Best Horror of 2025

 I've made my list, I've checked it twice, the following books are more creepy than nice!

Another year of great books has gone by, and I have been privileged to have a front-row seat for some fabulous reading. These are my picks for the Best Horror of 2025. The title links will take you to the book synopsis, review, author information if available on Goodreads, and Amazon page. If you're looking for something spectacular to read, allow me to recommend any or all of these eighteen books. Yes, you read that right, my list is even bigger this year.

The Poorly Made and Other Things by Sam Rebelein    The Night Birds by Christopher Golden

What Fresh Hell Is This? Dark Tales by Del Howison    Scurry by Seann Barbour

Nerve Endings by Kealan Patrick Burke      At Dark, I Become Loathsome by Eric LaRocca

Urban Legends: Three New Tales of Terror    Cottonmouth By Kealan Patrick Burke

Tantrum by Rachel Eve Moulton                    Dark Roads Traveled by Tony Tremblay

                                  The Burning Class by Luisa Colón           

  The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi

Bloody Bones by Garrett Boatman      The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong

The Essential Horror of Joe R. Lansdale     Tainted Towns by Victoria Williamson

Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson                Steel Machines by Dan Franklin        

Humbug by Luciano Marano

 A terrifying new take on the most famous ghost story of all time.

From award-winning author Luciano Marano comes Humbug—a gruesome, noir-infused reimagining of A Christmas Carol that blends supernatural horror, crime thriller, and psychological suspense into one unforgettable holiday nightmare.

In modern-day Seattle, Detective Stuart (Scrooge) Caine is a jaded homicide cop on the edge of burnout. Every Christmas brings another murder, but this year’s case is different. A brilliant psychopath—dubbed “Humbug” by the press—has made a tradition of killing an entire family every December 25th. With the investigation going cold and his career slipping away, Scrooge receives a visitation on Christmas Eve that shatters his The ghost of his former partner, Marley, and three monstrous spirits—manifestations of history’s most notorious unsolved Jack the Ripper, Zodiac, and The Cleveland Torso Murderer.As the line between nightmare and reality blurs, Scrooge is forced to confront his past, his sins, and the darkness waiting for him on Christmas morning.

Humbug is a chilling holiday horror novella—a macabre fusion of ghost story, police procedural, and psychological redemption tale—perfect for fans of A Christmas Ghost Story, Candy Cain Kills, and Hark! The Herald Angels Scream.

Sometimes, the ghosts of Christmas past don’t come to save you…they come to collect.

Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Where Stories Come Alive!

A hardboiled cop dubbed "Scrooge" by the media, who hates Christmas, is on the hunt for the "Humbug" killer. So nicknamed due to his penchant for murdering an entire family every Christmas.
When he is taken off the case, he is visited by the spirits of three murderers, plus his deceased partner, Marley. Can they help him open his heart to the season? And more importantly, can they lead him to the killer?

This modern-day take on the Dickens classic is a much darker and gorier version. It has been decades since I read the original, but I still watch several of the movie versions every year. The spirits here are far less benign, and the streets more dangerous. If you like retellings with a malevolent twist or are a fan of holiday horror, this is for you. At its heart, this is still a story of redemption, but the path to get there is harsh. 

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Crystal Lake Publishing for the e-ARC

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Chilling Childlore: Ten Twisted Childhood Tales by Victoria Williamson

Ten unnerving tales of the weird and uncanny from award-winning author Victoria Williamson.

An unwelcome visitor, a hungry house, an unsettling doll and a sinister Christmas surprise…

These are just some of the disturbing childhood tales in this anthology for adults who are young at heart, and younger readers with old souls who have strong stomachs and a taste for the macabre.

 

I love short horror stories, and Victoria Williamson is adept at bringing on the spine tingly chills and unnerving thrills without loads of gore.

In these 10 twisted tales the protagonists are children, but I would not recommend these as bedtime stories for very young readers because some of them do get pretty damned creepy, especially the longer story at the end "Curtain Calls" about a girl who senses something terribly wrong with her renovated bedroom, particularly with the second hand material that was used to make her new curtains.

There are cautionary tales, such as what happens to one child when she makes up a haunted house story to manipulate her parents, and an amusing story of what happens to the favored child who won't quit picking on her sister. There is the fear a child has of being left alone with a strange relative he has never met, and of course, there is more than one bully to be dealt with.

I loved all of these stories. If you are in the mood for some hair-raising tales without explicit bloodshed, this is for you.

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Silver Thistle Press for the gifted paperback.

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City Hall by Bentley Little

Paul Wardlow couldn't be happier after landing his job as an administrative assistant at Arovista city hall. The pay is good, the benefits are great, and he has the opportunity to finally help put some good out into the world. It seems like a dream.

But all is not well in city hall, and it hasn’t been for some time.

Doors open up on hallways that are not listed on any layout. Employees attend meetings and return changed. Strange men come and go, with no record of them being employed there--or even of being alive.

And then there are the whispered rumors of the Corp Yard, where no one is ever seen entering and no one is ever seen leaving, but screams are still heard.

Arovista's local government is preparing for changes. Big changes. For a new plan. A new future. And it will not tolerate interference.

As the saying goes… you can't fight City Hall.

CITY HALL is Bentley Little in his element, a scathing plunge into violence and madness and small scale government that only he could deliver.

Do people choose to work at City Hall or does the city choose them?

Paul Wardlow had been job hunting for a while and was excited to land an interview at City Hall. After the unpleasant turn his interview took, he never expected to be hired. He would have been better off had he never applied.

Gavin Barre wants to make some positive changes and decides to run for City Council. Little does he know who holds the real power in Arovista.

Janis Kaminsky had been retired from City Hall for 2 years when she was asked to return. She ignored her hazy memories of something being not quite right in her previous years working there. Those half-remembered feelings about the basement might have only been nightmares. Having escaped once and lived to retire, she should never have gone back.

What begins as just another ordinary situation spirals into the bizarre and frightening. Some of the characters are already deeply under the city's influence,  leaving very few normal people to notice or care what is happening. Are they any match for the power of the city? Or as they go along to get along will they lose that small voice of conscience that tells them what they are witnessing is wrong? Bentley Little's City Hall reads like a darkly comedic fever dream of satire and horror where the bizarre becomes the new normal and I loved it.

