Published  September 17, 2015 by Inklings Publishing In Twisted Reveries, suspense author Meg Hafdahl introduces us to thirteen unforgettabl...

Guest Post || The Haunted House in Horror Literature by Meg Hafdahl


Published September 17, 2015 by Inklings Publishing

In Twisted Reveries, suspense author Meg Hafdahl introduces us to thirteen unforgettable women. They include a grieving mother, a librarian living on the edge of fantasy, and a pyromaniac motel manager. In all thirteen spine-tingling tales these women are faced with their deepest fears, as they are forced to become the hero or villain of their own story. The Rochester Post Bulletin describes, "Everything is not as it seems in the short, 'Twilight Zone' like tales Hafdahl writes." Packed with twists and intrigue, Twisted Reveries will satisfy fans of horror, suspense, and captivating female protagonists. As Amanda walks home alone in the eerie town of Willoughby, she is unsettled by a malevolent stalker in close pursuit, who is somehow familiar... Louise is kidnapped off a snowy, rural road when she is distracted by A Flash of Orange. When a twist of fate allows her escape, her true horrifying test begins... A group of strangers, including fearful Kelly, are trapped in the infusion ward of a hospital, and something hungry is targeting their weaknesses. Will Kelly dig deep and find her Guts? When Hannah Goes Home she brings her fiancee to the squalid reality of her childhood. But she is determined to keep one, awful truth from surfacing... Immerse yourself in the dark, pulse-pounding landscapes of Twisted Reveries: Thirteen Tales of the Macabre.








The Haunted House in Horror Literature

by meg hafdahl



With the recent success of Grady Hendrix’s (My Best Friend’s Exorcism, The Final Girl Support Group) newest novel, How To Sell A Haunted House, I naturally started thinking about this well-loved trope of a house bursting with ghosts. It’s also been on my mind as my co-author and I have been crossing the USA, documenting haunted places for our travel book coming in 2024. I don’t need to tell you that haunted houses are abundantly used as settings in the horror genre, and they share many similarities. You know; the drafty rooms, mysterious corridors, spider-webbed attics, and, most vital of all, the ghosts. These are often apparitions of the former owners, often people who were murdered or died with the always popular “unfinished business.” They can be invisible, or maybe show themselves, dressed in the clothes of their era.  The haunted house is certainly not a new idea, like the boogeyman himself, it is borne of our natural, human fears. Home is where we should feel safe. No matter the indignities of life outside, we should all have a safe place in which to retreat. When this is disturbed, it immediately brings horror to the characters, and their readers. 

My favorite haunted house story is Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. I’m not alone, as it has inspired many films and works, as recently as Mike Flanagan’s Netflix series. Written at a time when women were grappling with their place in the home (on the cusp of the sixties) Jackson uses the conventions of a haunted house to point to the destruction of the female in forced domesticity. Home, to Jackson, is inherently female, as well as maternal. When Stephen King created ghosts in The Shining (okay a hotel, but close enough) he used the tropes of the haunted house to further a story about a man haunted by his own past, as well as his ever-present addiction. And we know Edgar Allan Poe meditated on the nature of guilt and grief through some of the first American haunted dwellings. Perhaps what makes a haunted house so prolific in horror literature, is that it is an enticing template on which authors can inject their own fears. Isn’t that what we do when we enter a Halloween haunted house? As we traverse the slim corridors and actors jump out at us, we are individually dreading all the things that could happen. For some its our fear of something crawling on our neck, for others it’s a bloodthirsty ghost of that person we killed! Oops! 

As a horror fiction writer I am not immune to this trope. Ghosts creeping around houses are just plain scary, it’s something as humans we’ve collectively agreed gives us goosebumps. It also delves into what little we know about an afterlife. In my novel Daughters of Darkness, I introduced a ghost who speaks to a child through an air vent. This juxtaposition of the scary and the mundane is another aspect, I think, that makes haunted houses so appealing. 

    Books are not the only reason we share a collective understanding of the haunted house. They are alive and well in films from every decade, like the Vincent Price starring The House on Haunted Hill in 1959 to the vividly gothic Crimson Peak in 2015. Let us not forget the chairs moving in formation in Poltergeist, and that clown toy hiding in the shadows that still gives me nightmares…

    However you like your haunted house there’s one for you.

    Here’s some recommendations of some of my favorites if want to explore some haunted houses on your own (what could go wrong?) 

Books: The Good House by Tananarive Due, Hell House by Richard Matheson, The Hacienda by Isabel Canas, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Movies: The Grudge, The Changeling, 1408, The Others, The Innocents




Horror and suspense author Meg Hafdahl is the creator of numerous stories and books. Her fiction has appeared in anthologies such as Eve’s Requiem: Tales of Women, Mystery and Horror and Eclectically Criminal. Her work has been produced for audio by The Wicked Library and The Lift, and she is the author of two popular short story collections including Twisted Reveries: Thirteen Tales of the Macabre. Meg is also the author of the two novels; Daughters of Darkness and Her Dark Inheritance called “an intricate tale of betrayal, murder, and small town intrigue” by Horror Addicts and “every bit as page turning as any King novel” by RW Magazine. Meg, also the co-host of the podcast Horror Rewind and co-author of The Science of Monsters, The Science of Women in Horror, The Science of Stephen King and upcoming The Science of Serial Killers, lives in the snowy bluffs of Minnesota.

