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.

For Tomorrow

I'm sure we all remember where we were when we heard the news about Wellbrook High; I know I do, much as I might want to forget some of the images from the TV news that night.

Now, over 30 years later, Dan Coxon has put together an anthology of stories about what happened after.

My story, 'Comments On This Video Have Been Disabled' is one of them, and I'm very proud of it, and that its alongside pieces from many other fine writers. But, given the situation, this isn't one I'll boast about too much; that doesn't feel proper. 

“We all live in the shadow of Wellbrook High – it’s been called the tragedy that defined a generation… That’s why this book feels so important, and so long overdue – as we go back to Wellbrook, and pay witness to those who had the courage and the strength and, yes, the simple luck to pull through. A timely work, and an urgent one.”
—Robert Shearman

You can pre-order For Tomorrow from Black Shuck Books here. 

Also features stories by C.C. Adams, Charlotte Bond, Phil Sloman, Lucie McKnight Hardy, Malcolm Devlin & Helen Marshall, Verity Holloway, Ray Cluley, Polis Loizou, Ashley Stokes, Daniel Carpenter & Penny Jones.

#wewillremember93

Recommendation: And So The Night Did Claim Them by Duncan P. Bradshaw

I've known Duncan Bradshaw for a few years, mainly for two things: his love of good beers and his fiction, a very distinctive blend of humour and over the top horror. His readings at conventions are always laugh-out-loud funny/groan-out-loud disgusting (check out Congratulations! You've Accidentally Summoned A World-Ending Monster. What Now?, a riff on the 'Choose Your Own Adventure' series, for an example). Fair to say, although we're both writing horror, our approaches our worlds apart...

So I was more than intrigued when Duncan approached me for a blurb for a forthcoming release which he said was... serious. I think he even used the 'literature' word. But even if he didn't, I will: And The Night Did Claim Them, from Black Shuck Books is a masterful piece of serious horror literature. It's still got moments of trademark Bradshaw humour, but now part of a story which is a dark and unrelenting slide towards doom. I genuinely loved it, and after some thought I had this to say about it:

“A creepy, absorbing novella about loss, regret, and the blackness awaiting us all. Bleak as hell; dark and silky as a pint of Guinness - I loved it.”

And I stand by every word.

(Disclaimer: I received some beer from the author as a thank-you for this blurb, which was 8% and gave me a mild headache and some grumpiness the next morning. What a bastard. Don't buy his books.)

And The Night Did Claim Them (Pre-Order)

Recommendation: Terrible Things by David Surface

The world's a crazy, somewhat scarier place than it was just a few weeks back (and it was hardly a bed of sanity & roses then) and there's little I can do about 99% of it all. But like everyone, authors and small-presses will be affected by coronavirus and its economic impacts, especially those launching books at now-cancelled conventions. So I'm going to periodically post about some of those books on here, and encourage you to throw some money their way if you can.

First off is Terrible Things by David Surface, published by Black Shuck Books. I was actually asked to blurb this book, so here is what I had to say:

"David Surface’s first short story collection is a reason to rejoice for all lovers of disturbing, off-beat, and ghostly fiction. Well-written and multi-layered, these stories are unpredictable in the best possible way: the author doesn’t allow the cliches of the genre to dilute his own personal vision. Put simply, these stories are some of the very best weird fiction has to offer."

And I stand by every word. You can preorder Terrible Things here.

Recommendation: The Finite by Kit Power

Well, fuck.

I recommend books for all kinds of reasons on here: the plot, the characterisation, the quality of the prose, the intellectual and thematic ideas underpinning the whole. (Normally, of course, if it's worth recommending it's for more than one element.) Fancy ideas which really all come down to one thing: did the book make an emotion impression on me? Will I remember scenes or dialogue or just the general feel of it? Has it, in however small a way, changed me?

I'll be remembering scenes from Kit Power's novella The Finite for a long time, I think. This one is going to linger. It's going to be hard to forget the ashy taste of it under my tongue, the gritty feel of it on my skin. It combines a real & genuine evocation of parental love with a gut-wrenching sense of absolute fucking fatalism and despair.

So look, you can read the blurb yourself, but basically The Finite is about a nuclear bomb going off and a father and daughter who survive the initial blast but have absorbed a fatal dose of radiation poison anyway. It's about their last, finite span of time together with that knowledge, and it's absolutely as devastating and soul-destroying as that sounds. (And, to repeat: it's also a book about love.)

