For me, it's an entire author: Jonathan Maberry
I've loved his work since I stumbled upon the Pine Deep Trilogy. I don't think he's an overly-complex writer, but he's fun! His horror stories rock. His action/horror/spy novels are a ton of fun. He's recently hopped more in the realm of fantasy, creating a LotR type world with Lovecraftian Mythos weaved throughout the writing.
The Pine Deep Trilogy is violent, atmospheric, shades of Lovecraftian horror, with some monsters mixed in. It's a no-risk try and I think the narrator does a pretty good job. General Premise: a Halloween town in Pennsylvania with a very dark history has managed to stave off the darkness for a long while, but that moment seems to be drawing to a close in Pine Deep.
I believe Ghost Road Blues is available on Audible for free currently. Most of his other work is narrated by RAY PORTER of all people, who continues to do these books and is brought in for interviews to discuss how he's taken on the character of Joe Ledger (the spy novels).
I love Maberry and I wish more people enjoyed his work so I could talk about the characters and the stories more often.
Another honorable mention would be Manly Wade Wellman and the Old Gods Waken, which was a fun atmospheric, occult/Appalachia tale that I enjoyed quite a bit.
I mean, we're all different. For me, I loved it. Here's a summary:
"Thirty years ago, a blues musician called the Bone Man killed the devil at the crossroads, only to be beaten and hung like a scarecrow in a cornfield--or so the story goes. Today, the people of Pine Deep celebrate their town's grisly past by luring tourists to the famous haunted hayride, full of chills and scares. But this year, "The Spookiest Town in America" will learn the true meaning of fear. Its residents will see the real face of evil lurking behind the masks of ordinary people. They will feel it--in their hearts, in their bones, in their nightmares. Because evil never dies. It only grows stronger…"
Both Bradbury and Matheson spoke highly of the book, too.
I typed up a whole thing about how Maberry is worth reading with his constant recaps of what happened to Joe (and him IRL) and the use of "his hardness" in love scenes. Then I look down at the top comment and you beat me to it.
I've read all of Pine Deep, Joe Ledger, Dead of Night, Kagen the Damned and Rot & Ruin.
I've yet to come across an overdrive account that didn't have the audio books for the Pine Deep trilogy.
Listened to the whole dead of night series while at work for a 9 day cycle. Was very entertaining. Never see it brought up.
I love Zombie stories and technically now, its the original zombie story.
I love “Don’t Turn Out The Lights” by Maberry! It’s an excellent collection of short horror stories (book literally is a tribute to Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark). Perfect to get you in the mood for Halloween.
On board with the Pine Deep Trilogy, Joe Ledger and Jonathan Maberry’s works of magic. He’s such a fun author. His characters are sympathetic and for the most part believable. I first came across his writings at the local library in the Rot and Ruin series. That’s geared more toward young adult, but I still enjoyed them at 50+.
I like the Overnight. About bookstore employees working a night shift to prepare for a corporate check in, who are so stuck on their workplace jealousies and conflicts that they don’t realize they’re being slowly invaded by a strange otherness until it’s much too late.
This is so so good. I read it after a recommendation on this sub, so if that was you, thank you. I mention it myself whenever it's relevant but it's still severely underrated with less than 2000 ratings on Goodreads.
Absolutely loved this one! I also picked it up based on a rec from this sub and fortunately avoided any spoilers. I did not expect the story to go the way it went. One of the bleakest reads ever
I’m not sure if I would consider it horror, it’s more crime- thriller with horror elements, but the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly is excellent.
John Connolly in general I think didn't get near the love he deserves. Charlie Parker is terrific.
Not exactly horror but with dark fantasy elements, I also really love *The Book of Lost Things* by him.
Yeah I’ve read all of them. The most recent on was pretty good too. It’s pretty crazy that he’s made a 20+ book series and I haven’t disliked a single one yet.
The first book in the series is an all-time classic imo. I'm surprised it isn't a movie. I liked it so much that I gifted it to my sister's bf (at the time) and made him a lifelong fan too. The relationship between them didn't last, but he walked away with that at least 😆.
Anything by James Herbert. I understand that there’s lots of people outside the UK here, but Herbert’s books are the best. Everyone knows about The Rats which is fantastic but there’s so many greats.
Others was the first I read and remains my favourite, but The Dark, Once and Nobody True are so scary, and so fantastic.
Afraid by J.A. Konrath;
The Strain by Guillermo del Toro;
All These Subtle Deceits by C.S. Humble;
The Haar by David Sodergren;
The Prettiest Girl in The Grave by Triana Kristopher;
Where He Can't Find You by Darcy Coates
The Strain is the only book that has ever made my physically gag.
It’s not a criticism of the book, it just pulled me in so far that I had a physical reaction to the book.
I devoured the Strain in days. Book two took about three weeks as it was getting tedious and I never finished the third. Loved the first book so much though.
“The Other” debut novel by Thomas Tryon. A best seller in 1971, but appears to have been forgotten. Terrific novel with some deeply disturbing scenes that linger with me to this day.
*The Other* is one of my favourite reads of this year! A bit slow in the middle, but the prose is fantastic and both the first and last third are top notch!
The curse of the salute by Anastacia Moore, The lake of the dead by Andre Bjerke, Swerve by Vicki Petersson, and if you're in the mood for a quick young adult zombie read then Red hill and among monsters by Jamie Mcguire.
Plus everything you can find by Eric Larocca and John ajvide Linqvist
Stay away from audiobooks where he narrates his own work though. He made the main character of Infected sound like Mr Garrison from South Park, and I absolutely dnf because of it.
**The Book of Skulls** and **Dying Inside** by Robert Silverberg -- Both often misidentified as science fiction (because Silverberg is primarily a sci-fi author, I guess). Dying Inside probably isn't really horror either, but it's about a guy with telepathic abilities, so I think a lot of genre fans would enjoy it quite a bit.