Published September 6, 2022 by Skyhorse A scientific discovery of witches in fiction—Chilled Adventures of Sabrina, Sleeping Beauty, Wicked ...

Guest Post || The Horror and Humanity of The Last of Us By Kelly Florence



Published September 6, 2022 by Skyhorse

A scientific discovery of witches in fiction—Chilled Adventures of Sabrina, Sleeping Beauty, Wicked and so many more!

Kelly Florence and Meg Hafdahl, authors of The Science of Women in Horror and co-hosts of the Horror Rewind podcast called “the best horror film podcast out there” by Film Daddy, present a guide to the history of witchcraft through the stories and characters we all know and love. Reveal the spellbinding science behind the legends and lore surrounding fiction’s most iconic witches, answering such questions as:
What is the science behind divination and spellcraft?
When did witchcraft begin to show up in literature and media?
Has science made it possible to uncover the truth behind the powers of necromancy and employing familiars?
How has witchcraft been thought of throughout the world?

Through interviews, film and literary analysis, and bone-chilling discoveries, join Kelly and Meg as they learn about the complicated and rich science of witchcraft throughout the centuries and discover why now is the season of the witch!





The Horror and Humanity of The Last of Us

By Kelly Florence



HBO’s latest hit, The Last of Us (2023-), based on the video game by the same name, has taken the world by storm. On Sunday, January 29th the third episode of the series premiered and became the social media buzz and water cooler talk of the week. How could a post-apocalyptic show about mushroom zombies cause so many people to openly weep? Acclaimed horror writer and director Mike Flanagan even declared it to be “one of the best episodes of television I’ve ever seen.” This earnest and beautiful hour of television explores not only how life changes after an outbreak that infects the world but also how love, and the things we fight for, matter throughout our time on this Earth.


Light spoilers ahead if you haven’t watched the series! The videogame “The Last of Us” was released in 2013 and follows the characters Joel and Ellie as they navigate their way through the United States which has been overrun by “the Infected.” HBO’s version deviates from the game by exploring stories and perspectives that broaden the world and emotional understanding of the characters. “One More Good Day,” the third episode of the series, focuses on two men Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett), and their relationship over a period of years. Creator Craig Mazin said, “I think the Bill and Frank relationship ultimately functioned as this interesting, thematic core where you can see every relationship between two people in the show…It keeps circling what it means to be somebody that loves outward and somebody who loves inward, what it means to protect and what it means to risk. It just felt like it was a good chance to do that stuff and to do it in a place where we wouldn’t be breaking anything from the game. It just felt safe.” 2 


In the study of communications, we often discuss the different types of love that exist and how we show that love to others. Gary Chapman coined and wrote about “The Five Love Languages” in his 1992 book by the same name after working as a marriage counselor for over twenty years. Relationship experts have been using this system of understanding love to help couples better communicate and understand one another. The five love languages are words of affirmation, acts of service, gifts, quality time, and physical touch. According to Chapman, we each like to show our love for others in a specific way and we prefer to receive our love from others in one of these love languages. It’s important to note that they may be different. For example, you may like to receive gifts, but you would rather show your love through words of affirmation. Your partner may prefer receiving love by spending quality time with you while you would like to have physical touch to feel loved and appreciated. Understanding these facets about ourselves and others helps us to strengthen our relationships and become better communicators. 


Bill and Frank’s love languages become apparent throughout the episode in a variety of touching moments I won’t spoil for you here! The actors’ sincere portrayals, the writer’s heartbreaking dialogue, the beautiful direction, and the haunting score all culminate to become one of my favorite episodes of television ever and I, too, was a sobbing wreck by the conclusion! This proves that the genre of horror can have an impact on us as readers and viewers far more than some people imagine. Horror can induce empathy, show complicated and rich relationships, and have us experience worlds and circumstances we didn’t think possible. After hearing others talk about their reactions to this episode during the week, it seems many of us came to the same conclusion: spend time with the ones you love. Show them that you care. Tell them that you love them. We don’t know how much time we’ll have with the ones that matter most to us so it’s important to act now before it’s too late. And don’t forget to watch more in the horror genre, too!


1 Flanagan, Mike. (January 29, 2023) “#TheLastofUsHBO.” Twitter.com. 

2 Dyer, James. (January 30, 2023) “The Last of Us: Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann on How Episode 3 Explores ‘What it Means to Protect, and What it Means to Risk.’” Empire.






Kelly Florence teaches communication at Lake Superior College in Duluth, MN and is the creator of the Be a Better Communicator podcast. She received her BA in theatre from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and her MA in communicating arts from the University of Wisconsin-Superior. She has written, directed, produced, choreographed, and stage managed for dozens of productions in Minnesota including Carrie: The Musical through Rubber Chicken Theatre and Treasure Island for Wise Fool Theater. She is passionate about female representation in all media and particularly the horror genre.
 
