You Never Forget Your Horror Firsts

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Emily has a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi, MS, and she has an MFA in Creative Writing from GCSU in Milledgeville, GA, home of Flannery O’Connor. She spends her free time reading, watching horror movies and musicals, cuddling cats, Instagramming pictures of cats, and blogging/podcasting about books with the ladies over at #BookSquadGoals (www.booksquadgoals.com). She can be reached at emily.ecm@gmail.com.

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Do you remember the first horror novel you ever read? When did you realize you were a horror fan? For me, I cut my teeth on Are You Afraid of the Dark and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, just like a lot of millennial kids. Then I went straight into Stephen King. I know Stephen King was probably a first for a lot of horror readers. But what about horror author’s firsts? I’ve got a couple of horror debut recommendations I think you’re going to love.

Bookish Goods

IT Necklace by PsychandRed

Stephen King’s IT was the first adult horror novel I ever read. I remember walking around with that giant book when I was in the 6th grade and thinking I was the coolest thing ever (I was not). But you know what would really make me the coolest ever? This necklace. Inspired by the novel, this necklace features a red balloon and a paper boat. IYKYK. Charms are cast from resin and painted with acrylic paint. $26

New Releases

It Came from the Trees by Ally Russell

I’ve been talking this one up quite a bit, and now this middle grade horror debut is finally out this week. This one is perfect for you if your favorite part of camping is scary stories around the campfire. Jenna knows her best friend Reese has been abducted by a strange creature in the woods, but nobody will believe her. And so Jenna decides to take matters into her own hands. She joins a local scout troop and goes back into the woods to find Reese. When the troop encounters strange, large footprints in the forest, Jenna knows what she saw is real, and now it’s back to come for her and her new friends. If you think middle grade can’t be scary, think again. This one will give you the creeps.

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Stay on the Line by Clay McLeod Chapman

Not a debut novel, but this novelette is coming out this week, and you should absolutely check it out. Featuring illustrations by Trevor Henderson, Stay on the Line is set in the aftermath of a devastating hurricane. Following the disaster, this small coastal town finds solace in a strange out-of-service phone booth. When the booth starts ringing, townspeople answer the call. What do they hear on the other end of the line? The loved ones they thought they lost in the storm.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer

This Wretched Valley is a debut horror novel that will have your heart racing right from the jump. Dylan, Clay, Sylvia, and Luke are determined to be the first people to climb a newly discovered cliff in the Kentucky wilderness. Seven months later, the climbers’ bodies are discovered—only Dylan is still missing. Dylan’s Instagram followers report seeing disturbing livestreams. Some claim to have seen her in the woods. But her body has yet to be discovered. What happened to the four friends? Were they murdered? Was it cannibalism? Or something even more terrifying?

White Horse by Erika T. Wurth

This debut horror novel from 2022 is one I’m still thinking about two years later. Thirty-five-year-old Kari James is an Indigenous woman living in Denver who has spent most of her life willfully ignorant of her past. But then Kari’s cousin Debby finds an old family bracelet that once belonged to Kari’s mother. The bracelet calls up the ghost of Kari’s dead mother, but that’s just the beginning. Something else more sinister and monstrous is awakened as well. Now Kari must confront her past to discover what happened to her mother all those years ago.

Until then, you can follow me (and message me) on Instagram at emandhercat. Sweet dreams, horror fans!

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