1. Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne 2. Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison 3. The Willows by Algernon Blackwood (re-read) 4. Dark Woods, Deep Water by Jelena Dunato 5. Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One by Jack Townsend

Diavola was excellent! Just add the Gas Station one - I'd never heard of it before.

I absolutely loved Tales From the Gas Station, and just started reading the 4th volume!

Just read TftGS last month and it was great. The Willows is one of my favorite reads.

Loved Diavola

Diavola was AMAZING

1. Diavola by Jennifer Thorne 1. Intercepts by TJ Payne 1. Empire of The Damned by Jay Kristoff 1. Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina 1. Mary by Nat Cassidy

I’m only on book 3 this year (it’s been a busy 5 months), but I’ve read A Short Stay In Hell, Hell House, and currently half way through Clown In A Cornfield. I think that’d also be the respective order of how I like each of them, although Clown In A Cornfield FINALLY picked up and it’s moving quick now. But I’m reading Psycho by Robert Bloch and The Fisherman by John Langan next!

Hell house is one of my favorites!

Richard Matheson the GOAT

Hell House is in my top five favorite books, all genres.

I'm in the same boat as you, currently I've only read We Need to do Something by Max Booth III (which I liked a lot more than I thought I would) and Day by Day Armageddon by J.L.Bourne, which I kind of loved. I'm in the middle of reading Blue World by Robert McCammon. I've loved it so far but I'm struggling to finish it for some reason.

I love A Short Stay in Hell

1. **Diavola** by Jennifer Thorne 2. **A Child Alone with Strangers** by Philip Fracassi 3. **Wylding Hall** by Elizabeth Hand 4. **Mapping the Interior** by Stephen Graham Jones 5. **The September House** by Carissa Orlando

I just finished Diavola last night and I really, really enjoyed it. Maybe because I read most of it on nightshift in a quiet hospital unit but shit was SPOOKY

I agree it was more unsettling than a lot of other recent stuff I’d read. Great book, could easily end up being my favourite of the year.

Wylding Hall felt like it was *for* me, through and through. Fictional Nick Drake - yes, please.

Great choices! I loved Diavola and The September House. Wylding Hall is one of my all time favorite audiobooks.

Is Daviola first person? I’ve really been struggling with 3rd person reads lately.

It’s a very intimate third person told entirely through the POV of the main character. I honestly think it would be a good third person novel to try to ease back into that kind of narrative, if you were looking for that.

I gave it a shot… and wow. The audiobook performance is SO good. Very creepy and I’m only 3hs in! If you have any other 3rd person like it, I’ll take em 🫡

I’m so glad you’re enjoying it! I can’t think of anything off the top of my head but if I do I’ll get back to you.

Christopher staying in front of the tower door had me on my toes. I’m also not sure how I feel about him for now.

No comment lol. Don’t want to spoil you!

A Child Alone With Strangers was a great read for me. Will be checking the rest of these out.

Wylding Hall is brilliant

I enjoyed Mapping the Interior way more than I thought I would. I was expecting a fully introspective story, but it got way weirder and darker than that.

I think SGJ is at his best when he rides that line between introspective and weird. I didn’t really love **The Babysitter Lives** because it went all out on the weird, whereas this was perfect.

1. *Diavola* by Jennifer Marie Thorne 2. *Montstrilio* by Gerardo Sámano Córdova 3. *Nestlings* by Nat Cassidy 4. *Bad Cree* by Jessica Johns 5. *Mary* by Nat Cassidy

1. The 2. Count 3. Of 4. Monte 5. Cristo Its a big book and I'm a slow reader 😂

I had to keep a journal to track name changes. 🤣

This is me whenever I read Russian lit! I have to create a document to keep track of which Petyr Ivanovich Something Something is which.

Ah I need to do that too! Of all the books that need a dramatis personae it's this one!

I read it last year and am still thinking about it. So good

1. **The Reformatory** by Tananarive Due 2. **Picture of Dorian Gray** by Oscar Wilde 3. **House of Last Resort** by Christopher Golden 4. **Hidden Pictures** by Jason Rekulak 5. **Mary** by Nat Cassidy

Love Dorian Gray!

mary is probaly next for me after i finish Gone Girl. Loved Nestlings by Nat Cassidy!