She is the co-author of The Science of Monsters, The Science of Women in Horror, The Science of Stephen King, The Science of Serial Killers, and The Science of Witchcraft with Meg Hafdahl. They co-host the Horror Rewind podcast and write and produce horror projects together. Kelly is repped by Stacey Kondla (Literary Agent) at The Rights Factory and Karmen Wells (TV/Film Agent) at The Rights Factory.

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About the Book  Young couple Ally and Lauren move to the small town of Wyndhamton in southwest England to open a café together with the help...

Author Spotlight || James Parsons, Author of The Woken Bones


About the Book 

Young couple Ally and Lauren move to the small town of Wyndhamton in southwest England to open a café together with the help Ally’s old friend Kev. With his own life going nowhere, his mother Daphne made him a proposition. Once owner of a shop on the high street, she wants them to have success again but to get it they must agree to include her former business partner Lydia. Daphne soon becomes a daily fixture offering advice and wisdom in the café as business starts to take off.

Kev called in some friends to help renovate the café with the promise of jobs but as the days pass, they disappear one by one. Lauren spends more time training with the mysterious Lydia in the disused shops behind the carved doors on the high street…

With a history of witch trials centuries ago, superstition and fear survive and is quietly apparent on the high street and in the ways of the people. Shopkeepers of the high street start to witness the familiar sight of years ago by their homes at night of the macabre tall figure which waits for offerings as the folklore recalls. Kev too sees this woman of the shadows with her tortured souls by her side as she visits after midnight with her silent threat of what will be taken should she not be respected…

As Lauren is gone from the café after an emotional confrontation with Ally, she leans on Kev. Daphne has a desire to find something deep inside the café which may secure her renewed success and control over the dangerous forces she has woken on the high street…

What does Kev see outside his window late at night? What are those disturbing sounds out in the garden after midnight he hears and cannot ignore? The local legends of witches seeking revenge he used to mock and hope for with his friends, may prove to be something far too real…

For Daphne to return to success on high street and Kev to be with Ally like before what are they prepared to lose or encounter? How many must suffer or make an offering to the witch?
The local legends and lore of vengeful witches to be heeded and bargained with must be remembered and respected but to Ally it sounds so ridiculous…

What would you offer a witch to save a life?
What lies behind the carved doors of the disused shops of the high street?
Rattle the bones, the witch comes home…



Where were you when you first thought "I need to write this story?"


Having written my second full length horror novel and been submitting it to publishers for around twelve months as covid and lockdowns arrived I decided to try out writing a few short novellas and self-publishing them as many other authors were doing so and I figured I could put them out to readers sooner and on a regular basis once completed. 

Did publishing your first book change your process of writing?


Since my first couple of books were published, I suppose I have over time I have learned to prepare notes and use time more efficiently with first drafts through to final draft though each book of project is different. 

What's your favorite "bad review" that you've gotten?  


I'm not sure any stand out specifically but possibly some comments about being derivative or not having that special something to keep the reviewer turning the pages to the end. But no one book appeals to everyone. 


What comes first for you - the plot or the characters?


More often the plot but this is something I've considered over time, and I have built up a collection of notepads and files with many characters and plots to pick from and play around with or build upon should the desire be there. Sometimes a special or unique character does seem to form in one's mind as if from nowhere as does the initial seed of a plot.

Do you have any writing superstitions?

I don't think so, but I suppose I have my routines and like to have notepads, pens, laptop in a certain place, take breaks at possible the same times. 

Is there a word you find yourself using too often when writing?

There probably are a few or phrases also and that is something which is an irritant at the back of one's mind. I try to be aware of this, add in some different phrases, descriptions, nouns and more especially with character dialogue.  

A lot of authors have a soundtrack while writing. Are there any songs you had on repeat? 

Sometimes I might find myself listening to a particular band and their back catalogue while working on a draft.  With my previous horror novel I was listening to goth metal band Paradise Lost a lot. Quite often if writing horror I put on the Hellraiser score soundtracks, Twin Peaks music and other David Lynch soundtracks but also bands ranging from Depeche Mode, Johnny Cash, Mastodon, Faith No More to Bjork, Beatles, Public Enemy and more. 

Do you have a favorite line that you've written? What is it and why do you like it?

That's hard for me to say objectively. I often find myself proud of particular chapters or how a character or plot has been developed through a story.

What is something about the genre that annoys you?

There are cliches in every kind of genre but when you easily see what seems like a story written with little imagination or a premise which initially seemed to suggest a great story tragically wasted or only slightly opened up but not nearly enough. 

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Don't dwell too much on the first draft, on sentences or phrases, just get it down without thinking too much about it. Have courage and believe in what you are are doing.  

What advice would you like to pass on to aspiring writers that is unconventional but true?

Don't try to emulate or follow trending in fiction. It might seem like the thing to do but it will probably be better to follow your own instincts and get your own strange but intriguing ideas down on the page and ultimately more satisfying. 

Do you have a WIP? If so, can you tell us anything about it?

I have a number of notepads full of many ideas, concepts, characters and projects waiting to be explored. I have one final novella from the covid/lockdown times which I hope to publish early next year and after that I have possibly half a dozen or so fiction work which I've been waiting to get right into. They may be less straight forward in terms of genre and horror, slightly more surreal or fantastical possibly. 

