Tag: horror

Kate’s Review: “On Sundays She Picked Flowers”

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Book: “On Sundays She Picked Flowers” by Yah-Yah Scholfield

Publishing Info: Saga Press, January 2026

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: In this sinister and surreal Southern Gothic debut, a woman escapes into the uncanny woods of southern Georgia and must contend with ghosts, haints, and most dangerous of all, the truth about herself.

When Judith Rice fled her childhood home, she thought she’d severed her abusive mother’s hold on her. She didn’t have a plan or destination, just a desperate need to escape. Drawn to the forests of southern Georgia, Jude finds shelter in a house as haunted by its violent history as she is by her own.

Jude embraces the eccentricities of the dilapidated house, soothing its ghosts and haints, honoring its blood-soaked land. And over the next thirteen years, Jude blossoms from her bitter beginnings into a wisewoman, a healer.

But her hard-won peace is threatened when an enigmatic woman shows up on her doorstep. The woman is beautiful but unsettling, captivating but uncanny. Ensnared by her desire for this stranger, Jude is caught off guard by brutal urges suddenly simmering beneath her skin. As the woman stirs up memories of her escape years ago, Jude must confront the calls of violence rooted in her bloodline.

Haunting and thought-provoking, On Sunday She Picked Flowers explores retribution, family trauma, and the power of building oneself back up after breaking down.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel!

I love stumbling upon titles that come out of nowhere for me, and that is exactly what happened with Yah-Yah Scholfield’s horror novel “On Sundays She Picked Flowers”. I saw it on various book influencer posts, and after seeing multiple people recommend it I decided to give it a go. I was intrigued by the idea of haints and a woman running away from an abusive situation, and jumped in, only to find that this book was a lot heavier than I thought it would be.

When it comes to the supernatural elements in this book, I really enjoyed the Southern Gothic feel, combining an unexpected haunted house story along with some interesting folk lore and dark romance to top it off. Our protagonist is Jude, a woman escaping her life with her abusive and violent mother Ernestine and fleeing to the backwoods of Georgia, where she finds a strange house haunted by ghosts and haints that only she can tame. A haunted house story is already great in my book, but Scholfield brought a distinctly Black and Southern vibe to it that made it stand out from other haunted house tales that I’ve read in the past. The house is menacing but doesn’t really come off as evil, and watching Jude slowly gain its trust and tame it in her own way to become an independent and confident woman that works in tandem with the beings inside was really neat. There is also the character of Nemoira, a mysterious woman who approaches Jude’s home one day, which begins a steamy and dark romance between Jude and this otherworldly stranger. This isn’t particularly romantic and has a lot of issues, but ultimately I found their romance to be incredibly interesting, even as some truths come to light that are on the more supernatural side.

But the very true horrors of this novel live within the very real horrors of reality, specifically with the themes of generational trauma, racism, and child abuse, as well as sexual assault and incest. Jude’s story is one that is at the forefront, and we are presented with a bleak and absolutely upsetting reality of her being abused by her mother Ernestine her entire life until she finally retaliates and then flees after the fact. But Scholfield doesn’t want to make it such a cut and dry situation with Jude being wholly good and Ernestine being wholly bad, managing to walk a fine line in portraying a fraught and violent relationship that has a lot of dark influences that aren’t all within the fault and control of the two people who are involved. I found the slow reveal of Ernestine’s background to be shattering, but also appreciated that there were no excuses for her behaviors. It’s a tough read to be sure, so my advice is to go in with the knowledge that there are lots of tough and triggering beats and plot points. They’re handled well, I felt, but it’s still good to know.

“On Sundays She Picked Flowers” is a harrowing horror tale that had me totally on edge as I read it. It’s a difficult one, but one I ultimately found rewarding.

Rating 8: A dark and upsetting Southern Gothic horror tale that has dark romance, generational trauma, and an interesting mythology. It chilled me to the bone.

Reader’s Advisory:

“On Sundays She Picked Flowers” is included on the Goodreads lists “Queer Horror”, and “Black Speculative Fiction”.

Book Club Review: “The Hacienda”

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Book: “The Hacienda” by Isabel Cañas

Publishing Info: Berkley, May 2022

Where Did We Get This Book: The library!

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: In the overthrow of the Mexican government, Beatriz’s father is executed and her home destroyed. When handsome Don Rodolfo Solórzano proposes, Beatriz ignores the rumors surrounding his first wife’s sudden demise, choosing instead to seize the security his estate in the countryside provides. She will have her own home again, no matter the cost.

But Hacienda San Isidro is not the sanctuary she imagined.

When Rodolfo returns to work in the capital, visions and voices invade Beatriz’s sleep. The weight of invisible eyes follows her every move. Rodolfo’s sister, Juana, scoffs at Beatriz’s fears—but why does she refuse to enter the house at night? Why does the cook burn copal incense at the edge of the kitchen and mark its doorway with strange symbols? What really happened to the first Doña Solórzano?

Beatriz only knows two things for certain: Something is wrong with the hacienda. And no one there will help her.

Desperate for help, she clings to the young priest, Padre Andrés, as an ally. No ordinary priest, Andrés will have to rely on his skills as a witch to fight off the malevolent presence haunting the hacienda and protect the woman for whom he feels a powerful, forbidden attraction. But even he might not be enough to battle the darkness.

Far from a refuge, San Isidro may be Beatriz’s doom.

