February is upon us and that means Women in Horror Month has come
around again. Can’t believe it’s been twelve months!
This time, I wanted to share some of my favourite female horror
authors with you. These days there is a wide choice. Women are embracing horror
writing as never before and doing some pretty amazing things with it. The genre
of horror has never been broader – with many crossovers from fantasy, through
crime, historical, romantic, paranormal, psychological, creature-feature,
gorefest, comedy, erotic… The list is seemingly endless and women are right
there, producing some of the best in every category and sub-category.
So now for my current favourites. I’m not including the ‘heavyweights’
– they need no introduction from me. These are some authors and books you may
not have come across - yet. And if you haven’t well, here’s your chance. Let’s
kick off with…
Saviour – Beth Kelan
Meet Nick Travis, troubled forensic artist and reluctant psychic.
They won't let him rest until they can rest in peace.
If you click onto Beth’s website - https://adarkmiscellany.com/ - you will
find she is also known by a name more familiar to some of my own readers. As
Julia Kavan, she has been providing me with sage advice and wisdom for years.
No story of mine goes anywhere near my publisher until Julia has thoroughly
vetted it. But she is a fine writer of the deeply dark, suspenseful brand of
horror and Saviour is an excellent showcase of her work.
Originally
written in three novellas, but now also available in one volume, the story
centres on Nick Travis – a forensic scientist, haunted by a devastating mistake
from his childhood. His fears become tangible, real. They stalk him in ways
which should not be possible. But it is all too real. This is dark, sinister
and builds to a final evil and devastating conclusion. It’s a book you put down
and say ‘Wow!’ as you finish the last page.
Fountain Dead – Theresa Braun
Mark is uprooted from his home and high school in the Twin Cities
and forced to move with his family into a Victorian in Nowhere-ville. Busy with
the relocation and fitting in, Mark’s parents don’t see what’s unfolding around
them—the way rooms and left behind objects seem alive with a haunted past.
Of course, Mark keeps his ghostly encounters to himself, all the while sinking deeper into the house's dark, alluring, and ultimately terrifying history. As romantic entanglements intensify, the paranormal activity escalates. Past and present come together. Everything is connected—from the bricks in the walls to the hearts beating in their chests, all the secrets of Fountain Dead are finally unearthed.
I had a great time reading this story. It had my favourite
ingredients – ghosts, a frighteningly haunted house and, along with the horror,
a poignancy especially in regard to a character called Emma. I liked the way
the threads came together and that the ending did justice to the story.
Killer Chronicles – Somer Canon
Killing
is her pleasure
She is an ancient primal force of nature, exalted by some and feared by others. Those who heed her capricious whims are rewarded. Those who displease her, however, are slaughtered like the animals she considers them to be.
Murder is her business
Christina Cunningham runs the website Killer Chronicles, a popular online database of the worst crimes of humanity. Lured to the town of Micksburg, West Virginia by a series of bizarrely gruesome deaths, she hopes that it will be the story that launches her site to the next level. When she discovers what is behind the murders, her ambition and her survival instinct collide as she matches wits with the strange and inhuman being. Is her life or the lives of her loved ones worth the story?
Somer Canon has a
knack of creating the most gory, scary, violent story, injecting it with the
blackest of humour worthy of David Lynch at his finest and delivering a scarily
satisfying, full bodied horror novel that stands out from the crowd. She brings
all the challenging strands of this story together with a deftness that ensures
the ending is worthy of all that has gone before.
Breathe, Breathe – Erin Sweet Al
Mehairi
Breathe. Breathe. is a collection of dark poetry and short fiction
exploring the surreal depths of humanity. It’s a representation of how life
breaks us apart and words put us back together. Purged onto the pages, dark
emotions flow, urging readers into murky seas and grim forests, to the fine
line between breathing and death.
At times sinister, definitely dark,
atmospheric and heavy with foreboding, this collection of poetry and short
stories touches our deepest fears. Murder, domestic violence and even an
ancient Egyptian goddess all move within these pages where nothing is ever
simple or straightforward. I admire the author’s ability to challenge and
explore the facets of life that remain so often hidden. In doing so, she causes
the reader to feel the pain of the subject’s suffering but also to recognize
that there is life after it.
Haunted Florida – a three volume anthology - Gaby Triana
At the time of writing, I have only read the first two and the
third is waiting for me. I am savouring the thought of reading it as the first
two had me well and truly hooked:
ISLAND
OF BONES (Key West)
A haunted Key West resort. Ghosts off the Cuban coast. A deadly hurricane.
When Ellie Whitaker leaves her dead-end job and ex behind to spread her grandmother's ashes in tropical paradise, the last thing she expected was to face more ghosts. Darkness lurks inside her grandmother's former home turned resort, and Ellie's presence stirs up its energies. As a hurricane creeps closer to the island, she must hurry to discover long-buried truths or risk becoming a ghostly resident of haunted Key West forever.
