What Are The Latest Spooky Reads Releases In 2023?

This year’s spooky releases are fire. 'Mister Magic' by Kiersten White is a nostalgic nightmare about a creepy children’s show with a dark secret—perfect for '90s kids. 'Black River Orchard' by John Hornor Jacobs is small-town horror at its best, with cursed apples and body horror. And 'The Dead Take the A Train' by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey? Pure chaotic energy—eldritch abominations in New York City, snarky dialogue, and grotesque transformations. If you like your horror with flair, these won’t disappoint.

2023 has been a fantastic year for spooky reads, and I’ve been devouring them like candy. One standout is 'The Reformatory' by Tananarive Due—a haunting blend of historical horror and supernatural dread set in a brutal reform school. The way Due weaves real-life horrors with ghostly vengeance is masterful. Then there’s 'How to Sell a Haunted House' by Grady Hendrix, which is as hilarious as it is terrifying. Hendrix nails the dysfunctional family dynamics while throwing in possessed puppets (seriously, they’ll ruin your sleep).

For cosmic horror fans, 'Lone Women' by Victor LaValle is a must-read. It’s a weird Western with a Black female protagonist carrying a literal skeleton in her trunk. LaValle’s prose is sharp, and the isolation of the Montana setting amps up the unease. On the quieter side, 'Silver Nitrate' by Silvia Moreno-Garcia delivers vintage horror with a cinematic twist—think cursed films and Nazi occultism. It’s less gore, more creeping dread, which I adore.

Don’t sleep on 'Our Share of Night' by Mariana Enríquez either. This sprawling, queer horror epic spans decades and continents, mixing political turmoil with visceral supernatural terror. The sheer ambition of it blew me away. And if you crave short stories, 'The Strange' by Nathan Ballingrud is a claustrophobic sci-fi horror hybrid set on Mars—think 'Alien' meets Lovecraft.