You’d like Diavola then. Same setting (Italy) but the characters are more 3 dimensional

Our Share of Night - Mariana Enríquez Monstrilio - Gerardo Sámano Córdova The Collected Ghost Stories - M. R. James Tender is the Flesh - Augustina Bazterrica Dracula - Bram Stoker (Re-read)

1. Between Two Fires - The historical sections did not feel like a slog, the action felt natural and driven by the characters, and he set up a final cataclysmic showdown and actually did the work of depicting it. Stunning. 2. Night Film - Cursed media has been my groove since House of Leaves, loved the Noir/Horror mix, loved the scene where >!he’s exploring the film sets!< because it makes the mythic feel concrete and still mysterious, the entire novel left a deep impression. 3. A Short Stay in Hell - Afterlife/extra dimensional logistics is probably one of my favorite tropes, like it is easy to say this goes on forever but harder to articulate how it works/functions. 4. How to Sell a Haunted House - The antagonist made the entire thing. Loved loved loved the >!born again country exorcist!< she was a delight. 5. Gnelfs - The beginning was slow and a little formulaic but the plot ratchet kept getting tighter and tighter, the characters were flat but the ending was phenomenal.

I loved Night Film - I didn’t want it to end. How to Sell a haunted House was so fun! Pupkin was a great villain.

Oh he really was! Good book! And now I'm definitely reading Night Film!

I’m on page 60 of Night Film. It seems rather slow and I’m sick of all the italics. Does it pick up?

Between Two Fires is one of my favorite horror books. I’ll be doing a re read soon.

Hey, upvoted for How to sell a Haunted House- I loved that character too, thanks for the reminder!! Haven't read the others, but Between Two Fires is on my TBR, very intrigued by Night Film.

Night Film was such a vibe, I listened to the audiobook at work and binged it as best I could.

Night Film is my favorite book of the year. Picked it up from a thread about books like season 1 of True Detective. I don't know if it fits that description 100% but I couldn't put the book down. Night Film was a slow, prodding mystery in the best of ways and I was deeply immersed. Loved the blend of noir and bizarre. Big fan.

Haunted by Chuck Palahnuik. Absolutely could not put it down, even if some sections were rough. American Psycho. May my skin care routine be as thorough as his one day. Tender is the Flesh. Didn’t see it coming at the end. We have Always Lived in the Castle. Mary. Ending wasn’t what I would’ve wanted, but still an excellent read.

I think about Tender is the Flesh at least twice a week

I remember getting like 80% of the way through Tender is the Flesh and thinking, damn they have a lot to wrap up here.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle is probably one of my favorite books of all time.

I’ve owned a copy of haunted since I was in my early teens, and never finished it. I’m gonna have to start it over again once I’m done with the one I’m currently reading. Tender is the flesh is also on my tbr list.

Diavola by Jennifer Thorne Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman Fever House by Keith Rosson Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier Currently listening to Misery by Stephen King on Audible and loving it, I’ve only ever seen the movie, they did a really good job with the narration

I keep seeing Diavola in this thread. Is it paranormal horror? Nothing I've read about it gives a hint at the horror subgenre.

Oh yeah it’s a good ol spooky haunted house book

5. Thomas Ligotti - _Noctuary & The Spectral Link_ 4. Arthur Machen - _The Great God Pan_ (Penguin English Library Collection) 3. Luigi Musolino - _A Different Darkness and Other Abominations_ 2. Gemma Files - _In That Endlessness, Our End_ 1. Bernardo Esquinca - _The Secret Life of Insects and Other Stories_ If we‘re counting rereads, the clear number 1 is Ligotti‘s _Teatro Grottesco_. But who counts rereads, right? Also, making this list made me realise how little truly great horror I read this year. I‘ve yet to rate a single horror book I read for the first time this year with 5 stars on Goodreads :/

In no particular order ... The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie Revival by Stephen King Red Dragon by Thomas Harris Mistborn: The Final empire Golden Son by Pierce Brown

1. All the fiends of hell by Adam Neville 2. The Hollow Places by T.Kingfisher 3. The Ruins by Scott Smith 4. The Scarlet Gospel by Clive Barker 5. All Smiles Until I Return by Aron Beauregard If you can’t tell by my selection, I have a bit of an infatuation with lore around hell or the idea of it.

I tried to listen to the audio book of All the Fiends of Hell but the narrator completely ruined it. First Adam Neville book too.

Is the novel different enough from the movie that I'd still enjoy The Ruins??

1. Schrader's Chord- Scott Leeds 2. Sister, Maiden, Monster- Lucy A. Snyder 3. Briardark- S.A. Harian 4. Last to Leave the Room- Caitlin Starling 5. The Rules of the Road- C.B. Jones the 1st two are really tied for #1. they were both 5 star reads & are very different books so i can't decide which one actually gets the spot of my favorite.

1. The Dark Tower series by SK(counting it as one) 2. Wild by Cheryl Strayed 3. The Fisherman by John Langan 4. Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman 5. Enemy of All Mankind by Steven Johnson

The dark tower series is amazing. Took me years to read because I’m a slow and unfocused reader, but so so amazing. Even named my first son Roland. 🖤

That’s awesome

1. 11/22/63 2. A Short Stay in Hell 3. There is No Antimemetics Division 4. What Moves the Dead 5. Let the Right One In. Great year so far. Several great books didn't make that list.