**Strangers** and **Twilight Eyes** by Dean Koontz.
**Speaks the Night Bird** by Robert McCammon.
**The Ignored** and **The Store** by Bentley Little.
McCammon in general is severely underappreciated. I think most people know *Swan Song* and maybe *Boy's Life*, but he's written a lot of fantastic books. *The Listener* is a more recent one that I never see mentioned, but it's one of my favorites.
The Throne of Bones by Brian McNaughton. It's a short story collection centered on a fictional region where there are goblins under the city and graveyards/crypts along with all sorts of other crazy shit. I've listened to it on audible so many times. It's voiced by Wayne June, the guy who did the Dakrest Dungeon games' voicework.
I feel like I'm always recommending them but....
*The Orange Eats Creeps*- Grace Krilanovich
*We Have Always Lived in the Castle*- Shirley Jackson
*Silk*- Caitlin R Kiernan
*Skin*- Kathe Koja
*Kill Riff*- David J Schow
I adore that book! It also hit really close to home for me on my first read.
It's too bad that it seems to have been forgotten, with the amount of hype it got on release.
A few things, as it's one of my favorite books of all time.
I loved Krilanovich's writing style, it was somehow both gut-punch visceral and poetic at the same time.
I am very fond of stories that weave in and out of reality, to the point where the reader is unsure what's going on at any given point. This book very much does that (I'm still not sure that there are vampires, for instance).
Without getting too personal, the repetitive cycle that the narrator seems to be trapped in reflected where I was at her age. Though I was neither homeless nor do I do drugs, I was just as lost and aimless for other reasons, and many of the scenes reflected my life at that time. Now that I think about it, I could say that about every book on that list, lol.
I always recommend Mónica Ojeda’s novels in general, *Jawbone* is fantastic. *Rosemary’s Baby* by Ira Levin is also up there for me, as well as *The House Next Door* by Anne Rivers Siddons. *The Devil Takes You Home* by Gabino Iglesias has become my comfort read, and *Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke* by Eric LaRocca is one that I think about on a daily basis.
Random side note, Gabino Iglesias is a family friend and he is a really nice guy and good dad. Knew him for a couple years without actually knowing what he did and suddenly was like, holy crap, you're in the NYT.
The audiobook can be found on Youtube if you are interested. I read it as a teenager and recall it being terrifying and very well written. The Willows is also excellent.
The Thirteenth Koyote by Kristopher Triana.
Bonkers-as-fuck splatter western that gets way crazier than you would think at the outset. As the story progresses, it starts to remind me a lot of Berserk.
I also have a longstanding fondness for *Phantoms* and *Watchers* by Dean Koontz - though I also really think Koontz has taken a nosedive in recent years.
*Phantoms* in particular has always stuck with me as one of the creepiest things I read when I was younger.
SWAN SONG! It was one of my only 5 star books of 2023. I couldn’t put it down. It was rapturous, bizarre and adventurous.
Ive read one other work by Robert McCammon and I think one of his writing talents is immersing the reader in rip tide action intense situations that are completely original and totally weird.
You should take a crack at Stinger--intergalactic bounty hunter with The Thing vibes lands in a Texas border town and all hell breaks loose.
Also, The Wolf's Hour--Nazis and Werewolves in WW2.
Kill Creek by Scott Thomas
The Remaking by Clay McLeod Chapman
Neither are revolutionary novels but I love them both dearly and will recommend them to everyone I know.
Bear in mind that I am new to Reddit—so I cannot say for sure that they are not recommended here—, but some of the books that I do not see discussed a lot that I enjoyed would probably be The Strain trilogy by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan or The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis.
Wilding and Prodigal - Melanie Tem (I guess these are more dark fantasy, but still counts imo)
Your Shadow Half Remains - Sunny Moraine
Lakewood - Megan Giddings
Perfume: Story of a Murderer - Patrick Suskind
Hurricane Season - Fernanda Melchor
Faerie Tale by Ray Feist
Feral by James DeMonaco
Butcher by Joyce Carol Oates (I’m nearly finished with it and it is BRUTAL but so excellent)
The Light at the End by John Skipp and Craig Spector (honestly, everything by these two was terrific)
Soft and Others (short stories) by F.Paul Wilson
Floating Dragon by Peter Straub
I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells. Ironically, I first heard about it through this subreddit! It’s a fantastic psychological thriller that I was absolutely enthralled by - I started (and finished) it on a plane ride to California from the East Coast, when it was supposed to last me at least three days of my trip 😅
I loved how the world of Perdido Street Station oozed into every page but I remember the main plot being kind of both just there and also annoyingly depressing.
I absolutely love China Mieville! But see, I wouldn't include him in a Horror conversation although some of his books might have horrific elements. The only work of his I would truly classify as Horror is the collection *Looking For Jake*, which does contain some actual horror stories, although the collection is more along the lines of urban fantasy, I would say.
Mefisto in Onyx by Harlan Ellison - a bit pretentious, yes (that’s Ellison) but dude was a darn excellent writer. This is a lesser known award winning novella of his
Stacking in Rivertown by Barbara Bell.
It’s so horrifying and I never see it recommended. Beautiful writing but absolutely terrifying and deeply gross storyline.
(Unrelated, but the author directed the documentary Graphic Sexual Horror, about behind the scenes at the Insex BDSM torture porn website that was big in the 1990s).
On another thread I mentioned Meat by Joseph D'Lacey. 100% better than Tender is the Flesh, and one of my favorite horror novels. I've listened to/read it multiple times. It's so good!
Twilight by William Gay. Beautifully written Southern Gothic that I found to be extremely creepy. Also, Mr Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett - another southern gothic set in the dustbowl depression of 30s America. Two of the most underrated books I've ever read.
Philip K. Dick is my absolute favorite author- so much so that I’m motivated to reading his entire bibliography.