Serena’s Thoughts

I’ve had this one on my TBR for a while now, ever since reading Kate’s review and thinking that it sounded like my sort of horror novel (that is, on the gothic side and only mildly horrific!). So when my prompt for book club was ghosts (guess whose prompt that was…), I knew that this was my opportunity, and boy did it not disappoint!

There was so much to love about this book that I’m not sure where to start. One thing really stood out, however: I don’t know enough about this location and point in history. The historical setting and events of the time played a crucial role in much of the story, and while the book didn’t go into tons of detail, I really enjoyed what we did see. For one thing, I liked the careful handling of the realities of so many revolutions. Often, they don’t end when they “end,” and there are rarely sides that are completely in the right or wrong, or who won’t switch positions on the moral compass as a conflict progresses. I didn’t expect to see these themes in a gothic ghost story, but I definitely enjoyed them!

I also really enjoyed our two main characters. Beatriz was brave but believably mystified about how to handle her increasingly terrifying prospects. And while Andres brings many answers to the situation, even he is challenged by the extreme horror of the situation before them. I really enjoyed the relationship that was built up between them, and the story took a surprisingly romantic turn toward the end of the book.

The gothic elements were also on point. The house itself was a character in and of itself (something that I think is almost a requirement for any haunted house story), and just when you think you have a handle on the mysteries, another wrench is thrown into the situation.

I really enjoyed this one! So much so that I definitely plan on checking out the other books by this author! Vampires, here I come!

Kate’s Thoughts

I still really love this book on a re-read. I was so happy that Serena picked it because going back to it with new eyes sounded like a fun time, and my opinions haven’t really changed much. It just goes to show that there’s a reason that Isabel Cañas is one of my favorite horror authors writing today.

Reading this again, I still feel like some of the strongest elements are the way that Cañas addresses the ways that European colonialism has destabilized and completely uprooted so much of the culture that Beatriz and Andres have been living within, whether it’s the realities of colorism and racism that Beatriz and other darker Mestizo characters have to deal with, or how Andres has decided to hide his brujo and healing skills by joining the Catholic Church as a priest.

And the book is still really really unnerving, with a great ghost story and a Gothic flair in a place that isn’t as expected in Gothic stories. Cañas is so good at capturing a time and place and creating unease and fear, while having many supporting players to be terrorized (or in some cases doing the terrorizing).

I really love “The Hacienda”! It absolutely holds up on a re-read and it created a lot of good discussion in our book club to boot!

Serena’s Rating 9: Just the right combination of fantastic and horrific, with a splash of historical fiction and romance to sweeten the pot!

Kate’s Rating 9 : Still so wonderfully Gothic and creepy with lots of interesting history and critique of imperialism within the aftermath of a revolution.

Book Club Questions

  1. How familiar were you with this time and place? What did you learn that was new?
  2. The various women in this book all experienced limited choices regarding their own lives and futures. What stood out to you about these women’s tales and what you have done similarly or differently?
  3. The story has a lot to say about religion, both Catholicism and author’s interpretation of local faith systems. How did religion and magic mix in this book and how well do you feel these themes were explored?
  4. This is a gothic horror novel. Did you enjoy the horror elements? What there a scene that was particularly scary to you and why?
  5. Beatriz and Padre Andres both experienced challenges in this book, ultimately turning towards one another to face their foe. Did you enjoy this relationship? How did you interpret the ending?

Reader’s Advisory

“The Hacienda” is included on the Goodreads lists 2022 Gothic and Books Set in Mexico.

Next Book Club Pick: “The Magic Fish” by Trung Le Nguyen

Kate’s Review: “Shiny Happy People”

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Book: “Shiny Happy People” by Clay McLeod Chapman

Publishing Info: Delacorte Press, November 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC at ALAAC25

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: A gripping, genre-bending novel about a mysterious new drug plaguing a small town and one girl who must uncover the terrifying truth behind the haunting side effects—or she will be next.

At sixteen Kyra is still haunted by the horrors she saw as little girl living with her mother’s drug addiction. Years later, Kyra doesn’t always feel like she belongs—and disturbing dreams come to her at night.

When a new party drug makes its way to her high school, Kyra’s life becomes an actual nightmare. A challenge spreads among the students thanks to a few videos circulating—and Kyra is unable to escape the inexplicably strange side effects.

Everyone around her seems to be mysteriously changing, including the people she loves the most. Her brother has a new personality overnight. Her best friend suddenly feels like a stranger. The only other person who seems to be noticing the eeriness around them is Logan, the new boy at school. Like Kyra, he has steered clear of the party scene.

But as strange occurrences begin to turn sinister, Kyra can’t shake the feeling that something unnatural is at play . . . as if something deadly spreading is in their veins. With Logan’s help, she decides to find out exactly what is behind the mysterious drug—before they’re next. As they begin to get closer to the truth, the line between Kyra’s past and her present blurs . . . and she will need to face the terrors inside herself to save everyone.

Review: Thank you to Delacorte Press for giving me an ARC at ALAAC25!

