The General Horror Book Thread: Between Two Fires fucking RULED! Hell yeah!!!! - The Something Awful Forums

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The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > The General Horror Book Thread: Between Two Fires fucking RULED! Hell yeah!!!!

Centrist Dad: Nov 13, 2007; When I see your posting; College Slice

This thread rules, thanks for the recommendations spooky goons.

Plot twist snipe: BOO

# ? Oct 25, 2023 12:51

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# ? May 29, 2024 06:58

gey muckle mowser: Aug 5, 2003; Do you know anything about...
witches?; Buglord

Centrist Dad posted:

Plot twist snipe: BOO

whoa whoa, just because this is a thread about scary books doesn't make it ok to make scary posts

# ? Oct 25, 2023 16:29

Bilirubin: Feb 16, 2014; The sanctioned action is to CHUG

After I calm down from that jump scare...

I just finished the very scary BotM Camp Damascus and I still need more spooOOOoooky in my system, so I started The World Below by David Peak. So far I am 1/3 of the way through this novelette and am enjoying it! Its not exactly original, about two rival families, at least one of which are witches. Hope they do as well with this trope as Gemma Files

OMGVBFLOL posted:

if you have the money and the patience, you can Hello Kitty anything

Thank you deep dish peat moss!

# ? Oct 26, 2023 04:24

value-brand cereal: May 2, 2008

A Light Most Hateful by Hailey Piper [white american trans woman]

quote:

When a summer storm sweeps through a sleepy town unleashing a monstrous and otherworldy power that threatens to break reality, Olivia will stop at nothing to find her best friend and get them to safety.
Three years after running away from home, Olivia is stuck with a dead-end job in nowhere town Chapel Hill, Pennsylvania. At least she has her best friend, Sunflower.
Olivia figures she�ll die in Chapel Hill, if not from boredom, then the summer night storm which crashes into town with a mind-bending monster in tow.
If Olivia�s going to escape Chapel Hill and someday reconcile with her parents, she�ll need to dodge residents enslaved by the storm�s otherworldly powers and find Sunflower.
But as the night strains friendships and reality itself, Olivia suspects the storm, and its monster, may have its eyes on Sunflower and everything she loves.
Including Olivia.

If you think you know where this is going, no you don't. Extremely good, it's so nice to read a woman character oriented story. And hey bonus it's got a nonbinary character that isn't a one off token.

Let Him In by William Friend [white american man]

quote:

�Daddy, there�s a man in our room��

Alfie wakes one night to find his twin daughters at the foot of his bed, claiming there�s a shadowy figure in their bedroom. When no such thing can be found, he assumes the girls had a nightmare.
He isn�t surprised that they�re troubled. Grief has made its home at Hart House: nine months ago, the twins� mother Pippa died unexpectedly, leaving Alfie to raise them alone. And now, when the girls mention a new imaginary friend, it seems like a harmless coping mechanism. But the situation quickly develops into something more insidious. The girls set an extra place for him at the table. They whisper to him. They say he�s going to take them away�

Alfie calls upon Julia�Pippa�s sister and a psychiatrist�to oust the malignant tenant from their lives. But as Alfie himself is haunted by visions and someone watches him at night, he begins to question the true character of the force that has poisoned his daughters� minds, with dark and violent consequences.
Whatever this �friend� is, he doesn�t want to leave. Alfie will have to confront his own shameful secrets, the dark past of Hart House, and even the bounds of reality�or risk taking part in an unspeakable tragedy.

Haunted house featuring a ghost interdimension monster demon masquering as grief and childhood trauma?? I really liked this. The variety of appearances the monster had was refreshing. It kept it from feeling like a Slenderman-but-a-ghost monster. I kinda wish there was more to the weird twin supernatural shenanigans.

I'm not sure about the ending though. Someone else who hsa read this please chime in. Incest cw ok so was it the twin sisters' father who possessed the main male character? Or was it a generic ghost monster? I'm a little weirded out by the incestuous implications.

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology edited by Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

quote:

A bold, clever, and sublimely sinister collection that dares to ask the question: �Are you ready to be un-settled?�
Many Indigenous people believe that one should never whistle at night. This belief takes many forms: for instance, Native Hawaiians believe it summons the Hukai�po, the spirits of ancient warriors, and Native Mexicans say it calls Lechuza, a witch that can transform into an owl. But what all these legends hold in common is the certainty that whistling at night can cause evil spirits to appear�and even follow you home.

