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This Month in Horror || The Best New Horror Books Coming June 2026
June is bringing us zombies, vampires, serial killers, sinister fairy tales, and weird westerns to keep the TBR pile growing at an irresponsible rate.
Whether you're looking for something bloody and brutal, something really strange, or a book that makes you wonder why you ever thought the woods were a good place to visit, June has you covered.
Here are some of the best new horror books coming your way this month.
June is bringing us zombies, vampires, serial killers, sinister fairy tales, and weird westerns to keep the TBR pile growing at an irresponsible rate.
Whether you're looking for something bloody and brutal, something really strange, or a book that makes you wonder why you ever thought the woods were a good place to visit, June has you covered.
Here are some of the best new horror books coming your way this month.
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June 1
Grief Eater by Emma Osborne
When Kristina rises from her violent death, she's no longer the woman her family abandoned. She's angry, powerful, and very, very hungry. Her undead road trip takes her across Australia's scorched landscape as she searches for vengeance, answers, and perhaps a little closure.
A gory, queer zombie novella about grief, rage, found family, and what happens when the dead decide they're not finished yet.
When Kristina rises from her violent death, she's no longer the woman her family abandoned. She's angry, powerful, and very, very hungry. Her undead road trip takes her across Australia's scorched landscape as she searches for vengeance, answers, and perhaps a little closure.
A gory, queer zombie novella about grief, rage, found family, and what happens when the dead decide they're not finished yet.
Try Not to Die: In Slattery Falls by Brennan LaFaro
Welcome to Slattery Falls, home to a haunted house that has been watching, waiting, and feeding for years.
This interactive horror adventure puts you in the driver's seat. Every decision matters, and most of those decisions will probably get you horribly murdered.
There are more than a dozen ways to die, but only one path to survival.
Welcome to Slattery Falls, home to a haunted house that has been watching, waiting, and feeding for years.
This interactive horror adventure puts you in the driver's seat. Every decision matters, and most of those decisions will probably get you horribly murdered.
There are more than a dozen ways to die, but only one path to survival.
June 2
Backstabbers by Eliza Jabore
When three best friends get lost in the woods, they discover that surviving the wilderness might be easier than surviving each other. Backstabbers puts friendship under the world's most stressful pressure cooker: a slasher movie.
Expect blood, bad decisions, shifting loyalties, and the uncomfortable realization that your best friend knows exactly where to stick the knife.
When three best friends get lost in the woods, they discover that surviving the wilderness might be easier than surviving each other. Backstabbers puts friendship under the world's most stressful pressure cooker: a slasher movie.
Expect blood, bad decisions, shifting loyalties, and the uncomfortable realization that your best friend knows exactly where to stick the knife.
June 9
The Sourdough Compendium: Dark and Dangerous Fairy Tales by A.G. Slatter
If you've read A.G. Slatter before, you already know her fairy tales aren't exactly the sort you'd want to read to children at bedtime.
This collection gathers stories from the dark gothic world of The Sourdough universe, featuring witches, assassins, pirates, monsters, and all manner of terrible people.
Basically, it's fairy tales for people who prefer their happily-ever-afters with considerably more bloodshed, like all the good fairy tales do.
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It Came From Neverland by Cynthia Pelayo
If you've read A.G. Slatter before, you already know her fairy tales aren't exactly the sort you'd want to read to children at bedtime.
This collection gathers stories from the dark gothic world of The Sourdough universe, featuring witches, assassins, pirates, monsters, and all manner of terrible people.
Basically, it's fairy tales for people who prefer their happily-ever-afters with considerably more bloodshed, like all the good fairy tales do.
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Set during World War I, Wendy Darling is now an adult working as a teacher and helping soldiers returning from the Western Front. But when children begin disappearing again, Wendy starts to suspect that the nightmare she thought she'd escaped as a child has returned.
Peter Pan meets It in this dark, bloody reimagining of Neverland.
June 16
Set during World War I, Wendy Darling is now an adult working as a teacher and helping soldiers returning from the Western Front. But when children begin disappearing again, Wendy starts to suspect that the nightmare she thought she'd escaped as a child has returned.
Peter Pan meets It in this dark, bloody reimagining of Neverland.
June 16
Women of the Weird West edited by KC Grifant
Women of the Weird West brings together stories from women and marginalized-gender authors, taking the classic Western and giving it a supernatural makeover. Expect ghosts, monsters, fae, magic, strange worlds, and plenty of women who aren't interested in playing the damsel-in-distress.
Women of the Weird West brings together stories from women and marginalized-gender authors, taking the classic Western and giving it a supernatural makeover. Expect ghosts, monsters, fae, magic, strange worlds, and plenty of women who aren't interested in playing the damsel-in-distress.
June 19
Teeth by Dana Isaly
Poe has moved into her mother's old house in the Appalachian mountains, hoping to sort through her belongings and finally move forward.
Instead, she finds strange journal entries, disturbing photographs, warnings, and the growing feeling that something in the woods is watching her.
And apparently the number one rule of this particular nightmare is: if you hear something, no you don't.
Poe has moved into her mother's old house in the Appalachian mountains, hoping to sort through her belongings and finally move forward.
Instead, she finds strange journal entries, disturbing photographs, warnings, and the growing feeling that something in the woods is watching her.
And apparently the number one rule of this particular nightmare is: if you hear something, no you don't.
June 23
Tillinghast by Clare Cavenagh
Stutley Tillinghast is a quiet minister living in rural Rhode Island.
He's also been killing people and burying them in his cellar for decades.
