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It seems like horror, sci-fi, and fantasy have all been growing in popularity for the past decade—and what a wonderful thing that is! This list offers up some tantalizing new dark fantasy and horror books for you to peruse as fall ushers in longer nights perfect for snuggling up with some scary reads.
It’s not just autumn’s onset, though, that creates ideal conditions for dark fantasy and horror. In 2020, Jackson Weaver wrote an article for the CBC in which he discusses the unique convergence of factors that led to what he describes as a renaissance for the genres. He explains that the genres of dark fantasy and horror are “inexorably connected with world events” so that “the genre often sees success in times of uncertainty.”
While the global pandemic may not be raging in the way it was four years ago, there’s unfortunately no shortage of uncertainty on the global stage. The plethora of dark fantasy and horror making its way through the publishing pipeline may (or may not) be a literary response to this.
Whatever the reason for the amount of dark fantasy and horror bleeding its way onto bookshelves, it’s worth celebrating. So, check out these enticing titles and settle in for a long and delectably dark season.
Single-Authored Books
Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung
This book is full of delightfully unsettling tales. There are hauntings and monsters and curses galore. The collection opens with the tale of a woman haunted by a head composed of her own waste in her toilet. What a start, right? From there, there’s a persistent exploration of family in its myriad forms: from abusive siblings to expectant mothers to ill-fated engagements. And in each story, a strong undercurrent of darkness undergirds the story world. Each and every tale in this collection is an immersive reading experience.
Weird Black Girls by Elwin Cotman
The seven stories in this collection (or, arguably, the six stories and one novella) are magnificently memorable. Each in their own way, these tales interrogate the uneasy histories and contemporary realities of racism that haunt the United States. The collection kicks off with a story called “The Switchin’ Tree”—a disturbing tale of violence and hatred made manifest through a sinister tree. The stories that follow are innovative and offer a range of different tones. The collection concludes with the eponymous novella, in which centuries-old histories of gendered racism plague a young couple on their trip to Boston.
Every Drop is a Man’s Nightmare by Megan Kamalei Kakimoto
This collection is haunting in the very best of ways. Each of the 12 stories centers on a female protagonist and is told through precise and artful prose, as an engagement with indigeneity and settler colonialism simmers beneath the surface. But that’s where the similarities end. The premises vary greatly, making this a deliciously dynamic collection. Elements of Kānaka Maoli culture and lore are the mainstays that link these disquieting and original tales.
A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez
Of all the single-authored collections on this list, Mariana Enriquez’s new book is the most overt work of horror. If you’re wondering just what type of horror, well, there’s body horror, mystery, hauntings, and more. This is an extremely diverse collection that’ll keep you on your toes with every turn of the page. From doctors plagued by a pandemic of the dead to flocks of birds who used to be women to cemetery games gone awry, A Sunny Place for Shady People is a book that will stick with you for a long time to come.
Green Frog by Gina Chung
Green Frog kicks off on an interesting note with the story “How to Eat Your Own Heart.” Written almost as a recipe, it’s every bit as eerie as the title signals. From there, the tales keep coming—it’s a fast-paced collection that doesn’t conform to a single genre. Some stories are infused with magic while others are stark in their realism, although a definite darkness whispers throughout that unites the stories in tone, regardless of genre. Korean mythology also maintains a persistent presence, such as in the form of the kumiho or the titular green frog. These stories leave a lasting impression.
Anthologies
Never Whistle At Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
Relentless in its terror, this book will grab you by the throat and keep you in its thrall long past the point at which you’ve put it down. I mean that in the best of ways, in case that wasn’t clear. As Stephen Graham Jones writes in the intro, “There’s scary stuff in stories, sure, there’s stuff that keeps you up at night…But there’s hope, too. Just—some nights you have to wade through a lot of blood to get there.” That about says it all about these stories. You’ll find stories by well-established Indigenous writers alongside emerging ones, and each and everyone will leave your heart pounding.
Christmas and Other Horrors: A Winter Solstice Anthology edited by Ellen Datlow
Christmas and Other Horrors flickers with terror in the most wonderful of ways. If you’re anything like me, you’ll find your excitement ticking upward just scanning through the Table of Contents (Alma Katsu! Tananarive Due! Stephen Graham Jones! Cassandra Khaw!)—and it gets immeasurably better from there. As Ellen Datlow writes in the introduction, “Even though many celebrate the winter solstice as a time of joy, there is a darker tradition of ghost tales and horror stories” associated with the darkest time of the year, which the stories in the anthology embrace “by presenting the unholy, the dangerous, the horrific.” I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!
Furies: Stories of the Wicked, Wild and Untamed
This 15-story collection is organized around the idea of what Sandi Toksvig refers to in the introduction as the “heroic warlike woman.” Each work in the book is inspired by the word “virago,” which is the name of the feminist imprint that published the book. You’ll find stories by the likes of Helen Oyeyemi, Margaret Atwood, Kamila Shamsie, and Emma Donoghue (just to name a few of my personal favorites)—and if there are authors whose names don’t ring a bell for you before reading this book, they’ll definitely be on your radar once you’ve read their tales. Regardless, the beautiful monsters within these pages are fantastical and magical.
Still searching for more darkness?
There are some amazing reads on this list of captivating dark fantasy books and this list of YA dark fantasy. And, if you’re willing to stretch your horizons a little bit, the books on this list of sff dark academia are a great place to start!