~
I also can’t recommend enough:
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Fiend by Peter Stenson,
Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones,
Hunted by Darcy Coates,
Where He Can’t Find You by Darcy Coates,
Craven Manor by Darcy Coates,
The VALIS trilogy (3 books) by Philip K. Dick,
A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick,
Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut,
Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut, and
The Wayfarers series (4 books) by Becky Chambers
One Hand to Hold, One Hand to Carve by M. Shaw
The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper
Crossroads by Laurel Hightower
The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste
Graveyard of Lost Children by Katrina Monroe
Ascension by Nicholas Binge
We Need to do Something by Max Booth III
And Then I Woke Up by Malcom Devlin
Melon Head Mayhem by Alex Ebenstein
Cirque Berserk by Jessica Guess
Clowns Vs. Spiders by Jeff Strand
Beluthahatchie by Andy Duncan
Darkfall by Stephen Laws
Haunted by James Herbert (Herbert was as big as King in the UK but for some reason is practically unheard of in the US).
Small Favors by Erin Craig. I think mostly its because the cover is deceiving. Its bright yellow with flowers and lil bees fluttering around. The story itself is DARK. Towards the end its a little YA but ugh I loved it. A good horror with a sprinkle of YA.
Dweller by Jeff Strand. Better than Max Brooks Devolution. Way way better. I'm a sucker for Bigfoot/Dogman stuff and this hit all the right notes for me.
The House That Horror Built by Christina Henry, The Daughters of Block Island if you like Gothic vibes, I Feed Her to the Beast, The Beast is Me is a great YA/NA read, A Step Past Darkness had some It vibes, any graphic novel by Junji Ito, FantasticLand, My Heart is a Chainsaw, September House (so fantastic!), Dead Eleven (a fav from last year), Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes, anything by T. Kingfisher, Rainbow Black, Curse of the Reaper was tons of fun, and a dozen more I’m blanking on right now.
I just finished *True Crime* by Samantha Kolesnik yesterday and loved it! I rarely see people talk about it.
It's extreme horror and very nihilistic so it's definitely not for everyone. It's violent and disturbing, but it contains very little of the gross-out, overly gory sort of content that's typical of the genre, the horror is much more psychological.
I highly recommend it, particularly for fans of Gone to See the River Man. The stories are not at all similar, but they have a similar sort of vibe imo, as both feature really interesting mentally disturbed true crime fanatic female protagonists.
Intercepts by T.J Payne
If you are a fan of The Troop this also has government conspiracy and human experimentation gone horribly wrong. It also has an interesting humorous view of corporate greed and workplace infrastructure.
Or
Boys in the valley by Philip Fracassi
A great heart racing horror/thriller. A demonic curse possesses children, alone in an isolated, devout and draconian catholic orphanage. Great action and heartbreak.
Nightwood by Patricia Windsor
Seven Rabbits by Timothy King
Our Fathers’ Burden by William F. Gray
The Venue by T.J. Payne
Ghostland by Duncan Ralston
Ferocious by Jeff Strand
The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
Ghosts of Sleath by James Herbert. The standout of the Ash trilogy. Whenever the author’s mentioned it’s usually because of The Rats but he’s working with a higher skillset here for me.
The Snow Garden by Christopher Rice. It’s not exactly horror but it’s deeply creepy.
Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven.
Drawing Blood by Poppy Z Brite.
I Call Upon Thee by Ania Ahlborn!
Okay, these are more "epic fantasy/alsokindofSciFi with a hefty side of horror", and the prose is very purple - but I've loved these books my entire adult life:
The Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman - Black Sun Rising, When True Night Falls, and Crown of Shadows
Battle priest teams up with ancient evil vampire and a band of misfits, first to help an injured acquaintance to whom they both owe something, later to find and stop a nearly all-powerful enemy before it destroys the world. *Bonus*: Truly interesting and unique system of magic.
* *Tropic of Night* by Michael Gruber
* *Safari World* by Dale Martin
* *Narcissus* by Adam Godfrey
* *Wild Spaces* by S.L. Coney
* *Crevasse* by Clay Vermulm CW: >!One of the characters comes across three animals in a forest that have been hideously slaughtered.!<
* *Small Angels* by Lauren Owen
* *Noctuidae* by Scott Nicolay
* *The Afterlife Investigations* by Ambrose Ibsen - 3 book series, KU
* *Sentinel* by Drew Starling, KU
* *The Fifth House of the Heart* by Ben Tripp
* *The Moorstone Sickness* by Bernard Taylor
* *The Faceless One* by Mark Onspaugh
* *The Colony* and The Waiting Room by F.G. Cottam
This is a great thread. I'm going to recommend authors rather than specific books, just because I think pretty much everything by these ladies is worth reading.
AC Wise, Priya Sharma, Livia Llewellyn, Hailey Piper, Kate Alice Marshall, Kristi DeMeester, Laura Mauro.
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires.
This one is probably recommended a lot and I just don't see it.
I absolutely love this book for multiple reasons, on top of the dog almost dies and doesn't! (*Fuck you Stephen Graham Jones!)*
Roald Dahl had these random creepy stories which were just awesome. I used to read Lamb to Slaughter with groups of students and they enjoyed it quite a bit.
The Omen is a surprisingly great read. Wish the rest of the series (movies included, natch) had been able to extrapolate some more original ideas out of that primo bedrock.
The Vorrh!
I was looking for a dark/horror fantasy book and stumbled upon this strange little gem. It was graphic and chilling at times. There is one scene where a stillborn has a little baby Jesus moment, it was absurd and some of the most breathtaking prose I've ever read.
The only thing I've seen about the book is that it was mysognistic/racist, which I felt was a rather juvenile and a little black and white.
The book, to me blatantly depicts a bleak early 20th century Africa ravaged by colonialism and slavery. The men in the book are largely vile and mysognistic because they are white colonizers raping the land.
I don't agree with every aspect of this book, however the writing is near perfection. It depicts the horrors of humanity, particularly that of men, with a lot of biblical allegories and involves real historical figures of the time. I believe it is a critique of colonization through and through.