It hardly needs to be said, this could all have gone horribly wrong. One false note, one poorly written scene or cliched character decision, and the whole thing would have become ridiculous and bathetic and easily ignored. But Power doesn't put a foot wrong, and so he succeeds in writing one of the most bleak and terrible things I've read since The Road. He succeeds in changing me in those small and awful and glorious ways that good fiction can. He succeeds into making horror into art.

And because it needs to be said a third time: this is also a story about love. And you should read it.

The Finite: Black Shuck Books

Edge-Lit 8

I'll be at the Edge-Lit convention again this year—always a fantastic day. I'll be around for most of the day mingling, eating, drinking, not-winning the raffle, and no doubt buying books. Plus! I'm also part of these programmed events:

3pm – Black Shuck Books – Book Launch
The official launch for Pareidolia, edited by myself and Dan Howarth, alongside The Finite by Kit Power.

4pm – Multi-Publisher Horror Book Launch
Launches for titles from Dark Minds Press, The Sinister Horror Company, and Hersham Horror who are releasing The Woods with a story from me, and others by Cate Gardner, Mark West, Penny Jones and Phil Sloman.


Hope to see a bunch of you there. Say hi!

Announcing... Pareidolia!

So, I'm really pleased to be able to announce this: coming this summer is Pareidolia, a new anthology I've edited (alongside co-editor Dan Howarth).

Pareidolia contains stories on that very theme, a phenomena which has long fascinated me and which has formed the basis of many a horror and weird fiction tale. And when you see the contributors you'll appreciate what a huge thrill it's been to be able to read stories this good before the rest of the world! 

Big thanks to Steve Shaw at Black Shuck Books for publishing this. It will be formally launched at EdgeLit 8 on the 13th July—you can preorder it before then from Black Shuck Books..

The blurb, wonderful cover art, and TOC is below:

Have you ever seen figures in the clouds, heard voices in the sound of a detuned TV, recognised faces made by the shadows in the corner of a room?

Pareidolia is the phenomenon where the mind perceives shapes, or hears voices, where none apparently exist. But what if what you were seeing was really there? What if the voice you heard really was speaking to you, calling you?

Pareidolia contains new dark and surreal stories by Tim Major, G.V. Anderson, Sarah Read and many more.

Step inside, and see if you see what they do.

Featuring: Into the Wood ~ Sarah Read | Joss Papers for Porcelain Ghosts ~ Eliza Chan | What Can You Do About a Man Like That? ~ Tim Major | The Lonely ~ Rich Hawkins | A Shadow Flits ~ Carly Holmes | The Butchery Tree ~ G.V. Anderson | The Lens of Dying ~ Charlotte Bond | How to Stay Afloat When Drowning ~ Daniel Braum | Geode ~ Rosanne Rabinowitz | House of Faces ~ Andrew David Barker

Recommendation: Black Shuck Shadows Double Bill

I recently had the pleasure of reading two volumes from the Black Shuck Shadows line: The Death Of Boys by Gary Fry and Broken On The Inside by Phil Sloman. Each book in this series features 3-6 stories from a single author, all based loosely around a theme.

The Death Of Boys was a fun collection of stories. I've read a lot of Fry's fiction by now, and I think it's fair to say that much of it consciously & deliberately 'announces' its thematic concerns—I don't mean this as a criticism, it's his style. But the stories here felt a lot more like Fry was just playing with horror tropes, having fun, writing his equivalent of a horror B-movie. (Again, not a criticism.) Which isn't to say that thematic concerns don't crop up—it's probably no surprise from the title that these tales focus on boyhood, parenthood, growing up, adulthood, and death. 'Zappers' is the story of a young boy apparently hit by lightning yet seeming to suffer no ill-effects (initially). 'Cat-B' concerns that most boyish/masculine obsession, cars, and seems to be Fry's version of Stephen King's 'bad car' stories Christine and From A Buick 8. As good as these two preceding stories were, it's the final tale, 'The House Of The Rising Son', that really impressed me. Again, it plays with some relatively standard horror tropes to begin with, but builds to something that's both nightmarish and thematically apt—indeed it seems to both sum up and interrogate the themes Fry has been exploring for the entire collection. Exhilarating stuff.