My thanks to Cemetery Dance Publications for the ARC.

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Nightmare Abbey 9 edited by Tom English

9th gigantic volume of this critically-acclaimed horror magazine/book.

Creepy GHOST STORIES & other weird tales!

Horror Comics on Trial! (History of American Horror Comics, part 6)

Horror Delve's list of great HALLOWEEN HORRORS

Classic horror movie: Hangover Square

11 terrifying tales by today's top writers!

A new Magnus Supernatural Dog Tale

Another chilling visit to Bone Street!

Indy (the Horror Husky) makes the cover of Time!

Art by World Fantasy Award-winner Allen Koszowski

Heavily illustrated: movie stills, comic book covers, cool facts!

Get it now, fellow fiends!

Nightmare Abbey 9 is hot off the presses and ready to haunt your shelves with chilling tales of the weird and wondrous.

Aside from the top-notch fiction and artwork, I am amazed time after time when every volume manages to send me down a rabbit hole of horror heaven as I read the articles that send me gleefully researching the movies, old TV shows, or horror publications of the past that I have somehow missed out on.

In this issue, the article and still shots from the 1945 horror/noir movie Hangover Square compelled me to pause my reading in order to find this must watch movie. It was one I had never heard of, and I am so glad for its inclusion here because I loved it.

As far as the fiction, it is delightfully dark. Among my many favorites were Under The Hood by Gary Fry, which reminded me a great deal of the pilot movie for the old Night Gallery series, complete with paintings that should not be messed with.

The Other Shore by Kelly White, about a ghostly seaside encounter, and Out In The Cold by Steve Rasnic Tem, a sorrowful tale of an elderly man whose family seems to have no time for him.

I'm now off to search for some of the stories mentioned in the article Horrifying Halloween Tales, because, like I said, I've gone down the rabbit hole of horror heaven. Join me if you dare.

My thanks to Dead Letter Press

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Where He Left Me by Nicole Baart

College professors Sadie Sheridan and Felix Graham are on sabbatical at Hemlock House, located on a remote mountain homestead established years ago by Felix’s family. When Felix leaves on a work trip but doesn’t return, effectively stranding Sadie on the mountain, her world collapses.

Alone at Hemlock House, frantic Sadie struggles to make sense of what her missing astronomer husband left behind. Forced to confront two mysterious trespassers just as a powerful storm bears down, Sadie and the strangers have no choice but to ride it out together. As conditions worsen and shocking secrets are revealed, Sadie must face whether or not she ever knew the man she married and is she fighting only for her own survival now—or still for the man who promised her the stars?

Newly married and madly in love, Sadie is anxiously awaiting her husband's return from a business trip to the remote mountain home belonging to his family, where he and Sadie have been staying. When he is late, she is at first disappointed, but later terrified that something has happened to him when he still has not arrived the next day. They haven't fought, his clothes are in the closet, he wouldn't just leave her without telling her, and abandon his belongings... would he? And who is that on the trail cams creeping around in the woods?

When I read the synopsis about being stranded on the mountain with the snowstorm on the way and the trespassers in the woods, I thought this was right up my alley!

The story is told on two timelines, and although the present-day goings on were sometimes suspenseful and chilling It didn't take long before I was getting annoyed with being pulled out of the action when it flipped back to the days when Sadie first met her husband, how they became friends before they dated etc. It was sweet at first, but eventually I wanted to skim those chapters.
Another thing that irked me was Sadie's response to the whole missing husband thing. She was not in fact "stranded on the mountain," she had a way to get down, but chose to stay until the storm came. She waited a ridiculous amount of time before reporting her husband missing. I know TV shows and movies claim you need to wait 48 hours to report a missing person, but in reality, there is no such waiting period. She made a point of checking to see if his flight was on time, but had she called the police, they could have easily found out whether or not he ever got on that plane. 

So while I enjoyed the mystery of the present day plotline, I found some of Sadie's decisions to be unbelievable, and I just wanted to get on with it instead of being constantly interrupted with flashbacks.

This was just an OK read for me. Not bad, not great.

My thanks to Atria Books for the gifted copy.

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Unusual Occurrences by Glenn Rolfe

Glenn Rolfe's UNUSUAL OCCURRENCES delivers chills, heartbreak, and small-town horror as only he can. This collection of dark stories— from a haunted coin ("Skull of Snakes") to murder mystery ("Abram's Bridge") to critters of all sorts ("Girl by Day" "Harry's Inevitable Extinction") to the author's personal take on his brother's passing ("The Rooster") and a Christmas story like something out of Natural Born Killers ("Welcome to Paradise")—will keep you turning the pages into the night, freaking you out one minute, and breaking your heart the next.

If you've not read Rolfe, this is one hell of an introduction!.

Track listing: 1. Out of Range 2. Abram's Bridge 3. The Fixer 4. Not Kansas Anymore 5. Skull of Snakes 6. Fire 7. Too Much of a Dead Thing 8. Harry's Inevitable Extinction 9. Halloween Worm 10. The Rooster 11. The House on Mayflower Street 12. Jackie Boy 13. Welcome to Paradise 14. Girl By Day 15. Boom Town

 

I love short horror stories —you are probably tired of hearing me say that, but I just can't get enough of them. I am so glad I chose Unusual Occurrences for my first read of the month.

Within the first sentence or two at the start of each story I was instantly engaged and eager for more. That is a most impressive skill that not all possess, to be able to come up with that perfect sentence that a reader can't walk away from. 

 These stories have been previously published before being collected here, but I had only read one of them in the past. It still packed a punch for me as a reread, and that is rare. Most stories were new to me and I enjoyed every single one of them.

Glenn Rolfe has a gift for hooking the reader immediately as he weaves tales of vampires, ghosts, aliens, UFOs, and more in this excellent collection of dark fiction that delivers shivery chills one minute and a heart-breaking gut punch the next.

5 out of 5 stars

ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op

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Scaring and Daring: Terrifying Takes on 15 Classic Tales—A Horror Writers Association Anthology

 Abandon all hope, ye who enter here! 

