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| The Houseguest: And Other Stories by Amparo DávilaWhat it is: Perfect for fans of Edgar Allan Poe, this eerie and fantastical collection of 12 short stories is the first of prolific Mexican author Amparo Dávila's works to be translated into English.
Want a taste? "Sometimes I saw hundreds of small eyes fastened to the dripping windowpanes."
Don't miss: the nightmarish "Oscar," in which a family is powerless to stop a tyrannical cellar-dwelling creature from dictating their every move. |
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| More Deadly Than the Male: Masterpieces from the Queens of Horror by Graeme Davis (editor)What it is: a creepy anthology of women-penned psychological horror stories written between 1830 and 1908, many of them previously lost.
Who it's for: readers who appreciate subtle, bloodless scares and those interested in learning how women writers shaped the horror genre.
Did you know? Louisa May Alcott's 1869 tale "Lost in a Pyramid; or, The Mummy's Curse" was one of the earliest published mummy stories. |
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| Break the Bodies, Haunt the Bones by Micah Dean HicksThe premise: In depressed Swine Hill, the dead outnumber the living, whom they possess to keep the barely functioning town afloat.
What happens: Henry is forced by his ghost to create a race of hybrid pig people that render Swine Hill's workforce obsolete. Now it's up to Henry's sister Jane (herself possessed by a telepathic ghost) to save her family before the townsfolk kill their entire family.
Read it for: a heady mix of weird fiction and allegory. |
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| All Roads End Here by David MoodySeries alert: Set in the world of David Moody's Hater trilogy, All Roads End Here is the gripping 2nd entry in the Final War series, following One of Us Will Be Dead by Morning.
Starring: reluctant hero Matthew Dunne, who's just arrived home after spending three months traveling through violent Hater-occupied lands.
New threats: Matthew's homecoming is far from happy, and he faces constant scrutiny from his fellow refugees. With his survival instincts cranked up to 11, it's only a matter of time before tensions boil over... |
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| House of Echoes by Brendan DuffyWhat it's about: Plagued by writer's block and seeking a fresh start (and perhaps inspiration for his next novel), author Ben Tierney moves his family to the Crofts, a historic mansion in upstate New York.
Sounds idyllic, right? Alarmed by his son's dalliance with a mysterious woodland presence, his wife's paranoia, and his own discovery of mutilated animals on the grounds, Ben researches the tragic history of the Crofts and discovers chilling connections between past and present.
For fans of: Jennifer McMahon's The Winter People. |
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| Misery by Stephen KingWhat it is: the terrifying story of romance novelist Paul Sheldon's captivity at the hands of his vengeful "number-one-fan" Annie Wilkes, who demands he bring her favorite character back to life...or else.
Don't miss: revealing meta-commentaries about the triumphs and travails of being a successful author; the Dickensian novel-within-a-novel Paul is forced to write at Annie's behest.
Did you know? In a 2014 Rolling Stone interview, Stephen King said that Annie Wilkes was a metaphor for his drug usage. |
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| I Am Providence by Nick MamatasWelcome to...Summer Tentacular, an annual H.P. Lovecraft convention populated by neurotic fans...and a serial killer?!
Starring: horror author Colleen Danzig, who becomes an unwitting Nancy Drew after her roommate Panossian is murdered; Panossian himself, who narrates Colleen's sleuthing with knowing Lovecraftian flair.
What sets it apart: Equal parts humorous and suspenseful, this satirical homage to Lovecraft thoughtfully mines the author's complicated legacy. |
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| Mrs. God by Peter StraubWhat it is: an atmospheric and foreboding novella from Bram Stoker Award-winning horror mainstay Peter Straub, which was first published in 1990 as a limited edition.
What happens: English professor William Standish accepts a literary fellowship at the renowned Esswood House, but the manor's sinister secrets threaten his rapidly deteriorating grasp on his sanity.
Reviewers say: "Hardcore Straub fans will applaud the downright creepy revelations at story's end" (Publishers Weekly). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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West Babylon Public Library 211 Route 109 West Babylon, New York 11704 (631) 669-5445http://wbpl.us |
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