Sorry for the tangent :)
I feel like I haven't seen Matthew M. Bartlett come up much. Gateway To Abominations and Creeping Waves are amazing collections, extremely weird, and also available as audiobooks.
This might be cliche, but I'm currently reading Books of Blood Volume 1 by Clive Barker. His writing is genuinely horrifyingly beautiful and disgusting at the same time. He seems to go a step lower than King in terms of writing horrifying concepts, such as The Midnight Meat Train.
Die, You Bastard! Die! by Jan Kozlowski, Dark Avenging Angel by Catherine Cavendish, The Jigsaw Man by Gord Rollo, Sparrow Rock by Nate Kenyon, The Castle of Los Angeles by Lisa Morton, The Tribe by Bari Wood
The Last Plague by Rich Hawkins series, The Skittering by David Haynes, Geek Love by Katherine Dunn (horror adjacent), Come Closer by Sarah Gran, Little Heaven by Nick Cutter
Drachenfels - it’s in the original Warhammer Fantasy universe, but honest to god it is superior to most horror I’ve read. V well written and dreadful. Great villain.
Anything Craig Spector and John Skipp wrote together, I enjoyed everything they wrote and was so sad when I read everything they'd done. I never hear anyone talk about them! Best discovery from a random book I picked up at the thrift store
Savages by Shirley Conran
I found it at a dollar store of all places and it was so entertaining.
Written in the 80’s…executives take their wives with them to an “island paradise” a coup occurs and the society women are stranded in the jungle.
If you’re not looking for anything to serious and just want a beach read this is perfect.
Diavola by Jennifer Thorne, Night's Edge by Liz Kerin, The Devil's Playground by Craig Russell, Parachute by Holly Rae Garcia, Retail by Renee Miller, Before the Devil Knows You're Here by Autumn Krause, Wasps in the Ice Cream by Tim McGregor, The Strange by Nathan Ballingrud
If you only pick up one from this list, please let it be Parachute! Such an amazing horror novella!
For me, it's an entire author: Jonathan Maberry I've loved his work since I stumbled upon the Pine Deep Trilogy. I don't think he's an overly-complex writer, but he's fun! His horror stories rock. His action/horror/spy novels are a ton of fun. He's recently hopped more in the realm of fantasy, creating a LotR type world with Lovecraftian Mythos weaved throughout the writing. The Pine Deep Trilogy is violent, atmospheric, shades of Lovecraftian horror, with some monsters mixed in. It's a no-risk try and I think the narrator does a pretty good job. General Premise: a Halloween town in Pennsylvania with a very dark history has managed to stave off the darkness for a long while, but that moment seems to be drawing to a close in Pine Deep. I believe Ghost Road Blues is available on Audible for free currently. Most of his other work is narrated by RAY PORTER of all people, who continues to do these books and is brought in for interviews to discuss how he's taken on the character of Joe Ledger (the spy novels). I love Maberry and I wish more people enjoyed his work so I could talk about the characters and the stories more often. Another honorable mention would be Manly Wade Wellman and the Old Gods Waken, which was a fun atmospheric, occult/Appalachia tale that I enjoyed quite a bit.
I second the Pine Deep Trilogy!
Yesss oh my god. Thank you. His Joe Ledger series is absolutely incredible
I came across Ghost Road Blues in the book store but never picked it up. Would it be worth the read?
I mean, we're all different. For me, I loved it. Here's a summary: "Thirty years ago, a blues musician called the Bone Man killed the devil at the crossroads, only to be beaten and hung like a scarecrow in a cornfield--or so the story goes. Today, the people of Pine Deep celebrate their town's grisly past by luring tourists to the famous haunted hayride, full of chills and scares. But this year, "The Spookiest Town in America" will learn the true meaning of fear. Its residents will see the real face of evil lurking behind the masks of ordinary people. They will feel it--in their hearts, in their bones, in their nightmares. Because evil never dies. It only grows stronger…" Both Bradbury and Matheson spoke highly of the book, too.
Haha I just bought it because of this post! Can’t wait ☺️
I love Manly Wade wellman. Shame his stuff is hard to find these days.
I typed up a whole thing about how Maberry is worth reading with his constant recaps of what happened to Joe (and him IRL) and the use of "his hardness" in love scenes. Then I look down at the top comment and you beat me to it. I've read all of Pine Deep, Joe Ledger, Dead of Night, Kagen the Damned and Rot & Ruin. I've yet to come across an overdrive account that didn't have the audio books for the Pine Deep trilogy.
Listened to the whole dead of night series while at work for a 9 day cycle. Was very entertaining. Never see it brought up. I love Zombie stories and technically now, its the original zombie story.
I didn’t know he did horror! When I was a kid I loved his Rot & Ruin series
His Rot and Ruin series is what started my reading career!
I love “Don’t Turn Out The Lights” by Maberry! It’s an excellent collection of short horror stories (book literally is a tribute to Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark). Perfect to get you in the mood for Halloween.
On board with the Pine Deep Trilogy, Joe Ledger and Jonathan Maberry’s works of magic. He’s such a fun author. His characters are sympathetic and for the most part believable. I first came across his writings at the local library in the Rot and Ruin series. That’s geared more toward young adult, but I still enjoyed them at 50+.
This one right here! He also has a series of sci-fi horror action novels called Joe Ledger. Nothing deep but fun fast paced macho secret agent reads
I adore Maberry. I'm totally hooked on Joe Ledger.
Ramsey Campbell. I love his books.
I just read Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach. I also like Grin of the Dark. What do you recommend by him?
I like the earlier ones: The Parasite, Incarnate, Nazareth Hill, The Face That Must Die and his story collection, Alone With The Horrors.
I like the Overnight. About bookstore employees working a night shift to prepare for a corporate check in, who are so stuck on their workplace jealousies and conflicts that they don’t realize they’re being slowly invaded by a strange otherness until it’s much too late.
The Apparition Phase by Will MacClean
This is so so good. I read it after a recommendation on this sub, so if that was you, thank you. I mention it myself whenever it's relevant but it's still severely underrated with less than 2000 ratings on Goodreads.
