Tag: horror short stories

As with every year, I read so much good horror in 2024 that I had to give it its own best-of list rather than lumping it in with my Best Fiction I Read in 2024 list (or my best non-fiction list, although I read a couple of good non-fiction horror books, and non-fiction in general aka real life is pretty horrifying right now). All of the books on my list were published in 2024 bar one, which was published at the end of October 2023, so if you’re looking for good, recent horror, read on!

Bonus: I was lucky enough to get an ARC of a book being published later in 2025 that I think a lot of folks are going to really love, and one of my first reads of the year was a 2024 book that would absolutely have made my best-of list if I’d read it two weeks earlier, so I’m not going to save it all the way for my end-of-year lists.

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due (2023)

I finished reading Tananarive Due’s The Reformatory on January 9, and on that early date I was willing to stake the claim that it would be the best horror book I’d read in the year. And you know what, I was absolutely right. Set in the Jim Crow south at a boy’s reform school and based true events including the life and unjust death one of Due’s own relatives, this novel is horrifying enough even before it is touched by the paranormal. But there are plenty of ghosts and premonitions as well for those who love a supernatural element in their horror novels. It’s a harrowing, haunting read, but it’s a masterpiece of horror, historical fiction, and fiction in general.

The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister (2024)

You can judge a book by its cover on this one. If you are immediately drawn in by the earthy color palette and eerie details of The Bog Wife‘s cover, then you’ll probably love the book, too. A rural gothic, the novel features an Appalachian family, isolated and co-dependent, who are gifted (or cursed) with a covenant that has run and been renewed by generations before them. When this time the pact seems to fail, each of the siblings react in their own ways to attempt to stitch it back together, or rend it further apart. I loved the writing style in this novel, so descriptive I could nearly smell the peat. Adding in a heavy helping of family trauma, plenty of folk horror, and a dash of climate anxiety, The Bog Wife hit all the notes for me.

The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones (2024)

In my opinion, the Indian Lake trilogy is destined to be considered a modern horror classic. And this closing novel novel hits a perfect balance on every level — gory and violent without losing its emotional core, nostalgic and referential to the scores of horror classics that came before without getting too meta. Jade Daniels is a final girl for the ages; in this last installment we see the culmination of her growth and maturity, while still maintaining her edge and of course her encyclopedic knowledge of slasher films across all subgenres. The trilogy isn’t going to be for everyone — you might find yourself having to cast your mind back to remember a minor character who makes a sudden reappearance or do a bit of wikipedia-ing to understand one of Jade’s film references — but for those who will make the effort, it’s up there with the all-time greats.

My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen (2024)

Now this is gothic horror. It’s grotesque, unsettling, ambiguous, and romantic. Roos and her ghostly, ghastly companion Ruth are a fascinating duo, aiding Roos’s conniving mother in fake séances to con wealthy customers. Eventually, she is sent to live with a widow who offers a handsome sum for her companionship after Roos pretends to channel the woman’s dead husband, and Roos’s relationship with the bold yet mysterious Agness is equally compelling. The supporting characters are as complex and intriguing as the main characters, and excellent pacing and an eerie setting round out the novel and help to create a tense, thrilling story.

Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne (2024)

This quick horror read is tons of fun. Our protagonist, Anna, is the black sheep of her family, and her dry, sarcastic tone is perfect for narrating both the mundane drama that occurs as the family gets together at an AirBnB in Italy, and the paranormal horrors they experience there. She’s not a likable character, per se, but she is an enjoyable one, and probably a relatable one, too, ideal for a story like this. The scares are balanced out with the humor, and the blend offers a satisfying and sometimes satirical take on the classic haunted house novel. Maybe the true horror was the family vacations we took along the way, am I right (I’m kidding, I actually love family vacations, Steve and I are meeting my parents in Portugal for a holiday in March — hopefully sans hauntings).

You Like It Darker by Stephen King (2024)

Death, taxes, and a new Stephen King book. Some things are pretty much guaranteed, and it’s inevitable that a writer as prolific as King is going to have some peaks and valleys in his oeuvre. Luckily, his latest short story collection, You Like It Darker, is a definite high. There are a couple of so-so stories, but the good ones are beyond good, and a little bit of variance in short story quality is probably inevitable in a collection as well. “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream” is worth the price of admission alone, and I love when King dips into cosmic horror as he does in “The Dreamers.” “The Answer Man” is simple, classic, and just the right amount of melancholy, and Cujo pseudo-sequel “Rattlesnakes” is creepy as hell. A solid collection from the horror master.

Bonus:

Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen (2025)

After reading My Darling Dreadful Thing, I instantly added Johanna van Veen to the list of authors whose work I will be sure to pick up, so I was thrilled to snag an ARC of her second novel, Blood on Her Tongue (thanks very much to the author, Netgalley, and Poisoned Pen Press). I’ll share more of my thoughts on the book closer to its publication date, but in short, I think I loved this novel even more than I loved van Veen’s debut. Toxic codependence will always be a favorite horror trope of mine, especially when it leads to devastating consequences, and it’s so well executed here along with an exquisitely-crafted story that grows the creeping, unsettling tension to a truly disturbing climax.

She’s Always Hungry by Eliza Clark (2024)

As I said above, I read this at the very start of 2025, but since it was only published in mid-November 2024 and since it’s so early in the year, I don’t want to save it all the way for my end-of-2025 reviews since I would absolutely have included it in my best-of-2024 list had I read it in time, and I want to recommend it to anyone who is looking for disturbing, outrageous, fucked up short stories to start their year. Some highlights: the spooky siren folklore title tale, the cannibal lady cosmic oddity “The King,” the nothing-paranormal-but-just-as-creepy “Goth GF” about a young man’s obsession with his coworker, the climate anxiety-tinged space/bio horror “Extinction Event,” and the absurd (and absurdly unsettling) “The Shadow Over Little Chitaly,” which is formatted as a series of meal delivery app reviews about a takeaway restaurant that’s Not Quite Right.