FAVORITE HORROR FICTION of 2019
It's been another year filled with more fantastic releases from the horror community. 2019 saw far more novellas, and I read enough to build a top ten along side the novels. I didn’t get to many collections this year, although I have quite a few sitting in my TBR pile. As always, these are simply my opinions based on personal tastes. Like everyone, there are particular authors I tend to enjoy and certain subgenres I gravitate to.
Here are my top 10 novellas and top 10 novels of 2019.
NOVELLAS
Psychological thrills mixed with a subtle dash of supernatural terror reel you in, but it’s the prose and characterization that elevates this novella above your standard genre type. A meek doctor descends into madness with possible greater forces at play, and we’re along for the ride with this unreliable narrative.
#09 – Halloween Fiend by CV Hunt
A fun novella of holidays and horror, wonderfully told with captivating characters. A bleak little town is held captive by an entity known as Halloween, and Halloween has some demands. Hunt draws you into the town of Strange with its eccentric townsfolk and keeps you glued to the pages with its monster.
#08 – A Fresh Start by Somer Canon
A fantastic, character-driven haunted house tale. Terribly creepy yet definitely relatable, this story is just aching to be made into a movie. A quick read with ghosts, paranormal investigators, and witches, Canon weaves a tale utterly believable amidst the supernatural spiral.
#07 – Three Incidents at Foster Manor by P.T. Phronk
Haunting and original, a tense novella from the first page. Full of twists and turns, there’s a little bit of everything in here for a horror fan from a murder mystery to a haunting to a home invasion - and it all works together wonderfully. Some pick this story apart for plot holes, but I find the gestalt atmosphere to be excellent.
A dense and creepy historical horror novella from the Sisters of Slaughter. When a troubled and fragile young widow is left property on an island, she must also deal with the curse that goes along with it. A quick read full of intense imagery that will leave you emotionally strung-out.
#05 – One For the Road by Wesley Southard
A lunatic tale of heavy metal and nightmare realities. When a indie metal band on the verge of collapse is nearly finished with their tour, on their way home they find themselves in an ever-evolving hellscape. Entertaining, grotesque, and veering into bizarro, this is one strange little novella.
A superb, coming-of-age tale told in a classic horror style. When a small town in Wisconsin is rocked by earthquakes, people recall the UFO sightings from decades ago, but this this something far worse. Equal parts disgusting and sentimental, the novella is a stellar homage to 80s pulp horror.
A disturbing supernatural novella, but more-so, a chilling look at the power of belief. Unsettling and brutal, the greatest horrors comes from its unflinching take on faith. Whether it’s the banality of humanity’s supposed wickedness or malevolent entities from beyond, you cannot deny Stred’s captivating tale.
#02 – The Resurrectionists by Michael Patrick Hicks
A smart historical horror novella with Lovecraftian themes, the first in a series. Compelling in its conception, and wonderfully grotesque in its execution, this is cosmic horror both abstract and disgusting. Hicks has created realistic characters in this vivid time period, a tale you don’t want to miss.
#01 – Skinwrapper by Stephen Kozeniewski
A sci-fi horror novella, that can be read as a prequel to the excellent novel HEMATOPHAGES or as simply a stand-alone work. The fast-paced tale is brutal and tense, immediately dropping you into the action. As much as this book is about spaceships and pirates, it’s also about inequality and capitalism. And also gross stuff. This is the exact type of cross-genre work we need to see more of, executed in an amazing way.
NOVELS
#10 – Paradise, Maine by Jackson R. Thomas
Brutal horror reminiscent of Edward Lee or Jack Ketchum, hooking you from page one. A couple go on a vacation in the woods to hopefully repair their marriage, only to be tormented by a lunatic hillbilly protected by the town. Violent and sadistic, fans of extreme horror will love this short novel.
#09 – Lords of the Deep by Tim Meyer and Patrick Lacey
An exciting horror tale that blends genre troupes in a fun way. The ghosts of pirates have returned to a small ocean-side town, set on reclaiming their lost treasure to use in a cult ritual to resurrect sea monsters. It’s fast-paced with an adventurous plot, a great array of villains, and an impressive body count.