These wholly original and shiver-inducing tales introduce readers to ghosts, curses, hauntings, monstrous creatures, complex family legacies, desperate deeds, and chilling acts of revenge. Introduced and contextualized by bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones, these stories are a celebration of Indigenous peoples� survival and imagination, and a glorious reveling in all the things an ill-advised whistle might summon.
Kushtuka by Mathilda Zeller
White Hills by Rebecca Roanhorse
Navajos Don�t Wear Elk Teeth by Conley Lyons
Wingless by Marcie R. Rendon
Quantum by Nick Medina
Hunger by Phoenix Boudreau
Tick Talk by Cherie Dimaline
The Ones Who Killed Us by Brandon Hobson
Snakes Are Born in the Dark by D. H. Trujillo
Before I Go by Norris Black
Night in the Chrysalis by Tiffany Morris
Behind Colin�s Eyes by Shane Hawk
Heart-Shaped Clock by Kelli Jo Ford
Scariest. Story. Ever. by Richard Van Camp
Human Eaters by Royce K. Young Wolf
The Longest Street in the World by Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
Dead Owls by Mona Susan Power
The Prepper by Morgan Talty
Uncle Robert Rides the Lightning by Kate Hart
Sundays by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
Eulogy for a Brother, Resurrected by Carson Faust
Night Moves by Andrea L. Rogers
Capgras by Tommy Orange
The Scientist�s Horror Story by Darcie Little Badger
Collections by Amber Blaeser-Wardzala
Limbs by Waubgeshig Rice

Not one story failed to catch my interest, as opposed to many other anthologies. I really loved Tick Talk and Uncle Robert Rides the Lightning.

Some other books I want to read. Anyone interested in haunted houses?

A Theory of Haunting by Katherine Addison [white american woman]

quote:

Kyle Murchison Booth, archivist at the Parrington Museum, has heard of Thirdhop Scarp. Everyone has. The house has been notorious ever since the night that homeowner J.A. Cathcart murdered his entire family, and was found cupping the heart of his eldest daughter in his hands as tenderly as he would a wounded bird.

It is not the first time the house has experienced unsettling events. And it will not be the last.
Now the new owner of Thirdhop Scarp, one Marcus Oleander, is gathering an esoteric order at the house, including Miss Griselda Parrington, daughter of the museum�s founder. The museum director demands that Mr Booth discredit Oleander�s occult teachings and end his influence over the credulous Miss Parrington. Reluctantly, Mr Booth joins the weekend s�ance.

In the beautiful but eerie surrounds of the house and gardens, Mr Booth is drawn into an investigation that spans years � and reveals the house to be much, much more than it seems.

I only read her The Goblin Emperor book ages ago but remember liking it.

Palace of Shadow by Ray Celestin [white british man]

quote:

�I�m not asking you to build something impossible. I�m asking you to build something that contains all the strangeness and confusion that you can muster.�

Samuel Etherstone, a penniless artist, is adrift in London. His disturbing art is shunned by patrons and critics alike, his friend Oscar Wilde is now an exile living in Paris, and a personal tragedy has taken its toll. So when he is contacted by a mysterious heiress, Mrs Chesterfield, and asked to work on a commission for the house she is building on the desolate Smugglers� Coast of North Yorkshire, he accepts the offer.

Staying overnight in the local village pub, Samuel is warned not to spend too much time there. He is told of the fate of the house�s original architect, Francisco Varano, chilling tales of folk driven mad by the house, of it being built on haunted land where young girls have vanished, their ghosts now calling others to their deaths�

It is only on arrival at the Chesterfield house that he learns the sinister details of Varano�s disappearance. And yet its owner keeps adding wing upon wing, and no one will tell him the reason behind her chilling obsession . . . But as Samuel delves deeper into the mysteries that swirl about the house, the nature of the project becomes terrifyingly clear.

Going by the Piranesi name drop and book cover, I'm hoping this is some interesting architecture horror. It's gothic rather than horror outright.

# ? Oct 26, 2023 04:27

Ravus Ursus: Mar 30, 2017

Add another person to list of those absolutely raving about "Between Two Fires". I haven't been this engrossed in a book in a long time. This checks so many boxes and hits just the right chords for everything I've wanted, not only in stuff I want to read but in stuff I've tried to capture in my own writing.

I'm normally one to skim read through set dressing because I'm in favor of plot and character, and I find the pages of description that don't actually add to anything to the story, have worn away my patience.So unless its actively moving the plot forward I tend to glaze over it.

