Ep 239: Horror for Beginners

It's October! I'm joined on this episode by my friend and co-host of the Currently Reading podcast Meredith Monday Schwartz, to talk about why we read (and love) books in the horror genre and to give you a pile of recommendations for this spooky season.

This is a conversation for longtime horror readers AND for those who are horror-curious. We cover everything from why escaping into scary stories HELPS our anxiety (yes, really), to how we believe horror books are often tackling some of the most important cultural topics.

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Laura’s Spooky Books:

• We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

• The Need by Helen Phillips

• How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix (Mutual pick for Laura and Meredith)

Meredith’s Spooky Books:

• Diavola by Jennifer Thorne

• We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

• I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

Scary Story Beginnings:

• Nancy Drew Series by Carolyn Keene

• The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson

• Stephen King

• Christopher Pike

• VC Andrews

• My Sweet Audrina by V.C. Andrews

Horror Books Laura Always Talks About:

• Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

• The Passage by Justin Cronin

• The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

• Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

Meredith’s Further Reading Recs:

• Devolution by Max Brooks

• FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven

• The Troop by Nick Cutter

• Amazon Original Stories Creature Feature Collection

Laura’s TBR recs:

• The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

• The House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Books Also Mentioned:

• I’ll be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara (The scariest book Meredith has ever read)

• The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard

• The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

• Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson

• The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

• The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

• Sandwich by Catherine Newman

• 101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered by Sadie Hartmann

Also Mentioned:

• Talking Scared Podcast

• Episode 222: Stephen King Starter Kit Part II (What To Read + What To Skip)

• Storygraph (for tracking books and checking trigger warnings)

• Sadie Hartmann @mother.horror on Instagram

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