The famous horror director Wes Craven once said, “Horror films don’t create fear, they release it.” Similarly, horror fiction at its core helps to shed light on the fears we already hold, whether that’s a fear of not belonging, of betrayal, of losing someone close, or even the fear of losing ourselves. These 5 brand-new horror novels are not afraid to explore these deeper themes, offering readers insights and spine-tingling dread.
If We Survive the Night by Jo Salazar*
In zombie films and shows, we are constantly reminded that the most horrific thing isn’t the flesh-eating zombies but the survivors and how far they will go.
A patient at a residential treatment center when the zombie apocalypse hits, 16-year old Quinn is quick to adapt, quick to take the lead, and even quicker to figure out who is dead weight. Diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (aka sociopathy), her ability to use cold reason as a survival tool skews the reader’s lens and makes you initially want to side with her, but for how long? Introspective flashbacks from Quinn and hints from other characters’ reactions remind us who Quinn really is, while Quinn’s perspective tests our boundaries of right and wrong. This tension makes the book all the more interesting.
*Warning: it is very gory in a matter-of-fact way, similar to the vibe zombie movies have when people are adapting to the new normal.
That Which Feeds Us by Keala Kendall
Lehua has no family except her twin sister, Ohia. Both were placed into the foster care system after the death of their grandparents and though they were once close, Lehua hasn’t talked to Ohia for quite some time.
Out of the blue, Lehua receives a mysterious call from her twin saying she is going to Hawaii to work on a farm. Confused and concerned, she goes out to search for Ohia. This leads her back to a land she’s only ever heard about and a culture she feels disconnected from. When the search for her sister leads Lehua to a private island resort for the ultra rich, she discovers Ohia’s disappearance isn’t the only mystery hidden within the decadence of the resort. The atmosphere in this novel is painted in such a beautifully vivid way that you can’t help but fall into the book.
A Native Hawaiian herself, author Keala Kendall explores the longing and emptiness of being disconnected from one’s culture, interweaving the chilling dread of reconnecting with the grief of a colonized people. That Which Feeds Us also considers the cost of the expectations and disappointments we hide from our family.
Thriller, mystery, historical context, and a dash of romance make this gothic horror the right amount of haunting.
When I Was Death by Alexis Henderson
Roslyn is tormented by her once charismatic sister Adeline’s mysterious death. Detached from everyone she once found comfort in, Roslyn finds herself alone and feeling like she is frozen in time until a group of girls, strange but mesmerizing, enter her life. The same girls who spent Adeline’s last summer with her.
What binds them together is death and becoming death: each spared from an untimely demise, the girls must now reap souls to pay their debt. In order to get the closure Roslyn so desperately wants, she’ll need to join them. But what will she find along the way and what will it take from her?
There are moments in the book that make you feel the absolute freedom of being a teenager and then suddently it forces you to remember the dark task the girls are assigned. Roslyn’s persistent search for relief from her own grief is so powerful and relatable. It really drives the story in a heartbreaking way.
There Are Ghosts Here by Adrienne Tooley
Your Journey is Your Journey.
Other than being in a car with a newspaper blaming her for setting a fire that she has no memory of, Willa remembers little else of her life before Dorsey House, a reformatory at the edge of the sea. She’s convinced it couldn’t be her that set the fire, but if she can’t remember, how can she know?
At Dorsey House Willa meets Caroline and Ivy, the only other two girls in the reformatory’s care. They’re an odd pair, tied tightly together by an unknowable bond, Distrustful of those around her, Willa soon she feels she can’t even trust herself. Odd occurrences, visions that become a little too real, and messages that don’t make any sense. And even stranger, people seem to know more about her then she does.
The eerie atmosphere takes readers on a roller coaster ride of twists and turns. Similar to the characters, you absorb any information presented and can’t help but begin making your own theories of what is happening. Themes of trust and grief paint the pages of this novel, while the imagery makes you long for a film adaption.
And the River Drags Her Down by Jihyun Yun
Soojin is devastated by the mysterious death of her older sister, Mirae, who drowned in the local river. Still grieving their mother, who died not that long ago, Soojin uses the power that has been passed down to the women in her family to bring her sister back, breaking every rule she’s been taught about her magic.
Their joyful reunion of home cooked meals and girlish giggles soon becomes a promise for revenge and a darkness that threatens to submerge their hometown. Mirae is determined to solve the mystery that tore her family apart no matter what or who stands in her way. Can Soojin face her grief in time, or will she risk everything she has left?
It’s wonderful that you get to see both Soojin and Mirae’s point of view in this novel. The reader gets to see the tensions between Soojin grieving her losses and how Mirae is dealing with being back from the dead, while also getting glimpses into how Mirae is losing herself. These tensions add to the growing dread of the situation. It’s a longer read, but the build up is worth it.
~Posted by Shampree F.
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