Get ready for a terrifying spin on some of literature’s most beloved tales—no story is safe! From Captain Hook’s run-in with dark magic to Sherlock Holmes narrowly escaping graveyard spirits to a happily never after for Cinderella, this horror anthology is anything but a bedtime story. In this terrifying new collection for young readers, the best-loved stories from the literary canon are revisited and reimagined with a deadly twist by some of the top authors working in middle grade today. 

Featuring tales from New York Times bestselling authors Jonathan Maberry and Kelley Armstrong, Carlos Hernandez, Lisa Morton, Maurice Broaddus, and many others, this collection will haunt you long after you turn the last page. Read on—if you dare!

Created by award-winning editor Eric J. Guignard.

• In “The Hound of the Basking Villas," a wily girl teams with young Sherlock Holmes to search for a missing boy in a fae-haunted cemetery.

• In “The Boy of La Mancha Rides a Ghost Horse," a young Don Quixote, along with his stalwart companions, seeks honor and recognition by capturing (before time of his mother’s curfew) a ghost horse that terrorizes all of La Mancha.

• In “Hook and the Hand of Fate," Captain Hook trades a promise for the return of his hand, but learns that barters cannot be broken in Neverland.

• In “Prince Badi az-Zaman and the Ogress Fattan," a young prince sets out to find an ogress responsible for mayhem among his people, only to learn not all is as seems.

. . . and more!

Some of my favorite writers have breathed new life into classic tales to delight young readers and the young at heart. My favorites were based on the stories I loved best as a child.

The Glass Slipper by Sherrilyn Kenyon imagines a very different fate for Cinderella after she marries her prince.

The Hound of the Basking Villas by Kelly Armstrong leads young sleuths to a graveyard in a spooky search for a missing boy.

The GruelMaster by Nathan Carson could have saved Oliver Twist from going hungry.

The plight of missing people is blamed on an Ogress in Prince Badi Az-Zaman and the Ogress Fattan by Tanvir Ahmed, but who is the real culprit?

The Secret Thing in the Garden by Delilah S. Dawson is a far spookier version when young friends attempt to dig a pond.

Wolf In The Mirror by Sarwat Chadda pays homage to The Jungle Book where Mowgli should have been left alone.

Freckle and Hide by Jonathan Mayberry is about a boy with anger issues and his timid adopted dog.

The Shadows in The Rock by Joe R. Lansdale is a Huck Finn rafting adventure.

These were my favorites, yours may differ. The recommended reading age is 8-12 years old, but there is no reason older children wouldn't relish these tales. I think younger kids may struggle with some of the words and may be better suited to have the stories read to them.

My thanks to Eric J. Guignard for the hardcover copy.

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The Devil Take the Blues by Ariel Slick

During the 1920s, Beatrice Corbin just wants to keep her general store afloat and keep an eye on her younger, newly married sister, Agnes, in the small town of Azoma, Louisiana. Until she is approached by the Devil, Frank Charbonneau, and learns that her sister will be murdered. At first, she doesn't believe Frank until one of his predictions comes true. To save her sister, she makes a bet with him, staking her soul on the wager that she can find her sister's would-be killer in seven weeks. Meanwhile, Agnes is hiding her own secret, and Beatrice ignores her growing feelings for a Black blues musician, with whom Frank has also made a deal.

Unbeknownst to Beatrice, the true target is someone in her own family. As her time runs out, Beatrice becomes desperate and unknowingly pushes Agnes toward her inevitable fate. And everyone knows that the Devil doesn't play fair...but in this case, is he?

In the 1920s in a small southern town where racism runs rampant and the KKK has taken a foothold, there are two things that Beatrice cares about. Her only priorities are making sure her sister Agnes is safe, and keeping her general store in business.  When it is predicted that Agnes will be murdered, there is nothing Beatrice won't do to find and stop the would-be killer, even if she has to make a deal with the devil himself.

The devil, recently released from a trap, is more than happy to oblige. For Beatrice, it's a race against the clock. She has 7 weeks to find out who will kill her sister or she will not only lose her, but herself as well.

Atmospheric and dark, the writing style pulled me in from page one. It wasn't long before I began to worry for Agnes as much as Beatrice did. This gothic, historical fiction spins a tale of hot southern nights when moonshine, magic, and blues music fill the humid evening air, and the devil appears in human form seeking a good time. It's a tale of grief and loneliness with a bit of romance and forbidden love in a time and place when Anti-miscegenation laws could lead to imprisonment or being murdered for "consorting" with someone outside of your race. The author envisions a devil who is as charming as you've ever been warned about, with a passion for music and vulnerable to human emotion. 

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to the author for the paperback copy.

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Psychopomp & Circumstance by Eden Royce

 

Phee St. Margaret is a daughter of the Reconstruction, born to a family of free Black business owners in New Charleston. Coddled to within an inch of her life by a mother who refuses to let her daughter live a life other than the one she dictates, Phee yearns to demonstrate she's capable of more than simply marrying well.

When word arrives that her Aunt Cleo, long estranged from the family, has passed away, Phee risks her mother's wrath to step up and accept the role of pomp―the highly honored duty of planning the funeral service. Traveling alone to the town of Horizon and her aunt's unsettling home, Phee soon discovers that visions and shadows beckon from every reflective surface, and that some secrets transcend the borders of life and death.

This book was a struggle for me to get through. It is a combination of historical fiction and fantasy that was clever in theory, but the execution left a lot to be desired. It takes place during reconstruction after the Civil War, but with magical creatures that I had never heard of, and were not really brought to life for me with much explanation of what they are. I did not expect this from the synopsis and it was an unwelcome surprise.

Phee has never been allowed to do much of anything without her mother's overbearing presence, so such a complicated undertaking as what they call a homecoming is a huge deal for her.
So much of this book is Phee's repetitive thought process as she worries over whether she is up to the task of planning and executing a funeral worthy of Aunt Cleo, a woman she loved dearly but who had been ostracized from the family. There is also her guilt over not having visited her when she was alive. I mean, I get it. Don't keep telling me. In such a short novel, it is best to just get on with it rather than repeat the same things. 

Then there is Aunt Cleo's house, which I was expecting to be spookier, and the writing style that I did not find appealing.

You may enjoy it more than I did, but this book was not for me.

My thanks to Tordotcom for the finished copy.

