“He saw his own death flickering on the edges of the light
but mother maid and crone
gently lead him to a hut he hadn’t seen.
Inside the same sour smell of something on the brazier
warm water for his bath, oil for his skin
they washed and braided his long hair.
This is how you prepare a corpse for burial.”
—A Presentment of Englishry by Liam Guilar
(The above quote is taken from the wonderful epic poem by Liam Guilar, which I highly recommend. A sweeping overview of ancient English mythology told like a slightly modernized epic, medieval poem. Chapter four, in which the captain encounters The Red Queen, is my favorite.)
All book recommendations are above the cut. If you’re a paid member, you’ll be able to see the bonus film and television recommendations below the paywall. I hope you can find something you’ll enjoy!
I. Books (etc.)
The Fisherman by John Langan
A personal favorite of mine. Partly a traditional horror novel and partly an epistolary novel in the tradition of Lovecraft, Blackwood, et al. Absolutely wonderful. It’s better if you go into it knowing nothing.Adam Nevill
While he used to be an excellent horror writer, Adam Nevill’s most recent work is not up to his original standards (in my opinion). However, many of his older novels are exceptional. Part of the reason he’s so good is his ability to dig into the psychology of horror’s effects on the mind. We experience every second of the narrative from a uniquely introspective view. And the clarity with which he writes these inner elements is part of the reason I used to read him so religiously (especially in October). The following are my two favorites of his:
Under a Watchful Eye
This one is a surreal, psychological story with careful hints of the supernatural. The best psychological story Nevill ever wrote, in my opinion. As the main character’s peace is chipped away one splinter at a time, we experience each agonizing scratch. This one is also a little hard to describe without giving too much away. It follows a man living in a coastal house whose life is upended when a figure from his past returns...Last Days
My actual favorite. I love the idea of dangerous investigations and lost cults, there’s something very Weird (capital W) there and it always draws me in. But, again, Nevill’s grip on the psychology of his main character is incredibly engrossing.
Robert Aickman
A hidden gem almost left to gather dust in the out-of-print tragedy pile. Aickman is widely considered a master of the atmospheric short story and his handsome, recently reprinted collections are worth picking up. These are the four I own and my favorite stories from each:
Dark Entries offers “Ringing the Changes” and “The View”
The Wine-Dark Sea offers “Your Tiny Hand is Frozen” and “The Inner Room”
Cold Hand in Mine, one of Aickman’s most famous collections, offers to the stout of heart “Pages from a Young Girl’s Journal” and also “The Clock Watcher”
I have only started to read The Unsettled Dust. Though the titles are very alluring.
Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton
Another all-time favorite. Written by the author of Jurassic Park, this slim novel is constructed as if it was nothing more than a translation of a very old manuscript. “Written by” a young ambassador from an Arab court who finds himself accompanying a Beowulf-esque figure and his band of warriors as they take on an unspeakable evil that is terrorizing the north. This book combines my love for history and atmospheric horror (and fantasy) into one wonderful novel.
As an aside, the 2000 film The 13th Warrior that is based on this book is also absolutely wonderful.
Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
My favorite of the Hannibal Lector books (that I’ve read). I vastly preferred Will Graham to Clarice Starling. This was a moody, interesting, readable book.
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
One of the only modern novels I’ve read that I really enjoyed. A strange, ominous, odd, dangerous story that follows a washed-up reporter looking into a young woman’s recent suicide. The young woman in question happened to be the only daughter of a reclusive, legendary filmmaker (think: David Lynch meets Francis Ford Coppola). What follows is a strange, dreamlike foray into an alien world of poisoned otherness that lurks just beneath the glossy veneer of beautiful Hollywood.
14 by Peter Clines
I got this book based on a friend’s recommendation that it “reminded him of The Lost Room”, which was high praise indeed. Turns out, he wasn’t really wrong.
Like most Weird horror, 14 is better if you know very little. The simple synopsis is that is follows a guy stuck in a dead-end job, with scant funds, as he moves into an odd apartment building as the new handyman.
The occupants are a motley bunch, but likable. It’s the building itself that defies logic. That, and the mysteriously boarded and locked apartment 14. This isn’t a mere haunted apartment building, this is something else entirely…
There are three things that set this book apart from other simple popcorn books:
First, the characters. This is a group of truly likable people who are all different and all have their own issues and weaknesses. But when the, uh, defecation hits the oscillation, some of these people really did shine.
Second, the story. Clines really did have fun with this one. It was such an out-there concept with every turn bringing something else unexpected. Every chapter was a joy.
Third, the writing. Clines is not Hemingway, nor does he try to be. This was the first novel I read where I experienced this wonderful sensation: the words disappeared. At some point I realized that I was no longer reading the book in my head, but the scenes were playing out like a little movie. His prose disappears so completely that the mind can effortlessly see the pictures he’s painting with it. It’s perfect for a book like this.
p.s. The Fold is this book’s sequel, somewhat. To avoid spoilers, I suggest you don’t read the synopsis of that book before you read 14. That one is pretty good, too. But 14 is my favorite.
Darkness on the Edge of Town by Brian Keene
Like 14 this unassuming book is greater than the sum of its parts. An epistolary novel that relates, from the perspective of a Regular Guy, all that comes to pass after the small town of Walden, Virginia is completely cut off from the entire rest of the whole world by a thick, inky, total blackness. Aside from the panic and confusion, the story does a remarkable job charting very interesting and believable character arcs in the midst of these horrible times which are at once realistic and not at all bleak. Some people are reduced to their worst selves, some remain constant, and some find it in them to become better. This one is unavailable on Bookshop.com, for some reason. The link above takes you to the author’s site where you can choose how to buy the book.
(The prose of this novel isn’t really anything to write home about, but the storytelling is outstanding. Personally, I love both epistolary novels and stories that follow dangerous, possibly supernatural exploration. So this book was very fun for me, while also being a pleasant surprise.)
Penpal by Dathan Auerbach
This incredible, unsettling story began as a creepypasta by 1000vultures and quickly grew into one of the most legendary stories in the history of nosleep. That was how I originally read it.
The story follows a young man who has begun to remember a series of strange events from his childhood that involved, among other things, a mysterious and increasingly predatory penpal. This story has to be experienced as blindly as it was originally posted; it’s better to know as little as possible before you read.Search and Rescue Woods
Not a book, per se, this multi-part nosleep post is my all-time favorite creepypasta. Incredibly well-told stories, incredibly well-written. One of those creepypastas that might just be partly true. It presents itself as a collection of stories related by an anonymous person who works search and rescue for the US Forest Service. These stories generally revolve around strange things that happened when search parties went looking for missing hikers and campers. Outstanding late-night reading.
Honorable Mentions:
I love a lot of Lovecraft, but a favorite of mine is At the Mountains of Madness
The Borges stories The Immortal and Ibn-Hakam al-Bokhari, Murdered in His Labyrinth, both from The Aleph are two I could recommend for this time of year. But as far as I’m concerned, there are no bad Borges stories.
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
The Willows by Algernon Blackwood
A masterpiece of atmosphere and elegant description, this longer short story tells a simple tale with such stunning beauty that it will always be my favorite Blackwood. Bonus: the finest description of the Danube ever put to paper (probably)
Note: All book recommendations, as I said, are featured above. Below the paywall are movie and series recommendations only.