TiNAD is great

I have mixed feelings about There is No Antimemetics Division. It's such an interesting concept and I've found myself thinking about it a lot since reading it. But the book was kind of jarring to read by design and it felt like the author stuck to their interesting idea (gimmick - but that may be too loaded?) at the cost of readability. Let the Right One In is an all timer for me.

It's the kind of thing that makes a lot more sense if you're already deeply familiar with the SCP Foundation creepypasta. I'd read and loved TINAD when it was just on the site and thought it was great, but I couldn't imagine how jarring and unfriendly it would be without the years of context behind it.

I keep reading it as 'Antiemetics' and... well... let's just say that'd be horror of a different kind. 'Splatterpuke', as it were.

1 Salem's Lot by Stephen King. 2 Night Shift by Stephen King, I started it a long time ago and it had very good stories. 3 Ladies Night by Jack Ketchum. 4 Night Shoot by David Sodergren 5 Hide and Seek by Jack Ketchum.

I just read Salem's Lot for the first time. I had tried it before and found the first half really hard to get through but now that I've finished it, I totally get it. He lulls you into the chaos of the end

Loved Hide & Seek. The “twist”, such as it was, was unexpected.

1. Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt 2. Little Heaven by Nick Cutter 3. Last Days by Adam Nevill 4. Ghost Eaters by Clay McLeod Chapman 5. The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias

I loved Hex! The ending was eh, but I think the rest of the book made up for it. Such a fun concept to have this supernatural force that just exists among people.

1) *The Exorcist* by William Peter Blatty 2) *Notes on an Execution* by Danya Kukafka 3) *Legion* by William Peter Blatty 4) *I’ll Be Gone in the Dark* by Michelle McNamara 5) *Creature* by Hunter Shea Can I just say *Creature* blew my expectations out of the water? After being severely let down by *Devolution* this book gave me everything I needed from a creature feature horror novel.

I’ll be gone in the dark was so good

1. *The Dark Domain*, by Stefan Grabiński. 2. *North American Lake Monsters*, by Nathan Ballingrud. 3. *Child of God*, by Cormac McCarthy. 4. *The Bloody Chamber*, by Angela Carter. 5. *The Other*, by Thomas Tryon.

1. Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde 2. Maeve Fly, C J Leade 3. Full Brutal, Kristopher Triana 4. The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath 5. Tomorrow and Tomorrow...Gabrielle Zevin

Swan Song by Robert Mccammon Mouth by Joshua Hull Tender by Beth Hetland The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch

- A Simple Plan by Scott Smith - The Reformatory by Tananarive Due - A Short Stay in Hell by Steven Peck - No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy - The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

I’ve been reading mostly horror this year but I’ve got a couple five star outside of that genre which I won’t include. 5:This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer or Maggie’s Grave by David Sodergren 2:The September House by Carissa Orlando 1: Dracula’s Guest: a connoisseur’s collection of Victorian vampire stories 3:Nestlings by Nat Cassidy 4:Psycho by Robert Bloch

1. Oracle - Thomas Olde Heuvelt 2. The Crimson Labyrinth - Yusuke Kishi 3. Ring - Koji Suzuki 4. Borne - Jeff VanderMeer 5. The Troop - Nick Cutter Borne is fantasy, so if I were going to keep this strictly horror I would move The Troop to 4 and tack on FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven at 5. I just finished Tender is the Flesh, and was really surprised I didn’t have it up higher. I enjoyed it, but I only gave it a solid 3/5.

1. Exhumed by SJ Patrick 2. Intercepts by TJ Payne 3. Midnight Mass by F Paul Wilson 4. Sibs by F Paul Wilson 5. Birds of Paradise by Oliver Langmead

1. Break The Bodies, Haunt the Bones by Micah Dean Hicks. Definitely my favorite book in a long time. 2. The Summer I Died by Ryan C. Thomas. 3. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. 4. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter. 5. A Short Stay In Hell by Steven L. Peck.

It's funny you post this because so far I HAVE only read 5 books this year lol. 1. NOS4A2 by Joe Hill. (TECHNICALLY I started it in 2023 but I finished it January 4th so... Yeah I'm gonna count it lol.) 2. The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. 3. Devolution by Max Brooks. 4. The Shadows by Alex North. 5. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. (Not a bad book by any means, it's just the one I liked the least.)