Sanderson and, to my shame, Tolkein, are stuff I just glaze over because its so many words that, to me, add little to the story bejng told. (Though in Tolkiens case I recognize that's a me issue as it's a travelogue.) But, in many ways, BTF is one as well and I found myself taking my time with descriptions because so many smaller stories were told in describing the landscape, or a row of trees, or even the lack of activity in the countryside.

I was raised in an old country Catholic household, so a lot of the imagery in it, especially the scenes in Paris, hit me in ways that caught me off guard and in ways contemporary horror doesn't because of the over saturation of certain imagery. Seeing imagery that I grew up with, and imagery that I grew away from and left in my youth, used in the way it was used here was wild and savage and I loved it.

Ever question that needs an answer is given one, and just enough is left open that it lets the reader fill in the blanks however they want.

God drat what a banger this was and I can't wait to see what else this dude has in store.

# ? Oct 28, 2023 05:49

Opopanax: Aug 8, 2007; I HEX YE!!!

Opopanax posted:

I'm about halfway through HEX, which was recommended in the OP, and it's great. Such a unique concept and really tense when the tense parts hit.
The basic premise is that it's about a town under a witch's curse, except they've been under the curse for 300 years so its almost mundane for them, and they have all kinds of policies and procedures for it, even an app to deal with her. Things of course change and go wrong and that's where the meat of the story, but it's definitely not like anything I've read before

And done. Jesus christ that got bleak. Absolutely fantastic, it felt like King in his prime, especially the climax. Strongly recommended but now I need to read some light fluff

# ? Oct 28, 2023 16:24

value-brand cereal: May 2, 2008

Red River Seven by A. J. Ryan aka Anthony Ryan [white british man]

quote:

Seven strangers. One mission. Infinite horror.

A man awakes on a boat at sea with no memory of who or where he is. He�s not alone � there are six others, each with a unique set of skills. None of them can remember their names. All of them possess a gun.
When a message appears on the onboard computer � Proceeding to Point A � the group agrees to work together to survive whatever is coming.
But as the boat moves through the mist-shrouded waters, divisions begin to form. Who is directing them and to what purpose? Why can�t they remember anything?
And what are the screams they can hear beyond the mist?

Internationally bestselling fantasy author Anthony Ryan � writing as A. J. Ryan � delivers a nerve-shredding thriller in which seven strangers must undertake a terrifying journey into the unknown.

Technically this is science fiction. But it features disease [virus?] horror and as far as mysteries featuring amnesiacs and pandemics go, this was pretty interesting. A bit of a quick read, imo. Medium spoilers, but if you're a fan of the last of us you might like it. I think it's different enough that it's not a rip off or anything.

Organ Meats by K-Ming Chang [asian american woman]

quote:

Two girls are bound by red string and canine heritage in this vivid tale about female companionship and loyalty, from the National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree and author of Gods of Want.

Best friends Anita and Rainie find refuge by an old sycamore tree with its neighboring lot of stray dogs who have a mysterious ability to communicate with humans. The girls learn that they are preceded by generations of dog-headed women and woman-headed dogs whose bloodlines bind them together. Anita convinces Rainie to become a dog with her, tying a collar of red string around each of their necks to preserve their kinship forever. But when the two girls are separated, Anita sinks into a dreamworld that only Rainie knows how to rescue her from. As Anita�s body begins to rot, it is up to Rainie to rebuild Anita�s body and keep her friend from being lost forever.

Filled with ghosts and bodily entrails, this is a story about the horror and beauty of intimacy, written in K-Ming Chang�s signature poetic and visceral lore.

I'm just starting this and it's not bad. I heard good things about her other book, Bestiary.

Also I tried reading Blindsight and uh. Did nobody else see the woman of color[??] being called a generic mixie and mongrel? What's that about?

# ? Oct 29, 2023 05:42

C2C - 2.0: May 14, 2006; Dubs In The Key Of Life; Lipstick Apathy

Just wanted to say thanks, v-b c for all these reviews!!!

# ? Oct 29, 2023 14:21

DreamingofRoses: Jun 27, 2013; Nap Ghost

I�m reading How to Sell a Haunted House and just got to the scene with the sewing needle. Hendrix may not do existential horror but gently caress me he knows how to make me wince.