When I heard that Clay McLeod Chapman was writing a YA horror novel in 2025, my knee jerk reaction was ‘wait what?’. In part because when I think of hi as a horror author, I think of really graphic, no holds barred, visceral horror. Like VISCERAL HORROR. So the thought was a little out there to me at first. But shortly after my initial ‘um’ reaction, I thought ‘well, I bet he could do it. Probably.’ Because I do find Chapman to be such a great horror writer, even if his books have disgusted, horrified, and sometimes traumatized (kidding… kinda) me. When I read about “Shiny Happy People” I thought that it sounded pretty promising, and I was VERY interested to see how it would compare to the books he writes for an adult audience. I never should have doubted, because this book translates well for a new kind of audience while still being pretty creepy and unnerving.

This is very much an homage to “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” stories, with a fair amount of emphasis on the 1978 Version starring Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams (just look for the easter eggs!), but Chapman does a stellar job of making it feel more in tune with modern YA sensibilities. We have Kyra, a girl who had a rough start at childhood due to her mother’s drug abuse and neglect, who is now living with an adoptive family in a small town trying to just have a normal life. Until a new party drug called “Spore” starts making the rounds at her high school, and videos of her classmates taking it go viral, and seemingly improves their lives even if they seem… off. Kyra is a great choice of protagonist for a body snatchers story, as she has a traumatic past with drugs and will not be easily swayed to try anything even before it’s clear that something is up, and I enjoyed seeing her slowly piece things together as more and more people start changing. The tension as she and new kid Logan try to solve the mystery all as time is running out was well paced and taut, and even though I’m familiar with the general beats that this kind of story takes (and therefore could pinpoint what was going to most likely happen next), I still found it to be engaging and suspenseful.

But I also liked how Chapman still takes the idea of a metaphor of the pod people as insert whatever it may be here (as so many stories have had so many kinds of symbolism) and update it for a modern YA audience. Here there are some pretty clear themes about conformity, peer pressure and the need to feel included (viral video challenges on social media always seem to come from this), and drug use, as well as fears of Big Pharma and some interesting takes on gentrification. It can feel a LITTLE scattered at times, but it didn’t really bother me too much because so many of these kinds of pod person stories can speak to so many different kinds of fears, and lots of that can overlap. It’s also really fun seeing Chapman easily jump from writing some really gonzo and grotesque adult horror to a more toned down but still horrifying/in his wheelhouse brand of horror for a younger audience. It’s a testament to how talented that he is as an author.

“Shiny Happy People” is a very fun YA horror tale from one of my favorite horror authors! If you like any kind of pod person/”Invasion of the Body Snatchers” tale, this is a new one to add to the genre you should check out!

Rating 8: A fun homage to “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” packaged for a modern teen audience, “Shiny Happy People” is a departure for Clay McLeod Chapman that shows his appeal across audiences.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Shiny Happy People” isn’t included on any Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on “Killer Plants in Horror & Science Fiction Fantasy”.

Also…..

Just on a personal note as a lifelong Minnesotan who has lived in Minneapolis, who has friends who live in the Powderhorn neighborhood, who has people I love in South Minneapolis, I just want to say please keep Minneapolis, and Minnesota, in your thoughts. This community, this state, has been through so much pain the past few years. Please keep the loved ones of Renee Nicole Good in your thoughts, as well as the people being targeted by ICE in our neighborhoods. And if you can, please donate to the GoFundMe that is going to support Good’s child and wife.

Kate’s Review: “Hark the Herald Angels Scream”

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Book: “Hark the Herald Angels Scream” by Christopher Golden (Ed.)

Publishing Info: Anchor, October 2018

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon| Indiebound

Book Description: That there is darkness at the heart of the Yuletide season should not surprise. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is filled with scenes that are unsettling. Marley untying the bandage that holds his jaws together. The hideous children–Want and Ignorance–beneath the robe of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The heavy ledgers Marley drags by his chains. In the finest versions of this story, the best parts are the terrifying parts.
Bestselling author and editor Christopher Golden shares his love for Christmas horror stories with this anthology of all-new short fiction from some of the most talented and original writers of horror today.

Review: I have sort of made it a tradition to try and read and review some kind of holiday horror in the days leading up to the Solstice/Christmas here on the blog, and I actually had a harder time finding something this year. Unlike the previous two years we didn’t have a brand new collection of holiday horror tales (at least none I could find), so I went back to 2018 with the anthology “Hark the Herald Angels Scream”, edited by Christopher Golden. I do like Golden’s books for the most part, and the collection does boast a good deal of pretty fun horror authors. I settled into it, getting into the Christmas spirit in a spooky kind of way! And it was a pretty okay read, all things considered. One that definitely got me in the spirit.

Footage of me getting into said spirit. (source)

You guys no doubt know the drill, but here it is again. I will review in detail my three favorite stories in the collection, and then review the collection as a whole.

“Absinthe and Angels” by Kelley Armstrong: I love it when a short stories collection starts off with a bang, and did it ever with this first tale in the anthology. Michael and Ava are spending a solitary Christmas Eve in an isolated cabin, miles from any other person, hoping to have peace and quiet and to read Dickens over drinks. But then a group of mummers knock on the door, singing carols and demanding food and wine. And they aren’t so willing to leave without getting what they want. The building dread and uncanny weirdness of the Christmas Eve visitors was deeply unsettling, feeling like we were on the brink of an home invasion or something worse, and I really liked the creepiness. It’s a great way to start us off!