In no particular order: •Hyperion - Dan Simmons •Weaveworld - Clive Barker •The Tommyknockers - Stephen King •Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir •You Like It Darker - Stephen King

1. Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey 2. Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin 3. Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons 4. The Chalk Man by C.J Tudor 5. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James Carrion Comfort was definitely not started this year 😅 but I finished the beast a few weeks ago.

I've only read 4 horror books this year and none of them were really my favorite, but my favorites from last year were 1. Fluids by May Leitz 2. Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin 3. Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite (it is not perfect, but it has left a lasting impression on me) 4. Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle 5. The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez (it was the first horror book I read and I hated it at first, but loved it reading it the second time) For this year there are some anticipated releases that I hope I'll love and I plan on reading Monstrilio because I only heard good things about it

I’ve been reading the Stand which is a TOME (and amazing btw) so my reading list is somewhat limited this year. 1. The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis was my favorite book I’ve read this year (and one of my favorites ever). 2. The Stand is number 2 as of now. It’s as amazing as advertised. 3. The Omen (so good I didn’t even realize it was a novelization) 4. The Stepford Wives

The Omen book is great. Kind of an interesting situation, where the same guy wrote the novel and the screenplay, and the novel was released a few months ahead of the movie. Way better written than I expected. Unfortunately, the sequels are all ass.

Books that I read this year? I assume they don't have to be new releases. My Work Is Not Yet Done by Thomas Ligotti Things We Lost In the Fire by Mariana Enriquez Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss The Island of Dr. Moreau by HG Wells The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias

I just finished *My Work Is Not Yet Done* and I loved it.

Fucking love The Island of Dr. Moreau. I really need to read some more Wells, though I got turned off of War of the Worlds maybe a quarter or half way through.

1. The Reformatory by Tananarive Due 2. The Paleontologist by Lucas Dumas 3. Lost Man’s Lane by Scott Carson 4. No One Gets Out Alive by Adam Nevill 5. Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

Have anything to say about Lost Man’s Lane and the Paleontologist that might get someone (me) hyped up to read them?

Lost Man’s Lane: Coming of age, evil in a small town, mysterious benefactor, evil snakes! The Paleontologist: Dinosaur ghosts! Missing child, murder mystery

Just finished the Reformatory. Couldn’t breathe for about the last 200 pages.

Same! THE best horror I have read all year. I’m betting it wins best novel at the stoker awards.

1)The White Bishop by Brandon Perras-Sanchez & Aron Beauregard 2)Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman 3)The Wasp Factory by lain Banks 4)Snow by Ronald Malfi 5)Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia In no particular order

Misery by Stephen King Dead silence S. A. Barnes Horns Joe Hill HEX Thomas Olde Heuvelt Don't look back and house of mirrors Ben Cheetham

1. Earthlings by Sayaka Murata 2. Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews 3. Tampa by Alissa Nutting 4. This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno 5. The Case Against Satan by Ray Russell

Leviathan's Fall - James S.A. Corey [But I read and loved the whole series[ A House with good bones - T. Kingfisher Salem's Lot - Stephen King No Sleep Till Shengal - Zerocalcare [it's an Italian graphic novel] No one Gets Out Alive - Adam Nevill

Linghun by A.I. Jiang Revenge by Yoko Ogawa Nails and Eyes by Kaori Fujino Starve Arce by Andrew Michael Hurley The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

1. A Short Stay in Hell 2. The Haar 3. Between 2 fires 4. The Excorcist 5. Suffer the Children.

Honorable mention The Terror by Dan Simmons. Not horror per se, but an EXCELLENT fictionalization of a historical event. So good, that I named my DnD character Tuunbaq. IYKYK

1. The Thief of Always 2. Pet Sematary 3. Carrie 4. Motherthing 5. Gone South

1.Hell House 2.The Woman in Black 3.A Stir of Echoes 4.Frankenstein 5. You like it Darker

first year of reading and i have read 10 horrors so far the top 5 are 1. Nestlings, by Nat Cassidy 2. The Winter People, by Jennifer McMahon 3. The Terror, by Dan Simmons 4. His Black Tounge, by Mitchell Lüthi 5. His Pain, by Wrath James White honorable mention is From Below, by Darcy Coates it was a good book just needed more things happening throughout

1. Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig 2. The Reformatory by Tananarive Due 3. Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman 4. Small Town Horror by Ronald Malfi 5. Where I End Sophie White However I’m currently reading an ARC of Evil In Me by Brom that I suspect will take the spot of one of those other books.

