At university, I studied Classical Studies, which leans heavily into archaeology. As I went on more site visits, I became much more aware of the worlds and lives which exist below our feet. Later, when working as a teacher in Poland, I had the chance to visit one of Europe’s deepest active coal mines. The experience surprised me in so many ways, not least the oppressive heat and the darkness—something you feel you can almost touch. From that moment onward—especially as a horror writer—I’ve found myself wondering about the nightmares lurking below our world, as well as above, and beyond.
As someone who has explored the tombs of Egypt in real life, this story dug its claws right into me.
As well as all the claustrophobia, the darkness, and the sense there’s no way out, Moreland confronts you with ancient gods and monsters so terrifying you’ll be testing the walls for a secret passage out of there every step of the way.
"The suspense of the story, aided by sly hints from the author, and the atmosphere of a dark, claustrophobic tomb work together to create a scary story. The characters' fear invites the reader into the world to experience the fright themselves."
- Booklist Starred Review
Deep inside the tomb exists a hidden world of wonder and terror.
In 1935, British archaeologists vanished inside an Egyptian cave. A year later, one man returned covered in mysterious scars.
Egyptologist Imogen Riley desperately wants to know what happened to the ill-fated expedition led by her grandfather. On a quest for answers, she joins…
What could be more terrifying than having to plumb the depths of absolute darkness, alone, with nothing but a single cord separating you from escape and being stuck down there forever? How about being on a distant planet, with a sentient AI assistant who is just as likely to be friend or foe?
Author Caitlin Starling delivers scares and isolation in spades in this unique sci-fi horror.
"This claustrophobic, horror-leaning tour de force is highly recommended for fans of Jeff VanderMeer's Annihilation and Andy Weir's The Martian." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A thrilling, atmospheric debut with the intensive drive of The Martian and Gravity and the creeping dread of Annihilation, in which a caver on a foreign planet finds herself on a terrifying psychological and emotional journey for survival.
When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she'd be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She…
In this novella, Curran taps into that sense of what’s below our feet as another world.
A world from a past so distant from ours that we’ve forgotten what lurks there. The reader follows Boyd down into the depths and understands his reasons for taking the job in the bowels of the mine, even as things take turn after turn for the worse.
Curran knows exactly when to paint the horror vividly and when to hold back, or lean into the unsettling and the uncanny.
With a kid on the way, Boyd needed the job bad. But the idea of going underground at the Hobart Mine, down into the dark labyrinth of tunnels to get at the raw ore, left him with a brooding sense of unease. Maybe it was the fact that his father had died down in the mines or maybe it was something much worse. Digging a new drift down in Level #8, the lowest level of the mine, an immense shaft opens up. Boyd and a few others volunteer to explore it. Some 400 feet down, they find a passage that…
This book leans heavily into old English folklore, has terrifying creatures and believable characters.
Above and beyond all that, though, is the atmosphere the author creates in the rabbit warren of the Chislehurst Caves. It’s no secret that Budd is a veteran visitor to this terrifying complex of tunnels and caverns, and it really shows in this book. Even the “quiet” moments in Enter the Darkness had me shuddering.
Like with Tim Curran’s The Underdewlling, above, Eyes in the Dust leans into the cosmic with its approach to what’s below our feet.
A giant borehole has been dug in an unnamed, developing world country revealing an inexplicable anomaly. Our story, though, focuses on a single individual’s perspective. Cortland—the archetypal faceless manager—comes face to face with the nihilistic reality of what lurks miles beneath the soil, and the horror is almost too much to bear.
a DUNHAMS MANOR PRESS EXCLUSIVE from the author of THE SPECTACLE OF THE VOID. The world has moved on and left Cortland behind. His career as an academic has fizzled out, his fiancé is dead, and he remains haunted by the notion that it’s his fault. When a consulting firm contacts him with the opportunity of a lifetime—two months off the grid studying slime molds at the bottom of an ancient impact crater—he has no choice but to accept. He soon learns, however, that the crater holds dark secrets, that death itself is not an exit, but rather a welcoming…
Decades after his grandfather was buried alive in a Californian gold mine, Dr. Nick Jones teams up with an adventure travel influencer to venture underground and film a documentary, telling the story of what really happened.
What should be a dream come true soon becomes a nightmare as someone or something stirs…Below.
As a child, I lived in a small valley sheltered from the night city lights. I could see the stars, and from that time, that is where my imagination dwelled. As a teenager, I read several of the books I have listed here, and from that point, I was inspired to read more and also to write myself. I sincerely believe that despite our current problems, humanity will outlive its troubled childhood and reach for the stars. We are destined for the stars, and only in the works of science fiction writers is that future explored. The books below helped me to become a successful author in my own right.
An alien starship appears in the Solar System! Humanity faces a glorious future, or total extinction, and only Joe Falcon can make the choice. Never would Joe have imagined it would fall to him to make the decision that would alter the destiny of two worlds, launching humanity towards a glorious future, or to extinction.
Falcon's Call is an action packed dive into the unknown, written in the style of the great, classic, science-fiction stories. If you like surprising plot twists, compelling characters and a hero who actually cares, you must read this new novel by Mike Waller.
Reader's Favorite Gold Medal winner 2019 B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree 2019 Chill With A Book Premier Award 2019
In a heart-pounding battle for humanity's survival, one man holds the key to a glorious future or utter extinction.
In a race against time, Earth and Mars race to claim a derelict alien ship as it enters the Solar System, both aware that whichever planet succeeds might in so doing achieve technological advantage over the other. But who should they send? Joe Falcon, an unlikely candidate, never saw himself as the "right" person. Accompanied by a crew of misfits, each fleeing their own…
