Tag: books

100 Favorite Horror Books: October 2024 Edition

I am continuing a new annual tradition. I’ve organized my choices chronologically, with externally and/or posthumously edited collections/anthologies at the end.

Vathek, an Arabian Tale; or, the History of the Caliph Vatek, by William Beckford (1786)
The Mysteries of Udolpho, by Ann Radcliffe (1794)
The Monk: A Romance, by Matthew Gregory Lewis (1796)
Wieland; or, The Transformation: An American Tale, by Charles Brockden Brown (1798)
Zofloya; or, the Moor, by Charlotte Dacre (1806)
Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, by Mary Shelley (1818)
Melmoth the Wanderer, by Charles Robert Maturin (1820)
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, by James Hogg (1824)
Twice-Told Tales, by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1837)
The House of the Seven Gables, by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1851)
Carmilla, by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (1872)
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)
The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde (1890)
The Damned, by Joris-Karl Huysmans (1891)
The King in Yellow, by Robert W. Chambers (1895)
The Beetle, by Richard Marsh (1897)
Dracula, by Bram Stoker (1897)
The Invisible Man, by H. G. Wells (1897)
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, by M. R. James (1904)
The Listener and Other Stories, by Algernon Blackwood (1907)
The House on the Borderland, by William Hope Hodgson (1908)
Pan’s Garden: A Volume of Nature Stories, by Algernon Blackwood (1912)
The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka (1915)
Ghosts, by Edith Wharton (1937)
The Subjugated Beast, by R. R. Ryan (1938)
Conjure Wife, by Fritz Leiber (1943)
The Hounds of Tindalos, by Frank Belknap Long (1946)
This Mortal Coil, by Cynthia Asquith (1947)
The Scarf, by Robert Bloch (1947 / 1966)
Hangsaman, by Shirley Jackson (1951)
The Bird’s Nest, by Shirley Jackson (1954)
I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson (1954)
The Sundial, by Shirley Jackson (1958)
The Breaking Point, by Daphne Du Maurier (1959)
The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson (1959)
Shock!, by Richard Matheson (1961)
Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury (1962)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson (1962)
The Collector, by John Fowles (1963)
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, by Yukio Mishima (1963)
Dark Entries, by Robert Aickman (1964)
New Stories from the Twilight Zone, by Rod Serling (1965)
I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream, by Harlan Ellison (1967)
Rosemary’s Baby, by Ira Levin (1967)
Last Summer, by Evan Hunter (1968)
The Obscene Bird of Night, by José Donoso (1970)
The Exorcist, by William Peter Blatty (1971)
The Room, by Hubert Selby Jr. (1971)
The Other, by Thomas Tryon (1971)
Burnt Offerings, by Robert Marasco (1973)
Child of God, by Cormac McCarthy (1973)
Carrie, by Stephen King (1974)
‘Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King (1975)
Julia, by Peter Straub (1975)
The Demon, by Hubert Selby Jr. (1976)
Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice (1976)
Long After Midnight, by Ray Bradbury (1976)
The Shining, by Stephen King (1977)
The House Next Door, by Anne Rivers Siddons (1978)
Blood Secrets, by Craig Jones (1978)
Strange Seed, by T. M. Wright (1978)
Ghost Story, by Peter Straub (1979)
Red Dragon, by Thomas Harris (1981)
The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill (1983)
Books of Blood: Volume One, by Clive Barker (1984)
The Ceremonies, by T. E. D. Klein (1984)
Hawksmoor, by Peter Ackroyd (1985)
The Damnation Game, by Clive Barker (1985)
The Juniper Tree, by Barbara Comyns (1985)
Songs of a Dead Dreamer, by Thomas Ligotti (1985)
Toplin, by Michael McDowell, (1985)
The Hungry Moon, by Ramsey Campbell (1986)
Beloved, by Toni Morrison (1987)
Why Not You and I?, by Karl Edward Wagner (1987)
The Fifth Child, by Doris Lessing (1988)
The Girl Next Door, by Jack Ketchum (1989)
The Pines, by Robert Dunbar (1989)
American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis (1991)
The Cipher, by Kathe Koja (1991)
Grimscribe: His Lives and Works, by Thomas Ligotti (1991)
Something Stirs, by Charles L. Grant (1991)
Bad Brains, by Kathe Koja (1992)
Skin, by Kathe Koja (1993)
The Between, by Tananarive Due (1995)
Zombie, by Joyce Carol Oates (1995)
Traplines, by Eden Robinson (1996)
Lunar Park, by Bret Easton Ellis (2005)
The Red Tree, by Caitlín R. Kiernan (2009)
Jack of Spades, by Joyce Carol Oates (2015)
Heartbreaker, by Maryse Meijer (2016)
Tender is the Flesh, by Agustina Bazterrica (2017)
And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe, by Gwendolyn Kiste (2017)
Strange is the Night, by S. P. Miskowski (2017)
The Seventh Mansion, by Maryse Meijer (2020)
We Are Here to Hurt Each Other, by Paula D. Ashe (2022)
Supplication, by Nour Abi-Nakhoul (2024)
Selected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe, by Edgar Allan Poe (1956) [edited by Edward H. Davidson]
Tales of H. P. Lovecraft, by H. P. Lovecraft (2007) [edited by Joyce Carol Oates]
Ghost Stories of Henry James, by Henry James (2008) [edited by Martin Schofield]
The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies, by Clark Ashton Smith (2014) [edited by S. T. Joshi]