# ? Oct 29, 2023 19:10

Bilirubin: Feb 16, 2014; The sanctioned action is to CHUG

Just read The World Below by David Peak. Two families feud over several generations, with murders galore, an ongoing thread of unrequited love, and betrayal. A very well-written novella

Also just saw this article about LGBTQ+ horror writers on Reddit, thought I would pass it along
https://www.them.us/story/lgbtq-horror-authors-reading-guide

OMGVBFLOL posted:

if you have the money and the patience, you can Hello Kitty anything

Thank you deep dish peat moss!

# ? Oct 30, 2023 15:20

dms666: Oct 17, 2005; It's Playoff Beard Time! Go Pens!

Ror posted:

Any other recs in the genre of nautical adventures that turn dark and insane? The Butcher's Table and The Other Side of the Mountain are the two high points that I'm always chasing.

My friend wrote his first horror novel last year called The Wreck of the Melville and it definitely fits this description. Fun seafaring tale that takes a nice crash into cosmic horror.

e: link added

https://www.amazon.com/Wreck-Melville-Mark-Smeltz-ebook/dp/B09GW819T6

dms666 fucked around with this message at 00:53 on Oct 31, 2023

# ? Oct 31, 2023 00:49

escape artist: Sep 24, 2005; Slow train coming

dms666 posted:

My friend wrote his first horror novel last year called The Wreck of the Melville and it definitely fits this description. From what I remember his influences were Hodgson, Lovecraft, and Melville

Alright go ahead and give us the deets please.

I wrote an unfinished short story that I hope isn't too similar...

Help a goon out! Lots of books - horror, nonfiction, classics and more for sale.

# ? Oct 31, 2023 00:51

value-brand cereal: May 2, 2008

C2C - 2.0 posted:

Just wanted to say thanks, v-b c for all these reviews!!!

You're welcome!

Bilirubin posted:

Just read The World Below by David Peak. Two families feud over several generations, with murders galore, an ongoing thread of unrequited love, and betrayal. A very well-written novella

Also just saw this article about LGBTQ+ horror writers on Reddit, thought I would pass it along
https://www.them.us/story/lgbtq-horror-authors-reading-guide

And thank you for this rec! I enjoyed the prose and I liked the weird cosmic otherworld drug shenanigans.

�Do you ever get the sense that there are restless spirits trapped below our house?�

Lettie said nothing. She didn�t have to. He knew she did.

�I think they have something to do with that chamber. They�re part of it somehow. Trapped there. Like something terrible happened and our house is a tomb.�

Small towns are just like that, I guess. I'll have to pick up this author's other works soon.

# ? Oct 31, 2023 04:21

gey muckle mowser: Aug 5, 2003; Do you know anything about...
witches?; Buglord

Bilirubin posted:

Also just saw this article about LGBTQ+ horror writers on Reddit, thought I would pass it along
https://www.them.us/story/lgbtq-horror-authors-reading-guide

Thanks, some good recs on there. Didn�t know Alison Rumfitt had a new book out, bumping that up to the top of the reading list!

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:22

value-brand cereal: May 2, 2008

I'm posting a lot but whatever. Here's some new books that just come out and look real interesting.

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

quote:

A gripping, page-turning novel set in Jim Crow Florida that follows Robert Stephens Jr. as he�s sent to a segregated reform school that is a chamber of terrors where he sees the horrors of racism and injustice, for the living, and the dead.

Gracetown, Florida

June 1950

Twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens, Jr., is sentenced to six months at the Gracetown School for Boys, a reformatory, for kicking the son of the largest landowner in town in defense of his older sister, Gloria. So begins Robbie�s journey further into the terrors of the Jim Crow South and the very real horror of the school they call The Reformatory.

Robbie has a talent for seeing ghosts, or haints. But what was once a comfort to him after the loss of his mother has become a window to the truth of what happens at the reformatory. Boys forced to work to remediate their so-called crimes have gone missing, but the haints Robbie sees hint at worse things. Through his friends Redbone and Blue, Robbie is learning not just the rules but how to survive. Meanwhile, Gloria is rallying every family member and connection in Florida to find a way to get Robbie out before it�s too late.

The Reformatory is a haunting work of historical fiction written as only American Book Award�winning author Tananarive Due could, by piecing together the life of the relative her family never spoke of and bringing his tragedy and those of so many others at the infamous Dozier School for Boys to the light in this riveting novel.

I remember The Good House being excellent so I'm looking forward to picking this up.

