All of the time the people say to me: ‘Joe. Your stories are crazy spooky. They’re the bees knees! What else should I check out? I need to know!’ And I always tell them: ‘Well, this and that. These and those. You should read more horror because romance blows.’ Or something like that. (P.S. I’m sure romance doesn’t always ‘blow’, and it is a perfectly acceptable genre to write and enjoy.) Really. This is a thing. At least in my head it is. So, for those who ‘need to know’, here is my primer for modern horror fiction. (Just in time for Halloween Month!)
A little about the list: I went ahead and left out big names like Stephen King, Joe Hill, Peter Straub, and Dean Koonz. These are awesome authors who dominate the horror market, and I highly recommend checking them out. But if you want something that is a step beyond the mainstream, something fresh and different, my little list will set you in the right direction.
Suggested Reading for a well balanced Horror Diet
- Books of Blood 1-3 by Clive Barker
- Wounds by Nathan Ballingrud – (my review)
- anything by Shirley Jackson – (my review of We Have Always Lived in the Castle)
- House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
- Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
- anything by Laird Barron – (my review of Swift to Chase)
- The Ritual by Adam Nevill
- My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix – (my review)
- Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
- Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror (any year) edited by Paula Guran
- anything edited by Ellen Datlow
- anything by Livia Lewellyn
That should get you started. Feel free to add your own suggestions down in the comments. I’m always on the lookout for the next awesome read.
[Heads up! I use affiliate links in my posts. A portion of any purchase you make using those links goes towards supporting my writing habits. So if you want to encourage such a thing be sure to click and shop. You can also support me on a monthly basis through Patreon or just this once through Ko-fi]