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The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong

When Samantha Payne’s grandfather dies, she figures she won’t even get a mention in the will. After all, she hasn’t seen him in fourteen years, not since her father took his own life after being accused of murdering a child at their lakefront cottage. Her grandfather always insisted her father was innocent, despite Sam having caught him burying the child’s body, his clothing streaked with blood.

But when she does attend the reading of the will at the behest of her aunt, she discovers that her grandfather left her the very valuable lakefront property where the family cottage sits. There’s one catch: Sam needs to stay in the cottage for a month. To finally face the fact she was wrong and her father was innocent, in her grandfather's words.

Traveling to Paynes Hollow, Sam is faced with the realities of her childhood and the secrets kept hidden in the shadows of her memories. When her aunt goes missing a couple days into their stay, Sam begins to question everything again. Plagued by nightmares and paranoia, she begins hearing sounds in the forest and seeing shapes crawling from the water as the rippling waves of the lake promise something unspeakably dark lurking just below their surface.

The Paynes family has always had good fortune and better luck than most people. Until that day when Samantha Payne saw her father burying a dead child. Samantha became an outcast as the child of a murderer. Her grandfather cut her off for having told what she saw her father do. After being estranged from him for so many years, she never expected to be remembered in his will. She is shocked to learn that she has inherited the most valuable part of his estate. All of the lakefront land, where the old family cottages still stand, is worth millions of dollars. But of course, there is a catch: Gramps has placed a stipulation in the will that states she must live on the property for a full month because he claims he wants her to remember what really happened to the murdered boy.

As a child, Sam was warned to stay away from the lake at night. She was told nighttime swimming was forbidden and that even dipping your toes in the water's edge was dangerous after dark due to rip currents and undertow. She was too young to question how a lake would have giant waves to sweep her away as if it were an ocean. She was told when she awakened to the sound of hoof beats at night that she was only dreaming.

The author weaves a chilling story of folklore, legend, domestic drama, and supernatural horror in an isolated woodsy setting where people have a tendency to go missing. There is just the right amount of tension between Sam, her fiercely protective aunt Gail, and the reluctant caretaker, Ben. The spooky occurrences begin almost immediately upon Sam and Gail's arrival at the oddly preserved family cottage and the eerie atmosphere is deliciously dark.

5 out of 5 stars.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press for the advance copy through Netgalley.

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I'll Quit When I'm Dead by Luke Smitherd

 

In this page-turning, provocative horror novel, two desperate souls attempt to turn their lives around, with nightmarish consequences if they fail.

Madison has seen better days. Reeling from a bad breakup, self-soothing with junk food, and totally consumed by her lack of direction, she’s in need of a big reset. When she runs into an old acquaintance at the gym, Madison is shocked by how fit they’ve suddenly become. The cause? An all-female fitness boot camp led by ex-military guru Ellie Fellowes. The course is characterized by grueling reps and minimal contact with the outside world, and when Madison signs up to experience it herself, something doesn’t feel right. The other students keep acting strangely; Ellie seems almost superhuman, and her intense motivational methods are becoming bizarre, even dangerous. But Madison is getting results. How can she stop now?

Musician Johnny Blake has been struggling with a pain pill addiction after a very public, very bad fall. At the encouragement of loved ones, he retreats to a secluded cottage to detox. But Johnny isn’t alone. Something is lurking in the shadows of his new home—a creature unnatural and hungry, one that traps Johnny in a frightening bargain. If Johnny doesn’t stay off his pills and keep his end of the deal, he will be eaten alive.

As Madison and Johnny’s predicaments spiral into the unthinkable, they will have to look within to find the true and terrifying answer to the age-old  How badly do you want it?

Nerve-shredding and compulsively readable, I’ll Quit When I’m Dead marks Luke Smitherd as a major voice in horror to watch.

Madison is feeling lost, with no sense of purpose or control over her life. She wants to be stronger, not just physically but mentally and emotionally. It is for this reason she commits herself to a month-long course of strenuous activities with the risk of harsh punishments if she fails to complete the assigned tasks. 

"With your permission, I'd like to slap you in the face."

Johnny became addicted to painkillers after an injury. Rather than go to rehab, he plans to detox in a secluded cottage owned by a friend who wants to help him. But this is no ordinary cottage. It lies in a thin place, where monstrous beings can and do easily slip through.

"Don't go into the shallows alone."

This psychological and supernatural horror is told from two points of view in separate plotlines that at first appear to have nothing to do with each other, but eventually converge in an ingenious way.

Chapters switch back and forth, from Johnny's supernatural alternate universe terror, to Madison's almost cult like situation with a small group of women that gets smaller and smaller as the activities they are forced to complete go from difficult, to dangerous, to deadly.

All in all this was a suspenseful and well written plot but I found it harder to relate to Johnny's reasoning than Madison's. Madison was in a fragile state and saw an acquaintance who had amazing results with this month-long course, which made her want to try it too. Johnny wanted to kick his drug addiction so badly, yet made the weird decision to skip proven rehab methods in order to force the supernatural aspects of the book.

For the majority of the time, this felt like reading two different books at once. I was more invested in Madison's story than Johnny's. I was probably at the halfway mark before I figured out how they were connected, which I thought was very clever because I usually figure these things out way too soon. 

My thanks to Mulholland Books.

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25 Days by Per Jacobsen

 25 days, 25 chapters. This December, the countdown to Christmas will chill you to the bone.

Hoping to bring his family closer together, Adam Gray arranges a vacation in a remote cabin on a snowy mountain. Things take a dark turn, however, when someone starts leaving gifts in the Christmas stocking mounted on the barn door.

Each morning brings something new, and with every passing day, the contents become more terrifying. Soon, the family makes a spine-chilling discovery that they’ve been dragged into a deranged game of Secret Santa, and if they want to survive, they will have to fight.

A peaceful family vacation in an isolated country cabin turns into a harrowing fight for survival in this holiday horror.

The scenic location and lack of internet or cell service seems like the ideal way to bring this family of four closer together. At first, it does just that, until the Christmas stocking appears on the barn with a new threatening gift each day. 

I love Christmas horror so this seemed like it would be right up my alley! I also love when stories take place in snowy, isolated conditions with no way to call for help.