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Craftwork S1E12: Cruel Elegance, Cosmic Pessimism, & Rust Belt Vibes w/ Paula D. Ashe

Listen to Craftwork S1E12: Cruel Elegance, Cosmic Pessimism, & Rust Belt Vibes w/ Paula D. Ashe.

In this interview, we chat with Paula D. Ashe about writer’s block, narrative movement, urban legends, and so much more.

Paula D. Ashe (she/her) is an author of dark fiction. Her debut collection We Are Here to Hurt Each Other (Nictitating Books) was a Shirley Jackson Award winner for Single Author Collection and a Bram Stoker Award Finalist for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection. Recently, she received the Joseph S. Pulver Sr. Weird Fiction Award at NecronomiCon Providence. Paula was also an associate editor for Vastarien: A Literary Journal. She lives in the Midwest with her family.

Books and stories mentioned in this episode:

  • Supplication – Nour Abi-Nakhoul
  • The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
  • Books of Blood; The Damnation Game; The Hellbound Heart – Clive Barker
  • Midnight Rooms – Donyae Coles
  • Blood from the Air – Gemma Files
  • “each thing i show you is a piece of my death” – Gemma Files & Stephen J. Barringer
  • Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke – Eric LaRocca
  • “Abed” – Elizabeth Massie
  • The Scar – China Miéville
  • Beloved; The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison
  • Song of the Tyrant Worm – Hailey Piper
  • Flowers for the Sea – Zin E. Rocklyn
  • Cows – Matthew Stokoe
  • The Secret History – Donna Tartt
  • The Color Purple – Alice Walker
  • Where I End – Sophie White
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Craftwork S1E10: Weird Tales, Uncanny Dolls, & Creative Breakthroughs w/ Lisa Tuttle

Listen to Craftwork S1E10: Weird Tales, Uncanny Dolls, & Creative Breakthroughs w/ Lisa Tuttle.

In this interview, we chat with Lisa Tuttle about genre history, the ideal protagonist, Harlan Ellison’s writing advice, and so much more.

Lisa Tuttle was born and raised in Austin, Texas, and moved to Britain in the 1980s. Her first novel, Windhaven, co-written with George R.R. Martin, was followed by over a dozen fantasy, science fiction, and horror novels, including three recent books set in the 1890s combining crime and supernatural fiction, featuring the detective duo Jasper Jesperson and Miss Lane; the third volume, The Curious Affair of the Missing Mummies, was published last year. She has also written hundreds of award-winning short stories collected in several volumes, including A Nest of Nightmares, The Dead Hours of the Night, and most recently, Riding the Nightmare. She is the author of The Encyclopedia of Feminism (1986) and currently writes a monthly science fiction review column for The Guardian. She lives with her husband and their daughter in Scotland.

Book and stories mentioned in this episode:

  • The Saint of Bright Doors – Vajra Chandrasekera
  • Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life – Ruth Franklin
  • Hangsaman; The Haunting of Hill House; “The Lottery” – Shirley Jackson
  • The MANIAC; When We Cease to Understand the World – Benjamín Labatut
  • Biography of X – Catherine Lacey
  • The Seventh Mansion – Maryse Meijer
  • Babysitter; By the North Gate; They; The Wheel of Love – Joyce Carol Oates
  • The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
  • Lake of Darkness – Adam Roberts
  • Cryptonomicon; Polostan – Neal Stephenson

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Craftwork S1E8: Obsession, Transgression, & the Library of Gestures w/ Maryse Meijer

Listen to Craftwork S1E8: Obsession, Transgression, & the Library of Gestures w/ Maryse Meijer.

