I know what many of you are thinking: “Oh no, not another best list!” But don’t worry, that is not what this is.
As I do each year here at The Lineup, I try to give you a more nuanced look at the year that was by walking you through some of the more interesting trends I have noticed accompanied by the example titles that illustrate them best.
But before we even begin, it is important to note one book that stands alone identifying its own trend, Horror for Weenies: Everything You Need to Know About the Film You Are Too Scared to Watch by Emily C. Hughes.
Horror is hot right now and everyone wants to jump on the scary bandwagon, but not everyone is ready.
This title allows anyone, no matter how big a scaredy-cat, to participate in the larger conversation around horror, which is happening just about everywhere. Hughes’ book has hit a nerve, even making it on the NPR “Books We Love” end-of-the-year list of their favorite books.
Now on to the horror fiction trends I saw in 2024.
The Biggest Names Are Not Only Getting Bigger, They Are Getting Better
Over the last five years, horror authors with names other than Stephen King have been making it onto the bestseller lists and/or gaining regular coverage in mainstream media.
This year some of those authors had new novels. While that is not a surprise, what I did find noteworthy is that all of these authors churned out excellent works.
Not resting on their laurels, these authors, who readers already know and trust, keep raising the bar for the entire genre.
From the female vampire rage of So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison to Lovecraftian vengeance in the middle of a hurricane in House of Bone and Rain by Gabino Iglesias to Paul Tremblay’s deeply unsettling Horror Movie (which debuted on the NYT Bestseller list) to two novels by Stephen Graham Jones— the final installment in the Jade Daniels trilogy, The Angel of Indian Lake, and a new take on the slasher story in I Was a Teenage Slasher.
We also saw the return of Nick Cutter with the wild, terrifying, and original wasp-infested The Queen, Chuck Tingle proving his first mainstream novel was no fluke in Bury Your Gays, and Josh Malerman somehow managing to freak everyone out even more than he has with his previous excellent novels with a child narrator and the “Other Mommy” in her closet in Incidents Around The House.
These are the novels that set a high bar for horror in 2024, and as these authors excelled they added new readers, many of whom didn’t consider themselves horror readers.
But now? They may be hooked.
Women Rule The Best Debuts
That list above was very male-heavy; a fact that was upsetting to me. That is until I looked at this year’s top debuts, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
I always make a list of the best Horror debuts each year because debut authors serve as a map to see where the genre is going. This year, not only was I blown away by a larger number of debut novels (many were among my favorite reads of the year), but I was also excited to see they were all written by women.
Here are four of my favorite Horror debuts from 2024, and what a wide range of writing styles and scares they offer.
The Eyes Are the Best Part
Ji-Won is a first-generation Korean-American, a college student who is sick of the fetishization of Asian women and wants to do something about it.
She confidently leads readers through this expertly constructed story, earning sympathy even as readers begin to see they should not trust her.
As the novel evolves from domestic drama to one filled with oppressive dread, the palpable anxiety evolves into repulsion and Ji-Won dares readers to avert their own eyes.
This Wretched Valley
March 2019, four 20-somethings enter the Kentucky woods on a mission to study and scale a never-before-seen rock formation, except, readers are told immediately, none of them made it out alive.
Told from the point of view of each doomed character, and with time frames alternating between the story’s present, and the past, beginning in the 1700s when this land was first discovered, Kiefer masterfully crafts both vivid characters and a visceral place, a land rooted in evil, with a long history of a thirst for human blood.
Midnight Rooms: A Novel
Orabella, a half-Black orphan, lives under the care of her Uncle in 1840s England where she is hastily married off to the handsome, rich, and mysterious Elias Blakersby.
Whisked off to the countryside and separated from everyone and everything she knows, Orabella is sent to a decaying house with shifting hallways, odd family gatherings, and dangerous secrets.
Not your grandmother’s Gothic, Coles brilliantly takes recognizable tropes but adds modern sensibilities and original twists.
Sacrificial Animals
Nick returns home to the cruel father he left behind after a hard childhood in Nebraska upon hearing his dad is dying.
Nick encourages his estranged brother, Joshua, disowned when he married Emilia, a woman of Chinese descent, to join him.
The story is told from Nick’s point of view in two time frames: the present and the year he was 13. Pedersen presents a slow-burn, supernatural horror tale, centering family, trauma, and revenge, with unease infused into every detail, which all builds to an ending that will leave readers gasping with awe.