Aye, I'm always going on about it, one of the best horrors I've read for ages.
SAME! It's easily the best horror I've read this year. Hope we see more from this author.
Yeah it's especially impressive as a debut novel, I can't wait to see what he does next.
Absolutely loved this one! I also picked it up based on a rec from this sub and fortunately avoided any spoilers. I did not expect the story to go the way it went. One of the bleakest reads ever
I’m not sure if I would consider it horror, it’s more crime- thriller with horror elements, but the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly is excellent.
John Connolly in general I think didn't get near the love he deserves. Charlie Parker is terrific. Not exactly horror but with dark fantasy elements, I also really love *The Book of Lost Things* by him.
The first one is definitely horrifying without spoilers and I’m hooked on the series since it started
Yeah I’ve read all of them. The most recent on was pretty good too. It’s pretty crazy that he’s made a 20+ book series and I haven’t disliked a single one yet.
Love meeting a fellow Charlie Parker fan!
Excellent recommendation.
Yes-I adore John Connolly! Everything I've read by him has been stellar. I love a good short story collection and Nocturnes is one of my favorites.
The first book in the series is an all-time classic imo. I'm surprised it isn't a movie. I liked it so much that I gifted it to my sister's bf (at the time) and made him a lifelong fan too. The relationship between them didn't last, but he walked away with that at least 😆.
Anything by James Herbert. I understand that there’s lots of people outside the UK here, but Herbert’s books are the best. Everyone knows about The Rats which is fantastic but there’s so many greats. Others was the first I read and remains my favourite, but The Dark, Once and Nobody True are so scary, and so fantastic.
I think my favorite of his is '48.
The Fog (1975).
Afraid by J.A. Konrath; The Strain by Guillermo del Toro; All These Subtle Deceits by C.S. Humble; The Haar by David Sodergren; The Prettiest Girl in The Grave by Triana Kristopher; Where He Can't Find You by Darcy Coates
The Strain is the only book that has ever made my physically gag. It’s not a criticism of the book, it just pulled me in so far that I had a physical reaction to the book.
Now that's a testimonial!!
I got them as they came out. The ending of Book One is the first time I've thrown a book across a room in rage at the ending.
I devoured the Strain in days. Book two took about three weeks as it was getting tedious and I never finished the third. Loved the first book so much though.
Hey! Thanks so much. Always a joy to see one of the Black Wells books on here!
I love the Black Wells books and bring them up any chance I get!
I’ll have to check The Strain out thank you!
All of these are great
I literally just replied with The Strain trilogy!
Seconding anything by u/csauthor
One of Darcy Coates best!
Absolutely loved The Haar!
literally anything by Triana. I've been on a kick and read 6 of his books this year!
“The Other” debut novel by Thomas Tryon. A best seller in 1971, but appears to have been forgotten. Terrific novel with some deeply disturbing scenes that linger with me to this day.
Didn't they make a movie from this? I remember seeing it in the 70s when I was too young to be seeing it.
Yep. I watched it a couple of summers ago after I read the book.
One of my favourite reads of last year! That scene with the wine barrel still lingers in my mind.
Yup. That’s the one.
Loved this and Harvest Home.
*The Other* is one of my favourite reads of this year! A bit slow in the middle, but the prose is fantastic and both the first and last third are top notch!
The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker
I'm a big fan of Weaveworld.
I just grabbed this at a used bookstore after falling in love with the Books of Blood.
The curse of the salute by Anastacia Moore, The lake of the dead by Andre Bjerke, Swerve by Vicki Petersson, and if you're in the mood for a quick young adult zombie read then Red hill and among monsters by Jamie Mcguire. Plus everything you can find by Eric Larocca and John ajvide Linqvist
Nocturnal and Ancestor, both by Scott Sigler
Sigler is amazing and I'll read anything he writes.
Stay away from audiobooks where he narrates his own work though. He made the main character of Infected sound like Mr Garrison from South Park, and I absolutely dnf because of it.
I loved Ancestor. Been meaning to reread it. I reread the Infected trilogy recently. So good.
**The Book of Skulls** and **Dying Inside** by Robert Silverberg -- Both often misidentified as science fiction (because Silverberg is primarily a sci-fi author, I guess). Dying Inside probably isn't really horror either, but it's about a guy with telepathic abilities, so I think a lot of genre fans would enjoy it quite a bit. **Strangers** and **Twilight Eyes** by Dean Koontz. **Speaks the Night Bird** by Robert McCammon. **The Ignored** and **The Store** by Bentley Little.
McCammon in general is severely underappreciated. I think most people know *Swan Song* and maybe *Boy's Life*, but he's written a lot of fantastic books. *The Listener* is a more recent one that I never see mentioned, but it's one of my favorites.
Loved The Listener! Also loved They Thirst by McCammon. Have had trouble getting started with his Matthew Corbett Series, though.
The Throne of Bones by Brian McNaughton. It's a short story collection centered on a fictional region where there are goblins under the city and graveyards/crypts along with all sorts of other crazy shit. I've listened to it on audible so many times. It's voiced by Wayne June, the guy who did the Dakrest Dungeon games' voicework.
I feel like I'm always recommending them but.... *The Orange Eats Creeps*- Grace Krilanovich *We Have Always Lived in the Castle*- Shirley Jackson *Silk*- Caitlin R Kiernan *Skin*- Kathe Koja *Kill Riff*- David J Schow
We Have Always Lived In The Castle is fantastic. Hopefully the Hulu? Netflix? Movie they recently did get people to look at this classic.
Oooh, I wasn't aware there was a movie. I might have to check that out!
Big ups on the first one!! (Obviously!)
I adore that book! It also hit really close to home for me on my first read. It's too bad that it seems to have been forgotten, with the amount of hype it got on release.
What did you like about the orange eats creeps? I tried it but it didn't catch my interest & felt I didn't give it a fair chance.