In this interview, we chat with Maryse Meijer about metaphor, quotation marks, the dubious necessity of author photos, and so much more.

Maryse Meijer is the author of Heartbreaker, Rag, Northwood, and The Seventh Mansion. She lives in Chicago.

Books and stories mentioned in this episode:

  • Samuel Beckett: A Biography – Deirdre Bair
  • Waiting for Godot – Samuel Beckett
  • About Schmidt – Louis Begley
  • Autobiography of Red – Anne Carson
  • New Grub Street – George Gissing
  • The Children of the Dead; Greed; The Piano Teacher – Elfriede Jelinek
  • Pet Sematary – Stephen King
  • Bad Brains; The Cipher; Kink; Skin; Strange Angels – Kathe Koja
  • The Communicating Vessels – Friederike Mayröcker 
  • All the Pretty Horses – Cormac McCarthy
  • Hurricane Season; Paradais – Fernanda Melchor
  • The Defense; Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
  • Black Water; Blonde; Heat; My Sister, My Love; “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”; Zombie – Joyce Carol Oates
  • With the Animals – Noëlle Revaz
  • Snake Eyes – Rosamond Smith
  • The Custom of the Country – Edith Wharton

Author Photo Credit: Lewis McVey

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Craftwork S1E5: Romance, Ritual, & the Darkness of Yacht Rock w/ Phoebe Marmura

Listen to Craftwork Episode 5: Romance, Ritual, & the Darkness of Yacht Rock w/ Phoebe Marmura.

In this interview, Phoebe Marmura talks about fear, fairies, set design, and so much more.

⁠Phoebe Marmura⁠ is a writer and artist. Her work explores desire, femininity, domestic adventure, and reclusion. Marmura’s writing can be found in Expat Press, D.F.L. Lit, and Orca Literary Journal.

Books mentioned in this episode:

  • Erotic Interludes: Tales Told by Women – Lonnie Barbach
  • Naked Lunch – William S. Burroughs
  • On the Road – Jack Kerouac
  • Biography of X – Catherine Lacey
  • Bird by Bird – Anne Lamott
  • The Heart is a Lonely Hunter – Carson McCullers
  • Story – Robert McKee
  • Portrait of Jennie – Robert Nathan
  • Junie B. Jones series – Barbara Park
  • The Golden Compass – Philip Pullman
  • Pretty Little Liars series – Sara Shepard
  • Charlotte’s Web – E. B. White
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Craftwork S1E2: Agency, Microtensions, & Mythic Resonance w/ Randy Nikkel Schroeder

In this interview, Randy Nikkel Schroeder talks about noir, character possession, Biblical frisson, and so much more. Listen here.

Randy Nikkel Schroeder is the author of Arctic Smoke (NeWest), Crooked Timber: Seven Suburban Faerie Tales (Green Magpie), and over fifty published short stories. In his spare time, he is professor of English, Languages, and Cultures at Mount Royal University.

Books mentioned in this episode:

  • Queenpin; The Turnout; You Will Know Me – Megan Abbott
  • Poetics – Aristotle
  • Book of Greek Myths – Ingri d’Aulaire & Edgar Parin d’Aulaire
  • Save the Cat! Writes a Novel – Jessica Brody
  • Dave Robicheaux novels – James Lee Burke
  • The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know – Shawn Coyne
  • Neuromancer – William Gibson
  • Attack of the Copula Spiders and Other Essays on Writing – Douglas Glover
  • Red Dragon – Thomas Harris
  • Winter’s Tale – Mark Helprin
  • The Lottery and Other Stories – Shirley Jackson
  • Rose Madder – Stephen King
  • Mystic River – Dennis Lehane
  • The Magician’s Nephew – C. S. Lewis
  • Dialogue: The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage, and Screen – Robert McKee
  • Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different – Chuck Palahniuk
  • Gravity’s Rainbow – Thomas Pynchon
  • Old Testament – Various authors

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Best first reads, 2023


I read 101 books in 2023. Here are my favorite first reads (pre-2023 releases only).

The top twenty are organized chronologically (I restricted myself to one per author). The rest are organized by authors’ last names.

