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]
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