“It’s A Wonderful Knife” by Christopher Golden: Christopher Golden contributed a story to the collection and it was definitely a fun one that didn’t HAVE to be Christmas-y, but benefited from it because of a puntastic title. A young woman named Cassie has the opportunity to not only attend an elite Hollywood Christmas party, she also has the chance to tour a strange collection of Hollywood artifacts owned by a powerful (and predatory) producer. In this collection is a strange knife… This was a cathartic and satisfying read, with scummy Hollywood predators getting some comeuppance along with some nostalgic Hollywood factoids. Not super scary, but definitely very wicked and gratifying.

“Hiking Through” by Michael Koryta: This was probably my favorite story of the lot, because man oh man does it hit so many sub-genres and tropes that I love. A young man hiking the Appalachian trail in Maine during the winter hears story around the campfire with fellow hikers of a strange woman who may be a witch. I mean come on. I love a witch story, I really like wilderness horror, and the winter setting in Appalachia made it all the more weird and eerie. I also loved the way that it flowed, feeling both incredibly tense but also somewhat lackadaisical. And the final line? WOW.

There were a couple other stand outs (I was laughing out loud repeatedly at the story “Good Deeds” by Jeff Strand because it just EVISCERATES that stupid “Christmas Shoes” song, which I have hated forever), but there were also a few that really didn’t work for me. I also kind of found a repetitive theme of children coming to harm, which just felt a bit repetitive as time went on. This whole ‘it’s the most wonderful time of year that children look forward to, so let’s make children suffer’ vibe just kind of felt unoriginal every time it happened, and I feel like you can do more to subvert a favorite children’s holiday than by just doing child death and injury.

But that said, if you are looking for some Christmas horror tales as we inch closer and closer to the big day, “Hark the Herald Angels Scream” is a pretty good place to start! The ones I liked I really liked.

Rating 7: There are some really fun holiday horror tales here, as well as some middling ones, but there is almost certainly something for every kind of horror fan in these pages.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Hark the Herald Angels Scream” is included on the Goodreads lists “Creepy Christmas”, and “Holiday Horror Books”.

Kate’s Review: “Dark Sisters”

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Book: “Dark Sisters” by Kristi DeMeester

Publishing Info: St. Martin’s Press, December 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Three women. Three centuries. One legacy of fury, love, and a power that refuses to die

In this fiercely captivating novel, horror meets historical fiction when a curse bridges generations, binding the fates of three women. Anne Bolton, a healer facing persecution for witchcraft, bargains with a dark entity for protection—but the fire she unleashes will reverberate for centuries. Mary Shephard, a picture perfect wife in a suffocating community, falls for Sharon and begins a forbidden affair that could destroy them both. And Camilla Burson, the rebellious daughter of a preacher, defies conformist expectations to uncover an ancient power as her father’s flock spirals into crisis.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel!

Every year around the holidays when I’m doing my shopping, I try to grab some goodies from the Etsy shop Scent from Hell. It’s a candle store that is inspired by horror movies. I have a few of the candles that have been available over the years, with scents inspired by such wonderful things as “The Witch”, “Dracula”, “The Blair Witch Project”, and more. And to make things even better, the owner, Kristi DeMeester, is a horror author that I really enjoy! And her newest novel “Dark Sisters” is out, and I was VERY excited to read it! I love stories with dark magic, witches, and horror as a metaphor for generational trauma already, and when you add in a critique of a zealous religious fervor? Oh gosh yes I am all about it.

This story is told through three different perspectives in three different time periods, all within the community of Hawthorne Springs, a deeply Christian, deeply prosperous town with a devout church culture. In 2007, pastor’s daughter Camille is gearing up to finally attend her first Purity Ball, as much as her mother is reluctant to let her do so. But people in town, specifically women, are getting sick, with an illness that is thought to be due to a witches curse that is known as The Dark Sisters. In 1953, Mary Shepherd is trying to do her best to be a doting wife and loving mother as a housewife, but she falls in love with a pagan woman who makes her feel like herself. And in the 1750s, a healer woman named Anne is hoping to keep herself and her daughter Florence, who is deeply Christian and longs for her own path, safe, bargaining in a way that goes wrong and has deadly consequences. I really liked all of the stories, and enjoyed how DeMeester slowly unfolds all of these women’s paths, connecting them in ways that could be obvious, but feel fresh and interesting. I thought that the witch and magical aspects of this book were appropriately creepy while also feeling powerful and awe inspiring, and as we see the unfortunate consequences start to unravel the tension and scares go faster and faster, with the stakes high not only because of a dark magic that is dangerous and deadly, but also because of a patriarchal religious culture that does its own damage, and takes advantage of the women within it to gain more power and influence whilst causing harm to said women.

And let’s talk about those themes, because they were the most compelling part of this book. The feminine rage in this book is tied to the way that Hawthorne Springs credits its success and wealth to a good Christian devotion, so much so that those that stray (mostly women) are shunned, rebuked, sent away for reprogramming, and in some cases fall ill with an affliction that may or may not kill them. DeMeester isn’t shy when portraying such things as religious abuse, misogyny, and high control tactics used by men to control the women they wish to be subservient, but she is also very good at pointing out the differences of experience between the women, which can make them pit themselves against each other in hopes of being spared or seen as an exception. She makes sure to show it in all of the timelines, whether it’s Florence hoping that choosing a Christian path (and betraying her mother) will keep her safe, or gossip setting off a domino effect that sets Mary’s life towards ruin, or Camille being willing to be the perfect pastor’s daughter to reap the benefits whilst rebelling flagrantly when others are sent off for re-education for much less. I really found that to be upsetting, while also fully recognizing how on point it is, especially these days.

