101 Horror Books to Read Before You're Murdered
by Sadie Hartmann
On This Page
Description
"Curious readers and fans of monsters and the macabre, get ready to bulk up your TBR piles! Sadie "Mother Horror" Hartmann has curated the best selection of modern horror books, including plenty of deep cuts. Indulge your heart's darkest desires to be terrified, unsettled, disgusted, and heartbroken with stories that span everything from paranormal hauntings and creepy death cults to small-town terrors and apocalyptic disasters. Each recommendation includes a full synopsis as well as a quick show more overview of the book's themes, style, and tone so you can narrow down your next read at a glance"-- show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
I had this book on my wish list since it became available in 2023 and never once actually got it until now. I've followed Sadie since the beginning of 2023 and can't believe I waited to get this. The horror book recommendations, the insights on the books and author spotlights blew my mind. I now have MORE book on my TBR and have discovered some new authors that I think that I know will end up being a favorite. I love how she gives the right amount of information into the genre/sub-genre of the books that she discusses through out the entire book. It had everything in it that makes a horror reader feel like they found a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow! Even a book check list near the end and alphabetical glossary for Author's show more mentioned.
SADIE, YOU ROCK MAMA!!! :) show less
SADIE, YOU ROCK MAMA!!! :) show less
The titles in this collection mostly come from the years 2000 to 2020, so don’t look for “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus” here. The books are well organized into various horror genres. Included are brief synopses as well as a checklist of theme, style, type, and tone. It makes it easy to find the kind of book you are desperate for but it also works well as trigger points for those books you wish to avoid. Short essays about some favorite authors are also included in this mix.
Fun guidebook on finding some new horror to read. I was familiar with Mother Horror from when she used to be active on X (Twitter to me always, as Stephen King says). I had read a few of these, heard of several others not yet read, and a few new ones which I'll add to my list. Author highlights throughout which were fun. Focuses on some lesser known to a degree and more contemporary fiction.
Exactly that, 101 horror books that the author recommends, along with some author profiles, and recommendations from them. You're bound to find recs that you've never heard of here.
This is a reference I'll return to regularly for inspiration when I want a good horror read.
this was an interesting read. I won't read all the suggestions, but I did add a few to my to read list. It's also always fun to read about books.
The only reason this gets 3 stars is because of the essay contributed by authors.
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Nightmares Not Included
175 works; 3 members
Books Read in 2023
5,547 works; 144 members
Author Information
All Editions
Awards and Honors
Awards
Distinctions
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2023-08-08
- Dedication
- Dedicated to my mom and Stephen King
- First words
- At the risk of stepping on stage with too much flair, a note:
About halfway through this book, the book you now hold, I felt a few tears coming on. It was a justifiably unexpected turn; this being a book about horror n... (show all)ovels, after all, not a sojourn into sap. That said, where have I cried more than I have within the pages of horror novels, where, as Sadie so perfectly describes it, coming-of-age is as powerful as body horror, as powerful as possession, too? But this isn't what overcame me. What climbed up inside had less to do with innocence conquering leviathan evil and more to do with a specific individual's accomplishment, i.e., I thought: can you believe what Sadie Hartmann did here? -Foreward, Josh Malerman
Forgive me for the title of this book. It used to be 101 Horror Books to Read Before You Die, but you might live a very long, satisfying life and have plenty of time to read a lot of horror books. Where's the tension in that?... (show all)
But 101 Horror Books to Read Before You're Murdered? Now that's horror, baby! And that, my friend, is what we're here for. -Introduction - Quotations
- This book stands as a reminder that we have not evolved past the horrors of the Salem witch trials. A warning that society continues to be capable of twisting and perverting religious texts in order to persecute, and ultimate... (show all)ly condemn, people who live lives not “approved” by whatever dogmatic leadership is in position of authority.
The sky was purple and freckled with the evening's first stars. Robert had read somewhere that it took hundreds—or was it thousands? — of years for light to reach human eyes on Earth. How disappointing for the star to hav... (show all)e traveled millions of miles through space and time, only to illuminate places where grace had never touched. Some of those stars would be dead by now. He was warmed by their ghosts.
