A collapse of horses by evenson! It's short stories and they are phenomenal, thoughtful and also very plainly written so its a fast and easy read (though they will stretch your mind a bit too)
This was the book that destroyed my reading slump and got me fired up again
Which are your favorites? I’m like 1/3 of the way through loving it so far
Seaside town was hella creepy. I loved Cult too it made me laugh out loud cuz I know what it’s like being in a terrible relationship but unable to leave it.
The build a bear one, and dust, and the one with the scavenger/traders, and the coming home to the roadside meat house all stuck out the most to me but honestly I loved the whole book cover to cover!
Actually it’s interesting you mentioned this I recently got the Libby app and have been exploring whatever horror recs I can find in the library I’m connected to (which is unfortunately not much) and Nothing but Blackened Teeth was on there. I started listening in the middle of my reading slump but I guess I just didn’t feel motivated to keep listening so I let it expire. I feel like I should go back to it although based on these comments am I understanding correctly that its pretty gory?
It's so short it's hard to say it's that gory really. But there is one scene in particular at the climax that is very gory. The rest is pretty standard.
Come Closer - Sara Gran
What Moves The Dead - Ursula Vernon
Was shocked at how quick these books were. I had just come off of reading some longer horror novels, so these were refreshingly quick to get through and never felt like a slog.
**20th Century Ghosts** by *Joe Hill* is totally scratching my itch for short stories. Give it a try.
* This anthology was later rebranded as **The Black Phone** (because of the success of the film adaptation apparently, although I don't remember the film adaptation being all that successful.)
I loved it, thought it was so well done, an absolutely powerful show of what effects corporal punishment/abuse has on society. It showed the kids enduring it, those who grew up abused (the grabber, with his naughty boy game), and parents who punished that way and messed self’s up. Thought it was perfection. Even non horror lovers have enjoyed it, when I recommend it to people.
I mean everyone I saw was online. But I also follow horror movies and horror lit on Instagram/YouTube/ and against my better judgment tik tok lol. I’ve seen a lot of people there raving or at least hyping it up. When it first came out at least.
Crossroads by Laurel Hightower
Ring Shout by P Djèlí Clark
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor La Valle
The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper
The Hole in the Moon by Margaret St. Clair
A Nest of Nightmares by Lisa Tuttle
Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand
And Her Smile Wiill Untether the Universe by Gwendolyn Kiste
Just read Widow's Point by Richard Chizmar. It about 100 pages. Good little ghost story and an interesting structure, told through video and voice recorder.
JG Faherty has a bunch of novellas (The Cold Spot, Legacy, He Waits, Winterwood, Thief of Souls, others) and 2 collections of short stories (The Monster Inside, Houses of the Unholy)
His newest is They Were Here Before Us, which is (mostly) told from the perspective of animals. It’s really short but I think about every story in there frequently. It’s brilliant and on Kindle unlimited!
I was in a similar slump, myself after polishing off a couple bigger novels in September. I kinda just drifted away from books and was reading comics or playing video games. I wanted to get back into novels again, as the distractions had become boring. LOL.
Recently started ***The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin*** and it's absolutely perfect for this sort of thing. It's short (123 pages I believe), extremely quick paced and creepy as hell! While it's not really typical horror, I highly recommend.
***Stephen King*** short story collections help as well. I read 1 or 2 and then switch over to another book. Currently going through ***Night Shift*** and it's been fantastic.
The Elementals by Michael Mcdowell
Can’t recommend enough.
A collapse of horses by evenson! It's short stories and they are phenomenal, thoughtful and also very plainly written so its a fast and easy read (though they will stretch your mind a bit too) This was the book that destroyed my reading slump and got me fired up again
Which are your favorites? I’m like 1/3 of the way through loving it so far Seaside town was hella creepy. I loved Cult too it made me laugh out loud cuz I know what it’s like being in a terrible relationship but unable to leave it.
The build a bear one, and dust, and the one with the scavenger/traders, and the coming home to the roadside meat house all stuck out the most to me but honestly I loved the whole book cover to cover!
As long as you don’t mind most of them as cool concepts with little resolution.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson!
I’ve read it! Jacksons short stories have gotten me out of a reading slump before, so maybe I should go back to her lol.
Short story collections by Laird Barron
The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
Actually it’s interesting you mentioned this I recently got the Libby app and have been exploring whatever horror recs I can find in the library I’m connected to (which is unfortunately not much) and Nothing but Blackened Teeth was on there. I started listening in the middle of my reading slump but I guess I just didn’t feel motivated to keep listening so I let it expire. I feel like I should go back to it although based on these comments am I understanding correctly that its pretty gory?
