Opal has been dreaming of Starling House, but the house seems to have dreams of its own… Starling House by Alix E. Harrow is a brilliant Gothic fantasy which came out earlier this month. With a sentient house, a cursed family, and long-buried secrets rising to the surface, this book puts Kentucky Gothic on the map. Continue reading Review of Starling House—Kentucky Gothic
Tag: haunted house
Review of The Widow of Rose House—Romance and Haunted Homes
Victorian romance and haunted houses—I’m always on the lookout for books that combine two of my favorite things like this, and have just found one that does so extraordinarily well! The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller is a delightful Gothic romance that came out back in 2019. It fit so perfectly in my wheelhouse, that I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more books by this author in the future. Continue reading Review of The Widow of Rose House—Romance and Haunted Homes
Review of The Writing Retreat—Channeling Stories and Spirits
How far would you go for a book deal? Five aspiring authors are faced with this question in Julia Bartz’s deliciously suspenseful debut The Writing Retreat, which came out earlier this year.
Alex has been suffering from writer’s block for over a year, ever since she had a catastrophic falling out with her former roommate and best friend Wren. But then she gets the opportunity of a lifetime to help her break out of her slump: a spot in an exclusive month-long writing retreat at the estate of her literary idol: the mysterious and reclusive genius of feminist literary horror, Roza Vallo. The only problem? Wren has been invited, too. Upon arrival at Blackbriar, Roza’s isolated mansion in snowy Upstate New York, Alex learns that she will be competing against Wren and three other young women to write a novel from scratch, with grueling daily word-count requirements and critique sessions. The winner will receive a seven-figure book deal and get to tour with Roza. Choosing the house’s dark history as the subject of her book, Alex will have to confront her own demons and those that haunt the estate if she’s going to have any chance at winning the contest. But as the retreat progresses, it becomes clear that not all of these young women may be quite who they appear and that even Roza Vallo may be harboring dark—perhaps deadly—secrets. Continue reading Review of The Writing Retreat—Channeling Stories and Spirits
Review of Tell Me I’m Worthless
Today I want to take a deeper dive into one of the books I read for the Trans Rights Readathon the other week: Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt. This debut haunted house story came out in the U.S. earlier this year and showcases how examples of real-world horrors can be transformed and explored with nuance in fiction. Continue reading Review of Tell Me I’m Worthless
Review of She Is a Haunting
“This house eats and is eaten.” The hunger of a haunted house is encapsulated in this stunning opening line of Trang Thanh Tran’s debut YA horror novel, She Is a Haunting, which comes out tomorrow, February 28. The novel is an innovative take on the haunted house genre, combining the coming-of-age story of a queer teen from an immigrant family with infestational horror that functions to critique colonialism, much like in Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic. If either of those themes sound up your alley, you do not want to miss this debut! Continue reading Review of She Is a Haunting
Review of Lacrimore—A Monstrous Mansion
“It feeds on the horrors we commit….” A malevolent, sentient house serves as the lively setting of Lacrimore, a debut Gothic novella by S. J. Costello. The book came out in 2020 and was a winner of the Independent Publishers Book Awards. Continue reading Review of Lacrimore—A Monstrous Mansion
Review of Beatrix Greene—A Spooky Fiction Podcast
When a fraudulent Spiritualist hosts a séance in a genuinely haunted house, she proves to be the key to unlocking the manor’s dark secrets. This is the premise of the fiction podcast Beatrix Greene. A short, nine-episode series produced by Realm and released last spring, Beatrix Greene is written by Rachel Hawkins, Vicky Alvear Shecter, and Ash Parsons, and features the skillful voicework of Shiromi Arserio and Alister Austin. If you love haunted houses, Victorian Spiritualism, and atmospheric horror, I highly recommend that you check it out!
Continue reading Review of Beatrix Greene—A Spooky Fiction Podcast
Review of Nothing But Blackened Teeth
“It gets lonely down in the dirt….” Five young adults make the mistake of partying in a haunted, Heian-era manor in Cassandra Khaw’s hotly anticipated horror novella Nothing But Blackened Teeth. I had the pleasure of interviewing Khaw last month to get their thoughts on haunted houses and the horror genre. And then I devoured this bite-size novella in just a few sittings. If you’re looking for a horror story to eat like candy on Halloween, grab Nothing But Blackened Teeth when it comes out next Tuesday, October 19. Continue reading Review of Nothing But Blackened Teeth
Author Interview with Cassandra Khaw
Cassandra Khaw is a rising star to keep an eye on in the speculative fiction scene. They’ve had short fiction published in places like The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed, and Tor.com, and their first original novella, Hammers on Bone, was a British Fantasy Award and Locus Award finalist. Earlier this month, Khaw published their debut science-fiction novel The All-Consuming World, which I just started reading. But perhaps their most anticipated release is the upcoming horror novella, Nothing But Blackened Teeth, which comes out from Tor’s new horror imprint Nightfire on October 19. Described as “a gorgeously creepy haunted house tale, steeped in Japanese folklore,” Nothing But Blackened Teeth is sure to rock the horror world this fall. Ahead of reading the novella for myself, I got the chance to ask Cassandra all about their take on the haunted house genre, their thoughts on the purpose of horror, and more! Check out our interview below:
The Canterville Ghost—Oscar Wilde’s Gothic Parody
You probably know Oscar Wilde from his iconic Gothic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (and its unfortunate role in his trial for homosexuality). He is also widely celebrated for his comedic plays, like The Importance of Being Earnest. But less well-known is a delightful little piece that combines Wilde’s Gothic sensibilities with his biting sense of humor: The Canterville Ghost (1887) is a short story that parodies common elements of the typical ghost story while also satirizing differences in attitude and behavior between Americans and the British. Continue reading The Canterville Ghost—Oscar Wilde’s Gothic Parody