Top 10 Horror Reads 2024

It's been awhile since I did any book recommendations on here, so I thought I'd see if I could come up with my favourite horror reads of 2024. After some deliberation, and in no particular order, here's the result:

Last Night Of Freedom, Dan Howarth (Northern Republic)

A story of a stag-do gone horribly wrong (and not in the strippers and vodka shots kind of way) this was like an English version of Deliverance and it kept me absolutely gripped all the way through. Bloody violent and bloody good.

The End, Kayleigh Dobbs (Black Shuck Books)

A mini-collection in the Black Shuck Shadows range, featuring six tales about the end of, well, everything. Who can end the world six different ways and still keep you guessing until the last page? Kayleigh Dobbs can. 

Stone Gods, Adam Golaski (NO Press)

Adam Golaski might be the most underrated author working in horror/weird fiction at the moment? Maybe it's because he's surreal as much as scary, or maybe it's because he's not exactly prolific—I think this is his second collection of such fiction. And like his first, Worse Than Myself, Stone Gods contains many tales that demonstrate what a travesty that like of recognition is.

Subject 11, Jeffrey Thomas 

An author new to me, and one I immediately vibed with, if that's the right word. This is a novella-length work about ten people undergoing some weird kind of experiment where they're living together in an abandoned factory. Identify-warping weirdness ensues. Loved it.

The Weird Tales Boys, Stephen Jones (PS Publishing)

A book about horror rather than a horror book, this tells the story of Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and Robert E. Howard, and also the broader story of Weird Tales magazine and pulp publishing at the time. Odd praise for a nonfiction book, but I found it a real page-turner. I knew a bit about HPL's life but not really the others, so some of the tragedy they faced was an actual shock to me.

Dirt Upon My Skin, Steve Toase (Black Shuck Books)

A mini-collection in the Black Shuck Shadows range (hey wow, deja-vu...), each of the stories here is a weird and twisted take on the theme of archeology. Original, well-written, creeps you out - what more could you ask for?

Uncertainties 7, ed. Carly Holmes (Swan River Press)

It's kind of hard to praise an un-themed horror anthology in a couple of sentences without just going 'all the stories are amazing!' but guess what: here, all the stories really are amazing. The Uncertainties series continues to set the bar for original, literate horror fiction in the short story form.

Ivy Grimes Grime Time, Ivy Grimes (Tales From Between)

I'd never heard of Ivy Grimes at the start of 2024, but she's firmly on my radar at the start of this year, based on this mini collection and a smattering of other stories I read in various places online. I hate the word quirky, normally, but it seems to fit these well-written, messed-up and psychological messy tales.

Charlie Says, Neil Williamson (Black Shuck Books)

The minute I read the description of this—basically, urban folk-horror based around the fears and implied rituals of those fuck-creepy 70s public information films—I pre-ordered it. (The fact it's by the always great Neil Williamson was a selling point, too.) And it very very much rewarded me for doing so.

The Return, Rachel Harrison (Holder & Stoughton)

An utterly brilliant horror debut, mixing a creepy hotel, a changed person who's returned after they vanished, and a subtle, funny, and realistic depiction of female friendships, this is really creepy and compulsively readable.

Favourite Short Stories 2024

2024 - quite a year, huh? But it means it's time for my annual favourite short stories of the year post. Same 'rules' as before (you can find links to lists from previous years here). For each story, I've linked to the publication where I read the story, which isn't always where they were first published. Enjoy!

J.G. Ballard: Memories Of The Space Age (The Penguin Book Of Modern British Short Stories, Penguin)

James Bennett: The Apostle (The Dark #113)

Elizabeth Bowen: The Demon Lover (here)

Sasha Brown: This Party Fucking Sucks (Sans. Press website)

A.M. Burrage: Smee (Moon Mausoleum site)

Daniel Carpenter: Habitual (For Tomorrow, Black Shuck Books)

Vivian Chu: Perfect Vaca, No Filter (Flash Fiction Online)

Dan Coxon: Bumblethatch (Come Sing For The Harrowing, Weird Little Worlds)

Dan Coxon: Vile Jelly (Come Sing For The Harrowing, Weird Little Worlds)

Ray Cluley: As I Want You To Be (For Tomorrow, Black Shuck Books)

Malcolm Devlin & Helen Marshall: Finger & Palm (For Tomorrow, Black Shuck Books)

Kayleigh Dobbs: Omega (The End, Black Shuck Books)

Kayleigh Dobbs: Catch Fire (The End, Black Shuck Books)

Steve Duffy: Screen Burn (Supernatural Tales #53)

Steve Duffy: Home For Christmas (Supernatural Tales #54)

Corinne Engber: Satellite Office (Stranger, Sans. Press)

Kim Fu: Bridezilla (Oprah Daily)