When a desperately ill nineteen-year-old woman arrives claiming to be related to him, Stutley discovers that she has symptoms eerily similar to his own. Suddenly his carefully isolated existence gets considerably more complicated.
A slow-burning literary vampire story with gothic atmosphere, family secrets, and one very reluctant monster.
Stutley Tillinghast is a quiet minister living in rural Rhode Island.
He's also been killing people and burying them in his cellar for decades.
He's also been killing people and burying them in his cellar for decades.
When a desperately ill nineteen-year-old woman arrives claiming to be related to him, Stutley discovers that she has symptoms eerily similar to his own. Suddenly his carefully isolated existence gets considerably more complicated.
A slow-burning literary vampire story with gothic atmosphere, family secrets, and one very reluctant monster.
The Infested by Renée Lake
The American frontier wasn't won. It was surrendered to the monsters.
In 1900, a cursed stretch of the American frontier is crawling with ghosts, monsters, and ancient things that should have stayed buried. Desdemona's family has survived there for generations behind magical wards.
But after her mother's death, her father's disappearance, and the arrival of a mysterious shadow creature, their safe little sanctuary starts looking considerably less safe.
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The American frontier wasn't won. It was surrendered to the monsters.
In 1900, a cursed stretch of the American frontier is crawling with ghosts, monsters, and ancient things that should have stayed buried. Desdemona's family has survived there for generations behind magical wards.
But after her mother's death, her father's disappearance, and the arrival of a mysterious shadow creature, their safe little sanctuary starts looking considerably less safe.
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Brave New Weird: The Best New Weird Horror, Volume Four edited by Alex Woodroe
The fourth volume of Brave New Weird brings together twenty-three stories showcasing some of the strangest, most inventive horror around. Expect speculative horror, genre mashups, grotesque ideas, experimental storytelling, and plenty of things that don't fit neatly into a little genre box.
June 26
The fourth volume of Brave New Weird brings together twenty-three stories showcasing some of the strangest, most inventive horror around. Expect speculative horror, genre mashups, grotesque ideas, experimental storytelling, and plenty of things that don't fit neatly into a little genre box.
June 26
Crater Girl by Polly Schattel
Polly Schattel returns with Crater Girl, a genre-bending novel mixing dark fantasy, noir, and horror with a distinctly Southern flavor.
It's a strange, satirical look at the modern South, and Schattel describes it as a "genre-inclusive" novel.
June 28
Polly Schattel returns with Crater Girl, a genre-bending novel mixing dark fantasy, noir, and horror with a distinctly Southern flavor.
It's a strange, satirical look at the modern South, and Schattel describes it as a "genre-inclusive" novel.
June 28
The Echo of Monsters by David H. Rankin
The Echo of Monsters promises another dive into the darker corners of horror, making it one to keep an eye on if your preferred reading material involves things that probably shouldn't exist and definitely shouldn't be making noises in the dark.
June 30
The Echo of Monsters promises another dive into the darker corners of horror, making it one to keep an eye on if your preferred reading material involves things that probably shouldn't exist and definitely shouldn't be making noises in the dark.
June 30
Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay
Julia Flang is a former professional gamer who gets hired by a massive tech company to escort a man in a vegetative state across the country. The catch? There's an artificial intelligence implanted in his head.
A near-future technological horror story that gets increasingly more uncomfortable the more you think about it.
Julia Flang is a former professional gamer who gets hired by a massive tech company to escort a man in a vegetative state across the country. The catch? There's an artificial intelligence implanted in his head.
A near-future technological horror story that gets increasingly more uncomfortable the more you think about it.
The Summer of the Serpent by Cecilia Eudave
Welcome to Guadalajara in the summer of 1977, where children encounter ghosts, monsters, strange adults, a serpent girl in a carnival glass box, and all the little horrors that hide beneath ordinary life.
June is shaping up to be a seriously weird month for horror.
Welcome to Guadalajara in the summer of 1977, where children encounter ghosts, monsters, strange adults, a serpent girl in a carnival glass box, and all the little horrors that hide beneath ordinary life.
June is shaping up to be a seriously weird month for horror.
We've got angry zombies, murderous friends, evil fairy tales, haunted frontiers, vampires pretending not to be vampires, AI nightmares, and enough monsters to populate several small towns.
There's something weird here for everyone.
Happy Reading.
← Previous Month | This Year in Horror 2026 | Next Month →
We've got angry zombies, murderous friends, evil fairy tales, haunted frontiers, vampires pretending not to be vampires, AI nightmares, and enough monsters to populate several small towns.
There's something weird here for everyone.
Happy Reading.
← Previous Month | This Year in Horror 2026 | Next Month →
This Month in Horror: The Best New Horror Books Coming in May 2026
May is bringing us a respectable amount of bad news in book form.
We've got haunted places, human experimentation, sinister spirits, strange festivals, monstrous transformations, twisted fairy tales, gothic nightmares, and enough questionable life choices performed by unreliable narrators to keep the horror shelves fully stocked.
Here are some of the horror books I'm most excited about coming out this month.
If you want to see everything coming in 2026, check out my This Year in Horror 2026 release calendar.
May is bringing us a respectable amount of bad news in book form.
We've got haunted places, human experimentation, sinister spirits, strange festivals, monstrous transformations, twisted fairy tales, gothic nightmares, and enough questionable life choices performed by unreliable narrators to keep the horror shelves fully stocked.
Here are some of the horror books I'm most excited about coming out this month.