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy

quote:

Nat Cassidy is at his razor-sharp best again with his horror novel Nestlings, which harnesses the creeping paranoia of Rosemary's Baby and the urban horror of Salem's Lot, set in an exclusive New York City residential building.

The horrifically complicated birth of their first child has left Ana paralyzed, bitter, and struggling: with mobility, with her relationship with Reid, with resentment for her baby. That's about to change with the words any New Yorker would love to hear�affordable housing lottery.

They've won an apartment in the Deptford, one of Manhattan's most revered buildings with beautiful vistas of Central Park and stunning architecture.

Reid dismisses disturbing events and Ana�s deep unease and paranoia as the price of living in New York�people are odd�but he can't explain the needle-like bite marks on the baby.

I think I remember tryng to read his other book, Mary, but can't remember if I finished it or dropped it for another book. I did enjoy Salem's Lot and The Bonus Room by Ben H. Winters, which was a semi location horror / insect horror. I'm not sure if this is also insect horror or something supernatural in the demonic sense. It also sounds similar to Lock Every Door by Riley Sager, but who knows. If I read it any time soon, I'll report back.

DEATH IN THE MOUTH Anthology

quote:

What is horror to those living in the margins? Where terror is systematized and in the very air everyone happily breathes? A misheard word.
The thud of boots.
An impossible color.
A foreign growth.

DEATH IN THE MOUTH is a horror anthology showcasing BIPOC and other ethnically marginalized writers and artists from around the world. It features 26 short stories accompanied by 26 original illustrations spanning across genre and time, from real and fictive worlds, all while exploring new and unique manifestations of horror.

Jolie Toomajan � "Water Goes, Sand Remains", with art by Jabari Weathers
Yah Yah Scholfield � "They Will Take Up Serpents", with art by Makoto Chi
Isha Karki - "Welcome to Labyrinth", with art by Natalie Hall
Endria Richardson � "Wind Up Teeth", with art by Tsulala
Johnny Compton � "No Hungry Generations", with art by Pierre Roset
Arasibo Campeche - "Drowned in Mindfulness", with art by Michael Deforge
K-Ming Chang � "The Three Resurrections of my Grandfather", with art by Sloane Hong
Reno Evangelista - "Her Apocrypha", with art by Jess Hara
Catherine Yu - "Balloon Girl", with art by Joy San
Daphne Fama - "The Pleiades", with art by Alicia Feng
Beatrice Iker� "They'll Keep You Gestated", with art by Molly Mendoza
Cassie Hart - "She", with art by Weiwei Xu
C Pam Zang � "Alice or Rose or Aurora or Allerleuirah or Belle, on the Occasion of the Burial of the Beast", with art by Charlotte Gomez
P. H. Low - "Tongue is a Void", with art by JaeHoon Choi
Kelsea Yu � "The Obedient Son", with art by Audrey Murty
JL Akagi - "Henry Watanabe and the Wandering Hand", with art by Bhanu Pratap
Amaranta Sepulveda Dur�n - "The Mother-Wound", with art by Vivian Magaia
Sloane Leong � "Paradise", with art by Solomon Enos
Rivers Solomon - "Some of us are Grapefruit", with art by Junko Mizuno
Ras Cutlass - "Melinda and the Grub", with art by Naomi Butterfield
R.S.A. Garcia - "A Bonfire in the Night", with art by Zhang Hetian
Jessica Cho � "On Tattered Wings", with art by Lina Wu
M. L Krishnan � "The Eggshell Sanctuary", with art by Julie Benbassat
Priya Chand - "Never Lie to Me" with art by Congming
Karin Lowachee � "The Black Hole of Beaumort", with art by Allissa Chan
Darcie Little Badger - "Homebody", with art by Apolo Cacho

https://deathinthemouth.com/

I do love an anthology populated by Black authors and authors of color. I don't recognize too many names so it'll be exciting to get into new authors. And there's artwork included!!! Wow!

# ? Nov 1, 2023 04:48

Thom and the Heads: Oct 27, 2010; Farscape is actually pretty cool.

I finished The Stand last month. I thought it had a very strong first half followed by a not so strong second half. I wanted more post-apocalypse exploring and less Boulder community building stuff. I read the original release so maybe another 400 pages or whatever would've made a difference. Neat book but too long.

# ? Nov 2, 2023 14:22

lifg: Dec 4, 2000; <this tag left blank>; Muldoon

I didn�t know you could still find the original release of that book.

