Single author collections are a great way for readers to dive into the work of new to them voices, and Horror, specifically works really well in this shorter form. As I noted in The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, 3rd edition:
“Horror readers seek out stories not only to enjoy their favorite established authors, but also, to identify new voices. Because horror is actively trying to invoke fear in its readers, the short story is a particularly effective medium, when done well, since it can be read in one sitting. The length itself allows the author to grab readers and keep them in their thrall for the entirety of their tale, while simultaneously allowing readers to succumb to emotions and lose themselves in the anxiety, dread and terror completely, in a way for which a novel does not allow. “
In that spirited I wanted to draw your attention to six superior, single author collections, from the last 10 years that I think deserve to be moved up to the top of your TBR pile.
Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters
It would be hard to argue that there is a stronger, more important, more dynamic short story writer in the genre than John Langan. He is already your favorite horror author’s favorite horror author, and this collection, from 2008, was his first collection.
Filled with stories that explore the creation of art through unforgettable characters, memorable monsters, and his unique lyrical, narrative voice, readers will dive into encounters between memorable characters—a man listening to a disturbing audiotape left by his deceased father, a student in a strange tutoring center, or an artist obsessed with completing a recently discovered statue—as he implants images into your head, images that will be very hard for you to shake after experiencing them.
But that’s the beauty of a story by John Langan, you don’t want to ever forget them no matter how chilling, unsettling, or terrifying those images are.
Her Body and Other Parties
Shortlisted for the National Book Award, Machado’s first book explores women, their bodies, and the violence done to them, by themselves, and others.
From a dress shop where the clothes absorb their wearers to a woman doing an inventory of her sexual encounters as humanity is being destroyed by a plague to a tale that combines 12 seasons of Law and Order: SVU into one disturbingly creepy but utterly satisfying ghost story,
Sensual, eerie, and inventive, raw, frank, violent and weird– all of these words describe these disquieting tales. But Machado also infuses it all with a beauty and lyricism, so that despite the dark subject matter, readers will devour every story, even reread some.
No One Will Come Back For Us
While the first two authors are probably familiar names to most readers of this list, Mohamed, a rising star with immense talent across the speculative genres, may be an author you are discovering today.
Many of the tales in this, her debut collection, use a Lovecraftian frame, set in the author’s “real gods” universe, and explore the cosmic concepts of hopelessness and fear with a fresh vision. Parent-child relationships are laid bare in many of these stories as well, such as in the Pushcart Prize-nominated story “Willing,” featuring a farmer and his beloved younger daughter, who is summoned by the gods to be sacrificed.
No matter the plot or setting, however, each story is marked by a strong narrative voice, confident world-building, and an unease that seeps into every corner, leaving readers unsettled but also looking at their world from a new perspective.
The Black Maybe: Liminal Tales
Veres is Hungary’s leading Horror author, and this his first length English language collection, features stories covering a wide range of horror subgenres that each sit at the threshold where dread teeters on the precipice of terror.
Readers should expect unnerving, matter of fact narrations, contemporary settings, and quick flips in tone from mundane to sinister. Standouts include “Fogtown,” featuring an obscure, possibly deadly band, or the immersive and beguiling “Return to the Midnight School,” where what appears to be a zombie story grows into an original, weird, and disquieting nightmare.
Veres’ liminal tales will make you hungry [pun intended] for more horror in translation.
A Sunny Place for Shady People: Stories
Speaking of horror stories in translation, no one has captured the American audience in this space more fully than Enriquez.
A journalist and fiction writer, Enriquez combines both writing styles to probe the darkness and horror of the real world, especially in relation to the troubling history of her home country of Argentina, to craft immersive surreal worlds of unease and terror, with lyrical language, captivating characters, and a disquieting tone where what is good and what is evil is not easily discerned.
This collection focuses on how ordinary people, particularly women, have their lives upended. For example, a neighborhood plagued by ghosts, a family with faces that melt away, and a riverbank populated by birds who used to be women.
The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell
Evenson’s work is known for being both disturbing, and cerebral. Readers should expect original, violent, and mind-bending plots, moderated by dark humor and prose so precise that readers are lured into each story, following the dark paths to their horrifying conclusions.
The stories in this collection are all set on an Earth where humanity has been devastated by ecological collapse. Mixing horrors both human and supernatural (from cults to a sentient prosthetic limb), combining ecohorror with psychological horror, readers will not only be entertained throughout but also led down the existentially terrifying path of questioning their own reality.
But not to worry, this is precisely why readers adore Evenson.
Featured image: Canva
