94 books like Read Us or Die

If you love Halloween like I do, this holiday horror collection from the twisted minds of some of today’s best horror authors will delight and scare you. The stories are short, fast-paced, entertaining, and shocking. Some of my favorites: A Wasted Pumpkin, Waiting for Death, The Hungry Child, Razorblade Smiles. Check this collection of flash fiction out. You’ll read it in one night. But keep the lights on!

Get your horror on! This collection of flash fiction will activate your taste buds like zombies drawn to fresh brains. These stories oozed from the brains of some of the best horror writers from around the world, the likes of Ramsey Campbell, Nate Kenyon, Tim Lebbon, William F. Nolan, Eric Guignard, Lisa Morton, Jack Ketchum, Nancy Kilpatrick, Del Howison, (yours truly) Fred Wiehe, and many more. Also, Mike Mignola of Hell Boy fame designed the cover art! I was honored to be included in this anthology and thoroughly enjoyed reading the other stories by these masters of horror.

This anthology features chilling stories written by an all-female cast of horror writers. If you think only male writers can deliver explicit and graphic horror, this anthology proves you wrong. These talented women do not pull punches and their stories are not for the faint of heart. My friend Reyna Young (aka Miss Misery—Hall of Fame Horror Host, Producer, Director, and Writer) edited this volume and contributed the story The Dinner Party. Another friend actress and writer Debra Lamb contributed Collectibles. If you want stories that will leave you screaming for more, read this volume.

I was honored to have appeared alongside F. Paul Wilson at a book signing for Dark Delicacies, the premiere horror bookshop in Burbank, CA. He autographed a copy of The Barrens and Others for me. That night, I took it back to my hotel room and devoured it. Mr. Wilson may not be the household name of Stephen King or Clive Barker, but he is just as talented. What makes this collection even better is Wilson's introductions to the stories. This is a first-rate collection of first-rate tales, ranging from Lovecraftian to Western supernatural, with many mysterious combinations in between. Read this book, and you will be a F. Paul Wilson fan for life.

The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin is a fun Halloween read, but more importantly a wonderful story that shows the importance of acceptance. Spookley is unlike any other pumpkin in the patch because he is square instead of round. At first, the other pumpkins tease Spookley and are unkind to him because he is different. After a storm blows in and Spookley saves the day, the other pumpkins realize it doesn’t matter what Spookley looks like, what matters is the kind of pumpkin he is and how he showed kindness to others.

This might just be my favorite graphic novel of all time, as well as one of my favorite crime stories, period. It combines two of my favorite genres, crime epics and murder mysteries, into one epic story with one amazing hook after another.

The theme of holiday-themed killing is fun, the Calander Man gives his best Hannibal Lecter impression, and the scope of the Mob’s reach in Gotham City is explored to perfection. Add to that the best Two-Face story of all time, alongside all of the Dark Knight’s other infamous rogues, and you get one of the best detective stories of all time.

It also helps that the late Tim Sale’s artwork remains second to none in the noir genre.

Prepare for spicy thrills and spooky chills, mystery, murder, and ghostly goings on in this ‘must-have’ seven-book collection. The first volume takes us to Briarwood Park, an English manor house stalked by a bloodthirsty madman, and a brooding duke accused of a wicked crime. The whole series features steamy, open-door bedroom scenes.

I am from Baltimore, where famous spooky writer Edgar Allan Poe lived and died right outside a bar I used to go to in my twenties (a few centuries before I ever went there!). Our football team is even named after his famous poem, "The Raven," and its mascots are named Edgar, Allan, and Poe. So of course I love this adorable book about a tiny raven who just won’t go to bed! Stucki’s illustrations make a kind of scary animal—a raven—very appealing to little kids. And everyone can relate to a kid not wanting to go to bed! There is a whole series of books by this duo covering different Poe stories, if you want a very literary Halloween.

I’m a huge John Carpenter fan, and until recently, I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t even know he had his own comic book label, Storm King Productions. This book is a graphic novel anthology, part of a series featuring Carpenter himself as well as other great writers. It's a fun, horrific ride in the vein of Creepshow. 

Paranormal investigators, a ghostly legend, and murder. That, in a nutshell, is what attracted me to this book. While the residents of South Bass Island prepare for Halloween festivities, the Elkhart Ghost Getters arrive in search of footage of the ghost of a prohibition bootlegger named Charlie “Sleepy” Harlow. Harlow was beheaded by rival bootleggers and his ghost is said to appear every Halloween in search of his head. A murder puts a damper on the festivities, causing the League of Literary Ladies to sprint into action. Forced by court order to spend time together in a book club, the three women in the League are now fast friends. I love the ingenuity of the main character as well as how they all work together to solve the murder.