Which of your characters was your favorite to write and why?

Often it can be the lead character, but I have found myself finding interest especially recently in final drafts with some of the supporting characters as I try to give them more dimensions or have them be useful to the story and realistic. 

Would you and your main character get along?

At this point after writing a few books and more short stories maybe less so but that may be a good thing. Early on as a writer there can be that tendency to find the lead character may be too much like yourself or an imagined better version of the author. More often now my main characters are possibly less like me but still fascinating individuals. I am possibly less like Ally from my new book as she is a little loud and headstrong and maybe more like Lauren who is more introverted and thoughtful. 

Killing off characters your readers love - Risky or necessary?

It all comes down to the plot. I've looked back over some of my fiction, especially the horror work and sometimes think more characters should have died as it is horror fiction, but it should come down to events in the plot not simply to have bodies and bloody spilled left, right and centre. 

Did any of your characters surprise you while you were writing?

Possibly in The Woken Bones I became gradually more surprised by Kev, his mother Daphne and Gina who I developed more toward the final draft, and they revealed themselves and how they were useful to the plot or unique in their own ways toward the end of writing. 

You've watched a movie 50 times and you still aren't tired of it. What movie is it?

Hellraiser. 

Which animal (real or fictional) would you say is your spirit animal and why?

A fish, simply because I had many of them as a child and teenager. They are quiet most of the time but often calm and graceful. 

Would you rather live in a haunted mansion or a cottage surrounded by fairytale creatures?

Probably haunted mansion even if that turned out to be a very bad decision, I probably could not resist. 

What would you say is your weirdest writing quirk?

I usually write long hand in notepads for the first draft at least and sometimes find myself doing some calligraphy over names and chapter headings or notes in the margins. 

Using only emojis, sum up your book.

👀🤢😢🤷‍♀️🤢👍


You've just gone Trick or Treating. What do you hope is in your bag? 

What do you pawn off on your kids/SO/random stranger?

I would be very happy with some funsize snickers but pawn off mini eclairs chews or toffee sweets. 

What is in your internet search history (researching for your book) that you would want someone to wipe if you were under suspicion from the police?

With the new book things like witch trials, torture devices and things like that which I suppose would make police raise some eyebrows. 

You wake up in the middle of the night from a nightmare. What was it?

The places I know and are familiar to me burning and melting around me as I have no voice and seem to be shrinking while everyone else runs through the streets tall like crazed giants. No idea what that means. Ask Freud. 

What cliched tattoo would your main character have?

Tribal dragon with nun-chucks. 

What movie completely scarred you as a child?

I saw many 'video nasties' growing up in the late eighties but sometimes it was the more bizarre or strange and trashy ones which left a mark. Scenes from Dario Argento's Phenomena some of the A Nightmare on Elmstreet movies did leave a lasting impression.  

What's the strangest thing a fan (or other author)  has said to you?

At a convention promoting my first horror novel I plucked up the courage to say hello to an author I admired a lot. We had a chat and the author they led me to meet another couple of authors to ask they if they thought I resembled a very famous author. It was strange but it was also a compliment. 

If animals could talk, which one would be the rudest?

How about a lion, they're kind of arrogant and full of themselves. 

Your main character is at the hardware store. What do they buy?

Cigarettes, a rock music magazine, a lottery scratch card and some popping rock candy. 

Which of the Golden Girls is your personality most like?

I'd like to say Dorothy but probably Rose. But that's not a bad thing right? 

If you were bitten and changed, would you want it to be by a vampire or a werewolf?

Probably a vampire as I'm a tragic romantic and couldn't resist the possibility of living for a few hundred years. 

You're riding through the desert on a horse with no name. What are you going to call it?

Clouseau 

What are your SM links? Can we follow you and pretend we're besties? 

If twitter continues, I'm there as @Parsonsfiction but also Instagram as parsonsfictions, mastodon as parsonsfiction. Facebook under James E Parsons

 

From working in animation/film production, moved to writing screenplays and onto fiction. Have had two science fiction books published, debut horror novel in 2018 and back in 2022 with horror novella and new horror novel. 


Published March 23, 2023 by Brigids Gate Press, LLC A family's relocation looked like a chance to relax and regroup—but as they settle i...

Guest Post || Making A Setting Feel Real (Even If It’s Not) by Ben Monroe


Published March 23, 2023 by Brigids Gate Press, LLC

A family's relocation looked like a chance to relax and regroup—but as they settle into their new home, teenage Kimmie Barnes’ special senses make her the target of something primordial, evil, and utterly malign.

Darkness…

Golden Oaks, California is a sleepy town on the shores of Oro Lake,
and the residents have no idea what horrors lurk below the glittering waters.

Beneath the waves…

One by one, as people begin to disappear,
the once quiet town is soon in the grips of a waking nightmare.
An unimaginable horror consuming everything before it.

