Recently arrived horror fiction
Horror, like humanity itself, takes on countless forms. Explore these newly arrived stories for a taste of what's new in the genre.
And he shall appear - Kate van der Borgh
Our unnamed narrator arrives as a working-class music student at Cambridge. Feeling like an outsider, he quickly becomes enchanted by the charismatic and wealthy Bryn Cavendish, a talented magician who seems to wield a dark, unsettling influence over those around him. The narrative alternates between their time as students and the narrator's return to Cambridge years later, where he confronts the lingering ghosts of his past. A psychological thriller that blends elements of dark academia, gothic horror, and mystery to explore themes of toxic friendships, class, obsession, and the power of perception, leaving the reader questioning what is real and what is merely a trick.
A feminist retelling of Sheridan Le Fanu's classic vampire novella, Carmilla, set in Victorian England during the Industrial Revolution. The story follows Lenore, the unhappily married wife of a steel magnate. Their strained relationship and her dissatisfaction with her life intensify when a mysterious and alluring woman named Carmilla is brought to their remote country estate after a carriage accident. Carmilla awakens a suppressed hunger and desire within Lenore, even as girls from the local villages fall ill with a strange, ravenous affliction. As Lenore unravels the secrets of her household and her marriage, she is forced to confront her own desires and the monstrous potential within herself.
Things we lost in the fire - Mariana Enriquez
A collection of twelve gothic horror short stories from the author of The dangers of smoking in bed, weaving together the supernatural and the grotesque with the real-life horrors of post-dictatorship Argentina. The stories feature a range of female protagonists—from teenagers to middle-aged women—who navigate a world filled with ghosts, unexplained disappearances, urban decay, and rampant violence. Often unsettling, they blur the line between social realism and the macabre.
Wake up and open your eyes - Clay McLeod Chapman
Noah returns to his family's home in Virginia after his parents begin exhibiting strange behaviour linked to their consumption of far-right cable news, discovering that they, and others across the country, have succumbed to a kind of possession that is spread through media, turning them into violent, zombie-like hordes. A mix of biting commentary on misinformation and political division, and a social horror story that uses the metaphor of a demonic possession epidemic to explore the extreme polarisation of American society.
Greater sins - Gabrielle Griffiths
I915 in a remote, isolated community in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, an unlikely pair dig up a 'bog woman', the discovery sparking fear and superstition among the villagers, who believe it's an omen of bad luck. While Lizzie, a landowner's wife, and Johnny, a nomadic farmhand, try to uncover the identity of the body, their own shameful pasts threaten to come to light. Set against the looming backdrop of World War I, Griffiths explores horror through the lens of small town rumour, superstition, and forbidden desire.
In a future transformed by the mysterious "Soundfield" and extreme climate change, humanity is forced to live nocturnally due to deadly daytime heat and a constant, unsettling hum. Hannah is a brilliant scientist, desperate to protect her gifted, non-verbal son, Isaac from an authoritarian government that seeks children with special abilities for the "Atavism Project." Now Hannah must confront her past and decide who to trust in a world rife with scarcity and misinformation. This is a tense, emotionally charged thriller that offers a chillingly plausible vision of a future shaped by our present-day crises
Going home in the dark - Dean Koontz
When their childhood friend Ernie falls into a coma, Rebecca, Bobby and Spencer return to their idyllic hometown of Maple Grove. Soon the friends begin to remember a dark and murderous secret that they were somehow made to forget. As always, Koontz blends suspense, thrills and horror, with a touch of humour, exploring themes of buried childhood trauma and the power of friendship in the face of a terrifying, supernatural threat.
Anastasia Miller is a woman who has known since she was three that she is an alien plant sent to Earth as a vanguard. For years, no one believes her—until an alien signal is detected, and her 'people' are on their way. As the invasion looms, Stasia must grapple with where her loyalties lie, while also navigating the very real dangers posed by both the invading aliens and a paranoid, xenophobic human government. A thoughtful and at times gruesome exploration of what it means to be human and the lengths we will go to protect those we love.