“Dark Sisters” is a creepy and angry horror novel that I really enjoyed. If you’ve been experiencing some feminine rage as of late, I highly suggest checking it out.

Rating 9: A dark and angry tale about control, men who take advantage of women’s power, and feminine rage at the breaking point, “Dark Sisters” feels unfortunately timely and brings a lot of witchy scares.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Dark Sisters” is included on the Goodreads lists “Witches, Goddesses, or Nuns”, and “Feral Women”.

Kate’s Review: “Midnight Somewhere”

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Book: “Midnight Somewhere: A Short Story Collection

Publishing Info: Blackstone Publishing, December 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: From Bram Stoker Award–nominated author Johnny Compton, Midnight Somewhere is a frightening collection of thought-provoking stories perfect for fans of Stephen King’s Night Shift , Tananarive Due’s The Wishing Pool , and the work of Junji Ito.

A man gets into a car that can take him anywhere he can imagine—including the past, into the worst mistake of his life, a memory he does not want to relive, cannot escape, and is even more afraid to alter …

A seemingly harmless, forgettable film about “alien hand syndrome” inspires a wave of self-harm among viewers—and even stranger things among those who become obsessed with it …

A woman tries to bring her dead lover to life through a macabre ritual that requires attacking his corpse. Is it because she longs to be with him again … or because the two of them have unfinished business?

The assorted characters in this thrilling collection encounter horrors that range from mysterious to murderous, discovering that darkness can find anyone, anywhere, at any hour of the day. After all, it’s always Midnight Somewhere …

Review: Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for sending me an eARC of this book!

I may just have to refer to 2025 as the Year I Read ALL The Short Story Collections”, because it was a LOT this year. Even though I had great luck with all of the anthologies and collections I read this year, I was always kind of waiting for the bubble to pop, wondering if THIS one would be the one that reinforced my general wariness of the format. When Blackstone Publishing reached out with Johnny Compton’s new horror collection “Midnight Somewhere”, I was interested, but in the back of my mind I was wondering if this was when the other shoe was going to drop. After all, I read his book “The Spite House” and it didn’t really click with me. But I decided to go for it, and am I ever glad I did! Because “Midnight Somewhere” was a great short stories collection!

As I usually do for short stories collections, I will review my three favorite stories, then I will review the collection as a whole.

“The Death Grip Challenge”: This was one of the first stories in the collection and it was the one that made me really settle in with excitement about what I was reading. A girl has been noticing that her father has been starting to act strangely after he started getting really into a viral video trend involving a B-horror film with a possessed hand. This one has a slow burn build up where you just know that something is creeping up on the characters (AND the reader), and I was so tense by the time we got to the climax I was totally wrung out. It’s weird and unexplained and also taps into very real anxieties about viral trends and everyone needing to get in on the action, no matter how harmful.

“Monster Bites”: As someone who loves her three cats to death (as well as all cats I’ve owned throughout my life), I was obviously going to have a special place in my heart for the scary story with the pet. Elisa hasn’t really connected with her girlfriend Grace’s dog Dandy after moving in, keeping her at arm’s length except for their evening walks. But when Elisa and Dandy run afoul something one evening, their true colors come out. This one is one of the less scary tales just because of how damn wholesome it is, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have scary bits! Some of the descriptions of the threat really, really set me on edge, and one is ALWAYS nervous when animals as involved in a horror story. But not to fret: no trigger warnings for animal harm in this one, and that’s all I will say.

“He Used to Scare Me By Accident”: This was probably my favorite story in the collection, and man does it kind of just kick you in the gut with creepiness and a quiet sadness to boot. Olivia and Stephen are a happy couple, though Olivia’s jumpiness manages to lead to Stephen scaring her by accident more often than not. Still, their marriage is solid and he is more than happy to try and warn her whenever he is coming just in case. Except the one time he doesn’t…. I can’t talk about this one TOO much without spoiling it, but I will say that I found myself deeply saddened by a few of the turns it took, if only because so much of what this story is about is regret, loss, and the things that we have done that continue to haunt us. I actually said ‘wow’ when I turned the last page.

And really, this is a very strong collection as a whole! Compton has a lot of different tones and ideas here, some of them deeply scary, others a little sweet, and even others incredibly witty and sometimes laugh out loud funny. And some of them are just so out there in the best ways (a rollercoaster coming to life and running off into the wilderness, what on EARTH?!). I don’t think that any were true clunkers, and the ones that didn’t hit as much were more about personal preference than anything the stories themselves did. It’s been a huge year of short story collections in my reading, and it’s collections like this that made me really pleased to give the format so many chances for the past year.

“Midnight Somewhere” is a lot of fun! I’m so glad that I decided to check it out, and horror fans really should too. Guess I have to go back and read Compton’s “Devils Kill Devils”!

Rating 8: A varied and incredibly entertaining collection of short horror stories with lots of different tones, vibes, and scares.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Midnight Somewhere” isn’t included on many Goodreads lists as of now, but it would absolutely fit in on “Horror: Short Stories”.

Kate’s Review: “Shadow Lab, Volume Two”

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Book: “Shadow Lab, Volume Two” by Brendan Deneen (Ed.)