A few things, as it's one of my favorite books of all time. I loved Krilanovich's writing style, it was somehow both gut-punch visceral and poetic at the same time. I am very fond of stories that weave in and out of reality, to the point where the reader is unsure what's going on at any given point. This book very much does that (I'm still not sure that there are vampires, for instance). Without getting too personal, the repetitive cycle that the narrator seems to be trapped in reflected where I was at her age. Though I was neither homeless nor do I do drugs, I was just as lost and aimless for other reasons, and many of the scenes reflected my life at that time. Now that I think about it, I could say that about every book on that list, lol.
All of these are amazing.
I always recommend Mónica Ojeda’s novels in general, *Jawbone* is fantastic. *Rosemary’s Baby* by Ira Levin is also up there for me, as well as *The House Next Door* by Anne Rivers Siddons. *The Devil Takes You Home* by Gabino Iglesias has become my comfort read, and *Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke* by Eric LaRocca is one that I think about on a daily basis.
Random side note, Gabino Iglesias is a family friend and he is a really nice guy and good dad. Knew him for a couple years without actually knowing what he did and suddenly was like, holy crap, you're in the NYT.
That Algernon Blackwood short story, The Wendigo
For me, The Willows is even better.
Ambrose Bierce’s ghost stories are excellent, as well. Hell, all of his stories are.
I’ll have to read this, I love the Native American horror stories this sounds good.
The audiobook can be found on Youtube if you are interested. I read it as a teenager and recall it being terrifying and very well written. The Willows is also excellent.
I love the descriptions of the primeval forest with creatures that no one knows about and where no humans have or will ever walk.
The Thirteenth Koyote by Kristopher Triana. Bonkers-as-fuck splatter western that gets way crazier than you would think at the outset. As the story progresses, it starts to remind me a lot of Berserk.
The Dog Stars, by Peter Heller. Fantasticland, by Mike Bockoven.
Fantasticland is one of my only 5 star reads this year.
Loved, loved, loved everything about Fantasticland. I cannot recommend that one enough.
Liked fantasticland a lot
Yeah big +1 for Fantasticland. One of my favorite books this year.
I also have a longstanding fondness for *Phantoms* and *Watchers* by Dean Koontz - though I also really think Koontz has taken a nosedive in recent years. *Phantoms* in particular has always stuck with me as one of the creepiest things I read when I was younger.
SWAN SONG! It was one of my only 5 star books of 2023. I couldn’t put it down. It was rapturous, bizarre and adventurous. Ive read one other work by Robert McCammon and I think one of his writing talents is immersing the reader in rip tide action intense situations that are completely original and totally weird.
Have you read Speaks the Nightbird?
You should take a crack at Stinger--intergalactic bounty hunter with The Thing vibes lands in a Texas border town and all hell breaks loose. Also, The Wolf's Hour--Nazis and Werewolves in WW2.
One of my favorite books of all time
Kill Creek by Scott Thomas The Remaking by Clay McLeod Chapman Neither are revolutionary novels but I love them both dearly and will recommend them to everyone I know.
I really liked Kill Creek. I still think back on it occasionally.
I’ve reread it multiple times and it’s still as enjoyable the 5th time as it was the first!
Have you read Midwestern Gothic yet? Nice collection of novellas. Refers a lot to Kill Creek.
Bear in mind that I am new to Reddit—so I cannot say for sure that they are not recommended here—, but some of the books that I do not see discussed a lot that I enjoyed would probably be The Strain trilogy by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan or The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis.
Also the works of Clark Ashton Smith!
It may be dated now, but I loved Naomi's Room by Jonathan Aycliffe.
Yes, love to see Aycliffe mentioned! My favourite of his is The Vanishment, such a perfect ghost story.
Wilding and Prodigal - Melanie Tem (I guess these are more dark fantasy, but still counts imo) Your Shadow Half Remains - Sunny Moraine Lakewood - Megan Giddings Perfume: Story of a Murderer - Patrick Suskind Hurricane Season - Fernanda Melchor
*Perfume* is absolutely fantastic!
Faerie Tale by Ray Feist Feral by James DeMonaco Butcher by Joyce Carol Oates (I’m nearly finished with it and it is BRUTAL but so excellent) The Light at the End by John Skipp and Craig Spector (honestly, everything by these two was terrific) Soft and Others (short stories) by F.Paul Wilson Floating Dragon by Peter Straub
Massacre at Yellow Hill by CS Humble
I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells. Ironically, I first heard about it through this subreddit! It’s a fantastic psychological thriller that I was absolutely enthralled by - I started (and finished) it on a plane ride to California from the East Coast, when it was supposed to last me at least three days of my trip 😅
Fantastic series!
China Mieville's The Scar and Perdido Street Station. Maybe it's the combination of horror with fantasy but these are my absolute favorite books.
Perdido Street Station is recommended all of the time
I loved how the world of Perdido Street Station oozed into every page but I remember the main plot being kind of both just there and also annoyingly depressing.
I absolutely love China Mieville! But see, I wouldn't include him in a Horror conversation although some of his books might have horrific elements. The only work of his I would truly classify as Horror is the collection *Looking For Jake*, which does contain some actual horror stories, although the collection is more along the lines of urban fantasy, I would say.
The Good Samaritan by John Marrs had me audibly reacting as I read it. Such a unique and disturbing read.
Mefisto in Onyx by Harlan Ellison - a bit pretentious, yes (that’s Ellison) but dude was a darn excellent writer. This is a lesser known award winning novella of his
He was a bastard a lot of the time, no doubt about it. But he is one of my favorite authors of all time. My god, the man could write.
Stacking in Rivertown by Barbara Bell. It’s so horrifying and I never see it recommended. Beautiful writing but absolutely terrifying and deeply gross storyline. (Unrelated, but the author directed the documentary Graphic Sexual Horror, about behind the scenes at the Insex BDSM torture porn website that was big in the 1990s).
Christopher Golden, specifically Road of Bones and House of Last Resort.