...some might scoff when they hear the term “queer horror.” Others might condemn it and turn up their nose. Whether you are receptive to the notion or not, the horror genre is an inherently queer space. Not only have quee... (show all)r characters existed (as carefully coded figures) in films since the Pre-Code era (The Old Dark House, The Bride of Frankenstein), but the genre also seems to inherently attract queer readers and viewers simply because horror is a joyful celebration of “the other.” As queer people, we intrinsically are “the other.” We are forever on the outside. We are not considered “normal” by conventional, cisgender, and heterosexual standards.
WE LIVE IN A WORLD THAT is trying to kill us. We are the weakest link. Take away our technology and our weapons and what do we have? Nothing. Our teeth aren't sharp, we don't have claws, and most of us can't outrun anything t... (show all)hat has four legs. We can't even hide. Nobody is naturally camouflaged, and we're very noisy.
Nature is terrifying. I try my very best to stay out of it, but my family does require my participation in certain outdoor family outings, so I reluctantly have to be a brave adventurer and try to enjoy the beauty of our worl... (show all)d while simultaneously ignoring the brutality.
...make some guidelines for safe living. In the meantime, you can borrow some of mine: • The ocean is enjoyable at a safe distance from the shore. I will not willingly put my body in the ocean. Jaws is real. The only way to... (show all) never encounter a shark is to stay out of the ocean. Period. Besides, all sea animals are scary. • I will not hike off-trail or spend the night outside. I have a comfy bed indoors that is designed for sleeping and safety while I am vulnerable, so I will not get inside a cold bag with a zipper in a makeshift house with fabric walls to protect me from predators or insects. That's ridiculous.
Spiders are a major issue for me, so outdoor activities are considered based on the probability of encountering spiders in their natural habitat. A jungle tour in Mexico was immediately canceled upon discovering the hideous s... (show all)pecies of spider that lives there. • Exploring caves is out of the question. There are well over a hundred reasons caves are problematic. I won't bore you with all of them, but here are the major ones: Darkness, bats, bugs, tight spaces, sharp rocks, animals, subterranean cannibals, an alien species we haven't discovered yet, mold or spores, tripping, falling, and so on.
Humans in large quantities are awful. I avoid crowds at all costs. Disneyland might be the happiest place on Earth, but it's the last place I want to be in a crisis. If the zombie apocalypse begins, where do you want to be? D... (show all)isneyland? Certainly not. And think of the germs present when you're among crowds of humans. We're a very dirty, germy species.
The more horror books you read, the wiser you become.
As more of our interactions with fellow humans shift online, we are feeling less and less viscerally. Stakes are dulled through a virtual interface. How much quicker are people to say “I love you” or “You're an asshole... (show all) online as compared to IRL?
We become numb. Our emotions cauterize. We are, in fact, a little bit dead. Deader, I would argue, than we've ever been before. Horror brings those severed nerves back to screaming life. Never have we so desperately needed to... (show all) feel—simply feel. A global pandemic rife with quarantines, long periods of sheltering in place, and workplaces that have moved entirely online has violently exacerbated this need. Far more effective in raising us than any ancient curse, zombie virus, or vampiric blood strain is the jolting upset of reading - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The sharpest spike has returned - and I wonder if it might be planted so deeply this time that it can never be whittled away. -Daniel Kraus
- Blurbers
- Wendig, Chuck; Tremblay, Paul; Datlow, Ellen; Harrison, Rachel
- Original language
- English
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 016.80883
- Canonical LCC
- Z5917.H65
Classifications
- Genres
- Literature Studies and Criticism, General Nonfiction, Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 016.80883 — Computer science, information & general works Bibliographies (books containing lists of books) Bibliographies of works on specific subjects Literature By Topic
- LCC
- Z5917 .H65 — Bibliography, Library Science and Information Resources Subject bibliography
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 206
- Popularity
- 158,121
- Reviews
- 8
- Rating
- (4.01)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 2
- ASINs
- 1