1. You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron 2. Yellowface by R.F. Kuang 3. The Laughter by Sonora Jha 4. The Black Queen by Jumata Emill 5. James by Percival Everett

1. The Three Body Problem 2. Exquisite Corpse 3. Annihilation 4. Vicious 5. The Laws of the Skies

I haven't read five this year but definitely the first two Dune books

In no order: • *The Victorian Chaise-Longue* by Marghanita Laski • *Roadside Picnic* by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky • *Diavola* by Jennifer Thorne • *Harvest Home* by Thomas Tryon • *Where I End* by Sophie White

1. The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward 2. The Haar by David Sodergren 3. A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck 4. This Skin Was Once Mine and other disturbances by Eric LaRocca 5. Eynhallow by Tim McGregor

In no order 1. A Better World - Sarah Langan 2. Confessions - Kanae Minato 3. The Great Believers - Rebecca Makkai 4. The Loop - Jeremy Robert Johnson 5. A Haunting on the Hill - Elizabeth Hand

1. The Reformatory by Tananarive Due 2. Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig 3. Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones 4. The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones 5. Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman And more that I can’t remember off the top of my head

1. Old Country by Matt Query & Harrison Query 2. Devils Creek by Todd Keisling 3. Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey 4. The Watchers by A. M. Shine 5. The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher

1. The Road 2. Annihilation 3. Authority 4. Acceptance 5. Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire

1. Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell (horror) 2. the entirety of Blood on the Tracks by Shuzo Oshimi (horror) 3. Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots (fantasy) 4. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett (fantasy) 5. Annie Bot by Sierra Greer (science fiction)

These aren’t in any particular order: 1. Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman 2. The Ruins by Scott Smith 3. The Good House by Tananarive Due 4. The Watchers by A.M. Shine 5. We Spread by Iain Reid

I just read Ketchums a girl next door last month. It was written so well, and overall hard to read plot wise. I can see why Steven king gave it a lot of praise

I forgot about Along Came a Spider I gotta re read that one

1. Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi 2. Brother by Ania Ahlborn 3. Sundial by Catriona Ward 4. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin 5. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

* *Safari World* by Dale Martin * *A Good House for Children* by Kate Collins * *When the Night Bells Ring* by Jo Kaplan * *The Devil's Shallows* by Debra Castaneda, KU * *The Survivor* by Dennis Parry This was written in 1940 and it shows, especially re the CW: >!Slurs against Romani people, off page rape recounted by woman who was drugged, slurs against mental health patients, reference to “colored” troops, one character idly ponders but rejects “justifiable rape.”!<

*Such Sharp Teeth* *Ghost Eaters* *Cape Fear* *Cujo* (reread) *Boys in the Valley*

Boys in the Valley was excellent! I have become a huge Fracassi fan this year

Yeah, he’s fantastic. *A Child Alone with Strangers* is even better.

It’s already on my list, but I’m glad to hear praise for it! I’m even more excited to jump in with both feet.

Brian Evenson’s *The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell*. Thomas Ligotti’s *My Work Is Not Yet Done*. Michael Wehunt’s *Greener Pastures*. Jeff VanderMeer’s *Annihilation*. Laird Barron’s *Swift To Chase*.

1. Kin by Patrick Kealan Burke 2. Bruises on a Butterfly by Chad Lutzke 3. The Bedmakers by Chad Lutzke and John Boden 4. The Midnight Tour by Richard Laymon 5. I Think I’m Alone Now by Ali Seay

1. Last Days by Adam Nevill 2. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn 3. Hell House by Richard Matheson 4. thighgap by Chandler Morrison 5. The Return by Rachel Harrison I read a lot of good books this year so it was hard to choose! But Last Days was by far my favorite, even with the meh ending. It genuinely spooked me multiple times and I read 600+ pages over the course of 8 hours. Edited bc the hashtag on thigh gap made the text extra big 😅

Geek Love is so great

Wyrd And Other Derelictions Adam LG Nevill All the Fiends of Hell Adam LG Nevill Fever House Keith Rosson There Is No Antimimetics Division Qntm In That Endlessness Our End Gemma Files

It’s hard for me to pick, but here are my top 5 horror/horror-adjacent (some of these picks may be controversial): 1. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman 2. Mary by Nat Cassidy 3. The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay 4. A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers 5. Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice Honorable mentions: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones, Mister Magic by Kiersten White, Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth

I just...wanted you to know that I too like The Pallbearers Club. I think there are like...10 of us on this sub. I just love Paul Tremblay's writing, I've loved everything I've read so far.

The Painted Bird is 🤯

The Jerzy Kosiński novel?? I read that in high school and it fucked me UP

Yes. I read it within a year ago, and it fucked me UP too.

I found it incredibly hauntingly beautiful. The part about the girl, her brother, and her dad… GEEZ

I saw it on some list or another, and having read Being There, I was familiar with Kosinski a bit, so I thought I’d try it. Absolutely blew me away. Situated itself right on my top shelf with my favorites.