Phil Sloman's Broken On The Inside is a collection of stories based around the theme of mental health, or lack thereof, giving us five tales of people damaged, at odds with reality, hunted, haunted or just struggling to cope. Unfortunately, I can't say too much about one of the stories here, 'Virtually Famous'—not because it's not good (it's the joint-best here, IMO) but because it was first published in Imposter Syndrome so I'm biased. I've no reason to be biased about the rest of the stories though, and I can say that they are also bloody good. Sloman switches effortlessly between surreal black comedy—see especially 'Discomfort Food'—and more ambiguous, serious work. Both 'Virtually Famous' and my other favourite here, the title story, mix the psychological with a sort of near-future techno-horror, to produce narratives where the distinction between what is real and imagined blurs and fractures. 'Broken On The Inside' is a the story that has a touch of Cronenberg about it, a touch of Black Mirror about it, of Roald Dahl's adult stories and old-school sci-fi. It's well worth a read.

The Death Of Boys (UK | US)
Broken On The Inside (UK | US)

New Story: Once & Ever After

Once & Ever After is a story that's taken a looooooong time to be born. I wrote the introduction way back when I was a student, but for years after never made any further progress with it. I was probably too immature, too unskilled a writer to do so.

Then, maybe about five years ago I finished a version of it I liked. I was still uncertain about it though, both because of its uncommercial length (around 10k) and the fact it was something I felt quite different to my normal work: it's set in the modern day but is based around tropes from old classic fairy tales. It also uses an omniscient narrator for some scenes (including the decades old intro), a far cry from my usual tight third or first person POV.

But, the first beta-reader I sent it to was very enthusiastic about it, not just praising it but wanting to publish it themselves. For various, non-sinister reasons, this fell through, and the story was in limbo for a fear years while I focussed on getting my more horror/weird focussed work submitted. But I'm pleased to say Once & Ever After has now found a home, as part of a new anthology from Black Shuck Books, KnightWatch Gallery. The book comprises of four stories previously published as limited edition chapbooks, from Gary McMahon, Sean T. Page, Jasper Bark and Lily Childs, with mine an additional, unpublished bonus story. Many thanks to Black Shuck head honcho Steve Shaw for his hard work on this book, and allowing Once & Ever After to finally be released into the world...

Blurb & links below:

Once upon a time we lived happily ever after. Or so we are told…

Real life isn’t a fairy tale, not even for Tabatha who lives in a house like a palace, with a father who buys her anything she wants… and certainly not for the other Tabatha, who lives in a house like a hovel with a father who’s an ogre. Two girls who look almost identical…

Real life isn’t a fairy tale; but sometimes maybe people do get what they deserve, in the end.

You can buy it at the Black Shuck Books site here or Amazon (UK | US)

Ellen Datlow Honorable* Mentions

Ellen Datlow's annual Honorable* Mentions list has been published, and I'm sure I'm not the only writer who scrolls down the alphabetical list to where my name might be before reading the whole thing...

So this year I was bowled over to see that my story 'A Glimpse Of Red' from Great British Horror #1 sitting at the end of the Es—my second mention. And not only that, but three stories from The Hyde Hotel (edited by myself and Dan Howarth) were also selected; richly deserved congratulations to Simon Bestwick, Ray Cluley and Amelia Mangan!

Being less self-centred, it's great to see stories from so many friends and excellent writers included. Of the ones I've read on the list I particularly liked those by Eliza Chan, Kristi DeMeester, Malcolm Devlin, Cate Gardner, Carole Johnstone, V.H. Leslie, S.P. Miskowski, Ralph Robert Moore, Simon Kurt Unsworth, D.P. Watt, Michael Wehunt, and A.C. Wise.

You can read the whole list here (Pt 1, Pt 2, Pt 3)

* this is the only occasion on which I'll be using the American spelling :)

Green & Pleasant Land: Paperback Edition & New Review

The anthology Great British Horror 1: Green & Pleasant Land has just been released in a new paperback edition, and a new review from This Is Horror has some kind words about the book overall and my contribution, 'A Glimpse Of Red':

"...a very ambitious piece about alienation, unreliable memory, and paranoia... Another excellent story from a writer who, though he has been working steadily in dark fiction for a number of years, seems set to gain even greater recognition." (Full review here.)

'A Glimpse Of Red' is a story that seems more timely to me now than when I wrote it. Its central character is an foreginer out of place in the confusing and vaguely sinister place in which she finds herself: modern Britain. In this post-Brexit, post-Jo Cox, immigrant-bashing, Trump-appeasing 2017, I'm increaingly feeling this country, my home, is baffling and sinister too.

