11 Halloween-Worthy Horror Books

An Amateur Witch’s Guide to Murder

An air of dark whimsy pervades Valentin’s thoroughly entertaining debut. In the five years since Mateo Borrero’s less-than-maternal witch of a mother went missing, the 23-year-old has just been trying to get by; not helping matters is the fact that he’s possessed by a demon. Working at a print shop barely pays the bills for him and his best friend and roommate, Ophelia De La Garza, who finds it hard to hold on to a job due to her partially involuntary powers of astral projection. Doing magic makes Mateo’s demonic possession worse, but it’s his best path to earning some fast cash, so he puts up an online ad offering his supernatural services. Enter the wealthy and endearingly naive Topher Nystrom, who hires Mateo to break the bad-luck curse that keeps killing the people around him. As Mateo and Ophelia dig into Topher’s life and the magic that’s affecting him, Mateo’s situation grows worse and they discover things may be more connected than they thought. Valentin puts a light comedic twist on a gripping story filled with dark magic and murder, and a budding romance between Mateo and Topher adds to the fun. Fans of queer romantic fantasy and cozy horror will be delighted. Agent: Cameron McClure, Donald Maass Literary. (Oct.)

The Captive

A kidnapping scheme goes horribly awry in this witty supernatural thrill ride, the first horror outing from Burgoyne (The Teleportation Accident, written as Ned Beauman). Anticapitalist collective the Nail is intent on exposing the perfidy of the Woolsaw Group, “the largest public service outsourcing company in the UK,” whom they blame for increasing the misery of the populace. New recruit Luke has an especially personal grievance: his sister died in a Woolsaw Group–controlled mental health institution. The Nail plots to abduct Adeline Woolsaw, heir to her family’s empire, and hold her for ransom, not realizing that she is heavily pregnant. Mere hours after the kidnapping, Adeline gives birth to Percy, an infant with unpredictable and uncanny powers. She’s willing to collaborate with the Nail to keep Percy from her parents, who have diabolical plans for their grandchild and plenty of resources to track him down. Burgoyne keeps the action brisk and the repartee sharp in the ensuing game of cat-and-mouse, as Luke and his Nail-mates realize the potential to weaponize Percy’s talents and the Woolsaws resort to increasingly desperate stratagems that invite scathing satire of their plutocratic overreach. This refreshingly modern spin on the infernal child theme deserves to stand beside such genre classics as Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen. (Sept.)

Coffin Moon

Rosson, who put a fresh spin on the zombie apocalypse trope in the Fever House duology, is equally creative with vampires in this brilliant horror novel set in 1970s Oregon. After returning from the Vietnam War, Duane Minor takes a job at a bar owned by his in-laws. He and his wife, Heidi, adjust to their new roles caring for Duane’s emotionally scarred niece, Julia, who witnessed her now incarcerated mother murder Julia’s abusive stepfather. When Duane, who’s just as troubled by all the death he witnessed and caused in battle, learns that his mother-in-law is allowing enigmatic drug dealer John Varley to operate out of the bar, he fears he and his family will end up in trouble with the law. Duane promptly kicks out Varley and his crew, but Varley won’t go down without a fight. In retaliation, Varley kills Heidi, one of a string of brutal murders that leave Duane and Julia devastated—and hungry for revenge. Over the course of the ensuing game of cat and mouse, it becomes clear that Varley is something more than human. Rosson expertly balances action and character development to craft an edge of the seat thrill ride. Readers will be hooked. (Sept.)