What I do not love is never being told who the perpetrator is or even the why of it all. So I find myself torn. 

I was all in for the first half of this book. The claustrophobic feeling of being trapped with an unknown threat was so creepy! At some point in the second half is when I began to get annoyed. I wanted to know the who and the why of this threat. 
Just when I thought the answers were finally coming it was a letdown when they never materialized. I think the author may also have lost track of some of the injuries that occurred.
In the author's notes at the end of the book is his explanation for this choice to leave us hanging. I was less than satisfied with the reason.

My thanks to HumbleBooks for the gifted e-copy.

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Keep This for Me by Jennifer Fawcett

 One hot August night in 1993, a young couple go to a party. When their car breaks down, they are picked up by a truck driver who attacks the man and abducts the woman. She is never seen again.

That woman was Fiona Green’s mother.

When the trucker, Eddie Ward, is caught, a mass grave of bodies is discovered in his backyard but Fiona’s mother isn’t there. Thirty years later, on his prison deathbed, Ward insists that he didn’t kill her, so Fiona finds herself back in the small town where her mother disappeared. Fighting demons of her own, she’s shocked when history repeats another woman, another roadside breakdown, and another disappearance. Only this time the primary suspect is Jason Ward, Eddie’s son. Desperate, Fiona hunts down answers, unaware that she is being drawn into a dangerous trap.

With Jennifer Fawcett’s signature “suspenseful and immersive” (Library Journal) prose, Keep This for Me is a fresh, spellbinding exploration of what we unwillingly inherit from our parents and how one random act can send ripples years into the future.

30 years ago, when Fiona Green was a baby, her father was left for dead and her mother was abducted by a serial killer. Her body was never found. It was only due to her father's survival that the killer was brought to justice. After decades in prison for the multiple murder victims found buried in his yard, he continues to insist that he didn't kill Fiona's mother. Now that he is sickly and dying, Fiona travels to see him in prison, in hopes that he will finally tell the truth about what he did to her mother. 

Instead, she gets pulled deeper into a dangerous mystery with more questions than answers. Another young woman has gone missing, and the serial killer has a son. Is it starting again? Is the son copying his father's monstrous activities?

This was a suspenseful mystery/thriller with themes of abuse, grief, and mental health. The pacing was perfect and the climax was exciting, even if a bit predictable too early on. Still, I loved how all the pieces finally fit together, although I solved the puzzle before the main character did. The dual timelines were well done and added to the suspense as we gradually get the details of the night of the abduction and of what it was like to grow up as the son of a murderer.

"Keep this for me." Chilling words when you learn their context in this exhilarating read.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Atria Books for the paperback ARC

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Food to Die For (Scareville #8) by John Ward

Never trust a smiling clown…

Traverse City, Michigan, seems like the perfect small town—until a cheerful jingle and a pudgy clown mascot turn everything upside down. When the new burger joint, Chunko Town, opens its doors, the town can’t wait to meet Chunko the Clown. But the friendly facade hides a sinister secret.

Middle graders Kira and her friends quickly learn the hard whatever you do—don’t anger the clown! With each daring misstep, Chunko’s cheerful grin twists into something far more terrifying, and the kids find themselves trapped in a nightmarish game of wits and courage.

Food to Die For delivers a thrilling, spine-tingling adventure for middle grade readers who love scary stories, creepy clowns, and edge-of-your-seat suspense. Perfect for fans of horror that’s spooky but age-appropriate, this book will keep you turning pages as Kira and her friends discover that sometimes the scariest monsters come with a painted smile.

A new burger joint in town sounds like a great idea, except for the creepy clown they use as a mascot.
Best friends Lindsey, Maya, and Kira take part in a prank at the opening of Chunko Town, and learn the hard way that you should never make a clown angry.

The burgers may be delicious, but did those painted eyes on the clown just move? Did the head turn and the goofy expression change to something evil? Could this chubby painted mascot come to life?

 Nobody believes Kira until it's too late in this fun and freaky tale that is full of chills and thrills (but not too scary for kids). The pacing moves along at a good speed to keep kids engaged in reading, and the plot shows that there can be dire consequences for making poor choices.

This middle-grade story is perfect for fans of Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

My thanks to Crystal Lake Publishing for the e-ARC

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More books by John Ward

Unseen Gods by Justin Holley

 

Careful what you search for, you may just find it. With grotesque glimpses of the disappeared, the past is alive and well.

After winning an old case file at auction outlining the disappearance of a hunting party back in the nineties, Kory and his pregnant wife invite their friend and mentor, Professor Frank Colista, and others, for a casual long weekend of exploring the mystery onsite with very little hope of finding anyone or anything. When one of their factions disappears without a trace, Kory and Colista fear the past may repeat itself. Then the deaths start. As a savage, unexpected snowstorm sets in, the disappearances and ungodly sightings of the deceased ramp up, and an old woman rambles about end-of-days and sacrifice.

A quirky cast of characters heads to an isolated hunting cabin, where people had vanished decades before. This unsolved disappearance leads to what is meant to be a casual weekend among this group, unraveling the mystery. 

  Instead, what these friends and local police get is a snowstorm that traps them in a nightmare of gore, body parts, and demonic activity with a possessed woman.

Luckily, Professor Colista and his protege have extensive experience in supernatural dealings, but will this be beyond the scope of what they can handle?
 Who will survive?

I loved the creepy atmosphere. The mix of folklore and legend pulled me in and kept me racing through the pages. The juxtaposition of a couple on the edge of breakup and a couple who will stand by each other as long as they live added tension and complexity to the story and provided a break from the more gruesome and disturbing scenes.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Flame Tree Press for the advance paperback.

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The Withering Hours: Dark Folk Horror by Morgan Sylvia

In The Withering Hours, Morgan Sylvia takes readers through the depths of ancient woods, troubled minds, and gruesome retreats. Folklore and myth breathe life into these tales of a haunted world and its imperfect inhabitants. Sylvia’s work is rich with atmosphere and each story is imbued with a sense of magic and dread.

In these pages you will find restless spirits, creatures who defy death, and twisted sadists. You will meet witches with deep connections to the land and innocents with a taste for blood. The minds of the mad will be yours to explore, just like the dark forests of New England.