If you want to see everything coming in 2026, check out my This Year in Horror 2026 release calendar.
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May 5
She Waits Where Shadows Gather by Michelle Tang
Some places feel wrong before you can explain why. She Waits Where Shadows Gather promises the kind of unsettling horror where the shadows themselves may be the least of your problems.
If atmospheric, creeping dread is your thing, this one belongs on the May TBR.
Some places feel wrong before you can explain why. She Waits Where Shadows Gather promises the kind of unsettling horror where the shadows themselves may be the least of your problems.
If atmospheric, creeping dread is your thing, this one belongs on the May TBR.
I Know A Place: Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours by Nat Cassidy
Nat Cassidy is taking us on a road trip and he's not stopping by the World's Biggest Ball of Twine.
This collection brings together Rest Stop and a dozen other dark detours, sending readers through suspicious rest stops, creepy offices, haunted kitchens, bizarre apartments, and other places where you shouldn't be alone after dark.
Nat Cassidy is taking us on a road trip and he's not stopping by the World's Biggest Ball of Twine.
This collection brings together Rest Stop and a dozen other dark detours, sending readers through suspicious rest stops, creepy offices, haunted kitchens, bizarre apartments, and other places where you shouldn't be alone after dark.
Accumulation by Aimee Pokwatka
Tennessee Cherish thought moving into her dream house would be a fresh start. Cute house, new town, happy family.
The kids start acting weird. Her husband is never home. And the house has a few quirks, including a faucet that runs on its own, a creepy doll that keeps appearing in different rooms, and, a human tooth in the floorboards.
Then things get really weird. The family starts repeating everyday actions over and over, with each loop becoming more dangerous than the last.
Tenn needs to figure out what the hell is happening in her new home before the house finishes what it started.
Tennessee Cherish thought moving into her dream house would be a fresh start. Cute house, new town, happy family.
The kids start acting weird. Her husband is never home. And the house has a few quirks, including a faucet that runs on its own, a creepy doll that keeps appearing in different rooms, and, a human tooth in the floorboards.
Then things get really weird. The family starts repeating everyday actions over and over, with each loop becoming more dangerous than the last.
Tenn needs to figure out what the hell is happening in her new home before the house finishes what it started.
May 8
The Blood Year Daughter by G.G. Silverman
The Blood Year Daughter is a collection of fairytale horror stories filled with murderous brides, strange transformations, ghosts, witches, snakes, revenge, and women who are absolutely done playing by the rules.
Silverman's debut collection mixes horror, magical realism, and twisted fairy tales into something that sounds like it crawled out of a very dark corner of the Brothers Grimm.
The Blood Year Daughter is a collection of fairytale horror stories filled with murderous brides, strange transformations, ghosts, witches, snakes, revenge, and women who are absolutely done playing by the rules.
Silverman's debut collection mixes horror, magical realism, and twisted fairy tales into something that sounds like it crawled out of a very dark corner of the Brothers Grimm.
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May 12
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Muntu by Eugen Bacon
Eugen Bacon brings her particular brand of unsettling speculative fiction to Muntu, a book that promises to be strange, atmospheric, and decidedly not interested in making you comfortable.
This is one for readers who like their horror with a literary edge and plenty of things lurking beneath the surface.
Eugen Bacon brings her particular brand of unsettling speculative fiction to Muntu, a book that promises to be strange, atmospheric, and decidedly not interested in making you comfortable.
This is one for readers who like their horror with a literary edge and plenty of things lurking beneath the surface.
Abyss by Nicholas Binge
Joe always had potential. He just doesn't expect much from himself, so when he lands a low-key admin assistant job at a company he's never heard of, he's hoping it won't expect much from him either.
Then he walks into the offices of Ponos.
Turns out, potential is exactly what they're looking for.
Joe always had potential. He just doesn't expect much from himself, so when he lands a low-key admin assistant job at a company he's never heard of, he's hoping it won't expect much from him either.
Then he walks into the offices of Ponos.
Turns out, potential is exactly what they're looking for.
Electric Shamans at the Festival of the Sun by Mónica Ojeda
Two friends head into the Andes for an eight-day music festival at the foot of a volcano. There's mysticism, underground music, altered states, an ancient landscape, and a girl who starts speaking in a voice that isn't her own.
Electric Shamans at the Festival of the Sun blends psychological horror, supernatural elements, psychedelic imagery, and Indigenous Andean traditions into something wonderfully strange.
Two friends head into the Andes for an eight-day music festival at the foot of a volcano. There's mysticism, underground music, altered states, an ancient landscape, and a girl who starts speaking in a voice that isn't her own.
Electric Shamans at the Festival of the Sun blends psychological horror, supernatural elements, psychedelic imagery, and Indigenous Andean traditions into something wonderfully strange.
Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey
Celia is lonely, grieving, and desperate to belong, so she heads to the mysterious Kindred Cove for its annual Salt Festival. The community promises healing, transformation, and a life without grief.
Sarah Gailey's latest sounds like the perfect combination of creepy island community, questionable self-improvement, and the horrifying realization that maybe becoming a better version of yourself has a price.
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Celia is lonely, grieving, and desperate to belong, so she heads to the mysterious Kindred Cove for its annual Salt Festival. The community promises healing, transformation, and a life without grief.
Sarah Gailey's latest sounds like the perfect combination of creepy island community, questionable self-improvement, and the horrifying realization that maybe becoming a better version of yourself has a price.
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Femme Feral by Sam Beckbessinger
Is it menopause or lycanthropy?