Hungry…

All while echoes of an ancient evil spread out like malignant spider webs,
like dead hands reaching, grasping…

SEETHING…




Making A Setting Feel Real (Even If It’s Not) by ben Monroe


When I wrote The Seething, one of the things I really wanted to do was make the small town setting of Oro Lake, California seem real. While the town is completely a figment of my imagination (though inspired by a few real towns), I felt it was vital to the story to make it seem like a real place, like somewhere readers could visit. Somewhere that felt like it had existed in that place for a long time, and had a history of its own, and that The Seething was perhaps only one of the stories taking place there. As the characters are traveling there, I gave pretty specific directions about their drive, noting the highway numbers, side streets, road signs, etc. Of course, it was all completely made up.


This is something I often consider when writing any of my stories, honestly. Most of what I write is set in the modern world, rather than a strange fantasy kingdom, or a science fiction galaxy far, far away. And while it might seem relatively easy to create a sense of place in the familiar confines of the here and now, there’s still a bit of thinking that must be done to get that feeling across to the reader.

In order to create the sense of a real place, I think are the three key elements to include in a setting: Names, Backstories, and Connections.

Name Everything You Can

This is pretty simple, but really helps to sell a setting as real. Characters don’t just drive along the road looking for a place to eat. They drive down “Hawford Lane, on the way to Farley’s Diner.” Any time you have the opportunity to give something a name, do it (and for goodness sake, make a note of it somewhere so you don’t forget!). This is especially helpful when making up locations for your story. Naming streets, stores, buildings, etc., gives the reader a sense that they’re reading about real places.

And don’t just reserve this for places; naming objects also helps. Don’t be generic if you can get away with it. Tell the readers that the maniac is chasing the teenagers with a Stihl chainsaw, or a Craftsman hammer. 

What Happened Here Before?

This is the Backstory of a place I mentioned earlier. Not every named location in a story needs to have a fully-detailed backstory. But whenever possible, enough of them should have anecdotes applied to them that the reader gets the sense that the setting has been around for a while. People might remember stories about a thing that happened in a specific place, even if it’s not immediately relevant to the overall plot of the story. 

Maybe the movie theater in town used to be a bingo parlor 50 years ago, and some of the older folks in town have fond memories of it. Or the grocery store changed owners recently, and people still sometimes call it by the original name. Or maybe just something as simple as a character mentioning having a fond or funny memory of a specific place (“It’s down past the liquor store on East 14th. You remember? The one where Frank tripped that one time when we was kids, and dumped a slushee all down the front of his shirt.”)

Make Some Connections

Connecting places to each other via characters or character dialogue is another way to make your setting feel like a real place. In The Seething, I have a scene where a character is talking to a waitress at the Get Up & Go Diner downtown. He’s asking about somewhere in town to get his phone repaired, and she happened to know that the local hardware store recently hired a guy to do small tech repairs.

In making this simple connection I was able to move the plot forward, as well as reinforce the feeling of a small town atmosphere. The “everybody knows everyone” sort of feeling I was going for in the setting.

One last thing...

I also like to blend real-world elements and the fabrications together. There’s a lot of stuff about Oro Lake (and the nearby town of Golden Oaks) which was completely made up. But I connected some of those elements to real world things like Roosevelt’s WPA projects, which readers will recognize. Thus blending the real with the false I blurred the lines between the two, helping to make the town seem like a real place.





Picture of author Ben Monroe
Ben Monroe has spent most of his life in Northern California, where he lives in the East Bay Area with his wife and two children. He is the author of In the Belly of the Beast and Other Tales of Cthulhu Wars, The Seething (coming in 2023 from Brigids Gate
Press), the graphic novel Planet Apocalypse, and short stories in several anthologies.

His latest story “the Patchwork Man” appears in Blood In the Soil, Terror On the Wind from Brigids Gate Press. You can find more information about him and his work at www.benmonroe.com.

February is the month of love!  It might seem like horror and romance are incongruous but what better time to read horror than on the cold a...

This Month in Horror || February 2023


February is the month of love! 

It might seem like horror and romance are incongruous but what better time to read horror than on the cold and dark nights of February. Honestly, though, is there ever a bad time to read horror? 

February is a big month for horror releases so sit back, relax, and...

Get ready to pad your TBR, here are just a few of February's releases! 

If you've missed the previous list for January, you can still check those out. And if you are looking for what's still to come, you can see the whole list for 2023 here.

If you have a book releasing this year and want to get on the list, click here and I'll get you added!

__________________________________________

The Witch of Tin Mountain by Paulette Kennedy 
 
Woman in white dress standing in front of a mountain with her arms raised

Expected publication: February 1, 2023 by Lake Union Publishing


In Depression-era Arkansas, something wicked has come to a haunted mountain town in a novel of uncanny suspense by the author of Parting the Veil.


Blood and power bind three generations of women in the Ozark Mountains. So does an evil that’s followed them across the decades.

1931. Gracelynn Doherty lives peacefully on Tin Mountain, helping her adoptive granny work her cures. Despite whispers that the women are witches, the superstitious locals still seek them out, whether they suffer from arthritis or a broken heart. But when evangelist Josiah Bellflower comes to town touting miracle healing, full bellies, and prosperity, his revivals soon hold Tin Mountain in thrall—and Granny in abject fear.

Granny recognizes Josiah. Fifty years ago, in a dark and desperate moment, she made a terrible promise. Now Josiah, an enemy, has returned to collect his due.