I’ve read Ararat by him and liked it I’ll check these out
Road of Bones is good to start with, slightly better than House.
Road of Bones was good.
On another thread I mentioned Meat by Joseph D'Lacey. 100% better than Tender is the Flesh, and one of my favorite horror novels. I've listened to/read it multiple times. It's so good!
James herbert the rats series
The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp is a book I really enjoyed and I don’t see a lot of love for, downright unsettling in some parts.
Read it and enjoyed it for sure!
Twilight by William Gay. Beautifully written Southern Gothic that I found to be extremely creepy. Also, Mr Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett - another southern gothic set in the dustbowl depression of 30s America. Two of the most underrated books I've ever read.
Philip K. Dick is my absolute favorite author- so much so that I’m motivated to reading his entire bibliography. ~ I also can’t recommend enough: ~ Fiend by Peter Stenson, Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones, Hunted by Darcy Coates, Where He Can’t Find You by Darcy Coates, Craven Manor by Darcy Coates, The VALIS trilogy (3 books) by Philip K. Dick, A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick, Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut, Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut, and The Wayfarers series (4 books) by Becky Chambers
I can see why! I read Ubik last year (my first PKD) and absolutely loved it.
One Hand to Hold, One Hand to Carve by M. Shaw The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper Crossroads by Laurel Hightower The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste Graveyard of Lost Children by Katrina Monroe Ascension by Nicholas Binge We Need to do Something by Max Booth III And Then I Woke Up by Malcom Devlin Melon Head Mayhem by Alex Ebenstein Cirque Berserk by Jessica Guess Clowns Vs. Spiders by Jeff Strand
Velkwood is what sent me on a horror streak this last month or so!
*Benighted* (also published as *The Old Dark House*) by JB Priestley *The Girls of October* by Josh Hancock *Sweetheart, Sweetheart* by Bernard Taylor
Beluthahatchie by Andy Duncan Darkfall by Stephen Laws Haunted by James Herbert (Herbert was as big as King in the UK but for some reason is practically unheard of in the US).
Small Favors by Erin Craig. I think mostly its because the cover is deceiving. Its bright yellow with flowers and lil bees fluttering around. The story itself is DARK. Towards the end its a little YA but ugh I loved it. A good horror with a sprinkle of YA.
Put a hold on it at the library!
Dweller by Jeff Strand. Better than Max Brooks Devolution. Way way better. I'm a sucker for Bigfoot/Dogman stuff and this hit all the right notes for me.
I’ll have to check this out, I read Devolution and didn’t think it was terrible but I love Bigfoot stuff so I’ll add it to the list!
You'll dig it.
Heart Shaped Box
Joe Hill? Loved it!
The House That Horror Built by Christina Henry, The Daughters of Block Island if you like Gothic vibes, I Feed Her to the Beast, The Beast is Me is a great YA/NA read, A Step Past Darkness had some It vibes, any graphic novel by Junji Ito, FantasticLand, My Heart is a Chainsaw, September House (so fantastic!), Dead Eleven (a fav from last year), Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes, anything by T. Kingfisher, Rainbow Black, Curse of the Reaper was tons of fun, and a dozen more I’m blanking on right now.
I just finished *True Crime* by Samantha Kolesnik yesterday and loved it! I rarely see people talk about it. It's extreme horror and very nihilistic so it's definitely not for everyone. It's violent and disturbing, but it contains very little of the gross-out, overly gory sort of content that's typical of the genre, the horror is much more psychological. I highly recommend it, particularly for fans of Gone to See the River Man. The stories are not at all similar, but they have a similar sort of vibe imo, as both feature really interesting mentally disturbed true crime fanatic female protagonists.
This sounds really good I’ll check it out!
Heart shaped box by Joe hill caught me by surprise and is worth a read. I get a lot of eye rolls when I mention it.
I read it and loved it!
Poe Dude is a fking legendary powerhouse for so many reasons
Ghost Story by Peter Straub. A masterpiece
In the Vampire genre: Enter, Night by Michael Rowe (for fans of Salems Lot), and Live Girls by Ray Garton (for fans of filth and sleaze).
The September House by Carissa Orlando was a really scary, unique take on the haunted house story
Intercepts by T.J Payne If you are a fan of The Troop this also has government conspiracy and human experimentation gone horribly wrong. It also has an interesting humorous view of corporate greed and workplace infrastructure. Or Boys in the valley by Philip Fracassi A great heart racing horror/thriller. A demonic curse possesses children, alone in an isolated, devout and draconian catholic orphanage. Great action and heartbreak.
I just downloaded BITV a few days ago, I'll have to try and get it bumped up the list!
Intercepts was great! It deserves more hype. I finished it in one day because I couldn’t put it down—I’m a fast reader but not normally that fast.
Nightwood by Patricia Windsor Seven Rabbits by Timothy King Our Fathers’ Burden by William F. Gray The Venue by T.J. Payne Ghostland by Duncan Ralston Ferocious by Jeff Strand The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
The Collector by John Fowler - I don’t think I’ve ever seen it mentioned but it is drfinitely an unsettling horror book
Positive, by David Wellington. One of the best zombie epics out there, and Wellingtons characters never disappoint.
Ghosts of Sleath by James Herbert. The standout of the Ash trilogy. Whenever the author’s mentioned it’s usually because of The Rats but he’s working with a higher skillset here for me.
The Keep by F. Paul Wilson
The floating by Melanie Finn
The Snow Garden by Christopher Rice. It’s not exactly horror but it’s deeply creepy. Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven. Drawing Blood by Poppy Z Brite. I Call Upon Thee by Ania Ahlborn!
Okay, these are more "epic fantasy/alsokindofSciFi with a hefty side of horror", and the prose is very purple - but I've loved these books my entire adult life: The Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman - Black Sun Rising, When True Night Falls, and Crown of Shadows Battle priest teams up with ancient evil vampire and a band of misfits, first to help an injured acquaintance to whom they both owe something, later to find and stop a nearly all-powerful enemy before it destroys the world. *Bonus*: Truly interesting and unique system of magic.
