Recommended Horror Fiction for Fall 2023

Leopoldo Goût’s *Rooted* (Tor Nightfire) explores Mesoamerican folklore through the story of a museum worker who unwittingly awakens an ancient power tied to looted artifacts in Mexico City.

Sarah Langan’s *Trad Wife* (Atria) delves into techno-horror as an investigative reporter uncovers disturbing truths about a family led by a trad-wife influencer, exposing secrets beneath the facade of their lifestyle.

*Notes on a Colonial Situation in Hell* by Robert G. Penner (McNally Jackson Books) offers satirical commentary on colonialism in an imaginative hellscape where wraiths labor and demons plot rebellion.

Alma Katsu’s *Incarnate* (Putnam) follows a tech worker who strikes a deal with a dark presence to gain celebrity, only to grapple with the physical and spiritual costs of her newfound fame.

Megan Mostyn-Brown’s *The Need* (Del Rey) centers on a mother and her children caught in the sinister clutches of her late husband's cannibalistic family.

In *The Man of Wind and Moss* (Erewhon), Alex Gonzalez shifts from technothriller to folk horror, taking readers on a camping trip filled with dark twists and cryptid lore.

Deena Helm’s *Our Cut of Salt* (Tor Nightfire) narrates a haunted family’s return to their ancestral home, unveiling generational secrets and dangers from both the living and the dead.

Kim Bohyun’s *Mothersucker* (Vintage) adds depth to the vampire genre as a woman seeks revenge for her daughter’s death, while shadows of a serial killer loom.

Tananarive Due’s *Mazywood* (Saga) combines horror and history, tracing the effects of exploitation through generations, punctuated with dark secrets and a chilling creature.

*I Am the Monster Under the Bed* by Emily Zinnikas (St Martins) reveals a unique connection between an artist and the childhood monster she befriended amidst a backdrop of true crime.

Saratoga Schaefer's *A Thousand Monstrous Forms* (Crooked Lane Books) retells the Bluebeard legend within a gothic thriller rich in suspense.

*Micaiah Johnson’s The Unhaunting* (Putnam) stands out as a must-read haunted house tale that interrogates luck and fortune before revealing darker truths.

Doretta Lau’s *We Are Underlings* (Spiderline) presents a comedic horror set in a theme park that confronts death, filled with existential and absurd humor.

Jason Rekulak’s *Look What the Cat Dragged In* (Flatiron) features a cat with sinister tendencies, weaving together charm and suspense in a playful narrative.

Benedict Anning's *Atomic Coffin* (Saga) combines elements of cosmic horror and espionage as a deep-cover agent uncovers terrifying secrets in an abandoned submarine.

*Thousands of Eyes* by Maximiliano Barrientos (Counterpoint) presents three interwoven tales in a nightmarish, apocalyptic landscape.

Ryan Burruss’s *American Crow* (Counterpoint) brings to life a suburb rife with tension and historical horror, leading to a dramatic confrontation.

*Caitlin Starling’s Milkteeth* (St Martin’s) examines vampire lore through the lens of a broodmother grappling with newfound responsibilities.

Stephen Graham Jones returns to his haunting world in *Off the Reservation* (Saga), as characters face dark spiritual forces tied to their past.

Elizabeth Kostova’s *Mystery Play* (Ballantine) reimagines Dracula, intertwining elements of theater and historical horror for a fresh perspective.

*Solace House* by Will Maclean (Grove Press) explores hidden truths within a Victorian mansion, blending suspense with a dark academia vibe.

Nick Medina’s *‘Twas the Night* (William Morrow) flips Christmas horror on its head, focusing on a sinister Santa in a secluded village.

In *Savage Lake* (Berkley), Nick Medina weaves Native American folklore into a gripping narrative about a mother and son confronting dark forces.

Lyndsay Faye's *Raven* (Mysterious Press) features interconnected lives amidst the gothic landscape of antebellum America, exploring themes of death and the occult.

*Winterset Hollow* by Jonathan Edward Durham (Union Square) challenges characters as they encounter the animate creatures of their beloved children’s book.

Alex T. Singer’s *Angel Country* (Saga) imagines terrifying angels in a twist on cosmic horror, driven by greed and dark histories.

Jane Schoenbrun’s *Public Access Afterworld* (Hogarth) follows two teens in pursuit of disturbing images, revealing a conspiracy tied to the digital age.

Desirée de Fez’s *Don’t Leave Her Alone* (Putnam) blends body horror with themes of maternal bond and sacrifice among women facing the unknown.

Kelley Armstrong’s *Dive Bar at the End of the Road* (St Martin’s) intriguingly crafts a supernatural thriller around five strangers trapped in a haunted bar.

*What the Forest Devours* by Elaine Vilar Madruga (HarperVia) presents a harrowing story of community sacrifice to an ancient forest, framed through a feminist lens.

Kat Dunn’s *Rottenheart* (Zando) joyfully reinterprets Hamlet in a Sapphic twist, filled with complex family dynamics and ghostly hauntings.

In *There Used to Be People Here* (Berkley), Kennedy Cole explores queerness and government conspiracy in a unique tale of body horror.

Finally, *Exhumation* by Nicholas Binge (Riverhead) merges detective fiction with a chilling narrative split between two gripping storylines.

*Motherfucking Sharks* by Brian Allen Carr (Clash Books) promises unabashed splatter horror, reissued due to its captivating premise.