As Granny sickens and the drought-ridden countryside falls under a curse, Gracelynn must choose: flee Tin Mountain and the only family she knows or confront the vengeful preacher whose unholy mission is to destroy her.




Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger by K.C. Grifant

Expected Publication: February 2, 2023 by Brigids Gate Press, LLC


In an Old West overrun by monsters, a stoic gunslinger must embark on a dangerous quest to save her friends and stop a supernatural war.

Sharpshooter Melinda West, 29, has encountered more than her share of supernatural creatures after a monster infection killed her mother. Now, Melinda and her charismatic partner, Lance, offer their exterminating services to desperate towns, fighting everything from giant flying scorpions to psychic bugs. But when they accidentally release a demon, they must track a dangerous outlaw across treacherous lands and battle a menagerie of creatures—all before an army of soul-devouring monsters descend on Earth.

The Witcher meets Bonnie and Clyde in a re-imagined Old West full of diverse characters, desolate landscapes, and fast-paced adventure.

Gothic by Philip Fracassi 

Expected publication: February 3, 2023 by Cemetery Dance Publications

On his 59th birthday, Tyson Parks—a famous, but struggling, horror writer—receives an antique desk from his partner, Sarah, in the hopes it will rekindle his creative juices. Perhaps inspire him to write another best-selling novel and prove his best years aren’t behind him.

A continent away, a mysterious woman makes inquiries with her sources around the world, seeking the whereabouts of a certain artifact her family has been hunting for centuries. With the help of a New York City private detective, she finally finds what she’s been looking for.

It’s in the home of Tyson Parks.

Meanwhile, as Tyson begins to use his new desk, he begins acting... strange. Violent. His writing more disturbing than anything he’s done before. But publishers are paying top dollar, convinced his new work will be a hit, and Tyson will do whatever it takes to protect his newfound success.

Even if it means the destruction of the ones he loves.

Even if it means his own sanity.


The Spite House by Johnny Compton

Shadow of a skinny house on a hill surrounded by branches

Expected publication: February 7, 2023 by Tor Nightfire

Eric Ross is on the run from a mysterious past with his two daughters in tow. Having left his wife, his house, his whole life behind in Maryland, he’s desperate for money–it’s not easy to find safe work when you can’t provide references, you can’t stay in one place for long, and you’re paranoid that your past is creeping back up on you.

When he comes across the strange ad for the Masson House in Degener, Texas, Eric thinks they may have finally caught a lucky break. The Masson property, notorious for being one of the most haunted places in Texas, needs a caretaker of sorts. The owner is looking for proof of paranormal activity. All they need to do is stay in the house and keep a detailed record of everything that happens there. Provided the house’s horrors don’t drive them all mad, like the caretakers before them.

The job calls to Eric, not just because there’s a huge payout if they can make it through, but because he wants to explore the secrets of the spite house. If it is indeed haunted, maybe it’ll help him understand the uncanny power that clings to his family, driving them from town to town, making them afraid to stop running. A terrifying Gothic thriller about grief and death and the depths of a father’s love, Johnny Compton’s The Spite House is a stunning debut by a horror master in the making.




Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez

Expected publication: February 7, 2023 by Hogarth


A woman’s mysterious death puts her husband and son on a collision course with her demonic family in the first novel to be translated into English by the International Booker Prize–shortlisted author of The Dangers of Smoking in Bed—“the most exciting discovery I’ve made in fiction for some time” (Kazuo Ishiguro).

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2023: The New York Times, Oprah Daily, BuzzFeed, Elle, Electric Lit, Book Riot, BookPage, The Rumpus, World Literature Today, Tordotcom, CrimeReads, Lit Hub, Publishers Weekly

“Monumental.”—The New York Times
“A masterpiece of literary horror.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“One of Latin America’s most exciting authors.”—Silvia Moreno-Garcia

A young father and son set out on a road trip, devastated by the death of the wife and mother they both loved. United in grief, the pair travel to her ancestral home, where they must confront the terrifying legacy she has bequeathed: a family called the Order that commits unspeakable acts in search of immortality.

For Gaspar, the son, this maniacal cult is his destiny. As the Order tries to pull him into their evil, he and his father take flight, attempting to outrun a powerful clan that will do anything to ensure its own survival. But how far will Gaspar’s father go to protect his child? And can anyone escape their fate?

Moving back and forth in time, from London in the swinging 1960s to the brutal years of Argentina’s military dictatorship and its turbulent aftermath, Our Share of Night is a novel like no other: a family story, a ghost story, a story of the occult and the supernatural, a book about the complexities of love and longing with queer subplots and themes. This is the masterwork of one of Latin America’s most original novelists, “a mesmerizing writer,” says Dave Eggers, “who demands to be read.” 





Ancient Images by Ramsey Campbell

Expected publication: February 21, 2023 by Flametree Press

A lost horror film holds the key to terrifying secrets.  The legends have persisted for decades of a lost horror film starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi that was never released. Rumor has it that, for reasons long forgotten, powerful forces suppressed the film and burned all known prints. Nobody now living has seen the finished film. But that might no longer be true…  Film researcher Sandy Allan is invited to a screening of a newly-discovered sole-surviving print, but then the film disappears and the real horror begins. Sandy’s search for the film leads her to Redfield, a rural community known its rich soil, fertilized by blood from an ancient massacre. But Redfield guards its secrets closely, with good reason. During every step of her search, Sandy is watched, shadowed by strange figures. Is it paranoia, or is someone—or something—determined to keep the lost film and the secrets it reveals buried forever?  