This brilliant collection is a perfect read for fans of cosmic and folk horror, but it is also steeped in rich elements of gothic horror and psychological dread.

Sylvia invokes the aura of bygone ages, while writing in a fluid, modern style, seamlessly merging past and present. With this volume, Sylvia continues to prove herself to be an important voice in horror and weird fiction. 

I had read one of these stories previously in an anthology from the New England Horror Writers, but most of them were new to me. As a New Englander myself, I do get a kick out of stories that take place in my little corner of the world.

I love folk horror, so some of my favorite stories featured hikes to cursed ground, restless spirits, supernatural beings in the woods, and witches, both modern-day and those from centuries past.

The author is adept at creating suspense and spine-tingling chills with clever endings that sometimes tricked me into mislaying my sympathies on the wrong character. 

The Withering Hours overflows with dark tales wrapped in legends and cloaked in fear. Superstitions come to life deep in the woods, and in what we believe is the safety of our own brightly lit neighborhoods. I would recommend it for all fans of dark fiction and folk horror.

My thanks to Weird House Press for the eBook.

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The Essential Horror of Joe R. Lansdale

 In this career horror retrospective, World Horror Grandmaster Joe R. Lansdale (Bubba Ho-tep; Hap and Leonard) tackles racism and human cruelty as de­ftly as he conjures demon nuns and Elder Gods. Featuring an original introduction from Joe Hill, this much-anticipated volume showcases the best of Lansdale’s terrifying short stories—menacing, astute, and wildly inappropriate.

Bestselling author Joe R. Lansdale is known for his gritty mysteries and his eccentric horror. As an eleven-time Bram Stoker Award winner, Joe Lansdale cooks up an inimitable recipe of Southern Gothic and Southern fried chicken that continues to delight his many fans and influence generations of horror legends.

Lansdale mashes up crime, Gothic, mystery, fantasy, and science-fiction, filtered through a raw, violent world of dark humor and unique characters. Lansdale is one of the early American horror writers to portray racism not as abstract but as realistic, intimate, and impossible to ignore.

In Lansdale’s nightmarish visions, you’ll discover psychotic demon nuns, a psychopathic preacher, cannibals, 80-year-old Elvis, undead strippers, ­ flying ghost fish, Elder Gods, possessed cars, and the worst evil of all: mankind.

This is, without a doubt, one of the best short story collections I have ever read, and that is saying something. These tales run the gamut from crime to horror with consummate skill.

Lansdale breathes life into characters and creatures that will haunt your nightmares. While there is some supernatural horror here with terrifying demonic entities, the most powerful stories are those that revolve around the evils that mere mortals perpetrate. 

Also included is plenty of dark, gross-out humor. I had seen the movie Bubba Ho-Tep but had never read the story that spawned the film until now. If you enjoy fiction that makes you shake your head and say "ick" while laughing, this is made for you.

Some may find the authentic portrayal of ignorance and racism in a couple of stories to be offensive. I, for one, do not. It is a vile, ugly thing. It is not holding up a mirror to me, and I don't need it sugar-coated. I didn't need the author to pull any punches, and I'm glad he chose not to. Racism written as anything less than disgusting would have been more likely to offend me. This is the language that they use. It would be disingenuous to pretend otherwise. 

I have always said the best horror is that which makes me feel something. This is a collection that succeeds in that on every page, from the first story that gave me shivers to the last story that repulsed me to the core, and every tale in between. Prepare to experience a range of emotions, from rage and wonder to sadness and disgust, interspersed with shock and terror.

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Tachyon Publications for the gorgeous paperback ARC.

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Contents

Introduction by Joe Hill

“The Folding Man”

“Hoodoo Man and the Midnight Train”

“God of the Razor”

“My Dead Dog Bobby”

“Tight Little Stitches in a Deadman’s Back”

“By Bizarre Hands”

On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folk

“Love Doll: A Fable”

“Mister Weed-Eater”

“The Bleeding Shadow”

“Not From Detroit”

“The Hungry Snow”

“Dog, Cat, and Baby”

Bubba Ho-tep

“Fish Night”

“Night They Missed the Horror Show”

The Shuddering Breath Before Oblivion by Taylor Grant

In his final collection of short stories, once again we are invited into Taylor Grant's unique and macabre imagination. A man discovers a portal in his basement that offers him an infinite variety of alternate lives he can live. A woman seeks revenge on the man who destroyed her life. In treating a young man's haunted memories of a childhood trauma, a psychiatrist uncovers terrifying possibilities. A property speculator gets more than she bargained for when she buys an unsellable house in a small town with a morbid obsession with Halloween. And in the collection's title story, a journalist fights to solve the mystery of a world of disappearing people. Come on in and explore the dark labyrinths of the human mind and what it's capable of, if you dare.
 

    I'm sad to say I was not familiar with this author's work before he passed away. Sadder still that the world has lost an incredible storyteller.

Not all of these tales are horror, but I was surprised to find that one in particular that had absolutely nothing to do with horror is one of my favorites in this collection. A Whiter Shade of Christmas is a story of grief and loneliness that gets harder to bear in the holiday season. Who can't relate to that? I envy anyone who can't. This year, a widower is deeply moved by a dinner invitation from a homeless man. I loved this poignant yuletide tale.

Another of my favorites was Don't Open Your Eyes, about a house flipper who moves into the last house on Willow Lane near Halloween. So what of the previous owners disappeared without a trace, as did the owners before? Surely it's just a coincidence that nobody has ever lasted through Halloween in this house. Or is it?

Red Christmas was an excellent story about a little girl who is grieving the loss of her grandmother, especially now that she is left alone with her bickering, abusive parents. I'm sensing a theme here, I must really enjoy holiday stories. Anyway it just might be possible that Grandma has a final gift from beyond the grave.

While not every story was my preferred genre, they are all skillfully written and engrossing tales. These were my favorites, but all were good.

My thanks to Crystal Lake Publishing.