# ? Nov 2, 2023 14:35

Thom and the Heads: Oct 27, 2010; Farscape is actually pretty cool.

lifg posted:

I didn�t know you could still find the original release of that book.

I found a first book club edition at a used bookstore and decided to pull the trigger. I had previously read the first quarter or so a few years back but didn't finish it. I'm glad I gave it another shot.

# ? Nov 2, 2023 14:39

Bilirubin: Feb 16, 2014; The sanctioned action is to CHUG

man I wish we still had the Halloween spoiler graphics

# ? Nov 2, 2023 15:37

Kubricize: Apr 29, 2010

So I finished The Girl in Red and it was kind of disappointing? It fell flat about at the end when the author switched gears from one horror thing to another and I wish she would have stuck with one or the other through out the entire book instead of trying to add the twist.

Currently have to on the go two books, The Marigold by Andrew Sullivan who is the co author of The Handyman Method with Nick Cutter/ Andrew Davidson. So far is good, kind of giving me The Last of Us vibes in Toronto. I managed to get a signed copy from Little Ghost books. I also signed up for their monthly book box and I'm hoping to make the book of the month club. Really can't recommend them enough for horror lovers, and they ship world wide I believe.

The second book is Final Girl by Riley Seger So far I like it better than Final Girl Support Group which I feel is one of Grady Hendrix's weaker books.

# ? Nov 2, 2023 16:12

escape artist: Sep 24, 2005; Slow train coming

Bilirubin posted:

man I wish we still had the Halloween spoiler graphics

Pragmatica made them, right? I loved the way they looked in my signature... Is there any way we can get a second spoiler option? I want them to stick around long-term.

I'm making my way through Mariana Enriquez Things We Lost in the Fire... I've tried to start it several times but I have ADHD. The first story is really good and atmospheric. I love the idea of horror set in a cartel-run neighborhood because it's legitimately one of the most terryifyng settings you could come up with. Is it supernatural or is it cartel? It's scary either way...

# ? Nov 2, 2023 20:03

Big Mad Drongo: Nov 10, 2006

Thom and the Heads posted:

I finished The Stand last month... Neat book but too long.

Discovering this is a time-honored horror reader rite of passage.

# ? Nov 2, 2023 20:35

BrownPepper: Dec 30, 2017

Kerro posted:

I don't think it's a spoiler to say that Boy's Life is not really horror at all, it's very much more a coming of age story with a mystery/thriller in the background. To answer your question specifically though, no there's nothing really supernatural going on here.

From what I remember there is definitely supernatural/uncanny stuff going on in Boy's Life. Agree that it's not pure horror, but I remember loving it when I read years ago.

# ? Nov 3, 2023 02:21

Slyphic: Oct 12, 2021; All we do is walk around believing birds!

Kubricize posted:

The second book is Final Girl by Riley Seger So far I like it better than Final Girl Support Group which I feel is one of Grady Hendrix's weaker books.

By chance have you read We Are All Completely Fine by Daryl Gregory? I felt like FGSG was a less interesting version of that concept written 7 years later.

# ? Nov 3, 2023 03:16

von Metternich: May 7, 2007; Why the hell not?

MeatwadIsGod posted:

Since I'm also looking for more recs in this line I'll suggest Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman (assuming you haven't already read it) and the C.L. Moore Jirel of Joiry stories "Black God's Kiss" and "Hellsgarde."

I read the first book in the Aching God trilogy last month and need to pick up the next one. It had a very overt tabletop vibe which I appreciated.

Seconding the Aching God trilogy. If Game of Thrones is "This is how awful social structures brutalize people and make them into monsters", AG is "Everyone in the adventuring guild is chill and sexually liberated and generally modern. Then they go into tombs and terrible things happen to them." There's also a political subplot about the Queen, who's been ruling for a hundred and fifty years and it's TOTALLY NORMAL YOU GUYS NOTHING SINISTER OR CREEPY IS OCCURING THERE. The author also seems to have a thing about spooky toads :getin:

:getin:

# ? Nov 3, 2023 06:17

Good Citizen: Aug 12, 2008; trump trump trump trump trump trump trump trump trump trump

von Metternich posted:

Seconding the Aching God trilogy. If Game of Thrones is "This is how awful social structures brutalize people and make them into monsters", AG is "Everyone in the adventuring guild is chill and sexually liberated and generally modern. Then they go into tombs and terrible things happen to them." There's also a political subplot about the Queen, who's been ruling for a hundred and fifty years and it's TOTALLY NORMAL YOU GUYS NOTHING SINISTER OR CREEPY IS OCCURING THERE. The author also seems to have a thing about spooky toads

This sounds like precisely my poo poo and I�ve instantly added it to my read list

# ? Nov 3, 2023 17:06

UwUnabomber: Sep 9, 2012; Pubes dreaded out so hoes call me Chris Barnes. I don't wear a condom at the pig farm.