The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell

Expected publication: February 9, 2023 by Raven Books

From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a gripping tale of obsession, superstition and ambition, set against the atmospheric backdrop of Victorian London. Be careful what you wish for it may just come true.

At The Mercury Theatre in London's West End, rumours are circulating of a curse. It is said that the lead actress Lilith has made a pact with Melpomene, the tragic muse of Greek mythology, to become the greatest actress to ever grace the stage. Suspicious of Lilith, the jealous wife of the theatre owner sends dresser Jenny to spy on her, and, desperate for the money to help her family, Jenny agrees.

What Jenny finds is a woman as astonishing in her performance as she is provocative in her nature. On stage, it's as though Lilith is possessed by the characters she plays, yet off stage she is as tragic as the muse who inspires her, and Jenny, sorry for her, befriends the troubled actress. But when strange events begin to take place around the theatre, Jenny wonders whether the rumours are true and fears that when the muse comes calling for payment, the cost will be too high.





The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

Expected publication: February 14, 2023 by HarperCollins B and Blackstone Publishing


A sumptuous, gothic-infused story about a marriage that is unraveled by dark secrets, a friendship cursed to end in tragedy, and the danger of believing in fairy tales—the breathtaking adult debut from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi.

Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. He was a scholar of myths. She was heiress to a fortune. They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after—and in exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past.

But when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. For within the crumbling manor’s extravagant rooms and musty halls, there lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo’s dearest childhood friend who suddenly disappeared. As the house slowly reveals his wife’s secrets, the bridegroom will be forced to choose between reality and fantasy, even if doing so threatens to destroy their marriage . . . or their lives.

Combining the lush, haunting atmosphere of Mexican Gothic with the dreamy enchantment of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a spellbinding and darkly romantic page-turner about love and lies, secrets and betrayal, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.




Monstersona by Chloe Spencer

Expected publication: February 14, 2023 by Tiny Ghost Press

After her parents’ divorce, 16 year old Riley Grishin is forced to move from Portland, Oregon all the way to Little Brook, Maine, a small town that serves as the headquarters for Titan Technologies, an international science corporation.

Having no friends, Riley spends most of her days running through the woods with her dog Tigger, and eavesdropping on her classmates—in particular, the gorgeous, but very strange, Aspen Montehugh.

On the night of the homecoming game, Riley wakes up to find that her town is on fire, and being terrorized by an unseen monster. With the flames rapidly spreading, Riley and her dog Tigger have no choice but to pile up in their beat-up pickup truck and flee the town. But as they're driving away, they come across the only other survivor: Aspen.

When Aspen and Riley reach safety, they realize that something far more strange and sinister is happening. According to the news, all of the other Titan Tech laboratories on the East Coast have spontaneously combusted. All air travel has been grounded, so Riley has no way to fly to her dad who lives in Seattle. Riley and her dad agree to meet up in Minneapolis, and Aspen comes along in hopes of finding her aunt.

As they travel across the country, they are attacked by monsters and strange armed men in the dead of night. Slowly, Riley realizes that something's not quite right with Aspen, which puts her feelings for her—and her own humanity—to the ultimate test. 

  




Churn the Soil by Steve Stred

Expected publication: January 31, 2023 by Vesuvian Books

Two hundred miles north of the town of Basco sits The Border. It’s a quiet, off-the-grid settlement, where the residents have developed a tentative agreement with those that live on the other side of the clearing.

But things are about to change forever.

As night falls, a teenage girl is brutally murdered as she flees across the clearing.
Now, it’s up to Basco PD officers Brown and Reynolds to find her killer.

But the truth is far worse than they could possibly imagine, and the more the officers uncover, the bolder the things beyond the clearing grow.

‘Under an icy snowfall…’
‘Under a clear, blue moon…’

North of The Border lies a land unseen by man. A land where things are ready and waiting… to feed.

Splatterpunk-Nominated author Steve Stred, who brought you ‘Mastodon’ and ‘Incarnate,’ delivers a pulse-pounding, high-stakes story where if the cold doesn’t kill you, the Forest Guards will.

HorrorScope: A Zodiac Anthology

Expected publication: February 20, 2023 by H. Everend


Aries. Taurus. Gemini. Cancer. Leo. Virgo. Libra. Scorpio. Sagittarius. Capricorn. Aquarius. Pisces.

It is said that destiny is determined by the stars. The signs of the Zodiac can predict who you’ll love, who you’ll hate, and who you’ll become. But the fates written in the stars are not always kind. Sometimes, they’re terrifying.

In HorrorScope, you will find 36 dark fantasy poems and short stories all inspired by the Zodiac Signs. Within these pages, you’ll face killer goats, twisted twins and deadly fishies. So, open this book, if you dare, and pray that you weren’t born under a bad sign.





Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder 

Expected publication: February 21, 2023 by Tor Nightfire


Sister, Maiden, Monster is a visceral story set in the aftermath of our planet’s disastrous transformation and told through the eyes of three women trying to survive the nightmare, from Bram Stoker Award-winning author Lucy A. Snyder.

To survive they must evolve.

A virus tears across the globe, transforming its victims in nightmarish ways. As the world collapses, dark forces pull a small group of women together.

Erin, once quiet and closeted, acquires an appetite for a woman and her brain. Why does forbidden fruit taste so good?

Savannah, a professional BDSM switch, discovers a new turn-on: committing brutal murders for her eldritch masters.

Mareva, plagued with chronic tumors, is too horrified to acknowledge her divine role in the coming apocalypse, and as her growths multiply, so too does her desperation.


Inspired by her Bram Stoker Award-winning story “Magdala Amygdala,” Lucy A. Snyder delivers a cosmic tale about the planet’s disastrous transformation ... and what we become after.
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The Monsters in our Shadows

Expected publication: February 28, 2023 by Lovecraft Press


It’s been a century since “the great consumption.” Humanity has been devoured to the edge of extinction by the ever-ravenous Shivers – terrifying, shapeless creatures that latch onto their hosts, tormenting them over time before consuming them all at once. The last of civilization lives in the crumbling city of Atlas, where they subsist on processed insects and await their inevitable fate.

Anthem is the city Exilist, tasked with trapping the Shivers and banishing them to the malevolent Deadlands outside the city walls. But Anthem is ailing and destined to soon fall victim to his own Shiver, a fate he’s reluctantly accepted. As Anthem begins to withdraw from his world, a threat he’s unprepared for comes hurtling home. If he is to save anyone, he will have to travel into the Deadlands in search of a remedy to tame these creatures. But no Atlas dweller has ever made it back alive, and Anthem must confront his own darkness before humankind is forever lost to the monsters in our shadows.

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

Expected publication: February 28, 2023 by Bloomsbury YA


A house with a terrifying appetite haunts a broken family in this atmospheric horror, perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic.

When Jade Nguyen arrives in Vietnam for a visit with her estranged father, she has one goal: survive five weeks pretending to be a happy family in the French colonial house Ba is restoring. She’s always lied to fit in, so if she’s straight enough, Vietnamese enough, American enough, she can get out with the college money he promised.

But the house has other plans. Night after night, Jade wakes up paralyzed. The walls exude a thrumming sound, while bugs leave their legs and feelers in places they don’t belong. She finds curious traces of her ancestors in the gardens they once tended. And at night Jade can’t ignore the ghost of the beautiful bride who leaves her cryptic warnings: Don’t eat.

Neither Ba nor her sweet sister Lily believe that there is anything strange happening. With help from a delinquent girl, Jade will prove this house—the home her family has always wanted—will not rest until it destroys them. Maybe, this time, she can keep her family together. As she roots out the house’s rot, she must also face the truth of who she is and who she must become to save them all.


The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden

Expected publication: February 28, 2023 by Dutton


A gripping and atmospheric debut that is at once a chilling gothic mystery and a love letter to Victorian fiction.

Nobody ever goes to Hartwood Hall. Folks say it's cursed...

It's 1852 and Margaret Lennox, a young widow, attempts to escape the shadows of her past by taking a position as governess to an only child, Louis, at an isolated country house in the west of England.

But Margaret soon starts to feel that something isn't quite right. There are strange figures in the dark, tensions between servants, and an abandoned east wing. Even stranger is the local gossip surrounding Mrs. Eversham, Louis's widowed mother, who is deeply distrusted in the village.

Lonely and unsure whom to trust, Margaret finds distraction in a forbidden relationship with the gardener, Paul. But as Margaret's history threatens to catch up with her, it isn't long before she learns the truth behind the secrets of Hartwood Hall.

Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury

Expected publication: February 28, 2023 by Margaret K. McElderry Books


The Haunting of Hill House meets Sadie in this evocative and mind-bending psychological thriller following two teen girls navigating the treacherous past of a mysterious mansion ten years apart.

Daisy sees dead people—something impossible to forget in bustling, ghost-packed Toronto. She usually manages to deal with her unwanted ability, but she’s completely unprepared to be dumped by her boyfriend. So when her mother inherits a secluded mansion in northern Ontario where she spent her childhood summers, Daisy jumps at the chance to escape. But the house is nothing like Daisy expects, and she begins to realize that her experience with the supernatural might be no match for her mother’s secrets, nor what lurks within these walls…

A decade later, Brittney is desperate to get out from under the thumb of her abusive mother, a bestselling author who claims her stay at “Miracle Mansion” allowed her to see the error of her ways. But Brittney knows that’s nothing but a sham. She decides the new season of her popular Haunted web series will uncover what happened to a young Black girl in the mansion ten years prior and finally expose her mother’s lies. But as she gets more wrapped up in the investigation, she’ll have to decide: if she can only bring one story to light, which one matters most—Daisy’s or her own?

As Brittney investigates the mansion in the present, Daisy’s story runs parallel in the past, both timelines propelling the girls to face the most dangerous monsters of all: those that hide in plain sight.