Best Horror Books of 2023
Contents:
• The air is getting colder, and the nights are getting darker – it's time for scary and mystical stories. Sure, old-fashioned horror movies like Pet Sematary or The Haunting of Hill House are still good, but if your heart is up for something new and scary, then you've come to the right place.
• Here are the top 10 horror books of 2023 that will keep you ducking under the covers until the morning. They are selected based on reviews on Ozon and in the most popular online libraries, as well as on the recommendations of the publishing houses AST, Eksmo, and others.
10. Silvia Moreno-Garcia. mexican gothic
• This book offers an enticing combination of vibrant beauty, dark mystery, and the oppressive atmosphere of the English High Place estate. When the protagonist, wealthy Mexican Noemi, arrives in High Place to save her cousin from a disease that seems to have afflicted every member of the family, she will find that going insane would be much easier than coming to terms with the horrific reality.
• In 2021, Mexican Gothic won the August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel.
9. Lee Bardugo. Ninth House
• The notion that super-rich people who maintain their wealth for centuries are part of secret occult societies is not new. But what if you were a nobody and you suddenly entered their world?
• This is what happens to Alex Stern, the main character of The Ninth House. She got the chance to become a student at Yale University, and find out what vicious secrets are hidden behind its decent walls. The magic, the ghosts, the disappearance of her mentor are entangled in a ball that Alex can unwind to answer the questions that haunt and hurt her deeply.
8. Holly Black. The coldest girl in Coldtown
• In one of the most interesting horror books, vampires are neither a myth nor a mystery; they are citizens of the United States. But don't worry, the government has found a solution. Just put all the vampires in their own walled city and send all the bad people there.
• The main character, who believes she has contracted vampirism, is forced to infiltrate the city of vampires along with her annoying ex-boyfriend and mysterious vampire friend. As the story progresses, you'll meet a growing roster of charming side characters and discover the grotesque riches of Cold City.
• There is enough gore and violence in this unique horror novel to keep your adrenaline high.
7. Susan McNally. Evil Legacy
• This horror film is designed for a teenage audience of 11-14 years. Even its main character is an 11-year-old girl Talita. She lives in a huge castle, many of whose rooms have been locked for many years. Curious Talita loves to explore the secrets of her ancestral home, but soon discovers that some of them are better to stay away from.
6. Alexander Pelevin. Pokrov-17
• The book by a Russian-speaking author (not to be confused with Viktor Pelevin) received the Masters of Horror Award. It was written in the genre of mystical realism, and the events are developing, in the small closed Kaluga town of Pokrov-17.
• The protagonist is a journalist who, on the instructions of the editors, arrived at Pokrov-17, and suddenly found himself in a car, next to the corpse of a policeman stabbed to death. And then began what one of the characters in the book described:
“Here the tin is happening ... It's scary here. Here is the Black Cover. Here dead saints walk in shadows, and these creatures, and people like monsters, and monsters like people.
5. Sarah Andersen. Fangs. Incredible love story of a vampire and a werewolf
• This graphic novel isn't pure horror, but don't rush to the next item on the list. Let vampire Elsie and werewolf Jimmy entertain you as they move in together, learn about do's and don'ts for dinner, and discuss their future. The shameless exploitation of vampire/werewolf stereotypes and dark humor will keep you laughing throughout this charming book.
4. Alan Crank. Breadwinner
• There is a joke that the difference between a psychiatrist and a patient is who put on the gown faster. But for the hero of the book "The Breadwinner" a bathrobe is not salvation. The psychiatrist Igor Prokhorov, who is unhappy in everyday life, finds himself on the thin edge of insanity, but, due to certain circumstances, cannot turn to his colleagues for help. And he cannot help himself – lack of objectivity.
• Immersion in the nightmares of the protagonist is just one of the components of this mystical horror. After all, the skeletons in the closet of the Prokhorov family appeared because of a creature delivered to the army unit in a tightly sealed huge barrel.
• I would also add that this book in the horror genre was awarded the Masters of Horror 2021 Literary Award in the Best Novel by a Russian-Speaking Author nomination.
3. Simone St. James. Broken girls
• If you love old school, ghosts and mysteries, then this horror novel is for you! In the center of the story is the abandoned Idlewild Hall boarding school, in which the mentally retarded or simply unnecessary girls lived. Although the building has been free of humans for many years, it is rumored to be inhabited by otherworldly entities.
• And Idlewild Hall would have been an unpleasant "thorn in the eye" of the city for a long time, if not for a crazy investor who decided to give the building a new life. An excellent opportunity for a reporter whose sister was killed near the boarding school to deal with the past and present of an ominous building.
2. Richard Matheson. hell house
• Stephen King called the book "the scariest haunted house novel ever written." By the way, the famous bestseller "I am a legend" came out from under the pen of Matheson.
• A wealthy businessman is about to die, so he offers to pay a physicist, medium, and psychic $100 each to find out what happens after death. The three go to Emeric Belasco's house, more commonly referred to as the "House of Hell", for one night to find out how he got his nickname.
1. Adam Neville. Bagryanetz
• One of the scariest horror books won the Masters of Horror 2021 award in the nomination "Best book by a foreign author translated into Russian."
• Its plot is connected with primitive cruelty, prehistoric artifacts, human sacrifice and the mysterious red people. And with all this, two fragile women have to deal with, one of whom has experienced a personal tragedy in the past. Moorlands and other landscapes of Devonshire are included.