I finally found a copy of Hogg I didn't have to pay for. Was Finn by Jon Clinch directly inspired by Hogg? Because it really feels like it.

# ? Nov 4, 2023 09:04

value-brand cereal: May 2, 2008

Hi thread it me. I've been making two bookshelves themed around similar, niche themes and was wondering if anyone had suggestions.

Cursed film and videos. Specifically videos that are cursed, or are involved with paranormal or supernatural occurrences.
Excerpts from a Film (1942-1987) by A.C. Wise
Experimental Film by Gemma Files
The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp [this is more religious horror / possession, but a video is a pivotal moment so I'm adding it]
Night Film by Marisha Pessl [maybe? it's more about a occult dabbling cursed director]
Ring by Koji Suzuki
Scanlines by Todd Keisling
Universal Harvester by John Darnielle

Cursed Childrens films and tv shows (emphasis on television, film may be included if the participants were children during the Event(s))
Knock Knock, Open Wide by Neil Sharpson
Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker [short story]
Mister Magic by Kiersten White
Burn the Negative by Josh Winning [film, not tv]
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay [maybe?? it's been a while since I read it.]

# ? Nov 6, 2023 05:11

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

Have you read the Ring sequels? They get pretty bonkers.

e: I think only the first two books deal with video, though.

anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 13:31 on Nov 6, 2023

# ? Nov 6, 2023 13:27

lifg: Dec 4, 2000; <this tag left blank>; Muldoon

I loved the ring series for how it kept changing and building. The first book is a ghost horror story, the second book is a biology horror story, the third is a sci-fi horror story.

Never read the short stories, could never find them.

# ? Nov 6, 2023 15:11

value-brand cereal: May 2, 2008

anilEhilated posted:

Have you read the Ring sequels? They get pretty bonkers.

e: I think only the first two books deal with video, though.

No, I didn't realize there was a sequel. I'll have to track it down someday, thank you!

lifg posted:

I loved the ring series for how it kept changing and building. The first book is a ghost horror story, the second book is a biology horror story, the third is a sci-fi horror story.

Never read the short stories, could never find them.

And the The Ring Video Game is a exercise in repetitious audio torture! Also monkey monsters.

# ? Nov 6, 2023 18:26

Giragast: Oct 25, 2004; Inquire within about our potato famine!

value-brand cereal posted:

Cursed film and videos. Specifically videos that are cursed, or are involved with paranormal or supernatural occurrences.

More subliminal than cursed/occult film, but

Flicker by Theodore Roszak

might warrant a read

# ? Nov 6, 2023 18:54

fez_machine: Nov 27, 2004

value-brand cereal posted:

Hi thread it me. I've been making two bookshelves themed around similar, niche themes and was wondering if anyone had suggestions.

Cursed film and videos. Specifically videos that are cursed, or are involved with paranormal or supernatural occurrences.
Excerpts from a Film (1942-1987) by A.C. Wise
Experimental Film by Gemma Files
The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp [this is more religious horror / possession, but a video is a pivotal moment so I'm adding it]
Night Film by Marisha Pessl [maybe? it's more about a occult dabbling cursed director]
Ring by Koji Suzuki
Scanlines by Todd Keisling
Universal Harvester by John Darnielle

Cursed Childrens films and tv shows (emphasis on television, film may be included if the participants were children during the Event(s))
Knock Knock, Open Wide by Neil Sharpson
Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker [short story]
Mister Magic by Kiersten White
Burn the Negative by Josh Winning [film, not tv]
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay [maybe?? it's been a while since I read it.]

Ramsey Campbell's The Grin of The Dark takes a while to build up but very good at rearranging your brain to make the scares impactful. Also Ancient Images
Stephen Graham Jones's Demon Theory

# ? Nov 6, 2023 22:14

Big Mad Drongo: Nov 10, 2006

value-brand cereal posted:

Hi thread it me. I've been making two bookshelves themed around similar, niche themes and was wondering if anyone had suggestions.