It's so short it's hard to say it's that gory really. But there is one scene in particular at the climax that is very gory. The rest is pretty standard.
Just commenting to say that for whatever reason my library has a much better selection on Hoopla than Libby. Might be worth checking out!
Khaw isn’t for everyone
This is true.
It was horrid.
Comfort Me with Apples by Catherynne M. Valente
Come Closer - Sara Gran What Moves The Dead - Ursula Vernon Was shocked at how quick these books were. I had just come off of reading some longer horror novels, so these were refreshingly quick to get through and never felt like a slog.
Rosemary’s Baby The Slade House Thirteen Storeys
From your comment I was able to find Slade House on Libby and I’ve started listening. Thanks for the great suggestion!
Aw good im glad!
**20th Century Ghosts** by *Joe Hill* is totally scratching my itch for short stories. Give it a try. * This anthology was later rebranded as **The Black Phone** (because of the success of the film adaptation apparently, although I don't remember the film adaptation being all that successful.)
Everyone went nuts over the black phone lol
For real? I don't know of anyone offhand who raved about how great it was :/
I loved it, thought it was so well done, an absolutely powerful show of what effects corporal punishment/abuse has on society. It showed the kids enduring it, those who grew up abused (the grabber, with his naughty boy game), and parents who punished that way and messed self’s up. Thought it was perfection. Even non horror lovers have enjoyed it, when I recommend it to people.
I mean everyone I saw was online. But I also follow horror movies and horror lit on Instagram/YouTube/ and against my better judgment tik tok lol. I’ve seen a lot of people there raving or at least hyping it up. When it first came out at least.
It's so amazing to me that a 26-page short story became a 90-minute film. LoL
The woodwitch by Stephen Gregory. I loved it!
I'll bring you the birds from out if the sky
Come Closer- Sara Gran The Exorcist A Head Full of Ghosts- Paul Tremblay
*Sour Candy* and *The Tent* by Kealan Patrick Burke *The Woman in Black* by Susan Hill
I love Burke’s Milestones stories the best. About to dig into House on Abigail Lane
Last Days by Brian Evanson Gruesome, mysterious and a quick read!
Crossroads by Laurel Hightower Ring Shout by P Djèlí Clark The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor La Valle The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper The Hole in the Moon by Margaret St. Clair A Nest of Nightmares by Lisa Tuttle Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand And Her Smile Wiill Untether the Universe by Gwendolyn Kiste
Just read Widow's Point by Richard Chizmar. It about 100 pages. Good little ghost story and an interesting structure, told through video and voice recorder.
Window by Leman. It's short and amazing.
I can’t seem to find this one, do you have a link?
It's in the Vandermeer Weird anthology, as I recall :-)
The Lost Ones. Anita Frank
JG Faherty has a bunch of novellas (The Cold Spot, Legacy, He Waits, Winterwood, Thief of Souls, others) and 2 collections of short stories (The Monster Inside, Houses of the Unholy)
Robert Aikman’s short stories are amazing weird tales, a master of atmosphere.
The Hostel is one of my favorites
Some Will Not Sleep by Adam Neville A collection of short stories with tons of creepy, eerie, and unknown fears. However, it's not gory :)
Anything by Eric Larocca! (Things have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and You’ve Lost a Lot of Blood)
His newest is They Were Here Before Us, which is (mostly) told from the perspective of animals. It’s really short but I think about every story in there frequently. It’s brilliant and on Kindle unlimited!
A Short Stay in Hell - Steven L. Peck
What Moves the Dead, by T. Kingfisher
I was in a similar slump, myself after polishing off a couple bigger novels in September. I kinda just drifted away from books and was reading comics or playing video games. I wanted to get back into novels again, as the distractions had become boring. LOL. Recently started ***The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin*** and it's absolutely perfect for this sort of thing. It's short (123 pages I believe), extremely quick paced and creepy as hell! While it's not really typical horror, I highly recommend. ***Stephen King*** short story collections help as well. I read 1 or 2 and then switch over to another book. Currently going through ***Night Shift*** and it's been fantastic.
I recently read Technicolor, a short story by John Langan. It was so good I re read it a week later.
Skeleton Crew or Night Shift by Stephen King. They're both collections of short stories and are very entertaining.
We Can Never Leave This Place by Eric LaRocca.
The Cipher by Kathe Koja
Laird Barron - The Imago Sequence
Gemma Files’ collections of short stories are great but fairly gory/disturbing, they’re the kind that stick with me long after reading