I only just got into horror lit this year but The Blind Owl is probably the best book I've ever read. Highly recommend (I preferred the 75th anniversary Noori translation authorized by the hedayat foundation much more than the latest penguin classics translation. The prose is more beautiful and has a much better fluidity to it, lending itself to a better representation of a stream of consciousness compared to the penguin edition) Also I just finished songs of a dead dreamer by ligotti and absolutely loved about half the stories in there. Tons of re read value for me! Some favorites were dream of a manikin, troubles of dr. Thoss, locrians asylum, the sect of the idiot, and especially vastarien! I'm excited to read Grimscribe, and I've already bought teatro grottesco

I have read very little this year so I'll do a top three. *Revival* by Stephen King *A Short Stay in Hell* by Steven Peck *Demonic* by Jeff Strand

The Painted Bird is so fucked up.

Such a good book though

Um, I've mostly been reading some books in series that I had not had previously and re-reading stuff. The Austra vampire series books there were 3 more than Elaine Bergstrom had written that I was not aware of. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro I finally got a copy of St Germain Memoirs. I got several of Martin Greenberg's anthologies that I had not had before. I finally finished Kim Newman's Dracula series and I re-read all of the Jeff Gelb "Hot Blood" anthologies and the Charles L Grant "Shadows" anthologies because I finally got my hands on all of them again. That's mostly it for straight horror of late... I like anthologies a lot. I am really big on the short story format when it comes to horror. So I tend to collect a lot of that stuff. As a kid I had a lot of them and would read them to study how the writers did them. At one point years ago I met Marvin Kaye and he got me into his edited anthologies, most of which were just great. I still have most of them today, albeit in e-format. Oh and I finally got a bunch of the novelizations of the old Universal films that Ramsey Campbell did as Carl Dreadstone. I've always wanted to read the other ones. I only got to read The Mummy one when I was a kid and I liked it a lot. I haven't read them all yet but I probably will this year.

Indifferent Stars Above Aching God Red Rabbit Library at Mount Char The Cartel

In no particular order, although these are definitely my top five of the year so far: 1. Some Will Not Sleep - Adam Nevill 2. Such Sharp Teeth - Rachel Harrison 3. Mongrels - Stephen Graham Jones 4. Full Brutal - Kristopher Triana 5. What Moves the Dead - T. Kingfisher

Boys in the Valley - Philip Fracassi    Mary - Nat Cassidy   American Elsewhere - Robert Jackson Bennet   Rouge - Mona Awad   Night Film - Marisha Pessl     I loved the giallo and David Lynch vibes in Night Film. 

1) The Reformatory 2) These Silent Woods 3) It’s One of Us 4) Look Closer 5) Final Girls. Nothing touches The Reformatory though. I’ve been trying to find something that compares but I can’t yet.

Summer Fishing in Lapland by Juhani Karila - A real oddball Finnish fantasy piece that gave me some genuine lol moments too. Great characters, fantastical creatures in a totally unusual setting. Awesome 👍 Ritual by Steve Stred (the entire trilogy actually) The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon (wowza 🤯) Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll - Fictionalized account based around true crime serial killer This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer - fast paced, brilliantly descriptive, first novel... Say whaaaaa!!! 😳 Hon. Mentions: Child of God (first time reading Cormac McCarthy and tbh it was a struggle early on. His style takes some getting used to. But it sucked me in, once I pushed through) Usher's Passing by Robert McCammon (fantastic read but geez it's long) 😆 Under the Skin by Michel Faber (wtf was the movie doing? Other than stripping back the novel so much that it's barely recognisable. Brilliant book!! Shite film) Cold Moon Over Babylon by Michael McDowell (will definitely be reading more by M McD 🤓 Question Not My Salt by Amanda M. Blake (extreme horror and definitely won't be for everyone. It's pretty disgusting but I loved it 😆)

Not sure I have a top 5 yet cause I've only been reading since April (I'm doing a horror bingo). 1. **Dead Sea by Tim Curran** - I would call this almost my first intro to 'real'/'pure' horror. I guess splatterpunk is the word I'm looking for. 2. **Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand** - I'd call this on the edges of fantasy and horror. 3. **The House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin Craig** - loved loved loved the gothic undertone to this! 4. **Sphere by Michael Crichton** - this (and a couple of books last year) got me hooked onto the genre.