J.L. George: Star Jelly (Mouthfeel Fiction #2)

Adam Golaski: Refridgerator-drone (Stone Gods, No Press)

Adam Golaski: Open Houses (Stone Gods, No Press)

Adam Golaski: The Great Blind God Passed Through Us (Stone Gods, No Press)

Helen Grant: Nabrok (Supernatural Tales #54)

Ivy Grimes: The Food Fellow (Ivy Grimes' Grime Time, Tales From Between)

Ivy Grimes: Picturing Her Hands (Ivy Grimes' Grime Time, Tales From Between)

Ivy Grimes: Shadow Dress (Cover)

Lucie McKnight Hardy: Carrion (For Tomorrow, Black Shuck Books)

David Hartley: Anama (Stranger, Sans. Press)

Philippa Holloway: Subject Matter (Uncertainties 7, Swan River Press)

Dan Howarth: Minutes Of The AGM (Bleakwood podcast)

Ted Hughes: The Rain Horse (The Penguin Book Of Modern British Short Stories, Penguin)

Kazuo Ishiguro: A Family Supper (The Penguin Book Of Modern British Short Stories, Penguin)

Shirley Jackson: Nightmare (Just An Ordinary Day, Penguin)

Shirley Jackson: The Story We Used To Tell (Just An Ordinary Day, Penguin)

Shirley Jackson: Mrs Melville Makes A Purchase (Just An Ordinary Day, Penguin)

Shirley Jackson: One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts (Just An Ordinary Day, Penguin)

Timothy J. Jarvis: A Copy Of A Copy Is Like A Memory Deteriorating (Carmen Et Error #9.5)

Michael Kelly: The Night Will Let In (The Dark #114)

Oliviah Lawrence: Pickles (Roi Faineant Press)

Alison Littlewood: The Operculum Necklace (The Dark #111)

Roger Luckhurst: You (Supernatural Tales #56)

Rachel Abbey McCafferty: I Start My Day By Reading An Article About Climate Change (Maudlin House)

Ian McEwan: Solid Geometries (First Love, Last Rites, Picador)

Katie McIvor: Once There Was Water (The Dark #111)

Gary McMahon: All The Things We Never Said (Weird Horror #8, Undertow)

Gary McMahon: A Sitting Tennant (Strange Little Stories newsletter)

James Machin: The Borges Society (Supernatural Tales #53)

Tim Major: Ends Abruptly (Uncertainties 7, Swan River Press)

Laura Mauro: In The Kingdom Of Flowers (author's website)

Laura Mauro: Wiremother (The Dark #112)

Alison Moore: Rigor (Weird Horror #8, Undertow)

Mark Morris: Sad Face (Uncertainties 7, Swan River Press)

Lauren Mulvihill: Myself And I Alone (Stranger, Sans. Press)

Diana Olney: Underworld Essentials (Small Wonders)

Sara Omer: The Sea-Change (The Dark #109)

Eva Papasoulioto: In Blue Light (Uncanny #57)

Carl Rosenberg: The Good Old Days (Uncertainties 7, Swan River Press)

Sarah Royston: Long Player (Fernseed, The Brag)

Sarah Royston: The Well At The End Of The World (Fernseed, The Brag)

Martin Ruff: Braunhoffer's Coaches (Supernatural Tales #56)

Salman Rushdie: The Prophet's Hair (The Penguin Book Of Modern British Short Stories, Penguin)

Steve Shell: What Would You Do With This Room? (Twitter)

Robert Shearman: Lo! He Abhors Not The Virgin's Womb (We All Hear Stories In The Dark, PS Publishing)

Clive Sinclair: Bedbugs (The Penguin Book Of Modern British Short Stories, Penguin)

Phil Sloman: Fourteen (author's website)

Michael Marshall Smith: The Handover (The Best Of Michael Marshall Smith, Subterranean Press)

Michael Marshall Smith: The Gist (The Best Of Michael Marshall Smith, Subterranean Press)

Michael Marshall Smith: They Also Serve (The Best Of Michael Marshall Smith, Subterranean Press)

Michael Marshall Smith: Author Of The Death (The Best Of Michael Marshall Smith, Subterranean Press)

Muriel Spark: The House Of The Famous Poet (The Penguin Book Of Modern British Short Stories, Penguin)

Ashley Stokes: The Crumbling Edifice (For Tomorrow, Black Shuck Books)

C.J. Subko: Any Good Surface (Small Wonders)

Graham Swift: Seraglio (The Penguin Book Of Modern British Short Stories, Penguin)

Tia Tashiro: Mirage In Double Vision (Uncanny #58)

Jeffrey Thomas: Still Life With Extinct Animals (The Offspring Of Nightmares)

