I am a writer and all-around nerd living in California. When I was a kid, I loved scaring myself silly with ghost stories. My school’s tiny library had a stock of Goosebumpsbooks that I devoured like candy. Ever since, I’ve loved stories about the things we are afraid of—especially the ones that make us question where that fear comes from. The books on my list blend my love of horror and fantasy. They are stories to make you shiver, and stories to make you think. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.
I love White Smokebecause it takes all the best elements of a classic haunted house story and weaves them with the very real horrors of shady politicians, misinformation, racism, and bedbugs. Marigold is a fantastic main character who remains compassionate and fierce as she grapples with the mistakes of her past. I think what I loved most about this book is the way it plays with the idea of what it means for people and places to be haunted. White Smokeis also fantastically creepy, with sharp writing that kept me turning pages right up to the end.
The Haunting of Hill House meets Get Out in this chilling YA psychological thriller and modern take on the classic haunted house story from New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson!
Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California beach town to the embattled Midwestern city of Cedarville might be the fresh start she needs. Her mom has accepted a new job with the Sterling Foundation that comes with a free house, one that Mari now has to share with her…
Rin Chupeco is one of my all-time favorite authors. Her writing is lyrical without being overdone, and her worldbuilding is always top-notch. The world of The Bone Witch is soaked in magic both beautiful and terrible. Tea doesn’t mean to raise her brother from the dead, but once she does there is no going back. She is a bone witch, powerful and terrible, but also still very much a girl trying to remain herself as the world forces its expectations upon her. This book is great if you want something with spooky vibes that isn’t actively trying to scare you.
"A high-fantasy Memoirs of a Geisha, Chupeco's latest excels in originality" -Kirkus Reviews A story of scorned witches, sinister curses, and resurrection, The Bone Witch is the start of a dark fantasy trilogy, perfect for fans of Serpent & Dove and The Cruel Prince. Tea can raise the dead, but resurrection comes at a price... When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother, Fox, from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she's a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea…
I love this book because it feels like stepping into a creepy fairytale. The restless dead wander the shadowy forest surrounding Ryn’s small village. Ryn is an apprentice gravedigger and normally the dead hold no fear for her. But their numbers are growing and now Ryn might be the only one who can save her people from being destroyed by an ancient curse. This book is still firmly in the category of fantasy rather than horror. I love that Ryn’s position as a gravedigger gives her a unique perspective on death that allows her to face problems others would rather ignore. This book is also the only one I’ve ever read that turns a slightly rotted goat into a loveable character.
Seventeen-year-old Aderyn ("Ryn") only cares about two things: her family, and her family's graveyard. And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote Welsh village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to fae creatures known as the Otherfolk. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don't always stay dead.
The risen corpses are known as "bone houses," and legend says that…
Dread Nation is an alternate history in which the dead rise from the battlefields of Gettysburg. As the states struggle to deal with the undead crisis, black and native children are forced into combat schools and trained to defend wealthy white patrons. If you’re itching for a classic zombie apocalypse story with a twist, this is your book. Ireland’s writing is sharp, tight, and unflinching. This book is a fast-paced adventure full of ravenous zombie hoards and bold heroines. One thing I especially love about Dread Nation is the fight scenes which are frequent, bloody, and a whole lot of fun.
Trained at Miss Preston's School of Combat for Negro Girls in both weaponry and etiquette, Jane McKeene is poised for a successful career protecting the wealthy from the encroaching plague of walking dead. But when families begin to go missing, Jane uncovers a conspiracy that pits her against some powerful enemies. Sent far from home, Jane will need all her resourcefulness, wit and strength of character to survive.
A powerful, compelling tale of a young girl's journey through a hostile world, Jane McKeene is an unforgettable protagonist, and Dread Nation is an unforgettable book.
The Good Demon is unlike anything else I’ve read. It’s eerie, intimate, and spellbinding. Clare’s demon was her best friend, her Only, right up until her parents called a priest to cast the demon out. Now the only thing Clare wants is to get her demon back. It’s hard to say more about this book other than that it is very, very, good. The horror elements are scary in the way of abandoned houses and shadows seen from the corner of your eye. If you like your stories strange and moody and your characters flawed, you should definitely give this book a try.
It wasn't technically an exorcism, what they did to Clare. When
the reverend and his son ripped her demon from her, they called it a
"deliverance." But they didn't understand that Clare and her demon-known
simply as Her-were like sisters. She comforted Clare, made her feel
brave, helped to ease her loneliness. They were each other's Only.
Now, Clare's only comforts are the three clues that She left behind:
Be nice to him
June 20
Remember the stories
Clare will do anything to get Her back, even if it means teaming up with
the reverend's son and scouring every inch…
What makes a monster? Naya, the daughter of a merchant captain, nervously undertakes her first solo trading mission in the necromancer-friendly country bordering her homeland of Talmir. She never makes it to the meeting. She's struck down in the streets of Ceramor. Murdered.
But death is not the end. Naya awakens as a monstrous wraith—a ghostly creature bound by runes to the bones of her former corpse. She's been resurrected in secret to become a spy for her country. But she soon learns that neither her allies nor her enemies are who she thought they were. Grappling with her new identity, Naya must unbury the truth before those in power use her death to spark a war between Talmir and Ceramor.
I’ve adored reading a good snarky first-person story since I first read Bloodlist, so long as the snark doesn’t go too far and become total unlikeable jerk… It can be a fine line!I hope I stay on the right side of it, but having read it enough and written in it for years with my Blood Rights Series, I feel qualified to say I’m a…snark connoisseur. (If you ask my family, this is how my own internal/life narrator speaks! My mother says that my character Dakota is me if I “said everything aloud that I think in my head.” She’s probably right, and I’m okay with that.)
Bad Blood is paranormal suspense in First Person Snark, so if you like sarcastic, strong female characters set in a world where the preternatural is run amok (i.e., legal citizens in the United States), then this book and series are for you.
Follow Sadie Stanton–"poster girl for the preternatural"–as she deals with all sorts of messes and sets up her business while being a vampire in a new day...or night, really.
I’m Sadie Stanton, and I don’t know why everyone makes such a big deal out of me. I’m just like everyone else—I’m trying to start a business, not spending much time on my social life, and dealing with an obnoxious roommate...
Oh, and being a vampire. There’s that. But it’s okay, because we’re all legal now.
But believe me, that doesn’t make life easy. In fact, it might be harder now than ever before, but I did it to myself… And now vampires are attacking people seemingly at random and not even trying to feed. Everyone…