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Movie Review- Brute 1976

Cinephobia Releasing is proud to announce the Summer release of director Marcel Walz’s (That’s A Wrap, Pretty Boy) and writer Joe Knetter’s (George A. Romero’s Twilight of the Dead) latest feature Brute 1976. The film is set to release in select theaters this August, followed closely by a digital, VOD release on September 30, 2025

It is currently opening in the below markets:

Laemmle Glendale - Los Angeles, CA - 8/26 - Premiere

Laemmle Glendale - Los Angeles, CA - 8/29 & 8/30

Alamo Drafthouse - Indianapolis, IN - opens 8/29

*more markets TBA

An homage to ‘70s horror cult classics The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes. Brute 1976 takes place in 1976, when Raquel and her girlfriend have car trouble and break down on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. At the same time, a group of people are in the desert for a photoshoot. Soon, they stumble upon an abandoned town where a family of masked psychopaths reside.

I was invited to watch an early screener of Brute 1976, and being a fan of horror in that setting and the cult classics of that time, I jumped at the chance.

The movie opens with a car broken down on a hot desert road where a woman had been driving her girlfriend to model in a photo shoot. Beginning with car trouble on a lonely stretch of road is an oft used but still effective horror trope, so as the ladies approached a cave to get out of the relentless sun I was already yelling at them to not go in there. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew is arriving at the designated area and wondering what happened to their other model. The search for a phone leads to the discovery of an apparent ghost town where they decide to take some additional photos before heading out and giving up on their no show model. The town is not so empty as it first appears, and they are welcomed by the owner to look around. Unbeknownst to them, they are about to meet a family of psychotic killers. Will anyone survive?

This movie pays homage to films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes, and even Wrong Turn in the way that finding yourself in the wrong place at the right time can lead to murder and mayhem by reclusive, off-the-grid lunatics with power tools. A fairly predictable plot was brightened by good acting and horrifying masked psycho killers. Dazelle Yvette shines in a brilliant performance as Mama Birdy. She manages to convey a mother's love and a quiet sort of evil all with one look and a smile. If you like Indie horror, this is one to watch. I gave this an 8 out of 10 stars on IMDB check it out!

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Brute 1976 stars Adriane McLean (Miracles of Christmas), Sarah French (Blind), Gigi Gustin (The Retaliators), Dazelle Yvette (Garden of Eden) and Adam Bucci (NCIS Los Angeles). From production company Neon Noir, Marcel Walz, Joe Knetter, and Sarah French produced, with Dirk Schürmann and Tobias Schürman serving as Executive Producers. Robert Kern III (Prey, Creepypasta) provided makeup effects, and Marcus Friedlander (The Getback) served as Director of Photography. 
 

How to Survive Camping #1 The Man With No Shadow by Bonnie Quinn

Welcome to Night Vale meets The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook in a campy, cozy horror novel that will appeal to creepy folklore aficionados and spooky story lovers alike.

I am a campground manager. I don’t have a list of rules because I’m trying to ruin your fun…I’m trying to keep you from doing small, simple things that could result in your horrific and most agonizing demise.
Goat Valley Campground has killed generations of Kate’s family. The land is old, passed down through generations, but the campground’s reputation doesn’t just draw campers year after year. Creatures from folklore and horror have made Goat Valley not just their home, but their hunting ground.

As campground manager, Kate has rules to protect her campers—if the man with the skull cup offers you a drink, accept it or you will die a gruesome death; don’t buy ice from the children with no wagon; and of course, never ever follow the lights. Still, not every camper follows the rules…which means not every camper survives their stay. Soon decapitated and exsanguinated campers are the least of Kate’s worries; one of the most dangerous inhabitants of the campground is determined to claim the land for himself. Meanwhile, something in the land is shifting, the tides are turning, and the curse that hunts members of her bloodline begins to close in…

When I received an invitation to review this book, I nearly ignored it because I saw mention of "cozy horror" in the description. I don't do cozy. Having never heard of this author and knowing only that she writes on reddit also gave me pause. Then I said to myself, don't be such a horror snob, you could at least read a few pages before you decide whether to continue or not. I'm glad I did. A few pages were all I needed to get pulled in to this wild woodsy campground where supernatural creatures will get you if you do not follow the rules. 

"There are some benefits to being an early riser. Solitude. Seeing the sun rise. Finding the human torso lying in the middle of the road before anyone else."

Kate is the current manager and will likely remain so until she dies a horrific death like her parents did and generations before them. The rules are many, and the consequences for breaking them are dire. If the monsters in the woods don't eat you, Kate is not above killing you herself, all for the good of the town of course.

There are beings I recognized from folklore, like the dancing fairies and the Yule Cat who will tear you to shreds if you don't get new clothes for Christmas, and many that are more unfamiliar and terrifying than that.

Maybe my understanding of cozy has been skewed? I assumed it meant happy endings, a bit of mystery and romance, with mild, low-intensity scares.

I'm not sure that finding body parts or a decapitated head on a stake qualifies as cozy, and that was fine with me!  

Told from Kate's point of view with humor, and sarcastic wit, this is the most fun I've ever had being scared of camping. If this is cozy, count me in.

My thanks to Saga Press for the e-ARC

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About the author

Bonnie Quinn is a senior software developer in Columbus, Ohio, with a degree in computer science and an MBA. Currently, she is an active contributor of series and short stories to the r/NoSleep community on Reddit, where she is writing a spin-off series: How to Survive College.

 

Cubby by Jyl Glenn

When Emma and Caleb move into an old farmhouse, it feels like the perfect home for their growing family.

Then they find something unexpected in the attic.

It’s soft, adorable, and stitched together with something that calls itself love.

As the days grow shorter and Emma’s due date draws near, strange things begin to stir in the shadows. The dog growls at empty corners. The baby’s room never feels quite right.

And the thing they found in the attic? Some things get left behind for a reason.

Tense, layered, and quietly horrifying, Cubby weaves past and present into a dark tale of family, fear, and the things we carry—whether we mean to or not.

 

Told on two timelines, Cubby is the story of an evil toy and its demand for human sacrifice. In the present day, happy couple, Emma and Caleb, are moving into their new home and preparing for the birth of their first child. When Emma finds a soft, cuddly teddy bear hidden away in the house, she thinks it would be a perfect addition to the nursery. She was wrong.