This is a book to curl up with,
whether on the beach or in front of a roaring fire.
RIVER
OF GHOSTS (Everglades)
A ghostly pirate ship. A haunted cabin rotting in the swamp.
Gladesmen from the Everglades' checkered past.
Avila Cypress gives airboat tours of the Everglades with a little something extra—tales of the supernatural. When a ghost adventures production crew offers her money in exchange for her guiding them to the abandoned Villegas House, a haunted depot with a murderous past in the middle of nowhere, Avila must decide if the opportunities are worth upsetting her traditional Miccosukee Indian family. The deeper they delve into the cabin's past, the more they stir up the evil energies. Guests begin turning on each other, and Avila wonders if she made a mistake in coming. Can she develop her untapped gifts in time to save the crew from self-destruction? Or will she become another spirit to wander the River of Grass forever?
Avila Cypress gives airboat tours of the Everglades with a little something extra—tales of the supernatural. When a ghost adventures production crew offers her money in exchange for her guiding them to the abandoned Villegas House, a haunted depot with a murderous past in the middle of nowhere, Avila must decide if the opportunities are worth upsetting her traditional Miccosukee Indian family. The deeper they delve into the cabin's past, the more they stir up the evil energies. Guests begin turning on each other, and Avila wonders if she made a mistake in coming. Can she develop her untapped gifts in time to save the crew from self-destruction? Or will she become another spirit to wander the River of Grass forever?
We suffer with Avila as she battles
with her newly discovered psychic powers and the story itself moves at a pace
that demands a movie. The steamy, hot and oppressive atmosphere of the location
is vividly portrayed as is the fear and the sinister dread.
CITY
OF SPELLS (Miami)
A haunted Old Florida home. A ghostly woman in white. Witchcraft from Miami's darker side.
When a mysterious old gentleman enters Queylin's trendy new age shop, she hopes he'll buy incense, sage, maybe a nice rose quartz pendulum for his wife. Instead, the man enlists her help getting rid of La Dama de Blanco, a ghostly woman in bloody white dress who's been haunting his 100-year-old Palmetto Bay estate.
But Queylin's rituals and spells uncover terrifying secrets hidden in the walls of the estate when she realizes La Dama de Blanco is only the beginning of the haunted home's evil legacy.
This is next on my TBR pile and this link takes you to the trilogy in one volume:
Return to Dyatlov Pass – J.H.
Moncrieff
In 1959, nine Russian students set off on a skiing expedition in
the Ural Mountains. Their mutilated bodies were discovered weeks later. Their
bizarre and unexplained deaths are one of the most enduring true mysteries of
our time.
Nearly sixty years later, podcast host Nat McPherson ventures into the same mountains with her team, determined to finally solve the mystery of the Dyatlov Pass incident. Her plans are thwarted on the first night, when two trackers from her group are brutally slaughtered.
The team’s guide, a superstitious man from a neighboring village, blames the killings on yetis, but no one believes him. As members of Nat’s team die one by one, she must figure out if there’s a murderer in their midst—or something even worse—before history repeats itself and her group becomes another casualty of the infamous Dead Mountain.
Nearly sixty years later, podcast host Nat McPherson ventures into the same mountains with her team, determined to finally solve the mystery of the Dyatlov Pass incident. Her plans are thwarted on the first night, when two trackers from her group are brutally slaughtered.
The team’s guide, a superstitious man from a neighboring village, blames the killings on yetis, but no one believes him. As members of Nat’s team die one by one, she must figure out if there’s a murderer in their midst—or something even worse—before history repeats itself and her group becomes another casualty of the infamous Dead Mountain.
I have read
a number of J.H, Moncrieff's books and pay tribute to her for the thoroughness
of her research into some of the most dark, frightening and daunting places in
the world. No wonder her stories sound authentic. Return to Dyatlov Pass is a
triumph of horror adventure
Little Secrets - Megan Hart
Sometimes what haunts you is not a ghost.
They're not alone in the house. With a baby on the way and a brand
new house, it seems Ginny and her husband, Sean, are on their way to a fresh
start. But strange occurrences and financial strain seem determined to keep the
couple stuck in the past. Ginny begins to believe the house may be haunted...or
that her husband might be trying to trick her into thinking so. As Ginny
researches the house's former owner and the tragedy that happened there, it
becomes clearer than ever that something is in the house with them. The
question is, who...or what...is it?
I am crazy about well written haunted house novels and Little Secrets is just such a tale. The
characters and plot grab hold of you and suck you in. You feel the fear and
tension with every twist and turn until the unexpected ending.