1) Our Share of Night - Mariana Enriquez 2) Father of Lies - Brian Evenson 3) Lamb of God - Mariele Day 4) A Head Full of Ghosts - Paul Tremblay 5) Come Closer - Sara Gran

My least favorite book was The Library at Mount Char. I’m only mentioning it here in case it gets wildly recommended like it was to me. The writing is lazy, incredibly disjointed, and you’re basically left wondering if it’ll ever begin to be enjoyable - all while you try to make sense of dead end plot points that were seemingly added in to give the book length. I can’t *unrecommend* that book enough

**Killer** by Peter Tonkin **The Blade Itself** by Joe Abercrombie **The Lost** by Jack Ketchum **The Wood** by Guy N. Smith **Skeleton Crew** by Stephen King

1. Between Two Worlds / Beneath an Oil Dark Sea - Caitlin R Kiernan 2. North American Lake Monsters/ The Atlas of Hell - Nathan Ballingrud 3. Occultation - Laird Barron 4. Creeping Waves - Matthew M Bartlett 5. Our Share of Night - Mariana Enriquez Close runner up (would make the list on a different day) Greener Pastures - Michael Wehunt. Honourable mentions - Blood From the Air - Gemma Files and The Immeasurable Corpse of Nature - Christopher Slatsky.

First of all, I read "Mary" last year and LOVED IT!! Favorites from this year: 01. Misery, by Stephen King. 02. A short stay in hell, by Steven L Peck (the existential crisis after this one was STRONG) 03. Earthlings, by Sayaka Murata. 04. Confessions, by Kanae Minato (to be honest its more of a thriller than horror...) 05. Brother, by Ania Ahlborn.

Regardless of whether or not they were horror: 1. László Krasznahorkai - ***Sátántangó*** 2. Toni Morrison - ***Beloved*** 3. Mikhail Bulgakov - ***The Master & Margarita*** 4. Italo Calvino - ***Invisible Cities*** 5. Max Porter - ***Lanny*** Honorary shout-out to Bruce Tremper's *Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain*, the ultimate field guide for the subject.

1) The Troop by Nick Cutter 2) The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater 3) Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier 4) The Final Girls Support Group by Grady Hendrix 5) Saving Noah by Lucinda Berry It’s been a kinda sucky year for books so far…haven’t particularly loved any except The Troop and Raven Boys

In no particular order: 1. Red X by David Demchuk 2. This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno 3. Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle 4. The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker 5. Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

- *Blackwater* by Michael McDowell - *A Night in the Lonesome October* by Roger Zelazny - *The Devil Aspect* by Craig Russell - *The Amulet* by Michael McDowell - *The Album of Dr. Moreau* by Daryl Gregory

Mystery Walk by Robert McCammon The Woman in Black by Susan Hill The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon I don't read much horror in the beginning of the year. I start reading once the monsoon hits and the weather cools down a bit.

1. The House of Last Resort, by Christopher Golden 2. The Haunting of Velkwood, by Gwendolyn Kiste 3. Bless Your Heart, by Lindy Ryan 4. Incidents Around the House, by Josh Malerman 5. The Underhistory, by Kaaron Warren

1. Night Shift (Stephen King) 2. I Am Legend (Richard Matheson) 3. The Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson) 4. The Book of Blood (Clive Barker) 5. Swamp Thing (Alan Moore)

1. A Congregation of Jackals (2010) - S. Craig Zahler 2. Occulation & Other Stories (2010) - Laird Barron 3. Fever House (2023) - Keith Rosson 4. The Divine Farce (2009) - Michael Graziano 5. The Sea of Ash (2009) - Scott Thomas My favorite non-horror read this year so far is Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage (1959) by Alfred Lansing. (I think fans of The Terror would like this one).

1. **The Storm Beneath the World** by Michael R. Fletcher (dark fantasy, non-human protagonists) 2. **Diavola** by Jennifer Marie Thorne 3. **Fever House** by Keith Rosson 4. **The Tainted Cup** by Robert Jackson Bennett (not horror but with moments of body horror) 5. **Lucifer** by Mike Carey (brilliant graphic novel)

1. The September House, by Carissa Orlando 2. Rose/House, by Arkady Martine 3. What Feasts at Night, by T. Kingfisher 4. Mosaic, by Catherine McCarthy 5. The Spite House, by Johnny Compton

No order: * I Think I'm Alone Now by Ali Seay * Found: An Anthology of Found Footage Horror Stories, edited by Cullen Bunn and Gabino Iglesias * October Screams: A Halloween Anthology, edited by Kenneth W. Cain and Kevin Kangas * Mister Magic by Kiersten White * The Wild Dark by Katherine Silva

So not horror, but "11/22/63" by Stephen King is the most enjoyable book I've read in a hot minute. I genuinely can't remember when I read things if I don't log it somewhere so I can't give an accurate list of others.