Top twenty:

The House of the Seven Gables, by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1851)
Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert (1856)
The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins (1860)
Roderick Hudson, by Henry James (1875)
Tess of the D’Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy (1891)
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, by M. R. James (1904)
The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton (1905)
The Listener and Other Stories, by Algernon Blackwood (1907)
The Subjugated Beast, by R. R. Ryan (1938)
Native Son, by Richard Wright (1940)
The Hounds of Tindalos, by Frank Belknap Long (1946)
Gravity and Grace, by Simone Weil (1947)
The Road Through the Wall, by Shirley Jackson (1948)
Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldwin (1956)
The Wapshot Chronicle, by John Cheever (1957)
The Collector, by John Fowles (1963)
Julia, by Peter Straub (1975)
The House Next Door, by Anne Rivers Siddons (1978)
The Ceremonies, by T. E. D. Klein (1984)
Soul/Mate, by Joyce Carol Oates [as Rosamond Smith] (1989)
Paradais, by Fernanda Melchor (2021)

Other standouts:

Poetics, by Aristotle (335 BCE)
Inner Experience, by Georges Bataille (1943)
Weird Mysticism: Philosophical Horror and the Mystical Text, by Brad Baumgartner (2021)
Tender is the Flesh, by Agustina Bazterrica (2017)
The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories, by Algernon Blackwood (1906)
The Lure of the Unknown: Essays on the Strange, by Algernon Blackwood (2022)
Drop City, by T. C. Boyle (2003)
The Hungry Moon, by Ramsey Campbell (1986)
The Invention of Morel, by Adolfo Bioy Casares (1940)
The Wapshot Scandal, by John Cheever (1964)
Falconer, by John Cheever (1977)
Trust Exercise, by Susan Choi (2019)
A Short History of Decay, by E. M. Cioran (1949)
The Vet’s Daughter, by Barbara Comyns (1959)
The Juniper Tree, by Barbara Comyns (1985)
Americana, by Don DeLillo (1971)
The Names, by Don DeLillo (1982)
God Is Red: A Native View of Religion, by Vine Deloria Jr. (1972)
The Lost Daughter, by Elena Ferrante (2006)
The Magus, by John Fowles (1965)     
Veronica, by Mary Gaitskill (2005)                
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable, by Amitav Ghosh (2016)
Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters, by J. Jack Halberstam (1995)
Red Dragon, by Thomas Harris (1981)
Last Summer, by Evan Hunter (1968)
The Lottery and Other Stories, by Shirley Jackson (1949)
Hangsaman, by Shirley Jackson (1951)
The Bird’s Nest, by Shirley Jackson (1954)
Secret Windows: Essays and Fiction on the Craft of Writing, by Stephen King (2000)
The Ballad of Black Tom, by Victor LaValle (2016)
The Moral Essays, by Giacomo Leopardi (1832)
Hieroglyphics and Other Essays, by Arthur Machen (2022)
Burnt Offerings, by Robert Marasco (1973)
The Beetle, by Richard Marsh (1897)
A Century of Weird Fiction, 1832–1937: Disgust, Metaphysics, and the Aesthetics of Cosmic Horror, by Jonathan Newell (2020)
A Garden of Earthly Delights, by Joyce Carol Oates (1967)
Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang, by Joyce Carol Oates (1993)
The Faith of a Writer: Life, Craft, Art, by Joyce Carol Oates (2003)
Jack of Spades, by Joyce Carol Oates (2015)
The Anthrobscene, by Jussi Parikka (2014)
Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer, by Paul Schrader (1972)
EcoGothic, edited by Andrew Smith and William Hughes (2013)
The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies, by Clark Ashton Smith (2014)
Motley Stones, by Adalbert Stifter (1853)
Marriages, by Peter Straub (1973)
Koko, by Peter Straub (1988)
Sides, by Peter Straub (2007)
After Life, by Eugene Thacker (2010)
Fear and Nature: Ecohorror Studies in the Anthropocene, edited by Christy Tidwell and Carter Soles (2021)
A Billion Black Anthropocenes or None, by Kathryn Yusoff (2018)

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Limited time offer: Get a signed copy of PEEL BACK AND SEE, SHELTER FOR THE DAMNED, or DARKEST HOURS: EXPANDED EDITION

I’m selling signed copies of all my books (limited; while supplies last)! I can take payment through PayPal or e-transfer. Email mikethorn@live.com if interested. Prices (including shipping):

PEEL BACK AND SEE
Canada: $25 CAD/$20 USD
US: $30 CAD/$25 USD
Int: $35 CAD/$30 USD

SHELTER FOR THE DAMNED
Canada: $26 CAD/$21 USD
US: $31 CAD/$26 USD
Int: $36 CAD/$31 USD

DARKEST HOURS: EXPANDED EDITION
Canada: $27 CAD/$22 USD
US: $32 CAD/$27 USD
Int: $37 CAD/$32 USD

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