Femme Feral promises a wild, vicious take on womanhood, transformation, and the things lurking just beneath the surface.
Is it menopause or lycanthropy?
Femme Feral promises a wild, vicious take on womanhood, transformation, and the things lurking just beneath the surface.
May 19
The Dorians by Nick Cutter
Five people are invited to a remote island in the Canadian wilderness with an offer that sounds almost too good to be true: stop aging. Maybe even reverse it.
The secret to restoring their youth comes from an ancient biological agent with one very simple goal: survive.
What could possibly go wrong?
I hope their aren't any turtles. IYKYK.
Five people are invited to a remote island in the Canadian wilderness with an offer that sounds almost too good to be true: stop aging. Maybe even reverse it.
The secret to restoring their youth comes from an ancient biological agent with one very simple goal: survive.
What could possibly go wrong?
I hope their aren't any turtles. IYKYK.
Decomposition Book by Sara van Os
Savannah retreats to her parents' empty lake house after a disastrous falling-out with her best friend. She's drinking, overthinking, and generally spiraling when she wakes up in the woods beside a dead body. Turns out she's the best friend Savannah could ask for.
Savannah retreats to her parents' empty lake house after a disastrous falling-out with her best friend. She's drinking, overthinking, and generally spiraling when she wakes up in the woods beside a dead body. Turns out she's the best friend Savannah could ask for.
The Temptation of Charlotte North by Camilla Bruce
In 1910, Charlotte North lives on a remote island where an ancient tower has been standing guard over something that really should have stayed imprisoned.
Then the tower collapses.
The Temptation of Charlotte North combines gothic horror, dark fantasy, an isolated island, a sinister spirit, and a woman discovering just how dangerous getting what you want can be.
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In 1910, Charlotte North lives on a remote island where an ancient tower has been standing guard over something that really should have stayed imprisoned.
Then the tower collapses.
The Temptation of Charlotte North combines gothic horror, dark fantasy, an isolated island, a sinister spirit, and a woman discovering just how dangerous getting what you want can be.
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Salomé by Leslie Baird
A dark, strange take on an old story? Yes, please.
Salomé puts a familiar figure into a horror setting and promises to give this particular tale some teeth.
A dark, strange take on an old story? Yes, please.
Salomé puts a familiar figure into a horror setting and promises to give this particular tale some teeth.
Filth Eaters by Ito Romo
In 1849, vampire Radamés discovers that New World vampires get to live a little more like humans. They marry. They have children. They actually get to build lives. Naturally, he wants that for himself.
His search takes him to Mexico, where he falls for a member of the ancient Filth Eaters and fathers a new kind of vampire. From there, the story jumps across centuries, mixing vampires with empire, greed, climate change, and the very human need to find someone to love.
May 26
In 1849, vampire Radamés discovers that New World vampires get to live a little more like humans. They marry. They have children. They actually get to build lives. Naturally, he wants that for himself.
His search takes him to Mexico, where he falls for a member of the ancient Filth Eaters and fathers a new kind of vampire. From there, the story jumps across centuries, mixing vampires with empire, greed, climate change, and the very human need to find someone to love.
May 26
House of Margins by Tlotlo Tsamaase
Anaya Sebeya is a brilliant young writer who disappears after attending a prestigious writing residency at Günter Huis, an eerie colonial mansion on Devil’s Peak.
Years later, her sister Ranewa becomes obsessed with a true-crime podcast claiming to reveal what happened to Anaya. As she listens, she starts piecing together a much stranger and more horrifying story.
Because at Günter Huis, Anaya wasn't just struggling to write. The house was getting inside her head, twisting time and reality and demanding a story that apparently wasn't meant to be told.
Anaya Sebeya is a brilliant young writer who disappears after attending a prestigious writing residency at Günter Huis, an eerie colonial mansion on Devil’s Peak.
Years later, her sister Ranewa becomes obsessed with a true-crime podcast claiming to reveal what happened to Anaya. As she listens, she starts piecing together a much stranger and more horrifying story.
Because at Günter Huis, Anaya wasn't just struggling to write. The house was getting inside her head, twisting time and reality and demanding a story that apparently wasn't meant to be told.
Bone of My Bone by Johanna van Veen
It’s 1635, the Thirty Years’ War is tearing through Bavaria, and Ursula, a runaway nun, and Elsebeth, a peasant, are hiding from marauding soldiers in the forest.
Then they find a gilded saint’s skull.
Legend says that reunite the skull with the saint’s body and you get a wish. Unfortunately, they're not the only ones interested in the relic. A necromancer wants it, the saint starts whispering at night, and the magic comes with a price.
It’s 1635, the Thirty Years’ War is tearing through Bavaria, and Ursula, a runaway nun, and Elsebeth, a peasant, are hiding from marauding soldiers in the forest.
Then they find a gilded saint’s skull.
Legend says that reunite the skull with the saint’s body and you get a wish. Unfortunately, they're not the only ones interested in the relic. A necromancer wants it, the saint starts whispering at night, and the magic comes with a price.
Teddy Bears Never Die by Cho Yeeun
A deadly cyanide poisoning kills Hwa-young's mother, but Hwa-young doesn't believe it was an accident. Determined to find the person responsible, she takes whatever work she can get to save enough money to hire a hitman.
Hwa-young is about to become the next victim when a grubby teddy bear starts talking to her.
Now the two team up to uncover the truth, take revenge, and bring the real killer to justice.
A deadly cyanide poisoning kills Hwa-young's mother, but Hwa-young doesn't believe it was an accident. Determined to find the person responsible, she takes whatever work she can get to save enough money to hire a hitman.