#08 – Blood and Rain by Glenn Rolfe
Rolfe brings us the best kind of werewolf horror, ferocious and fun. When savage murders begin to occur in a small Maine town that echo those of seven years previous, some wonder if the past is repeating itself. The official stance is that its only wild animal attacks, but others think a monster is back. Come for the vivid characters, stay for the buckets of gore.
Shaw takes his own spin on the Cthulhu Mythos, making it dark, insane, and sexy. Two young women get an eccentric modeling gig at an English manor, only to be used for sicker purposes by a cult. Definitely not for the squeamish, this extreme Cthulhu novel pushes boundaries and blends genres in surprising ways.
#06 – The Hag Witch of Tripp Creek by Somer Canon
An intimate and heartbreaking tale full of ignorance, apathy, abuse, and a bit of black magic. After a couple move from the city into the wilds of West Virginia, they are roped into the history of a local witch. This witch seems like a lovely old lady, but she has a story to tell. Vivid characters make this short novel come alive, its reality as horrifying as all the supernatural aspects.
#05 – Inside the Asylum by Mary SanGiovanni
SanGiovanni excels with her imaginative and gruesome cosmic horror noir, another entry in the Kathy Ryan Series. A patient at a mental health facility has the ability to warp reality in disturbing ways, the same facility where Ryan’s brother is housed for his murders. The tale is appropriately insane and action-packed, from one of the most visionary voices in cosmic horror.
#04 – Demon at the Window by John Quick
A truly entertaining work of horror noir, with a grumpy private investigator, a sassy assistant, and a demonic serial killer. Quick gives the modern mystery novel a supernatural stabbing, filling it with esoteric lore along with great characters and a frantic pace. I will absolutely be signing up for more from Cochran Investigations.
#03 – Tapetum Lucidum by Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason
A brutal creature-feature full of action and gore, told in that fantastic Sisters of Slaughter style. When a group of teens accidentally stir an ancient curse, wendigo-like monsters are released upon a small town. It’s a break-neck paced, blood-soaked ride with wonderfully disturbing monsters as the stars.
69 is a riveting and unique tale of cosmic horror, full of well-delivered dread. A fascinating premise leads us to quite a series of unsettling moments, some more mundane horrors and others that shatter comprehension. With the characters fully fleshed out and a plot this intriguing, you can burn through this entertaining short novel in a few hours. Meyer excels at making you fear for his characters, and in this tale there’s a good chance no one is getting out of this with their sanity intact.
A truly innovative and contemporary piece of horror fiction. Ralston himself has called his book “Jurassic Park meets The Shining,” and while his words ring true, it’s so much more than that. Two teen friends attend the opening of new controversial theme park Ghostland for their own personal issues, but the technology controlling the dead fails and the spirits begin a bloody rampage. The sci-fi aspects are fully understandable and integrated into the story, just as the map and footnotes are to the books itself. The lore is expansive, the characters vivid, the book a new standard for what can be achieved in the genre.
Thank you for taking the time to read my lists. I hope perhaps you’ve found some titles you weren’t aware of or some you’ve been eyeing. Here’s to 2020 being filled with work just as strong and compelling!
*
Brian Fatah Steele has been writing various types of dark fiction for almost twenty years, from horror to urban fantasy and science fiction. Steele originally went to school for fine arts but finds himself far more fulfilled now by storytelling. His work has appeared in such anthologies as 4POCALYPSE, BLOOD TYPE, CTHULHU LIES DREAMING, DEATH’S REALM, THE IDOLATERS OF CTHULHU, and the Bram Stoker Award-nominated DARK VISIONS, VOL.1. His own titles include CELESTIAL SEEPAGE (Alien Agenda Publishing), BLEED AWAY THE SKY (Bloodshot Books) and THERE IS DARKNESS IN EVERY ROOM (Sinister Grin Press), along with the self-published YOUR ARMS AROUND ENTROPY, BRUTAL STARLIGHT, FURTHER THAN FATE, and IN BLEED COUNTRY.