Novellas For All Readers
Novellas have been steadily gaining in popularity for a decade now, but previously, the market was dominated by one publisher—Tor.com.
While they put out some great stories, the offerings were limited in scope. Now that readers have embraced the novellas as a standalone reading option, more publishers are taking a chance on the format which means there are amazing books for all of us to read.
These four books, all under 200 pages, meant to be read in a sitting (or two max) showcase the breadth of excellent options available in the format, with not a single title coming from Tor.com
Cranberry Cove
Partners Connor and Emberly, the private security partners for a local crime boss, are called to a “people-eating” hotel to try to find out what happened to the boss’s son.
The terror seeps through the walls and into the story as Piper employs all five senses to draw readers in and hold them rapt from beginning to end.
Think of it as the Law and Order SVU and X-Files crossover episode you never knew you needed in your life.
Coup de Grâce
Vicken is on the Montreal subway with plans to get off at the last stop and throw himself in the river, ending his life. However, upon exiting the train, he finds himself trapped in a never-ending labyrinth of corridors.
As Vicken continues to wander, Ajram cleverly transforms what seems like a deceptively simple plot into a complex, moving, and immersive contemplation of the very real horror of living with severe depression.
A tale that is as brutal as it is beautiful, readers need to prepare to become emotionally invested in this one.
Eynhallow
Set on the very real uninhabited Scottish island of Eynhallow, McGregor uses its eerie history as fodder for his atmospheric and compelling retelling of Frankenstein.
Told from the point of view of Agnes, in 1797, as her husband hires her out to help the rich, reclusive stranger (Victor Frankenstein) who has come to hide himself away from the world.
As Agnes gets to know him better, the tension, unease, and danger build, sightings of a monster lurking in the darkness increase, and Frankenstein’s curse becomes Agnes’ burden.
Kill Your Darling
Glenn’s son Billy died 40 years ago, at the age of 15, the victim of a brutal murder. The case was never solved and Glenn’s grief has not ebbed at all.
Glenn signs up for a writing class at the local library. Hoping to work through his pain and turn it into a book, but will that lead him even further into despair?
An unflinching tale of grief, pain, and obsession, that will leave readers gasping for air.
Not Your Parent’s Short Stories
This final trend was one I saw emerge in real-time as I was working my way through my favorite reads of 2024, as I saw that many of my favorite short story collections and anthologies all took the well-worn concept of a single volume full of stories and did something original or surprising with it.
Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil
One of my favorites reads in any genre this year, Lima presents a novel in stories that is exactly what it claims to be: a collection of stories the main character wrote after meeting the Devil in her 20s and hooking up with him.
The stories themselves, separated by interludes when the narrator and Devil check in with each other over her life, range from weird and creepy to surrealist and existentially terrifying.
Captivating, alluring, and even a little illicit, this book makes for an extraordinary reading experience.
Fragile Anthology
An unsuspecting employee of a moving company is handling a box, when he notices that it moves on its own. What could be in there?
Wonderland Award-winning author Rose decided to let the 20-sided die decide, as he solicited 20 all-new stories by authors well known (Brian Keene and Cynthia Pelayo) and up-and-coming—and asked them each to answer the question.
Readers are treated to tales from horror to bizarro to science fiction and more with each role of the die. What could have been a gimmick instead showcases how an original idea can make for one of the best and honestly, most enjoyable, anthologies of the year.
No One is Safe!
Fracassi’s small press collection of 14 speculative stories—all underpinned with unease—feature fascinating characters in original situations working in tandem to present fascinating stories that explore topics such as filial love, AI, alien life, Hollywood, a bestselling book, a haunted house as the narrator of its own killing spree, and more.
Thought-provoking, imaginative, and stunning, Fracassi's stories stand out not only because of his range, but also because it is the rare collection without a miss—every story, start to finish—is not to miss.
This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances
The fact that LaRocca is on another year-end best list for his short fiction, is not a surprise in any way; however, the fact that he continues to find new ways to invoke a mixture of disgust and wonder as he presents stories filled with the pain, trauma, and violence at the center of our most intimate relationships, is remarkable.
Too often Horror authors exploit depravity for cheap thrills, and yet LaRocca instead is able to use extreme horror to reveal the most universal truths.
On a side note, the last scene of the last story may be the best ending to a collection I have ever experienced.
Featured image: Alexander Grey / Unsplash
