I am passionate about this topic because it dates back to my childhood. I have been interested in this subject for as long as I can remember and, as far as I can tell, gravitated towards it naturally, probably due to those unknown vectors within us all that gear us towards our loves, interests, and passions. I have written many novels in this field, and countless short stories, some published, others lying around my house. For me, this genre defines the best aspects of the imagination and is full of color, fantasy, and the entire broad spectrum of human emotions, including the most potent: fear.
I love this book because it is a collection of short stories, and I am a huge fan of anthologies. It also contains some of the zaniest horror stories I’ve ever read. My personal favorite is The Washingtonians, which was adapted into a fantastic episode of Masters of Horror. This book takes elements like American History or even things as mundane as family reunions, garbage, and macaroni and cheese and completely flips them on their heads.
How far would you go with a hitchhiker who'd left behind an unimaginable trail of horror and destruction? How would you feel if your father's new bride was something dredged up from the bowels of hell? What would you do if you discovered an old letter suggesting one of America's Founding Fathers had been a serial killer? This is The Collection, thirty-two stories of hot blood and frigid terror that could have come only from the mind of Bentley Little!
This novel's structure inspired me to write my book, at least in part. I read it in one sitting while working as a security guard at a nature park on Christmas night years ago. It deals with an unholy presence by the name of Jakerbok, imprisoned in the pages of the book, who perpetually pleads with the reader to “Burn this book!” or else. It is wholly unique, original, and decidedly unsettling.
The long-awaited return of the great master of horror. Mister B. Gone is Barker's shockingly bone-chilling discovery of a never-before-published demonic 'memoir' penned in the year 1438, when it was printed - one copy only - and then buried until now by an assistant who worked for the inventor of the printing press, Johannes Gutenberg.
This bone-chilling novel, in which a medieval devil speaks directly to his reader-his tone murderous one moment, seductive the next-is a never-before-published memoir allegedly penned in the year 1438.
The demon has embedded himself in the very words of this tale of terror, turning the…
This is perhaps my favorite novel of all time and the first Stephen King book I ever read despite its epic length. Pennywise is such an iconic villain and the literal nexus of all monsters in creation. As fantastic as the horror elements are, the friendship between “The Losers Club” is undoubtedly the most beautiful aspect of the work.
Stephen King’s greatest strength is how interesting his human characters are, particularly through their development and response to the supernatural and otherworldly horrors.
This tie-in edition will be available from 16 July
TIE IN TO A NEW MAJOR MOTION PICTURE, IT: CHAPTER 2, ADAPTED FROM KING'S TERRIFYING CLASSIC
27 years later, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back...
Derry, Maine was just an ordinary town: familiar, well-ordered for the most part, a good place to live.
It was a group of children who saw- and felt- what made Derry so horribly different. In the storm drains, in the sewers, IT lurked, taking on the shape of every nightmare, each one's deepest dread. Sometimes…
Perhaps the most classic work of horror fiction in both literature and cinema. As an English teacher, I find that there is so much fodder for lessons prevalent in this book–nature vs nurture, the dangers of forbidden knowledge and playing God, the arrogance of science, and who the real monster is. I particularly love the difference between The Monster in the novel and the film, its articulation, desires, abilities, and even its physical appearance. Few written works have been more seminal.
One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'
'That rare story to pass from literature into myth' The New York Times
Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale was conceived when she was only eighteen, living with her lover Percy Shelley on Lake Geneva. The story of Victor Frankenstein who, obsessed with creating life itself, plunders graveyards for the material to fashion a new being, but whose botched creature sets out to destroy his maker, would become the world's most famous work of horror fiction, and remains a devastating exploration of the limits of human creativity. Based on the third…
Perhaps my favorite author of all time is Edgar Allan Poe, but HP Lovecraft is certainly within the running of my top five, perhaps three. His fiction is predicated upon the idea that we understand very little about the nature of reality and are ourselves rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
This notion in and of itself is rather humbling and petrifying. Not to mention the fact that Lovecraft’s work is downright cool, rife with slime, tentacles, and other unknown and indescribable horrors from beyond the cosmic veil of outer space…and beneath the ocean, which is without a doubt the scariest place on earth.
Another fantastic edition in the Knickerbocker Classic series is The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, comprised of the author's fictional stories featuring the world's most bizzarre creatures and supernatural thrills. Written by H.P. Lovecraft between the years 1917 and 1935, the stories in this collection feature many horrific and cautionary science fiction themes that influence today's artists like Stephen King, Alan Moore, Paul Wilson, Guillermo Del Toro, and Neil Gaiman. For Lovecraft fans worldwide, this stunning gift edition has a full cloth binding, foil blocking on the spine, ribbon marker, and is packaged neatly in an elegant slipcase. The Complete…
My book is a work of metafiction that deals with the art and style of narration. It frequently breaks the fourth wall and is told from multiple viewpoints–hence the title. Five inner stories connect to form an overarching plot, each taking place in a small, western Pennsylvania town on Christmas Eve night.
It contains elements of the supernatural, thriller, horror, cryptozoology, or the study of unknown or hidden animals. The novel's narrators are trapped within the book's pages and seek to escape, which is why they tell the reader (yourself) to stop reading so that they can do so.
Writer, reader, editor, reviewer, publisher… those are all parts of me. With a lifetime of experience in the “words” industry, I have a pretty good handle on what makes a book not just good, but hot. I say this with the understanding that each reader brings their own histories to the reading experience, and what one person may like, another may not. Nonetheless, I offer you my professional and personal favorites in the mystery/thriller/suspense categories. It is my sincere hope that you find these books as addictive as I’d found them. Superb and clever writing, engaging characters, unpredictable plots—yes, please! Though I occasionally step outside my comfort zone, I'm consistently drawn back to these categories.
Liza O’Connell was a horror buff in every sense of the word. But there was one deadly nightmare she would never be able to talk about … her own. A friend murdered. A business in trouble. A marriage struggling to survive. And that’s just the beginning.
When salon owner Carrie King discovers Liza dead in the back room of her shop, everyone becomes a suspect, even her. As tensions in the community rise, so does the death toll, and now the local cops believe there’s a serial killer on the loose. The question is … are the two investigations connected?…
Liza O’Connell was a horror buff in every sense of the word. But there was one deadly nightmare she would never be able to talk about … her own.
A friend murdered.
A business in trouble.
A marriage struggling to survive.
And that’s just the beginning.
When salon owner Carrie King discovers Liza dead in the back room of her shop, everyone becomes a suspect, even her. As tensions in the community rise, so does the death toll, and now the local cops believe there’s a serial killer on the loose. The question is … are the two investigations connected?…
