celeste, Valeria, and Jasmine are having to figure out in Kayla Cottingham’s newest YA horror novel, This Delicious Death. They’re ghouls, victims of a mysterious pathogen set loose from the melting arctic permafrost. It impacted their ability to digest normal human food, and left them with a ravening hunger for the one thing they could tolerate: human flesh. But thanks to the advent of synthetic, lab-grown human meat, the horrors of what became known as the Hollowing soon faded, leaving humanity to find a way to navigate a very strange new normal. Which is why Zoey and her friends are off to a music festival in the desert, trying to have one last, ordinary teen hurrah before graduation. But when Val goes feral and ends up eating a boy at the festival, their plans for “normal” go rapidly off the rails.

cover of neverest by tl bodine

Neverest by T.L. Bodine

Y’all know how I feel about mountain climbing horror. Just give me all of it. Put it in my eyes. I’ll take “Mountains Haunted by Ancient, Malevolent Evils” for $2000, Alex. So obviously, I’m super excited for T.L. Bodine’s Neverest, about a widow, Carrie, who sets off on an expedition to find her missing husband’s body after he disappears from the summit of Mount Everest. Accompanied by her husband Sean’s best friend, Tom, who has agreed to be her expedition guide on the mountain, and with only Sean’s travel journal to guide their search, Carrie attempts to follow her husband’s footsteps to the summit of the world’s most dangerous mountain. Only to find, amid the frozen and the dead, something ancient and sinister that calls the highest reaches of Everest its home.

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

the hunger alma katsu cover

The Hunger by Alma Katsu

Alma Katsu really is the undefeated champion of historical horror. And, of course, the novel that she’s best known for is The Hunger, a story as much about desperation and superstition as it is about cannibalism. I don’t really have to tell you much about the plot of The Hunger. Most folks are familiar with the doomed Donner Party who, with their great journey West already having been plagued by a string of disasters, become stranded in the Sierra Nevada range and find themselves in a situation where survival seems increasingly unlikely. But inThe Hunger it’s not just the weather threatening their lives. Something has been stalking the Donner party for miles. Something hungry. And it’s been picking them off, one at a time, sowing fear and suspicion in its wake.

cover of the rust maidens by gwendolyn kiste

The Rust Maidens by Gwendolyn Kiste

Adding to this week’s mini-theme of weird plagues: returning to Cleveland for the first time in years, Phoebe Shaw is catapulted back to the summer of 1980 when the girls of Denton Street were suddenly struck by an alarming illness that caused their bodies to literally corrode, becoming rusted, jagged, metallic things that mirrored the collapse of the industrial city around them. The Rust Maidens. Told in alternating timelines between Phoebe’s past and her present, Kiste’s The Rust Maidens is a chilling, grotesque work of body horror about the tragedy of a dying city, and the people left behind. At its heart is the hidden secret behind the illness of the Rust Maidens; a mystery that Phoebe must unravel if she hopes to protect herself and those she loves.

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson cover image

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson

2018 was also the year that Lily Anderson gave us Undead Girl Gang, and introduced readers to her brilliant blend of horror and humor. When Mila’s best friend Riley dies suddenly, along with two mean girls from their school, in what appears to be a suicide pact, Mila does the only thing she can to prove that it’s not true: she raises the dead. With some lip gloss and an ancient grimoire, Mila brings both Riley and the two girls, June and Dayton, back to life so she can discover the truth about their suspicious deaths. Only, none of the girls can remember who killed them. Now Mila has three undead teens on her hands, all with unfinished business to attend to, and only seven days to solve the mystery of their deaths before they crawl back into their graves, leaving their murderer free to kill again.

Fresh From the Skeleton’s Mouth

If you’re looking for some extra horror content in your life, Eric LaRocca (Everything the Darkness Eats) and Rachel Harrison (Black Sheep) are joining Clay McLeod Chapman for the fourth installment of his Fearmongers series, Tuesday, April 25 at 8PM/ET! You can find the registration link in McLeod’s tweet about the event.

Speaking of Rachel Harrison! She joined Stephanie from Books in the Freezer for the podcast’s most recent episode, celebrating Twilight Zone read-alikes!

As always, you can catch me on twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.