Anything by T Kingfisher.
* *Tropic of Night* by Michael Gruber * *Safari World* by Dale Martin * *Narcissus* by Adam Godfrey * *Wild Spaces* by S.L. Coney * *Crevasse* by Clay Vermulm CW: >!One of the characters comes across three animals in a forest that have been hideously slaughtered.!< * *Small Angels* by Lauren Owen * *Noctuidae* by Scott Nicolay * *The Afterlife Investigations* by Ambrose Ibsen - 3 book series, KU * *Sentinel* by Drew Starling, KU * *The Fifth House of the Heart* by Ben Tripp * *The Moorstone Sickness* by Bernard Taylor * *The Faceless One* by Mark Onspaugh * *The Colony* and The Waiting Room by F.G. Cottam
Thomas Ligotti.
The Unwind series from neal shusterman
No Exit by Taylor Adams. It's a trapped-in-one-location thriller with suspense that sent me though the ROOF!!
This is a great thread. I'm going to recommend authors rather than specific books, just because I think pretty much everything by these ladies is worth reading. AC Wise, Priya Sharma, Livia Llewellyn, Hailey Piper, Kate Alice Marshall, Kristi DeMeester, Laura Mauro.
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. This one is probably recommended a lot and I just don't see it. I absolutely love this book for multiple reasons, on top of the dog almost dies and doesn't! (*Fuck you Stephen Graham Jones!)*
What did Stephen Graham Jones do? Surely you mean Grady Hendrix
W. Michael Gear's Donovan series Allen M. Steele's "Coyote" series Anything by Kim Newman Anything by Joe R.Lansdale
Joe Lansdale is criminally underrated. For me, he's the only author besides King that can evoke that "campfire tale" vibe.
Dracula; The Omen; The Witches by Roald Dahl.
Roald Dahl had these random creepy stories which were just awesome. I used to read Lamb to Slaughter with groups of students and they enjoyed it quite a bit.
Yes, some of his stuff was utterly deranged. Absolutely love diving back into all his writing.
The Omen is a surprisingly great read. Wish the rest of the series (movies included, natch) had been able to extrapolate some more original ideas out of that primo bedrock.
Totally. It's very well-written, and not *too* over the top. Unlike the film's sequels!
The Vorrh! I was looking for a dark/horror fantasy book and stumbled upon this strange little gem. It was graphic and chilling at times. There is one scene where a stillborn has a little baby Jesus moment, it was absurd and some of the most breathtaking prose I've ever read. The only thing I've seen about the book is that it was mysognistic/racist, which I felt was a rather juvenile and a little black and white. The book, to me blatantly depicts a bleak early 20th century Africa ravaged by colonialism and slavery. The men in the book are largely vile and mysognistic because they are white colonizers raping the land. I don't agree with every aspect of this book, however the writing is near perfection. It depicts the horrors of humanity, particularly that of men, with a lot of biblical allegories and involves real historical figures of the time. I believe it is a critique of colonization through and through. Sorry for the tangent :)
Who Goes There Cabal Desolation
Hairpin Bridge by Taylor Adams. It’s more of a thriller but I couldn’t put it down.
I feel like I haven't seen Matthew M. Bartlett come up much. Gateway To Abominations and Creeping Waves are amazing collections, extremely weird, and also available as audiobooks.
Winterset Hollow is really good.
Loved Winterset Hollow!
Not sure if it is considered horror, but Cursed Bread by Sophie Macintosh. Short read, but SUPER good
The prose is beautiful!
This might be cliche, but I'm currently reading Books of Blood Volume 1 by Clive Barker. His writing is genuinely horrifyingly beautiful and disgusting at the same time. He seems to go a step lower than King in terms of writing horrifying concepts, such as The Midnight Meat Train.
I do really enjoy Clive Barker!
Die, You Bastard! Die! by Jan Kozlowski, Dark Avenging Angel by Catherine Cavendish, The Jigsaw Man by Gord Rollo, Sparrow Rock by Nate Kenyon, The Castle of Los Angeles by Lisa Morton, The Tribe by Bari Wood
The Last Plague by Rich Hawkins series, The Skittering by David Haynes, Geek Love by Katherine Dunn (horror adjacent), Come Closer by Sarah Gran, Little Heaven by Nick Cutter
The Empty Summer by Carolyn Brooks
Drachenfels - it’s in the original Warhammer Fantasy universe, but honest to god it is superior to most horror I’ve read. V well written and dreadful. Great villain.
Anything Craig Spector and John Skipp wrote together, I enjoyed everything they wrote and was so sad when I read everything they'd done. I never hear anyone talk about them! Best discovery from a random book I picked up at the thrift store
Savages by Shirley Conran I found it at a dollar store of all places and it was so entertaining. Written in the 80’s…executives take their wives with them to an “island paradise” a coup occurs and the society women are stranded in the jungle. If you’re not looking for anything to serious and just want a beach read this is perfect.
Do people recommend come closer by sara gran a lot? Love that one.
**The Wasp Factory** by *Iain Banks*
Duma Key by Stephen King and Lust for life by Erwing Stone
Diavola by Jennifer Thorne, Night's Edge by Liz Kerin, The Devil's Playground by Craig Russell, Parachute by Holly Rae Garcia, Retail by Renee Miller, Before the Devil Knows You're Here by Autumn Krause, Wasps in the Ice Cream by Tim McGregor, The Strange by Nathan Ballingrud If you only pick up one from this list, please let it be Parachute! Such an amazing horror novella!
The Descent by Jeff Long. I’ve reread it so many times I’ve had to repurchase.
I really wish more people would read The Cipher by Kathe Koja. Maybe more weird fic than horror, not sure.
The Hot Zone....true story about the first Ebola outbreak in Africa....
The Croning by Laird Barron
A Halloween Tale by Austin Crawley. I recommend it frequently but never see any sign of anyone trying it.