Hwa-young is about to become the next victim when a grubby teddy bear starts talking to her.
Now the two team up to uncover the truth, take revenge, and bring the real killer to justice.
Between Nat Cassidy's dark detours, Sarah Gailey's creepy island, Mónica Ojeda's psychedelic festival nightmare, gothic spirits, twisted fairy tales, human experimentation, and several books that appear to have taken the concept of "gross" as a personal challenge, there's plenty here to keep horror readers busy.
Which is great news for us but not so great for our TBR pile.
Happy reading and may your books be creepy, your coffee be strong, and your house remain suspiciously tooth-free.
← Previous Month | This Year in Horror 2026 | Next Month →
Between Nat Cassidy's dark detours, Sarah Gailey's creepy island, Mónica Ojeda's psychedelic festival nightmare, gothic spirits, twisted fairy tales, human experimentation, and several books that appear to have taken the concept of "gross" as a personal challenge, there's plenty here to keep horror readers busy.
Which is great news for us but not so great for our TBR pile.
Happy reading and may your books be creepy, your coffee be strong, and your house remain suspiciously tooth-free.
← Previous Month | This Year in Horror 2026 | Next Month →
Guest Post || The Haunted House in Horror Literature by Meg Hafdahl
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Published September 17, 2015 by Inklings Publishing
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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.
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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.
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.
Author Spotlight || M.C. August, Author of Death Is Funny Sometimes
DEATH IS FUNNY SOMETIMES through this collection of 13 stories of horror and science fiction. Among them are…
ANOTHER WILD NIGHT AT THE F***ED HEN – A former punk rocker turned bar owner protects his patrons from the latest blitz of vampires who aren’t thirsty for beer.
ONE HUNDRED DEGREES AFTER MIDNIGHT – A wrongly convicted man’s final hours on the planet before his execution on death row.
DEAD KID AT A SLEEPOVER – Fun nostalgia trip of a typical sleepover with friends in the 1980s. Just with a dead kid.
SAL & SON – A butcher shop owner seeks revenge against New York mobsters after his father is killed for failing to pay protection money. This one is for slasher fans.
POSTCARDS FROM CHERNOBYL – A young girl who is immune to radiation takes a stand against a government experiment to dominate the world during the nuclear arms race of the 1980s.
MIKE & MANDY FIGHT THROUGH THE END OF THE WORLD – Mike and Mandy were ready to finalize their divorce and start a new life. But the zombie apocalypse screwed it all up. It was just one of those days.
HOW TO CATCH CRAWFISH AS TOLD BY RUFUS WHEELER – In the Louisiana bayou a down on his luck father makes a strange discovery while crawfishing and has hope it can give his son a better life.
SUPERFICIAL CRACKS IN A PORCELAIN FACE – An aging star of Italian Giallo cinema is not ready to retire.
What attracted you to the genre(s) you write in?
Quite simply -- I love horror and sci-fi, and my main heroes and influences are Ray Bradbury, Rod Serling and Robert Eggers. The story in my DEATH IS FUNNY SOMETIMES anthology titled ONE HUNDRED DEGREES AFTER MIDNIGHT was written as an homage to THE TWILIGHT ZONE.
What part of writing do you consider a chore?
Outlining, but it is also my favorite part of the process.
Where were you when you first thought "I need to write this story?"
I have always been a fan of anthologies such as TALES FROM THE CRYPT and CREEPSHOW and wanted to write one of my own. Both were actually referenced in reviews I have received, and that felt really great. My current favorite anthology series is LOVE, DEATH AND ROBOTS on Netflix.
A lot of authors have a soundtrack while writing. Are there are songs you had on repeat?
I like to listen to soundtracks from Studio Ghibli films at a low volume in the background while I write. I know, not the typical answer for a horror writer, but I find those pleasant scores help with my creativity and writing flow/rhythm. I did listen to a lot of music from the '70s and '80s while writing the stories that take place in those decades in the anthology book.
What advice would you like to pass on to aspiring writers that is unconventional but true?
Not unconventional, but I would just say KEEP WRITING.
Do you have a WIP? If so, can you tell us anything about it?
I am currently writing another anthology and it keeps with the fun vibe of DEATH IS FUNNY SOMETIMES.
Which of your characters was your favorite to write and why?
Wiktor Wojna, mainly because he was the lead character of my first book, the crime novella SMORG WAR OF '84.
You've watched a movie 50 times and you still aren't tired of it. What movie is it?
THE BLUES BROTHERS.
Which animal (real or fictional) would you say is your spirit animal and why?
Probably just a dog because they are friendly.
What would you say is your weirdest writing quirk?
I like to read all of my dialogue out loud while I am writing it, so sometimes it looks like I am having a conversation all by myself in my office.
Using only emojis, sum up your book.
INSERT A SKULL AND A HAPPY FACE HERE. Haha.
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?
Starburst and Skittles, and I would pawn off DOTS or Junior Mints.
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?
I had to do some morbid research regarding the operations/procedures of a Medical Examiner for my short story THE JOY OF COLLECTING STAMPS & HUMAN REMAINS.
You wake up in the middle of the night from a nightmare. What was it?
I tend to have the same recurring nightmare where I get stuck in an elevator. And my short story A CHURCH AT TRADER'S CREEK was actually inspired by a weird dream I had where a preacher walked into a lake and did not resurface from under the water.
What movie completely scarred you as a child?
THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW. I saw it when I was 12. Enough said.