Futility

Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award winner Onoh (Where the Dead Bridges Gather) wows in this marvelously weird horror novel set in Abuja, Nigeria. Local woman Chia sacrifices men to a deity who lives in the walls of her wildly popular restaurant in exchange for gifts, including a British visa and an ointment that makes her the object of desire to any man who sees her. Chia’s path crosses with Claire Bellows, a disgruntled British diplomat with a few deadly secrets of her own, when Claire, her boyfriend, her boyfriend’s mysterious and beautiful cousin, whom Claire resents, and Claire’s estranged son all dine at Chia’s supernaturally enhanced restaurant. The god in the restaurant’s walls offers both women a chance to get back at those who have wronged them, kicking off a series of catastrophic events, culminating in a thrilling game of cat and mouse made complicated by body swapping. Exhilarating twists and turns, artful moments of extreme gore (the novel opens with a castration scene), and a dose of revenge make this a fun, blood-spattered tale. The antiheroines are unreliable narrators and unrepentant in their crimes, and that only adds to the enjoyment. Lush with folklore, body horror, and dark humor, this will leave readers both wincing and cackling. (Oct.)

Herculine

A brilliant addition to the growing genre of trans horror, Byron’s debut is narrated by an unnamed trans woman struggling to make it as a writer in New York City. Her emotional demons stem from a stint in conversion therapy and a soul-sucking retail job, but she’s also matter-of-factly pursued by literal demons from the very first page. Meanwhile, her ex-girlfriend turned best friend, Ash, has started an all-trans-woman commune called Herculine in Indiana and is constantly trying to entice the narrator to join her there. But when the narrator tries to escape the monsters by leaving the city for Herculine, her demons give chase in increasingly frightening and unexpected ways. The result is a piercing portrait of trans community and solidarity. The author brings enough humor to the proceedings to prevent the horror from becoming too all-consuming while keeping the pages flying with a thrilling plot and a moving examination of loneliness, desire, and hope in the wake of trauma. Byron proves an exciting new voice in horror fiction. Agent: Julia Masnik, Watkins Loomis Agency. (Oct.)

Howl: An Anthology of Werewolves from Women-in-Horror

This searing anthology of horror fiction mixes the feminine with the feral as it explores lycanthropy, murder, and the transcendence of flesh. In “The Devil Has No Dogs” by Kailey Tedesco, a young woman realizes the only way to find liberation within the suffocating bounds of a colonial settlement is to embrace the power of a terrible transformation. Erika T. Wurth’s “When He Could Have Me” follows two sisters with a sordid personal history who find a brutal way of resolving their differences. “Vestigial” by Kristi DeMeester centers on a young woman who manages to find terrible closure over the cruel circumstances surrounding the removal of her vestigial tail in childhood. In Zin E. Rocklyn’s “Wolf Like Me,” a woman in dire straits discovers someone wild within the forest who may just prove to be her salvation—and the salvation of her unborn child. As with any anthology, some stories hit harder than others, but the guiding aesthetic principle—the repressed wilderness within women that manifests through fangs and claws—is a consistent revelation throughout and the cumulative effect is devastating. Fans of the cult classic horror movie Ginger Snaps will eat this up. (Nov.)

The Hunger We Pass Down

This lush and eerie exploration of intergenerational trauma from Lee (Superfan) finds Chinese Canadian Alice Chow attempting to juggle running a business out of her home, having primary custody of her two kids, and developing a relationship with a handsome bartender, all while increasingly drinking too much from the stress. So when she starts waking up to find her home cleaned, her products packed for shipping, and food already waiting for her children, it feels like a miracle, though her theory that she herself is doing all this work while drunk or sleeping and then forgetting about it is thin, even in her own mind. She also can’t remember conversations that her boyfriend swears they had; her daughter’s night terrors worsen; and her ex-nanny sees Alice transform into something monstrous. Whoever—or whatever—has been helping Alice has its own agenda, and it’s not satisfied living only half her life. Lee effortlessly shifts between dual timelines, twining the little agonies of modern-day motherhood with flashbacks to the struggles of Alice’s ancestors. After the subtle creeping dread built through the bulk of the novel, an abrupt late-narrative shift into more traditional supernatural action feels jarring. Still, Lee’s exploration of the love—and misery—of family is nuanced and emotional. It’s a haunting excursion. (Sept.)