Jeffrey Thomas: He Shall Put On The Semblance Of Man (The Offspring Of Nightmares)

Mary Thorson: Lockerbie, 1988 (Cotton Xenomorph)

Mary Thorson: American Girl Doll (Reckon Review)

Steve Toase: The Ercildoun Accord (Dirt Upon My Skin, Black Shuck Books)

Steve Toase: Traverse (Dirt Upon My Skin, Black Shuck Books)

Steve Toase: Breach! (Dirt Upon My Skin, Black Shuck Books)

Molly Wadkins: I And Myself (Spillwords Press site)

Rebecca Weinert: Rent (Stranger, Sans. Press)

Neil Williamson: Bunting (The Dark #113)

Angus Wilson: More Friend Than Lodger (The Penguin Book Of Modern British Short Stories, Penguin)

Millionaires Day

So, Kit Power's latest book is an odd one, even for him. You'll have seen the title of this post - "Millionaires Day" - and already had a reaction I'm sure. Either you remember that day vividly (despite the fact that, post-Covid, no one ever seems to talk about it) or you'll be denying it ever happened, that it was all just internet bollocks. Two tribes.

I was reluctant to even post this piece, to be honest. I'll probably not check my DMs for awhile after it goes live.

But Kit's wrote a whole book about it, so god knows what his messages are going to be like.

The book's being marketed as 'fiction' for reasons obvious to anyone who's spent any time on the internet (especially that message-board...) so, yeah - fiction. Sure. So as part of Kit's research for his FICTIONAL book he asked some fellow writers to send him their FICTIONAL recollections of that time. I don't know in what mischievous and ingenious ways Kit will have used what I sent him, but I thought I'd post the original piece on here to help promote Millionaires Day (which is being formally launched at FantasyCon in Chester in a few weeks). 

So: this is just a piece of make believe, if that's what you want to think. Just a story. Don't @ me.

#millionairesday

Did it happen? I remember it happening, but when I look online, at what other people apparently think they remember, I’m not sure how much proof that is.

When I go outside to my—well, it’s not a garden, but the few metres of dead grass I call a garden—when I go outside to the garden, I still expect to see the black scorch marks. Look up and I still expect to see smoke, and that the sky might snow this winter. But there are no scorch marks, and we’ve fucked the weather too much for snow.

But what I do remember is this: how surreal it seemed, after having made a cuppa from yesterday's reused tea-bag, after having checked the expiration date on the dried noodles I’d got from the food-bank despite the fact that I'd nothing else and would have to eat them regardless… - I remember how surreal it felt to find all that money under my sagging bed. Finding a tenner would have been cause for celebration; finding all that—I felt elated, but scared too, almost. Like something had gone wrong and I’d be held accountable.

I unlocked my phone, to open social media—because that’s what you do, isn’t it, when something special or untoward happens? You check social media. But it was down, all of it. Every site. I reasoned I’d just not paid some bill or other. I looked again at the case of money under my bed; I could pay those bills and debts now. More importantly, I could eat.

But I still felt uneasy. Like when someone gives you something and you’ve not got a gift to give them back. Or like when you have to go to a food bank.

I took some of the money, planning to buy a load of booze—and I mean a load—and food. It was only when I left the house I realised that what had happened to me hadn’t only happened to me. Already half he shops were shut as the owners partied, and in those that remained open the prices—felt-tipped over the original, printed ones— looked as surreal as the cash under my bed had done. I bought the booze but not the food; back home I had vintage Champagne and Hakushu whisky and dried, out-of-date noodles… and I felt a bitterness as I heard the cheers and whoops from outside. Everyone else was doing the same as me, minus the noodles. I’d felt special for a moment, different, but barely hours later I was back to being the same as everyone else, but shitter.

I remember, I’m sure I do, that I took the case of money outside to the ‘garden’, poured BBQ fluid over it, and set it alight. As the black smoke rose into the sky I looked up and saw that it had started to snow—in my drunken vision it looked like a blizzard and it was like I’d caused it, like because of me we’d have a white Christmas. Because of me.

And then I saw the swirls and eddies of black smoke rising up all over the estate, and I shouted swear words at all the other fuckers, all the other trapped fuckers like me running down the same rat-runs, and then I must have blacked out or passed out—stupid, I don’t even like Champagne—and when I woke up my tiny garden was blackened and sooty, but the sky, the sky was still snowing and we did have a white Christmas, all of us, despite what the weather records say that year.

That’s what I remember.

'Hell Is' - Supernatural Tales 56

Pleased to say my story, 'Hell Is', appears in the latest issue of Supernatural Tales, edited by David Longhorn. This is my fourth appearance in ST, so I must be doing something right.
 

Supernatural Tales #56, (UK | US)

Print Versions 

(Cover art by Sam Dawson)