What are your SM links? Can we follow you and pretend we're besties?
I can be found on Twitter @MichaelAugust.
MC August is a former editor from Chicago. That job sucked.
All Hail Halloween || 17 Books to Read for Halloween
If you're a horror fan, you don't wait for Halloween to imbibe all things spooky. Sometimes though you still want a eerie story to help set the mood. Although Halloween is right around the corner, it's not too late to start a Halloween read.You can't go wrong with any of these books and right now, all of these are currently available on Kindle Unlimited!
If you're a horror fan, you don't wait for Halloween to imbibe all things spooky. Sometimes though you still want a eerie story to help set the mood. Although Halloween is right around the corner, it's not too late to start a Halloween read.
You can't go wrong with any of these books and right now, all of these are currently available on Kindle Unlimited!
Three leading voices in modern horror take us on a journey through Halloween in the infamous town of Clifton Heights.
DAUGHTER OF THE MISTS by Kevin Lucia: Clifton Heights’ biggest classic horror movie cinephile finds himself plunged into the midst of his own personal horror movie nightmare, in which he discovers how savage the classic monsters actually are.
ONCE UPON A HALLOWEEN NIGHT by Jeremy Bates: In the days leading up to Halloween night, two brothers will discover the worst kinds of monsters are often human.
BROTHERS by Jason Parent: Sometimes, bonds between brothers are thicker than blood. Rand wants nothing more than to be an Alpha, a member of the most popular fraternity on campus. He convinces his best friend, Henry, to pledge with him. Before they can join, Rand and Henry must follow the senior Alphas’ rule: a predicament that soon leaves them humiliated, victimized, and broken. Rand is left to face the torment alone but, hiding in the darkness, another is willing to share it with Rand, one who promises something more sinister than revenge...and a Halloween party the survivors of which will always remember.
The same trick-or-treater keeps coming to my house. He's starting to scare me.
There's a scarecrow standing in the vineyard--but we stopped using them years ago.
And there's something moving in the pumpkin patch...
HALLOWEEN HORRORS is a wildly terrifying anthology of Halloween stories. Ghoulish trick-or-treaters, gruesome jack o'lanterns, and faceless specters haunt the pages of this book, ready to leap to life in the deepest corners of your mind. Sit down in front of the fire, as the chilly autumn wind howls outside, and read... if you dare..
Author James A. Moore offers up ten autumnal tales of the darker things that lurk just around the corner of Indian Summer. A man learns of a town's obsession with scarecrows and tries to find the answers as to why they are so important. Children move through familiar streets and find that Halloween makes everything different. Tis' the season when ghosts are real, witches soar through the night, and things in the Beldam Woods are not always what they seem. Sometimes it's the monsters that wear the masks.
From the author of Devil's Hill and The House on Moon Creek Avenue comes a new anthology of grindhouse horror in The Halloween Grindhouse.
On Halloween night, four friends use a new app that takes users to random locations that are considered weird, creepy, and haunted. The location generated for them is an abandoned house in a sketchy neighborhood.
Upon entering the empty home, they find a room containing an old television set, a VCR, and a set of videotapes. What is on the tapes will bring them instant regret, fear, and a new threat that awaits them under the full October moon.
Includes the short story "Mischief" and four new original tales of Halloween horror and suspense.
This Halloween, usher in the spookiest of seasons with a collection of fourteen haunting tales from some of the finest talents in indie horror today. A curious coffin calls to trick-or-treaters. A group of ghosts seek revenge on the one who took their lives. A woman who makes her own candy uses the most wicked of recipes. A man discovers a naked girl in the woods with no clue of who, or what, he should fear. A witch witnesses atrocity and does everything in her power to prevent history from repeating itself. A pair of otherworldly beings know the every desire of those who trespass on their abode. A local boogeyman casts a yearly shadow over the neighborhood and everyone in it.
There's an old house up on a hill in the woods that the kids call "Halloween House". They accused the mysterious old woman who lived there of being a witch until the rumors got out of hand and the panicked townspeople burned her house down with her in it one Halloween. She only said one thing before she died: "A curse on all of you!"
Now, three years later, the spooky holiday approaches again, and Carmen is left in charge of taking her little brother trick-or-treating.
But strange things begin happening around the small town.
Children are going missing one by one, and the only clue to their disappearance is a gingerbread man left on their windowsill. Now Carmen has to protect her brother so that he doesn't become the next victim as the townspeople descend into insanity all around them. Riddled with fear, they have no one to pin the kidnappings and strange occurrences on.
Because the witch is already dead...
...isn't she?
Do you love All Hallows' Eve? Ghost stories? Tales from beyond that leave you feeling unsettled while walking to the kitchen at night? The orange-and-black vintage Halloween aesthetic? Haunted houses with shuttered windows?
Edited by Gaby Triana with John Palisano, this anthology of 19 short stories by some of the most terrifying names in horror is the perfect collection for a dark and stormy October night. Featuring tales to make you hide under the covers by: Jonathan Maberry, Gwendolyn Kiste, Catherine Cavendish, Tim Waggoner, Jeff Strand, Sara Tantlinger, Lee Murray, Alethea Kontis, Lisa Morton & more.
