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Winter is not quite done with us yet — and it’s a great time to get cozy and read something spooky while we wait for warmer temperatures. Here’s what’s new and what you might have missed in the Horror genre.
Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward. Riley and her brother Oliver set off in the pitch-black night, fleeing their troubled home. They are heading for Nowhere — an abandoned ranch, once the playground of its former eccentric movie-star owner, now a haven for runaways. What awaits could be the freedom they crave. But this mysterious clan guards dark secrets, and the scorched grounds hold the ghosts of the past.
The October Film Haunt by Michael Whelan. Ten years ago, Jorie Stroud was the rising star of the October Film Haunt blog — run by a trio of horror enthusiasts who camped out at the filming locations of their favorite scary movies. But after a night in the graveyard from Proof of Demons — perhaps the most chilling cult film ever made — everything unraveled. Now, Jorie lives an isolated life with her young son in Vermont. In the devastating wake of her viral, truth-stretching Proof of Demons blog entry — hysteria, internet backlash, and the death of a young woman — Jorie has put it all, along with her intense love for the horror genre, behind her. Until a videotape arrives in the mail.
The Midnight Knock by John Fram. In the frigid west Texas desert, weary travelers converge at a lonely roadside motel nestled at the foot of a massive mountain. All of them are on the run from something. All of them are hiding something. Somehow, they’re all connected to the motel’s other guest, an enigmatic woman named Sarah Powers. Within hours, Sarah is dead. The strange twins who run the motel inform the surviving guests that her murder demands justice and are given an ultimatum: uncover the killer by midnight — or die when the protective lights around the motel go out. Because something very old and very dangerous lurks in this corner of the desert. And it’s hungry.
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. Four American Indian men and their families are haunted by a disturbing, deadly event that took place in their youth. They find themselves totally helpless as they are tracked years later by an entity bent on revenge and the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.
You Weren’t Meant to be Human by Andrew Joseph White. Festering masses of worms and flies have taken root in dark corners across Appalachia. In exchange for unwavering loyalty and fresh corpses, these hives offer a few struggling humans salvation. A fresh start. It’s an offer that none refuse. Among his hive’s followers, Crane has found a chance to transition, to never speak again, to live a life that won’t destroy him. He even met Levi: a handsome ex-Marine and brutal killer who treats him like a real man, mostly. But then Levi gets Crane pregnant — and the hive demands the child’s birth, no matter the cost.
Moonflow by Bitter Karella. Sarah makes her living growing mushrooms. When a bad harvest leaves her in a desperate fix, the lure of the King’s Breakfast has her journeying into those vast uncharted woods. One bite of the King’s Breakfast and you can understand the full scope of the universe; one bite and you can commune with forgotten gods beyond human comprehension. Her only guide is the most annoying man in the world, and he's convinced there’s no danger. But as they descend deeper, they realize they’re not alone.
A Game in Yellow by Hailey Piper. Carmen and Blanca have been in a rut. That is until Blanca discovers the enigmatic Smoke in an under-street drug den, who holds pages to a strange play, The King in Yellow. Read too much, and you’ll fall into madness. But read just a little and pull back, and it gives you the adrenaline rush of survivor’s euphoria, leading Carmen to fall into a game of lust at a nightmare’s edge.
