June is Pride Month! Last year we released an episode all about Queer Horror with fantastic guest, Chelsea (aka The Reading Outlaw) from the Not Now I’m Reading Podcast. If you want to really get into the Pride spirit with your reading, we suggest the #PrideHorrorThon at the end of the month hosted by some great people on Instagram.
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
This list wouldn’t be complete without this classic. Mentioned in our aforementioned Queer Horror episode, this is the story of a young man who makes a Faustian bargain for eternal youth.
- One Bloody Thing After Another by Joey Comeau
A Rachel pick for our Canadian Horror episode, a girl is juggling a relationship with her girlfriend and the fact that she must find a way to take care of her mother who won’t eat anything that’s already dead.
- Fist of the Spider Woman: Tales of Fear and Queer Desire compiled by Amber Dawn
We are definitely pulling a few mentions from our Queer Horror episode, Rachel mentioned this anthology which features feminist stories of fear or desire.
- The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles #2) by Anne Rice
The second installment in Anne Rice’s popular vampire series follows Lestat and his story, one that begins with his moving to Paris with his boyfriend and ends with him becoming a modern-day vampire rockstar.
- The Bone Mother by David Demchuck
The Bone Mother is a story told in short stories all about Eastern European folklore and creatures with some excellent photographs to set the mood. The book was mentioned in our Canadian episode and was nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award.
- Odd Adventures with Your Other Father by Norman Prentiss
A recent and very welcome discovery while browsing Kindle Unlimited, this heart-warming story is a hidden gem. All that Celia knows about her father from the monster stories her surviving father tells her of the summer they travelled together and navigated 80’s homophobic American landscape in a supernatural sense. It’s a book that had me terrified, but also made me cry? Absolutely recommend.
- The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay
Winner of the 2018 Bram Stoker Award for Novel of the Year. Eric and Andrew want to spend some time on their vacation relaxing and spending time with their daughter, Wen. Unfortunately, a group of strangers force their way into their cabin and confront them with the unthinkable. Listen to our interview with Paul Tremblay.
- The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling
Mentioned in our recent Science Fiction Horror episode, this claustrophobic story takes place exclusively in a cave as Gyre wonders how much she can trust her handler, Em- especially when it comes to whether she is alone in that cave.
- A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill
This one is a bit of a tease since it’s not available until later this year, but A Cosmology of Monsters is a great mix of the supernatural with family drama of a family who decide to keep their haunted house business operating after their Lovecraft-obsessed father dies. This story is great for lovers of literary fiction and is filled with literal and figurative monsters.
- Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
A podcast FAVORITE, it’s a book that’s so much more than an expedition to find out the truth about killer mermaids, but why wouldn’t that be enough? Into the Drowning Deep is a must read for all lovers of horror fiction with a hint of aquatic/ sci-fi elements and fantastic characters.
- Osgood As Gone (The Spectral Inspector #1) by Cooper S. Beckett
This one is on my (Stephanie) immediate to-read stack for this month. This a supernatural mystery centering around Prudence Osgood, who once was part of a famous paranormal investigation team on TV but these days finds herself as a barely-functioning alcoholic. A cryptic e-mail sends her on an investigation that is far more personal and sinister than it seems.
- Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand
Long-listen for the Best Young Adult Book at the 2018 Bram Stoker Awards, this story is about the girls on Sawkill Rock. Val, the queen bee who might know more about the missing girls than she is willing to let on; Marion, the new girl whose sister has recently disappeared about becoming close with Val, and Zoey, the outcast who will stop at nothing to find out what is happening to the girls of Sawkill Rock. Features lesbian and asexual representation.
- My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris
This giant and beautiful graphic novel is told through the diary of 10 year-old Karen Reyes, who’s living in Chicago with her mom and older brother. She has a love for b-horror movies and stories, and draws herself as a werewolf detective. This “notebook” filled with full-color illustrations follow Karen’s obsession with solving the murder of her neighbor, Anka, an enigmatic woman and Holocaust survivor.
- Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
I (Stephanie) would call this Scooby-Doo Where Are They Now (see what I did there?) meets Lovecraft. The story opens up on the Blyton Summer Detective Club in the 70’s, a group consisting of two girls, two boys and a dog who solved mysteries in their Oregon town. After their last case, the gang drifts apart and lead separate and broken lives. When one of the detectives figures out that there was more to that case than they knew, she gets the gang back together to face their demons and solve the case for good. This was mentioned in our Readalikes Episode as a comp for Stephen King’s It and other nostalgic coming-of-age/ kids vs. evil stories.
- Affinity by Sarah Waters
One of Chelsea’s picks for the Queer Horror Episode, this historical fiction story is about Margaret who is visiting a woman’s jail in London as part of her charity work when she becomes enamored with one of the inmates Selina Dawes, a spiritualist imprisoned after one of her seances went horribly awry. Margaret becomes drawn into Selina’s world as she puts her life at risk for her.
Books in the Freezer 