#ALSO THE RETURN BY RACHEL HARRISON WHICH IS A BOOK ABOUT FEMALE FRIENDSHIP BUT ALSO LIKE. COMING BACK WRONG

[explosionshark]

top 5 horror book recommendations? it's spooky season and i need to get my read on...

Hell yeah! Gonna break this down a little. First an obligatory rehash of books I always recommend for this, these are like all-time faves for me

Wounds/North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud - can't choose between these two, so they're tied for my favorite single author short story collection. Nathan Ballingrud is one of my favorite writers of all time

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado - a very very close second for my favorite single-author short story collection. Machado is a beautiful writer and finding an author writing such powerful horror from a queer woman's perspective was world changing for me.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - COME ON!!!! You might have already read this but consider reading it again! Absolute classic.

The Cipher by Kathe Koja - dark, fucked up meditation on art and addiction and toxic relationships. I think about this book all the time. A guy finds a weird hole in his apartment basement and then everything goes wrong (first slowly and then very very quickly)

Red X by David Demchuk - talked about this a lot before too but I really do love it. Fictional story inspired by real life serial killings that took place in Toronto's gay village over decades. The author inserts essays throughout the book that makes it part memoir as well. A supernatural story about real queer trauma.

--

Okay with that out of the way, here's some recommendations for stuff I think would be fun for Halloween specifically

Echoes edited by Ellen Datlow - OKAY CHEATING I ALSO RECOMMEND THIS ALL THE TIME BUT IT'S A PERFECT OCTOBER BOOK!!! Fuck-off huge ghost story anthology. Huge range of tones, pretty diverse group of contributing authors, it's my all-time favorite anthology.

Slewfoot by BROM - this one's got major autumn vibes. It's a story of a woman in Puritan New England who's accused of witchcraft. It's also a story about the devil. Kind of. The print version has really amazing paintings by the author, but I've heard this is also good in audio.

Come Closer by Sara Gran - this is a great little novella. Possession story that really packs a punch. I can't really say much more than that, but it's not a huge time investment and I think it's really worthwhile.

Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu - if you can, get the version edited by Carmen Maria Machado (she adds in some great footnotes and it has some neat art too). This is a classic and also quite a brisk read. The original lesbian vampire story.

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - here's a new release for you! I always watch a ton of horror movies in October, and if you're anything like me maybe you'll want to read a horror novel about horror movies. This story follows a female film editor in 90s Mexico and her washed up actor friend as they help a retired filmmaker complete his famously unfinished last film, which he had been making with a former Nazi occultist before strange misfortunes and the occultist's mysterious disappearance forced production to shut down.

Okay that was double the amount of recommendations requested so I'm stopping here. Haha don't look in the tags don't worry about it there's nothing there you're crazy

#ALSO YOU SHOULD READ THE LAST DAYS OF JACK SPARKS BY JASON ARNOPP. GREAT ON AUDIO #ALSO THE HELLBOUND HEART BY CLIVE BARKER WHICH IS THE NOVELLA HELLRAISER WAS BASED ON #ALSO RING SHOUT BY P DJELI CLARK WHICH IS ABOUT BIRTH OF A NATION AND THE KKK BEING LITERAL DEMONS #ALSO THE BALLARD OF BLACK TOM BY VICTOR LAVALLE WHICH IS A BLACK RETELLING OF THE HORROR AT RED HOOK #ALSO THE RETURN BY RACHEL HARRISON WHICH IS A BOOK ABOUT FEMALE FRIENDSHIP BUT ALSO LIKE. COMING BACK WRONG #ALSO HOW TO SELL A HAUNTED HOUSE BY GRADY HENDRIX WHICH WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH BUT ALSO WILL MAKE YOU HATE PUPPETS #ALSO THE GOOD HOUSE BY TANANARIVE DUE WHICH IS A HAUNTED HOUSE STORY ABOUT BREAKING CYCLES OF GENERATIONAL TRAUMA #ALSO NIGHT OF THE MANNEQUINS BY STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES WHICH IS A FUN AND SHORT NOVELLA ABOUT A HORROR BUFF TEEN VS. WELL. THE MANNEQUINS. #book recs

[wormwoodandhoney]

If you are still doing book recommendations, can I ask some advice on book with witches? Classic, old school witches, with pointy hats and brooms, cats, cauldrons... it's just SO the right season and weather

I have. SO MANY. Witch books. Unfortunately I don't remember specific triggers for these, so do your research as needed!

Historical or fantasy witches

The Year of the Witches by Alexis Henderson is about Immanuelle, a biracial teenager living in Bethel. Bethel is a land ruled by the laws of the Prophet in which women live in submission and devotion. Immanuelle stumbles across her dead mother's journal, which reveals secrets of curses and magic. This book is dark and often upsetting, and really wonderful.

Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett- if you're looking for old school, warty old witches with brooms and wit, the witches of Discworld are where it's at. This one I particularly like because it's about fairy tales.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow - Possibly my favorite of the list?? A really dreamy, wonderful book about three estranged sisters who come together in magic. It's about the suffrage movement and thee importance of intersectional feminism- it doesn't shy away from the racism of the suffragettes, which I think is so important to confront. And there's a sapphic romance! It has this really cool vision of the Mother, the Maiden, and the Crone which I always have sort of had a tough time reconciling.

Romantic witches

Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper- Sapphic romance! A young woman returns to her magical small town in order to judge a competition among the powerful witch families. She intends to get revenge on her ex-boyfriend, one of the competitors, with the help of his other ex-girlfriends, also witches. She falls in love with one of these exes. I LOVED the setting of this one- if you're looking for a quirky small town with Halloween vibes, it's this one. The town is full of witches but it's also a tourist trap for Halloween-loving normals, so it's a really fun combination.

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling - I have NOT read this one yet, it's on my list! A romance about a witch and her ex, obviously!

YA witches

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson - Mila and her best friend Riley are amateur witches and when Riley is murdered, Mila casts a spell to bring her back to life. When doing so, she accidentally brings back two recently deceased mean girls from their high school. This one is fun, sort of wacky, and adventurous. Perfect if you want teen witch adventures.

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu- A queer, graphic novel about a witch and a werewolf who fall in love. Super adorable! Lots of baking, small towns, and some fun monsters.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas - Brujos! Trans boy Yadriel is trying to prove to his family that he's a true brujo and in the process accidentally summons the ghost of a very handsome and very sweet and stupid boy. Big fan of this one! Marigolds and magic everywhere.

Other??

Cackle by Rachel Harrison - Annie has recently been dumped by her boyfriend of ten years, and she gets a new job in a small town. While she's recovering her broken heart, she means Sophie. Sophie is beautiful, magnetic, and takes Annie on as sort of a mentee. But the sweet townsfolk are afraid of Sophie, and Sophie's house has spiders and violent ghosts... This was pitched to me as a Hallmark movie if instead of the broken hearted protagonist falling in love, she meets a wicked witch who teaches her to embrace her inner darkness. And that's this. This book is about embracing your power, forgoing romantic attachments, and doing some dark magic. And the power of female friendship!!! Slightly spooky moments, but I wouldn't call it horror exactly.

#book recs #witches #witchy books #witchy girls #books