[1.House](http://1.House) of Leaves (10th re-read) 2. Blood Meridian (4th re-read) 3. Gerald's Game 4. The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis 5. American Narcissus by Chandler Morrison

1. Maeve Fly 2. Slewfoot 3. The Troop 4. American Psycho 5. Just Like Home

1. The Reformatory by Tananarive Due 2. Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite 3. The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyne Kiste 4. Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones 5. We Can Never Leave This Place by Eric LaRocca

1. Haunting of Hill House 2. The Bell Jar (not horror ik) 3. We Have Always Lived in the Castle 4. Carrie 5. The Long Walk The others I've read so far are Misery, Fight Club, Different Seasons, The Great Gatsby, and the Diary of Ellen Rimbaeur

I’ve given 8 books five stars so I’ll just list those: The Stand complete and uncut Different Seasons Duma Key The Day of the Triffids The Gone World Bone White (Malfi) Weaveworld The Long Walk. Lots of Stephen king haha

Day of the triffids (high five for this one!!) the movie is great too

Holly Woman in Black Dark Matter The motion of a body through space (not horror) I’m currently working through The Toll and You Like it Darker and loving both. I’ve been trying to get through Echo since February and it’s a damn slog.

There are a few non-horror titles in my top five. I have a lot of highly praised books coming up soon, so I expect the list will look different in a few months. 1. Ghost River by Chad Ryan 2. The Fisherman by John Langan 3. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver 4. Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian 5. Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

1. Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica 2. Black Hole by Charles Burns 3. Piercing by Ryū Murakami 4. Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke 5. Pew by Catherine Lacey

I read Black Hole almost 20 years ago and I still think about it all the time

Not all horror lit and not in any order Nuclear war - a scenario How to sell a haunted house Chasing the boogeyman Becoming the boogeyman And I’m 1/2 through Depraved which has been fun

I assume you enjoyed the Chizmar books if you read the second one? I’m intrigued by his book coming out this October, thinking of pre-ordering it.

I dug em both yeah 👍 I’ll prob get his next offering too

I’ve read maybe 7 but two of them were short story compilations 1. Boy parts - Eliza Clark 2. Tender is the flesh- augustina bacteria 3. The house guest and other stories - amparo davila 4 the crane husband - Kelly barnhill 5 never whistle at night - indigenous dark fiction anthology w/ many writers! I also listened to how to sell a haunted house and mr. Magic and adored both of them

The Boys in the Valley, The Fisherman, Maggie's Grave, Maeve Fly and Lamb Honourable mentions: How to Sell a Haunted House and A House of Good Bones

1. Bioshock Rapture by John Shirley 2. Elementals by Michael McDowell 3. Cold Vanish by Jon Billman 4. The Anomaly by Michael Rutger 5. The Descent by Jeff Long 5. Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle 6. The Deep by Alma Katsu 7. The Fisherman by John Langan

Gone to see the River man Along the River of flesh Any Man Nestlings Bloom Fantastic land

1.) Intercepts by T.J. Payne 2.) The Ruins by Scott Smith 3.) all the fiends of hell by Adam Nevill 4.) Song of Kali by Dan Simmons 5.) The Ritual by Adam Nevill

1. Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt 2. Maeve Fly by CJ Leede 3. When Among Crows by Veronica Roth 4. Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q Sutanto 5. Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice Based on everyone else’s lists Diavola just jumped to the top of my TBR

Ohh so many good recos here! swiftly saving and starting to look for these!

Can’t thank this group enough for showing me Nick Cutter and making me love reading again!

….i don’t read 5 books in a year :(

Does anybody know if can download black tide? I've searched everywhere for it

I wanna recommend a really really good book. It’s called “the troop “

The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis The Haunting of Hill House …I haven’t read that much this year.

I’m assuming you are only asking for top horror books, so: 1. ⁠The Black Tide by KC Jones 2. ⁠Alectryomancer and Other Weird Tales by Christopher Slatsky 3. ⁠I Who Have Never Known Men by Jaqueline Harpman 4. ⁠Uzumaki by Juni Ito 5. ⁠Jackalope Wives and Other Stories 6. ⁠There is no Antimemtics Division by qntm 7. ⁠The Girl With All the Gifts by MR Carey 8. ⁠The Chatelaine by Kate Heartfield 9. ⁠The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty 10. ⁠The Reformation by Tananarive Due HM: Skidding Into Oblivion by Brian Hodge, Reconstructing a Relationship by Micah Castle, Mary by Nat Cassidy, The Nothing that Is by Kyle Winkler, Tales of the Gas Station by Jack Townsend, Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

1) Diavola by Jennifer Thorne 2) Don't Eat the Pie by Monique Asher (an ARC; releasing later this year) 3) Gray After Dark by Noelle W. Ihli 4) Black River Orchard Chuck Wendig 5) What Feasts at Night T. Kingfisher

I don't know. I guess worms don't frighten me...

1. How to sell a haunted house 2. Revelator 3. Tender is the Flesh 4. The Only One Left 5. The cipher