Green and Pleasant Land is an anthology I am proud to have been a part of, featuring as it does a wealth of home-grown talent, including V.H. Leslie, Jasper Bark, Ray Cluley, Simon Kurt Unsworth and Laura Mauro.

Great British Horror 1: Green and Pleasant Land  Paperback (UK | US) | Kindle (UK | US)

A fantastic review of The Hyde Hotel over at Matthew Fryer's Hellforge site:

"This book succeeds on both premise and delivery. It plays on the fact that inner-city hotels are a functional if soulless segment of many people’s lives, and uses this familiarity as a canvas for horror. Anything could be hiding in all those empty rooms..."

It then goes on to praise all of the authors' contributions. It's a really well-written and perceptive review, too – even I learnt something new about The Hyde...

You can read the full review here.

Hyde Happenings

As readers of this blog will know, The Hyde Hotel (edited by myself and Dan Howarth) was released by Black Shuck Books last week. It seems to be doing well so far, hitting several Amazon top tens and also getting it's first review over on Anthony Watson's Dark Musings site:

"... this is an impressive collection of stories and one that provided an excellent start to 2016... a hugely satisfying anthology." (full review here)

Dan and I also recorded an interview talking all things Hyde with Michael Wilson over at This Is Horror, which you can listen to here. We're grilled on the genesis of the idea, the practicalities of seeing it to fruition, and I also get asked which author most intimidates me...

The Hyde Hotel is available now from Black Shuck Books.

The Hyde Hotel is OPEN...

The Hyde Hotel officially opens its doors today. Published by Black Shuck Books, it's the first anthology I've ever edited (alongside Dan Howarth). I first had the idea for a book of stories all set in the same hotel a number of years ago, and it's taken awhile to bring to fruition... So big thanks must go to Theresa Derwin, Steve Shaw, and most importantly to all the authors involved who put up with a few delays and all contributed such fine stories. It's genuinely one of the books I'm most proud of being part of.

The Hyde Hotel is available in both ebook and paperback formats - all links at the Black Shuck Books website.


The Hyde Hotel Welcomes You…

The Hyde Hotel looks almost exactly as you’d expect it to: a faceless, budget hotel in a grey city you are just passing through. A hotel aimed at people travelling alone, a hotel where you know so little about your fellow guests that they could be anyone… and where, perhaps, so could you. But sometimes things are hiding in plain sight, and not everyone who stays at The Hyde gets a good night’s sleep…
Enjoy your stay.

Table of Contents

• CHECKING IN  by James Everington
• THE VIEW FROM THE BASEMENT  by Alison Littlewood
• NIGHT PORTERS  by Iain Rowan
• TICK BOX  by Dan Howarth
• THE EDIFICE OF DUST  by Amelia Mangan
• LOST AND FOUND  by S P Miskowski
• HOUSEKEEPING  by Ray Cluley
• SOMETHING LIKE BLOOD  by Alex Davis
• THE COYOTE CORPORATION’S MISPLACED SONG  by Cate Gardner
• WRATH OF THE DEEP  by Simon Bestwick
• THE SEALED WINDOW  by Mark West
• THE BLUE ROOM  by V H Leslie
• CHECKING OUT  by James Everington

The Hyde Hotel Welcomes YOU

So, a bit of an announcement. Really pleased to say that the first anthology I've edited (well, co-edited) will be out next year from Black Shuck Books. THE HYDE HOTEL features horror and weird fiction about guests all staying in the same hotel. As you can see from the contents below there's a fantastic list of contributors. I hope some of you will consider a stay at The Hyde.

Reservations from 07/01/2016.

THE HYDE HOTEL:
James Everington - Checking In
Alison Littlewood​ - The View From The Basement
Iain Rowan​ - Night Porters
Dan​ Howarth - Tick Box
Amelia Mangan​ - The Edifice Of Dust
S.P. Miskowski​ - Lost & Found
Ray Cluley​ - Housekeeping
Alex Davis​ - Something Like Blood
Cate Gardner​ - The Coyote Corporation's Misplaced Song
Simon Bestwick​ - Wrath Of The Deep
Mark West​ - The Sealed Window
V.H. Leslie​ - The Blue Room
James Everington - Checking Out