The Macabre

Lambda Literary Award winner Jackson makes his dark fantasy debut (after the romance novel A Dash of Salt and Pepper) with this dazzling and nightmarish tale about the power of art. Painter Lewis Dixon is grieving the recent death of his mother when he receives an invitation from the British Museum to participate in an exhibition that could change his life. It does—but not in the way he expects. The invitation was a lure, disguising what the museum really wants from him. Handsome and mysterious curator Noah Rao reveals that magic is real and that Lewis’s own great-grandfather created a series of curse paintings entitled “The Macabre.” It’s up to Lewis, who has inherited the same magical talent, to track down and destroy these works. What follows is a page-turning, continent-spanning adventure that combines elements of psychological horror and gore with dark humor and a queer romance between Lewis and Noah, whose businesslike demeanor hides a complex and tragic past. Horror and fantasy fans alike will embrace Jackson as an exciting new voice. (Sept.)

The Night Is Not for You

This wonderfully chilling and entirely immersive feminist horror story from Quotah (Bride of the Sea) opens with seven-year-old Layla, who dreams of owning a donkey. Readers follow Layla as she grows up and her innocence is shattered by a string of murders that upend her small town over and over again. Each time, it is a man who is killed, and each time, the scent of a different perfume lingers at the crime scene, convincing the community that the killer must be a woman. It is a perverse pleasure to try to unpick this mystery alongside Layla, who vacillates between believing the town’s whispers about a vengeful murderess who may be half-jinn and dismissing these speculations. Quotah dances on the line between supernatural and psychological horror and masterfully incorporates elements of folklore into the everyday pains of growing up as a young woman under patriarchy. The characters are well drawn, the suspense is taut, and a great final twist proves very fun. There’s a lot here to sink one’s teeth into. Agent: Steven Chudney, Chudney Agency. (Oct.)

One Yellow Eye

Radford’s outstanding debut elevates the classic zombie tale through its impressive psychological acuity, deep emotional resonance, and literary prose. In the near future, England is just recovering from a viral zombie outbreak that has been contained only through the eradication of all those infected. Now biomedical scientist Kesta Shelley is tapped for Project Dawn, a London-based research project tasked with developing a vaccine in preparation for future outbreaks. The appointment is a godsend because her husband Tim was among the infected—and she’s secretly keeping him alive, breaking all protocol to preserve him in his “undead state” until a breakthrough cure is found. Kesta is well aware that Tim’s zombie taint presents the risk of future outbreaks, and the subterfuges she devises to keep his continuing existence under wraps as she and her team race against the clock to find a cure infuse the tale with taut suspense. The novel’s heart, though, lies in Radford’s wrenching depiction of Kesta’s passionate devotion to Tim, and the painful concessions and moral decisions she makes in her care for a victim of a devastating terminal disease. Readers will be moved and thrilled in equal measure by this unique supernatural extravaganza. (July)

The Scald-Crow

Daly’s strong debut uses a classic haunted house story to probe themes of chronic illness, religious trauma, and queer desire. Brigid, a young woman suffering from debilitating and undiagnosed chronic pain, sets about cleaning out her family home following the mysterious disappearance of her estranged mother. Brigid’s memories of her mother’s abuse, coupled with the resurfacing of childhood fears, cause reality to blur as a series of inexplicable and possibly supernatural events occurs within the house. Brigid is plagued by nightmares, a crow follows her around, and everyday objects are replaced by severed body parts. As the haunting ramps up, so does Brigid’s resolve to face her ghosts head on, exorcise her demons, confess her feelings to the woman she loves, and claim control over her own life. Daly’s description of female pain and how it is treated (or ignored) by doctors is unflinching and refreshing. Though the pacing feels a little wobbly at times, with a slow setup and a somewhat rushed conclusion as Daly attempts to juggle myriad themes, the ghostly imagery of the haunting is wonderfully eerie, complete with several effective jump scares. It’s a memorable first outing. (Oct.)