I wasn’t one of those 80’s/90’s kids who grew up watching horror movies they maybe shouldn’t have seen until they were older. I was traumatized enough by the movies supposedly made for children during that time.
Don’t get me started on the Wheelers in Return to Oz. I was not a Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark or Goosebumps kid either. My second grade teacher chose a Goosebumps book to read aloud during our post-recess quiet time. I came back the next day with a note from my mom requesting I be allowed to leave the room, which I promptly did as soon as she started reading.
Growing older has desensitized me to a lot of things that would have once caused me to sleep with the lights on. Though I WILL NOT drape any limbs off the side of the bed. That’s just common sense. I do still have my limits because some of that $#*! is real.
The way I eased into it was not by jumping straight to Stephen King, but his overshadowed and underrated contemporary, Dean Koontz. His Odd Thomas series pulled me in with its quirky protagonist, witty banter, and enough humor to lighten those darker moments. Since then, I’ve made my way to The Shining and ‘Salem’s Lot and tend to fill my October reading line up with something I’d be better off reading in daylight.
My latest foray into horror has been to catch-up on some of the iconic movies that have trickled into so much of our pop culture. Friday the 13th, The Blair Witch Project, It, Poltergeist (which was much campier than I expected), and my favorite so far, Scream. This may be the only time a movie led me to the discovery of a book rather than the other by around. I’m already a fan of meta fiction, a book within a book.
Meta horror layers the jump-scares and slasher mayhem with another level of self-referential commentary on the well-worn horror tropes and often does something new with them. So if movies like Scream and Cabin in the Woods are your thing, then I know you will enjoy one of these.
My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
Shirley Jackson meets Friday the 13th. On the surface is a story of murder in small-town America. But beneath is its beating heart: a biting critique of American colonialism, Indigenous displacement, and gentrification, and a heartbreaking portrait of a broken young girl who uses horror movies to cope with the horror of her own life.
Jade Daniels lives in her own world, a world in which protection comes from an unusual source: horror movies...especially the ones where a masked killer seeks revenge on a world that wronged them. And Jade narrates the quirky history of Proofrock as if it is one of those movies. But when blood actually starts to spill into the waters of Indian Lake, she pulls us into her dizzying, encyclopedic mind of blood and masked murderers, and predicts exactly how the plot will unfold.
The Final Girls Support Group by Grady Hendrix
In horror movies, the final girl is the one who's left standing when the credits roll. The one who fought back, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends. The one who emerges bloodied but victorious, a victim and a hero. But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on, what happens to her? Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she's not alone.
For more than a decade she's been meeting with five other actual final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette's worst fears are realized-someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again. But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now, and no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife...they will never, ever give up.
Breathe In, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley
Hannah has been running from her demons ever since she emerged from a harrowing wilderness trip without her fiancé. No one knows exactly what happened the day Ben died, and Hannah would like to keep it that way...even if his ghost still haunts her with vivid waking nightmares that are ruining her life. So when her friend group gets an exclusive invitation to a restorative spiritual retreat in Joshua Tree, Hannah reluctantly agrees in search of a fresh start.
Despite her skepticism of the strange Guru Pax and his belief in the supernatural world, Hannah soon finds healing through all the yoga, sound baths, and hot springs offered at the tech-free haven. But this peaceful journey of self-discovery quickly descends into a violent fight for self-preservation when a mysterious killer starts picking off retreat attendees in increasingly gruesome ways.
As the body count rises and Hannah's sanity frays, she'll have to confront her dark past and uncover the true nature of a ruthless monster hellbent on killing her vibe for good.
Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay
In June 1993, a group of young guerilla filmmakers spent four weeks making Horror Movie, a notorious, disturbing, art-house horror flick. The weird part? Only three of the film's scenes were ever released to the public, but Horror Movie has nevertheless grown a rabid fanbase. Three decades later, Hollywood is pushing for a big budget reboot.
The man who played 'The Thin Kid' is the only surviving cast member. He remembers all too well the secrets buried within the original screenplay, the bizarre events of the filming, and the dangerous crossed lines on set that resulted in tragedy. As memories flood back in, the boundaries between reality and film, past and present start to blur. But he's going to help remake the film, even if it means navigating a world of cynical producers, egomaniacal directors, and surreal fan conventions--demons of the past be damned.
There’s No Way I’d Die First by Lisa Springer
Seventeen-year-old Noelle Layne knows horror. Every trope, every warning sign, every survival tactic. She even leads a successful movie club dedicated to the genre. Who better to throw the ultimate, most exclusive Halloween party on all of Long Island?
With some of the top influencers in her school on the guest list, including gorgeous singer-songwriter Archer Mitchell, her popularity is bound to spike. She could really use the social boost for an upcoming brand expansion.
Nothing is going to ruin this party. Except...maybe the low budget It clown she hired for a stirring round of tag. He axes one of her classmates. From the looks of his devilish grin and bag full of killer tricks, he's just getting started. A murderous clown is out for blood, but Noelle has been waiting her entire life to prove that she's a Final Girl.