Megan Hart also has a new novel coming out on February 14th
– just right for WiHM. Here’s a link to Black
Wings;
The Eye Unseen – Cynthia Tottleben
Lucy Tew’s life is a labyrinth of darkness.
She has no food, no water, and a mother who can’t wait to test her axe on Lucy’s neck. Locked in her room for weeks on end, with only her dog Tippy for companionship, Lucy faces hours stacked like corpses as days dwindle to little more than watching corn wither in the fields and animals stir within it.
But they aren’t the only ones aware of Lucy’s predicament.
Inside the house, the very walls come alive as Lucy flounders with sanity. A stranger appears to lead Lucy through her darkest days, but is he the savior she craves? He revels in the turmoil that shadows him. His old relationship with her mother will soon rekindle. And his name is so obscene, no one dares utter it.
Except for the one that calls him Father.
She has no food, no water, and a mother who can’t wait to test her axe on Lucy’s neck. Locked in her room for weeks on end, with only her dog Tippy for companionship, Lucy faces hours stacked like corpses as days dwindle to little more than watching corn wither in the fields and animals stir within it.
But they aren’t the only ones aware of Lucy’s predicament.
Inside the house, the very walls come alive as Lucy flounders with sanity. A stranger appears to lead Lucy through her darkest days, but is he the savior she craves? He revels in the turmoil that shadows him. His old relationship with her mother will soon rekindle. And his name is so obscene, no one dares utter it.
Except for the one that calls him Father.
A riveting and horrifically
fascinating read. ‘The Eye Unseen’ is the story of ultimate evil – a legacy
that blights the main character – Lucy’s – family. Told initially from her
perspective, the author paints a picture of the ultimate dysfunctional family,
with members who seem to vie with each other for base and cruel behaviour.
Theatre of Curious Acts - Cate Gardner
Returned home from the Great War, his parents and brother in their
graves, Daniel walks a ghost world. When players in a theatre show lure Daniel
and his friends, fellow soldiers, into a surreal otherworld they find
themselves trapped on an apocalyptic path. A pirate ship waits to ferry some of
them to the end of the world, helmed by Death. Already broken by war, these men
are now the world's only hope in the greatest battle of all.
Cate
Gardner's skill in her use of language to paint fantastic mind pictures is best
appreciated (in my opinion) if you simply let your mind go wherever the story
leads, rather like the ferry in the story. It is a fantasy and a dark
apocalyptic tale that demands more than one reading.
All the Fabulous Beasts – Priya Sharma
The debut short story collection from acclaimed U.K. writer Priya
Sharma, “All the Fabulous Beasts,”
collects 16 stunning and monstrous tales of love, rebirth, nature, and
sexuality. A heady mix of myth and ontology, horror and the modern macabre.
Here is a collection of some of the most amazing short stories I
have ever read. Each one is a perfect vignette – conjuring up such vivid
imagery I am amazed filmmakers aren’t beating her door down to sign her up. She
successfully combines the fantastic and mythological with fairytale, legend and
folklore. Humans, birds and animals transform into more than they were at
first. Even the most challenged of the ‘fabulous beasts’ she creates have the
ability to metamorphose into creatures of wonder and beauty.
Egg especially
is crying out to be made into a short film by someone of the calibre of Lieve van Hove (I
am thinking particularly of his beautiful short film, Nimmer (2017)) But then,
so are all the others.
Her novelette – Fabulous
Beasts – is included in this collection and, frankly, it is small wonder it
won a British Fantasy Award. In my mind, all these stories are award winners.
Donor – Elena Hearty
Richard is a modern-day vampire who likes to eat in. So he always
keeps a fresh victim trapped in his lair. All of his captives eventually die;
Lenore plans to be the first to escape.
Her only hope lies in befriending Richard's vampire cohort, Paul, who's more than happy to toy with Lenore before she expires. But is Paul becoming too attached to his plaything? His human servant, Charles, thinks so—and he'll stop at nothing to eliminate the competition.
If Charles's schemes don't end Lenore, then Richard's hunger surely will. To make it out alive, someone will have to die in her place. Lenore now has something terrible in common with her captor: She must kill in order to survive.
Her only hope lies in befriending Richard's vampire cohort, Paul, who's more than happy to toy with Lenore before she expires. But is Paul becoming too attached to his plaything? His human servant, Charles, thinks so—and he'll stop at nothing to eliminate the competition.
If Charles's schemes don't end Lenore, then Richard's hunger surely will. To make it out alive, someone will have to die in her place. Lenore now has something terrible in common with her captor: She must kill in order to survive.
This is not your typical vampire tale and it is certainly not sparkly. This is honest horror. This vampire will kill you. He will not bring you a bouquet of roses or send you a Valentine’s card!