JONATHAN MABERRY - "When You See Millions of the Mouthless Dead Across Your Dreams in Pale Battalions Go"
LISA MORTON - "Halloween at the Babylon"
TIM WAGGONER - "No One Sings in the City of the Dead"
JEFF STRAND - "Ghosts of Candies Past"
LEE MURRAY - "The Ghost Cricket"
GWENDOLYN KISTE - "A Scavenger Hunt When the Veil is Thin"
SARA TANTLINGER - "How to Unmake a Ghost"
ALETHEA KONTIS - "The Ghost Lake Mermaid"
CATHERINE CAVENDISH - "The Curiosity at the Back of the Fridge"
SCOTT COLE - "Postcards From Evelyn"
DENNIS K. CROSBY - "Bootsy's House"
STEVE RASNIC TEM - "When They Fall"
CATHERINE McCARTHY - "Soul Cakes"
MAUREEN MANCINI AMATURO - "A Bookstore Made of Skulls"
HENRY HERZ - "The Ghosts of Enerhodar"
JEREMY MEGARGEE - "Always October"
DANA HAMMER - "A Halloween Visit"
DAVID SURFACE - "The Crawlers in the Corn"
EVA ROSLIN - "Pink Lace and Death Gods"
A house flipper with everything to lose must contend with an ancient evil. The playing of a horror classic in a historic movie theatre unleashes an undead terror. A mentally unstable lighthouse keeper comes face to face with the ghosts of the past. A colonial American town battles something wicked stalking them in the surrounding woods. An elderly priest recounts the harrowing tale of his family's dark curse through three generations. A house decorated for Halloween night gives trick or treaters more than they bargained for…
These creepy, atmospheric short horror stories await you in “Walking After Midnight: Tales for Halloween Part III.” Take a trip down the tree-lined roads of fall and cozy up with this collection of stories guaranteed to give you that spooky October feeling, just like Parts I & II.
When the Halloween Beyond stores appear across America, they intertwine the lives of three visitors in a web of mystery and magic.
THE TALKING-BOARD by Lisa Morton: Can ancient magic exist in the modern world?
When Kayla’s sister Hailey went missing in the nearby Ghost Woods on Halloween night, the last person to see her was the solitary, elderly Brigid. Kayla, who has long suspected Brigid of being involved with Hailey’s disappearance, dreads the first anniversary of her sister’s vanishing even as her best friend Sophie urges her to put the past behind her.
Halloween nears and Kayla pays a visit to the pop-up Halloween Beyond store, where an enigmatic clerk named Maeve convinces her to buy a talking-board. Kayla begins receiving messages which claim to be from Hailey, but is it actually something more sinister calling out from beyond the veil?
Brigid—who may be a witch—offers to lead Kayla into the Ghost Woods on Halloween in search of answers. Kayla discovers dark truths about herself as she and Brigid confront the terrifying supernatural forces that claimed Hailey.
NEW BLOOD by Lucy A. Snyder:Maddie is keen for Halloween, but when she moves to a strange coastal town, a Devils’ Night party forces her to face eldritch dangers that threaten her entire family.
A GENTLEMAN’S SUIT by Kate Maruyama: Halloween Beyond is magic. The store’s inscrutable clerk finds Lex exactly the right costume which somehow makes people see the nonbinary Lex for who they really are.
It’s Lex’s last Halloween at home before college, and it had better be good. When Lex’s father, Beto, known locally as the King of Halloween adds an enormous animatronic Death on a boat to the collection in his elaborate front yard haunt, Halloween night takes a deadly turn.
Lex is having trouble letting go of old friendships, of home, of Halloween itself, but they now face the hardest kind of letting go.
This anthology is perfect for fans of Halloween stories, supernatural, horror anthologies, classic horror, Mystery and suspense, the occult, magic, strong female protagonists, and thrillers.
Crystal Lake’s Dark Tide series will continue soon with more tales of Mystery Thrillers and Horror Books, including themes of Weird Western, Sherlock Holmes, Grief Horror, Body Horror, Mystery fiction, Travel Horror, Deadly Duos, and Psychological Thriller books.
Nothing stays buried this Halloween!
Not with 18 scary tales of flash fiction filled with Halloween goodness.
Shallow Waters is an official monthly flash fiction contest hosted by Crystal Lake Publishing, with different themes each month. The best submissions every month are then posted on Crystal Lake’s Patreon page (an exclusive behind the scenes community of readers and authors), where patrons read daily entries and vote for the winner (you don’t have to be a patron to enter). Come find Crystal Lake Publishing on Patreon to vote in future contests (or gain access to our Still Water Bay series and so much more). Be sure to check out the Shallow Waters series page here on Amazon, where you’ll find volume 1 for free.
This Halloween Horror Anthology includes:
Introduction by Joe Mynhardt
“Mummy’s Boy” by Karen Bayly
“Tumshie” by William Meikle
“Arts and Crafts” by Madison McSweeney
“The Halloween House” by Sheldon Woodbury
“West Pennfield Township Newsletter, October 2021” by Tom Coombe
“I Want Candy by Larry Hinkle
“Let the Darkness In” by Ricki Whatley
“Soul Cake” by Anthony D. Redden
“The Pumpkin Fetch" by Tom Deady
“Wishing” by Jay Bechtol
“One Parent Survives” by Wil Dalton
“Don’t Eat the Candy” by Matt Bliss
“The Red Scarf” by Rhea Rose
“Shackled to the Shadows” by Richard Thomas
“Apple Tree Man” by Roxie Voorhees
“Smooth Man” by Kim Mannix
“Sleepy Hallowed” by Joseph VanBuren
“How to Create the Perfect Pumpkin” by Francesca Maria
This anthology is perfect for fans of Halloween books, flash fiction, scary stories, classic horror tropes, horror books, mystery thrillers, horror anthologies, and mystery and suspense flash fiction stories. With a bit of dark humor and candy sprinkled over the top.