Publishing Info: Blackstone Publishing Inc., September 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from the publisher

Where You Can Get This Book: Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Just in time for Halloween 2025, it’s Shadow Lab, Volume Two!

In Gibbett Hill by Faith Merino, Virginia has moved with her husband to the town of Gibbet Hill, where they plan to raise their three-month-old daughter. But as a Gold Rush reenactment festival begins to blur the line between real and imaginary, Virginia finds herself the target of the town’s strange hanging ritual.

In Forty Weeks by Adam Godfrey, Sarah is transformed into a vampire after her husband’s research team finds a dormant virus buried in the arctic permafrost. When her husband is killed by his employers, Sarah flees in search of someone else who’s infected, operating on the rumor that their death would trigger an antibody surge that could save not only her, but her unborn child …

In The Retreat by Gemma Amor, a troubled military veteran tries to get her life back in order by taking an office job, and soon finds herself on the fast track to success. But when she’s invited to a corporate retreat in the middle of the wilderness, she encounters dark and mysterious forces at work, and she must use all of her skills to survive.

Find these and more horrifying tales in the second Shadow Lab anthology from Blackstone Publishing.

Review: Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for providing me with an eARC of this anthology!

I was looking back at my reviews this past year as I start thinking about what titles are going to make my Top 10 of the year (look for that reveal in December!), I noticed that I reviewed and read almost all of my short stories collections reads of 2025 in the last two months. Clearly I’ve been following a bit of a theme these past couple of months. And let’s just add another title to the mix! I was asked to check out “Shadow Lab, Volume Two”, a collection of horror stories from Blackstone Publishing that was edited by Brendan Deneen. It sounded intriguing enough, so I decided to give it a go!

Like I always do, I will first talk about my favorite three stories in the collection and then talk about the collection as a whole.

“Insatiable” by Diana Olney: This was one of the earlier stories in the collection and it helped set the stage, and really stood out. A girl has perhaps inherited something strange from her long absent mother, and as she finds more and more disconcerting changes in and behaviors in her day to day life, she has to learn to control it. Or.. not. I love a story about a girl coming into her own power, just as I like a story about not only women’s rights but also women’s wrongs, and this one was deeply satisfying.

“Hachishakusama” by Kylee Shimomura: If you throw me a horror story based on an urban legend or a creepypasta I’m almost assuredly going to want to get my hands on it, and it’s not shocking that “Hachishakusama” is probably my favorite story in this collection. A woman has to return to Japan after being away for a long time after her mother has died. But everywhere she goes she sees an impossibly tall woman with sharp teeth, getting closer and closer, until people around her start being torn to shreds. This one freaked me out but left me wanting more, and it was definitely the scariest.

“The Retreat” by Gemma Amor: This seems to be a favorite for a lot of people, at least in the reviews I found after I had finished, and I definitely see why being a solid scary story along with some fun corporate satire. A veteran is trying to fit back into everyday life, and is trying to get used to her new seemingly boring corporate job. When she stops a gunman in the office, her boss invites her on a highly coveted company retreat reserved only for the most elite, which can set its most promising attendees on a higher rung of the corporate ladder. But at what price? I liked the wild places this one went to, as well as the biting send up of toxic work environments that try to play up a familial vibe while actually exploiting its workers.

As a collection, I thought that it was a pretty strong one. All of these authors were new to me, and outside of a couple of exceptions I felt like I enjoyed at least something about almost all of them. It’s especially cool because none of these stories have any themed connections, it’s just a group to show off their ideas of horror and it really runs a gamut.

“Shadow Lab, Volume 2” was an enjoyable horror short story collection with some promising rising voices in the genre. If you like horror short stories, give it a go!

Rating 7: A solid collection of horror short stories that had mostly well done tales of terror.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Shadow Lab, Volume Two” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on “Best Horror Anthologies”.

Kate’s Review: “The Place Where They Buried Your Heart”

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Book: “The Place Where They Buried Your Heart” by Christina Henry

Publishing Info: Berkley, November 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC and a finished copy from the publicist

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: A woman must confront the evil that has been terrorizing her street since she was a child in this gripping haunted house novel, perfect for fans of The Last House on Needless Street and Tell Me I’m Worthless.

On an otherwise ordinary street in Chicago, there is a house. An abandoned house where, once upon a time, terrible things happened. The children who live on this block are told by their parents to stay away from that house. But of course, children don’t listen. Children think it’s fun to be scared, to dare each other to go inside.

Jessie Campanelli did what many older sisters do and dared her little brother Paul. But unlike all the other kids who went inside that abandoned house, Paul didn’t return. His two friends, Jake and Richie, said that the house ate Paul. Of course adults didn’t believe that. Adults never believe what kids say. They thought someone kidnapped Paul, or otherwise hurt him. They thought Paul had disappeared in a way that was ordinary, explainable.

The disappearance of her little brother broke Jessie’s family apart in ways that would never be repaired. Jessie grew up, had a child of her own, kept living on the same street where the house that ate her brother sat, crouched and waiting. And darkness seemed to spread out from that house, a darkness that was alive—alive and hungry.

Review: Thank you to Kaye Publicity for sending me an ARC and a finished copy of this book!