In the not too distant past we have the former occupants of the house, a neglected, bullied child named Richard and his abusive, alcoholic mother. On one particular birthday, Richard's mother storms into his dilapidated room and throws down a gift of a soft cuddly teddy bear. It looks clean and brand new. He has never been given anything that didn't look used before. He names it Cubby, and it becomes the only companion he has ever had, but there is a steep price for this friendship.

Spooky occurrences and a weird neighbor tie the present day to the past.

This was a quick but chilling read that left me wanting more. I hope there will someday be a Cubby origin story because I have lots of questions. Did Richard's mother give him this bear because she knew it was evil? Or did the bear become evil because the mother was.  Did something dark get called to prey upon Richard's trauma and possess the bear? Was it Richard himself who wanted to hurt people, and his using the bear as justification for so long gave it life?

If you like creepy toys with fiendish intent, this is for you. In the back of my mind, I can hear Chucky's voice coming from Cubby's plush furry body, threatening to be my friend til the end.

4 out of 5 stars.

My thanks to Jyl Glenn for the e-ARC

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Steel Machines by Dan Franklin

Prague, 1945

Eight year old Otto Braum is the sole survivor of the massacre that claimed his parents and left him sustaining himself as best he can in the ruined attic hideout above his childhood home.

But Otto is not alone.

His father had a secret—a creation, unfinished, that he left behind. A secret that is pitiless in nature, relentless in design. A secret with the heart of a steel machine.

From the Amazon best selling author of Down Into the Sea and These Things Linger comes a horrifying reimagining of the story of the golem. Part I Am Legend and part Caging Skies, STEEL MACHINES is an unrelentingly tense tale of haunting, of vengeance... and of survival at any cost.

 

In 1945 eight year old Otto Braum had been hiding in the attic with his parents for so long that he could barely remember what it was like to feel the sunshine or eat a decent meal. Subsisting on crackers and canned goods, he may be too young to understand war and hate, but he does know fear of the men with the ugly black windmill symbol. His father believes they will be protected if their hiding spot is found because he has built a golem, not of clay and earth but of metal with intricate cogs and gears, a massive thing that he believes will defend them. After they are discovered, Otto is the only survivor.

There was a constant feeling of imminent danger before the violent confrontation that left Otto an orphan, but once he is on his own in the attic, the risk of starvation is added to the odds against survival. Strange visions and mysterious sounds made me wonder if the house was haunted or if Otto was losing his mind due to trauma, isolation, and hunger. I won't tell you if it was either, or neither of these things. I will just say that when it is revealed, the ending is brilliant.

My favorite time period for historical fiction is the 1940s, and specifically anything to do with World War II and its aftermath. My favorite horror subgenre is folklore. Steel Machines combines these into one spellbinding tale deeply rooted in Jewish folklore and mysticism surrounding the Golem of Prague. It was a suspense-filled and heartbreaking read with just the right touch of authenticity to make the impossible feel real.

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to the author for the e-ARC

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Movie Review - No Tears In Hell

 

In the frozen darkness of an Alaskan winter, a mother and son turn their home into a house of nightmares, luring victims into a twisted web of abuse and cannibalism.

Based on the true story of notorious Russian serial killer Alexander Spesivtsev, the film stars Luke Baines (Shadowhunters, A Dark Place) in an uncompromising portrayal of the brutal Spesivtsev, whose heinous crimes in the early 90s earned him the nickname the Siberian Ripper, and the late Gwen Van Dam (Star Trek: Generations) as Alexander's enabling and overbearing mother.

I was invited to watch an early screener of No Tears In Hell, which will be released on VOD on August 12.

As Norman Bates once said, a boy's best friend is his mother and that holds true in this harrowing portrayal based on the real-life psycho killer Alexander Spesivtse, known as the Russian Ripper and his mommy dearest.

"A mother takes care of her children no matter what."

Luke Baines is so convincing as the Ripper that I might run away if I ever spotted the actor in real life.

In the film, Alex is an admirer of Jeffrey Dahmer and a hater of the homeless teens who congregate not far from his apartment. He scopes out his victims there and preys on their desperation, sometimes relying on the help of his mother to lure them back to his home, where he tortures and kills them before using them as food.

What stands out above other films that claim to be "based on a true story" is that this movie is made all the more brutal by sticking close to several of the actual events. At times it was difficult to watch and I had to look away from one of the more gruesome scenes.

True crime aficionados and fans of slasher movies should give this a watch.

I rated it an 8 out of 10 stars on IMDB

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Bloody Bones by Garrett Boatman

YOU CAN'T KILL WHAT'S ALREADY DEAD.

Listen... do you hear the squeaking swing? Bloody Bones is on the porch, and he's coming to get you.

Thirty years ago, the stranger came to the sleepy southern town of Farnsworth, and the killings began. Wearing a black suit and passing himself off as a traveling preacher, the Dark Man targeted children. But when he took the daughter of the local hoodoo woman, she exacted a terrible revenge.

Listen... do you hear the creaking door? Bloody Bones is in the house, and he's coming to get you.

Bound to a ploughshare at the bottom of a quicksand hole and unable to die, the Dark Man raged as his body rotted to bones. Three decades later, a murder and a gruesome burial resurrects the stranger. Now, two boys, a witch, and a deputy will attempt to keep the Dark man from sating his monstrous appetite. Listen! Do you hear the blood dripping on your bed? Bloody Bones is here, and he's...GOTCHA!

Bloody Bones is a jarring, distressing, occult horror. It made my heart hurt.

I am not even going to talk about the plot. I am only going to say that it concerns an abomination from the past that is reawakened by a depraved act 30 years later, told in graphic detail.

It is very dark, disturbing, and upsetting. I feel like I watched someone's soul get crushed when their hope was ripped away by evil. I have always said the best horror can make you feel something.

The writing is skillful, the storytelling is excellent, and I'm sitting here stunned. Never have I ever, until Bloody Bones, read a book that made me wish with all my might that the children in it would die. To be clear, I didn't just want them to die I wanted them to suffer first. Even the thought that they might get away with what they did filled me with such rage that I had to take a break and check my blood pressure.

Even though this is likely to end up on my best horror of the year list for 2025 I would cautiously recommend it to those who think they can handle it. It strained my own boundaries very close to the breaking point.

My thanks to Cemetery Dance Publications for the e-ARC.

5 out of 5 stars

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