Cursed film and videos. Specifically videos that are cursed, or are involved with paranormal or supernatural occurrences.
Excerpts from a Film (1942-1987) by A.C. Wise
Experimental Film by Gemma Files
The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp [this is more religious horror / possession, but a video is a pivotal moment so I'm adding it]
Night Film by Marisha Pessl [maybe? it's more about a occult dabbling cursed director]
Ring by Koji Suzuki
Scanlines by Todd Keisling
Universal Harvester by John Darnielle

Cursed Childrens films and tv shows (emphasis on television, film may be included if the participants were children during the Event(s))
Knock Knock, Open Wide by Neil Sharpson
Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker [short story]
Mister Magic by Kiersten White
Burn the Negative by Josh Winning [film, not tv]
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay [maybe?? it's been a while since I read it.]

The video in The Cipher by Kathe Koja isn't the impetus for or focus of the story, but it's very cursed and very memorable.

# ? Nov 6, 2023 22:27

lifg: Dec 4, 2000; <this tag left blank>; Muldoon

value-brand cereal posted:

And the The Ring Video Game is an exercise in repetitious audio torture! Also monkey monsters.

Okay I just spent a lot of time reading about this game. What a trip.

value-brand cereal posted:

Hi thread it me. I've been making two bookshelves themed around similar, niche themes and was wondering if anyone had suggestions.

Cursed film and videos. Specifically videos that are cursed, or are involved with paranormal or supernatural occurrences.
Excerpts from a Film (1942-1987) by A.C. Wise

https://www.tor.com/2017/03/21/excerpts-from-a-film-1942-1987/ this was good

# ? Nov 6, 2023 23:36

GhastlyBizness: Sep 10, 2016; seashells by the sea shorpheus

Just finished Adam Nevill's The Reddening and holy poo poo it was good. Excellent deep time prehistoric horror, all red-stained creeps with flint hand axes, and some excellent evocation of an eerie Devon landscape. I quite liked his Wyrd and Other Derelictions, which is all odd little dialogue-free static vignettes, like little camera surveys of a horror scene while the blood is still cooling.

Anyone read any of his other work? Heard mixed things about the film version of The Ritual.

# ? Nov 7, 2023 00:09

UwUnabomber: Sep 9, 2012; Pubes dreaded out so hoes call me Chris Barnes. I don't wear a condom at the pig farm.

GhastlyBizness posted:

Just finished Adam Nevill's The Reddening and holy poo poo it was good. Excellent deep time prehistoric horror, all red-stained creeps with flint hand axes, and some excellent evocation of an eerie Devon landscape. I quite liked his Wyrd and Other Derelictions, which is all odd little dialogue-free static vignettes, like little camera surveys of a horror scene while the blood is still cooling.

Anyone read any of his other work? Heard mixed things about the film version of The Ritual.

Nah but I did just snag the audio book of The Reddening on Hoopla thanks to my best friends at the Detroit Public Library. Sounds awesome.

# ? Nov 7, 2023 00:45

Slyphic: Oct 12, 2021; All we do is walk around believing birds!

GhastlyBizness posted:

Anyone read any of his other work? Heard mixed things about the film version of The Ritual.

I've got Ritual in my short pile of horror stuff.
I read Last Days(2012) by him on accident, because I had it confused with that other horror novel about a cult called Last Days(2009) by Brian Evenson. It was more the suspense side of horror, but I enjoyed it enough to buy Ritual.

The Evenson book though was proper unsettling.

# ? Nov 7, 2023 01:16

Bilirubin: Feb 16, 2014; The sanctioned action is to CHUG

Reading We Are Happy, We Are Doomed and its definitely got a Ligotti-approximate vibe going. Even had a puppet-like character in the last story I read!

# ? Nov 7, 2023 01:37

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# ? May 29, 2024 06:58

Kubricize: Apr 29, 2010

Slyphic posted:

By chance have you read We Are All Completely Fine by Daryl Gregory? I felt like FGSG was a less interesting version of that concept written 7 years later.

No I haven't, never heard of it but I will have to add it to my list, thanks for the recommendation!

The Ritual is an odd one for me. The first half is great, the second half of the book is eh. I actually liked the movie better than the book.

Picked up And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliot. The book jacket makes it seem like maybe Rosemary's Baby or something going on, so that's what I'll be reading this week

# ? Nov 7, 2023 04:36

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The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > The General Horror Book Thread: Between Two Fires fucking RULED! Hell yeah!!!!

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