I am kind of embarrassed to say that even though she’s a bit of a maven in the horror writing community with MANY books under her belt, I’ve barely read anything by Christina Henry. The only book I had read of hers up until this point was “Horseman”, which was an interesting take on “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” that I didn’t really connect with too well. But when I was asked to take a look at her newest horror novel “The Place Where They Buried Your Heart” I couldn’t resist giving it a go, as the description of a woman haunted by a house that ate (yes ATE) her little brother was just so intriguing to me. And once I started I immediately kicked myself for not going and reading more Christina Henry before now because wow, it REALLY snagged me and pulled me in.

I can honestly say that there were so many horror beats in this book that really, really got under my skin. The first is the obvious theme of a child being eaten, and I mean EATEN, by a house. This isn’t your typical haunted house story, and Henry doesn’t really mince words when it comes to portraying the horrors of an elementary schooler being devoured, leaving a traumatized older sister behind to lose her father AND mother to the house as time goes on. We also have plot points about family annihilators, more missing (and presumably eaten) children, self immolation, and finally hints of a cosmic horror entity that builds up strength through the blood of its victims and hopes to spread out further and further. As Jessie has to grow up with this in her neighborhood, constantly having to see the house that has caused her so much pain and suffering (and has her worried about her own son E.J. after he is born), we have a fight of good and evil, and it goes beyond what I was expecting of the usual haunted house with a dark history trope. And like I said above, woof did it unsettle me.

The other aspect of this book that I really enjoyed was the way that Henry portrays a neighborhood that has been plagued by a horrible presence and a lurking danger that still manages to find community and support amongst each other in spite of it all. A constant theme in this story is that Jessie, in spite of the trauma of losing her entire family to this horrible and ravenous house, she stays in her neighborhood because of the connections she has made with the other people there, and doesn’t want to leave them in the shadow of the danger to make herself and her son safe. It’s a thought I’ve struggled with a bit this past year, sometimes feeling like me and my family should just pick up and flee this country as it seems to get closer and closer to a dark future. But this book did a really good job of showing the other side of that, that staying and fighting with and for the ones you love is so important, and that courage sometimes isn’t easy. I also just loved the portrayals of Jessie’s connections with her found family, whether it’s her friend Ted (who is the grandfather of E.J.), or the neighbors Sheila and Frances, or her friendship with one of the boys who was in the house when Paul was eaten (and who lost one of his arms to the house). There is always this beast of a house, but there are also Thanksgiving dinners, and hang outs in each other’s homes, and love and connections, and it’s a well written reminder that there is always room for joy and love and community even when there is a looming danger that needs to be fought against, and because it can take time to defeat the evil fostering connections is crucial. It was just a great representation of that ethos.

“The Place Where They Buried Your Heart” is a must read horror novel. I definitely need to go back and read more Christina Henry after this one.

Rating 9: A scary cosmic horror novel combines with a tale about the strength and importance of love and community under the dark clouds of long lingering danger.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Place Where They Buried Your Heart” is included on the Goodreads list “Best Haunted House Fiction That Isn’t “The Shining”.

Kate’s Review: “Let Me In Your Window”

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Book: “Let Me In Your Window” by Adam Ellis

Publishing Info: Andrews McMeel Publishing, September 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: This sequel to Adam Ellis’s New York Times bestselling Bad Dreams in the Night is packed with terrifying twists, haunted houses, urban legends, and delightfully horrifying stories—like your own personal campfire ghost stories packed into a graphic novel. Each story will make you scream for more!

This brand-new collection of delightful horror comics includes nine new thrilling and terrifying stories that will keep readers on the edge of their seats and peering out their windows in fright. Adam Ellis, one of the biggest stars in webcomics, brings his unique blend of humor and horror to life with stunning illustrations and gripping narratives. Stories include Sleepwalker, about a terrifying and unexplained incident at a youth hostel, Old Machines, about receiving instant messages from a friend who has been dead for years, and Sunken Express, which chronicles a paranormal journey on a phantom subway car. Whether it’s a ghostly encounter, a creepy urban legend, or a supernatural mystery, Let Me In Your Window is guaranteed to give you the creeps.

Review: This past summer I reviewed Adam Ellis’s horror graphic collection “Bad Dreams in the Night”, and had mentioned that he had a new collection coming out this Fall. It probably comes as no surprise that I decided that I wanted to pick this one up as well given that I enjoyed the first one so much, and now that “Let Me in Your Window” is here I once again devoured the entire thing in one sitting. I just couldn’t help myself! Ellis’s horror stories are so quick and fun!

Like I do with most short stories collections I will talk about my three favorite stories first, then look at the collection as a whole.

“Little Kingdom”: We once again have the first story in the collection roping me in from the jump, which is always a great way to start. Two documentarians travel to a remote island that has a community that wanted to stay away from modern society, but birthed strange children who don’t seem like they are of this world. Unable to find success after this first film, they decide to go back to recapture another hit, but find something horrific instead. I love a documentary gone wrong story, and enjoyed the references and inspiration points, from North Sentinel Island to “Grey Gardens” to “Cannibal Holocaust”. Also an interesting question is raised about the ethics of making documentaries that could tread towards exploitation.

“Sunken Express”: I’m kind of seeing a similar pattern in the stories that stood out to me in this collection, as I first talked about the first story that really set the scene, and now I’m talking about the least horror-oriented story that had a little more bittersweetness to it. A man has heard an urban legend about an old subway stop that could possibly get you a ticket on a mysterious train that can take you to wherever your heart most desires. If you mess up the ritual, you may be stuck forever. You are supposed to be alone on the train…. except when he boards, he isn’t. Again, this isn’t a super scary story, it’s more about isolation, loneliness, the hope for redemption, and connection when you least expect it. I love a little emotion with my spooky stories.

