1 The Midnight Society Kaitlin Conner Readers’ Advisory Librarian, NoveList
Gregg Winsor Reference Librarian, Johnson County Library, Kansas
Autumn Winters Recommendations Lead, NoveList
2 libraryreads.org
Science Fiction Fantasy Horror
What if our scientific theories are real? What if magic or magical creatures exist? What if our nightmares are real?
4 The Pull of the Grave
5 6 “It shows us that the control we believe we have is purely illusory, and that every moment we teeter on chaos and oblivion.” -Clive Barker
Introduction to “Scared Stiff: Tales of Sex and Death” by Ramsey Campbell, 1987.
7 ‘Visceral’ Fiction
8 History of the Genre
9 Gothic Horror in the 18th Century A significant amount of horror fiction of this era was marketed towards a female audience, a typical scenario being a resourceful female menaced in a gloomy castle.
1764 1796 1797
10 19th Century Horror The gothic tradition turns to the genre modern readers call horror and many foundational characters are born.
1818 1839 1886 1897
11 Early 20th Century Pulp Fiction Pulp magazines emerged to give more genre writers an outlet. H.P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, and Robert Bloch, among many others, published stories in magazines.
1928 1931 1937
12 Pre-Modern Era The real-life horrors of World War II and the looming paranoia and menace of the Cold War usher in a new generation as horror novels gain mainstream acceptability.
1954 1959 1967 1974
13 14 NoveList Appeals and Themes
15 Menacing Suspenseful Bleak
Creepy Brooding
Gruesome Atmospheric Compelling
Darkly Strong female humorous Flawed
Menacing Disturbing Intensifying
Flawed Moody
Violent
16 Cursed!
Possessed!
Trapped! P l Childhood trauma o Don’t go in there! t Evil transformations
Witchcraft and the occult
Zombie apocalypse
17 Trapped! Think isolated cabins, Arctic research bases, submarines, graves, or elevators.
18 Band of survivors C h Creature feature a Creepy clowns and bad seeds r a Evil animals c Final girls t e Real life monsters r Vampire menace s Werewolves among us
19 Creepy Clowns and Bad Seeds Menace lurks behind things that seem innocent.
20 Body horror S t Found footage y l Lovecraftian horror e Monster mashups
21 Found Footage Framing devices (such as letters or diaries) highlight the horror in real time.
22 Subgenres and Trends
23 Subgenres
Historical horror Gothic fiction Ghost stories
24 More Subgenres!
Supernatural mysteries Psychological suspense Weird Westerns
25 Socially Conscious Horror
26 (Deconstructing) Lovecraftian Horror
27 Folk Horror
28 Books as Hooks
29 Anthologies
30 Horror in Translation
31 Nonfiction
32 Conversations with the Dead (or, questions to ask horror fans.)
33 “What’s your scare level?”
Atmospheric dread Intense terror and gore
34 “What horror movies/podcasts/shows do you like?”
35 “What’s your monster?”
36 Horror Starter Pack
Representative of genre Well-reviewed Wide appeal Stand-alone or series starter
37 My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix (2016)
Darkly humorous Strong female friendship Nostalgic (1980s music playlists) Meticulous attention to period detail Possessed!
38 White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi (2009)
Gothic Creepy British manor house Atmospheric Ghosts! Maybe! Nonlinear Under 250 pages
39 John Dies at the End by David Wong (2007)
Jokes jokes jokes Gross-out body horror So meta Fast-paced Well-developed characters, in spite of it all
40 The Passage by Justin Cronin (2010)
Band of survivors Vampire menace First in a trilogy Sweeping epic Bleak Menacing
41 Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (2017) Short stories Queer feminist take on body horror and fantasy Creepy and surreal Thought-provoking Multiple award winner In development as an FX anthology series
42 Resources
43 44 Indie Publishers
45 Awards
The Bram Stoker Award is awarded by the Horror Writers Association for “superior achievement” in horror writing. thebramstokerawards.com
The Shirley Jackson Award is for outstanding achievement in horror, the dark fantastic, and psychological suspense. shirleyjacksonawards.org
46 2018 Bram Stoker Shortlist
47 NoveList Resources
48 48 Genre outlines Keeping up pages Recommended reads lists
Haunted!
49 Genre browse
50 Books we can’t wait to read
51 Questions?
52 Thank you Learn more at ebscohost.com/novelist & libraryreads.org
53 Finding Horror in NoveList
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