Skeletons, ghosts and witches. All Hallows Eve is filled with the terrors that walk the thin line of our world and the other. From the twisted minds of some of todays best horror authors, Dark Halloween is a collection of halloween themed stories sure to delight and terrify.
How will you celebrate the holidays?
Dark Halloween is book 5 in the holiday horror collection
Strang isn’t the small, quaint town it appears to be. It’s haunted every night by a creature the townsfolk refer to as Halloween. Once the sun sets each day, Halloween emerges to collect its treats: a small, live offering from each household. The residents comply because no one wants to be the target of Halloween’s tricks. But the nightmare of residing in Strang is nothing compared to the yearly ritual Halloween demands of the citizens on All Hallows’ Eve.
HALLOWEEN, 1988
A gang of twelve-year-old boys are trick-or-treating in London. Off in the distance, they hear the discordant chimes of an ice-cream truck. It seems strange to hear on a cold autumnal night, but their thoughts of maximizing their candy haul soon dismissed its incongruous melody… until they saw the rusting hulk idling in the shadows at the end of the street, its driver a faceless shadow.
That was the night he took one of them.
OCTOBER, 2016
Years later, Halloween is fast approaching and Tom Craven is still haunted by the events of that dark night, especially the fact that their friend was never found. Increasingly plagued by horrific visions, Tom returns to the place where it all began, only to discover he's not the only one who can feel it. His friends have already arrived and are preparing for a battle which could get them all killed.
The Ice Cream Man is back… and he’s come for the ones that got away.
Alice Jacobs didn't believe in ghosts... until her daughter was taken by one.
When Alice's husband disappears while investigating a series of strange and terrible incidents in the bustling seaport of Salem, she is forced to bring her young daughter, Abigail, along from Boston while she takes up the search. But she soon learns of a terrible curse that has the entire town bracing for nightfall: one hundred years after the infamous witch trials, the vengeful spirit of a woman hanged for witchcraft will rise from hell to claim the souls of Salem's children.
Alice dismisses the old legend as foolish superstition until Abigail is snatched from her bed by a sinister woman made of smoke and mist.
Desperate to find her daughter before the sun rises and she is lost forever, Alice races against time on a spine-chilling adventure that takes her from forgotten dungeons and gloomy cemeteries to the haunted forests of Gallows Hill. Along with a roguish sailor searching for his own missing child, she battles deadly supernatural forces and uncovers a dark secret that may be the key to saving Abigail's soul... if only she can survive the most terrifying night of her life.
Suspenseful, thrilling, and dripping with atmosphere, All Hallows Eve is a spine-tingling treat for fans of Darcy Coates, Amy Cross, Robert McCammon, and anyone who enjoys having their skin crawl with every turn of the page.
Halloween just got a whole lot darker...
DARK HALLOWS: 10 Halloween Haunts is a wonderfully chilling collection of creepy tales that will have readers up late into the night--but only if they leave a light on!
This new offering from Scarlet Galleon Publications and Editor Mark Parker, includes stories from industry luminaries and new voices alike: Brian James Freeman, Al Sarrantonio, Robert Morrish, Norman Partridge, Ronald Malfi, Aaron Dries, Adam Cesare, Mark Parker, and Lisa Morton. And features a never-before-published tale from Cemetery Dance founder and publisher, Richard Chizmar!
Each story is beautifully accompanied by original artwork from Aaron Dries, making this a must-have for book lovers and collectors everywhere. It’s one frightful ride readers won’t want to miss.
Exploring the chilling haunts of Dark Hallows, is to take a journey into the very heart of Halloween, where readers are reconnected with the best, and hopefully worst, the 'dark holiday' has to offer.
At the end of a dark prairie road, nearly forgotten in the Kansas countryside, is the Finch House. For years it has remained empty, overgrown, abandoned. Soon the door will be opened for the first time in decades. But something is waiting, lurking in the shadows, anxious to meet its new guests…
When best-selling horror author Sam McGarver is invited to spend Halloween night in one of the country’s most infamous haunted houses, he reluctantly agrees. At least he won’t be alone; joining him are three other masters of the macabre, writers who have helped shape modern horror. But what begins as a simple publicity stunt will become a fight for survival. The entity they have awakened will follow them, torment them, threatening to make them a part of the bloody legacy of Kill Creek.
Blackwood, Vermont has one legend to its name—Benny Rose, the Cannibal King. Every local kid knows him and tells his stories, especially on Halloween. When a new girl moves to town in the autumn of 1987, the legend inspires high school junior Desiree St. Fleur and her friends to pull a Benny Rose-themed prank. A few laughs and screams, and they’ll have a Happy Halloween. But a vicious storm crashes into Blackwood and interrupts the festivities. Soon the girls find themselves trapped and hunted in a strange neighborhood where no one will help them. There’s nothing made-up about Benny Rose this Halloween night. The truth is coming, and it's hungry.
Struggling with fragmented memories and self-doubt, an increasingly terrified Eva fears that she might have been involved in both murders. But why doesn't she remember? Only the dead women know for sure, and they're coming for her with a haunting vengeance. As she fights to keep her family out of danger, Eva realizes she must use her magick as a bruja to protect herself and her loved ones, while confronting her own dark history.
A psychological thriller that weaves together the threads of folk magick with personal and cultural empowerment, River Woman, River Demon is a mysterious incantation of reckoning with the past and claiming one's unique power and voice.
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