“ReBrand”: AGAIN, following the same pattern as the first collection, as this was the last story in the book and it ended on a SUPREMELY CREEPY note! An aspiring model is frustrated when a mysterious digital billboard goes up across from her apartment, as the lights are keeping her awake at night. But one of the advertisements catches her eye: a youtube channel for a woman named Maarja Verine, who doesn’t seem to have much of a presence…. But she just has to keep checking back on her…. This one genuinely caught me off guard by the ending, and I was so shocked I immediately felt a need to go back and see if the clues were there. And they sure were! I really liked this one. It may have been my favorite in the collection.

An as a whole, I think that the stories in this book were all pretty solid! There were a couple that didn’t really connect with me (“Apple Head” felt a bit hokey, honestly), but none of them were BAD, per se. Ellis also has a fun style for his stories, able to have a charming and cute aesthetic that can shift into the grotesque on a dime. He has a real talent for these kinds of collections.

“Let Me in Your Window” was another enjoyable bundle of horror comics from Adam Ellis! It’s two for two for me, and I am going to manifest that we get more as time goes on!

Rating 8: Another fun horror comic collection from Adam Ellis! So fun and twisted.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Let Me in Your Window” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on “Horror Comics Anthologies”.

Book Club Review: “My Best Friend’s Exorcism”

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We are part of a group of librarian friends who have had an ongoing book club running for the last several years. Each “season” (we’re nerds) we pick a theme and each of us chooses a book within that theme for us all to read. Re-visiting some of our past themes, we’re once again pulling genres from a hatch and matching them together in one book. For this blog, we will post a joint review of each book we read for book club. We’ll also post the next book coming up in book club. So feel free to read along with us or use our book selections and questions in your own book club!

Book: “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” by Grady Hendrix

Publishing Info: Quirk Books, May 2016

Where Did We Get This Book: Kate owns it

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Mix-and-Match Genres: Horror and Humor

Book Description: Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fifth grade, when they bonded over a shared love of E.T., roller-skating parties, and scratch-and-sniff stickers. But when they arrive at high school, things change. Gretchen begins to act….different. And as the strange coincidences and bizarre behavior start to pile up, Abby realizes there’s only one possible explanation: Gretchen, her favorite person in the world, has a demon living inside her. And Abby is not about to let anyone or anything come between her and her best friend. With help from some unlikely allies, Abby embarks on a quest to save Gretchen. But is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?

Kate’s Thoughts

This was a re-read for me, and I was VERY curious to see how book club would like it given that I’m one of the few people who likes horror in our group. Well, it wasn’t a favorite, but it gave me an excuse to go on long diatribes about possession horror and demon horror and how its heydays line up with times of religious anxiety in this country, whether it’s Satanic Panic or the implementation of Vatican II or countless other examples. So, I had a fun time re-reading it and going into a TED talk for all of my oh so patient friends.

Me going on about Vatican II, the Warrens, and how the book version of “The Exorcist” was basically saying Reagan was taken over by a demon because Blatty wanted the world to know her Mom was a WHORE BECAUSE SHE WAS DIVORCED! (source)

This was a re-read for me, as I originally read it back in 2016 when it first came out, and it was fun to go back to it for a few reasons. For one, I still enjoy the story, and think that it’s a really enjoyable deconstruction of the possession trope by making the hero of the day not a religious authority, but a teenage girl who loves her best friend and wants to help her. I also still enjoy how Hendrix can capture the voice of teen girl characters, and how he made interesting comparisons between demons being cruel and teenage girls doing the same. And the 80s aesthetic is still fun (these days it may be a bit more played out than it was nine years ago). But it’s also interesting because after a re-read I realized that “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” probably isn’t my favorite Hendrix novel anymore even though up until my re-read I thought that it was. It’s still fun! It’s also very much a Gen X white guy fumbling some themes, but it’s also interesting because I noticed this because of the growth we’ve seen in his stories when it comes to these things. And it still has some truly scary beats while also being a bit bubblegum and joyful. It’s still a fun read.

“My Best Friend’s Exorcism” was a fun choice for book club that fostered a fair amount of conversation in our group.

Kate’s Rating 8: A fun re-read that still does a solid deconstruction of the possession trope with the power of female friendship at the forefront.

Book Club Questions

  1. How does this book compare to other demonic possession stories you have read or seen?
  2. What did you think of Gretchen and Abby’s friendship in the way it was written? Did it feel like a realistic teen girl relationship?
  3. Did the time period of the 1980s and the references bolster the story up, or did you find it to be a hindrance to the story overall?
  4. Hendrix has said that he rooted this story in the time of his youth. What do you think this story would look like if it had been set in a different time period?
  5. This book was picked because of the prompts horror and humor. What parts stood out as scariest to you? What parts did you find funny?
  6. Who would you recommend this book to?

Reader’s Advisory

“My Best Friend’s Exorcism” is included on the Goodreads lists “80s Flashback (Current Books with 1980s Settings)”, and “Horror With Retro Vibes”.

Next Book Club Pick: “The Bletchley Riddle” by Ruta Sepetys & Steven Sheinkin