I did this one last year, highlighting a few of the books coming out in October that I was really looking forward to, so I figured it was a good idea to do the same for this year. The dates are based on UK release dates.
5 October 2024 Horror Releases
(I Am Excited For)
Jurassic Terrors: Haunting Stories of Dinosaurs
Chris Levine, Illustrated by Olesea Vladimir
Published: October 1st, 2024
Embark on a journey into the heart of primal fear with “Jurassic Terrors,” a spine-chilling collection of 17 bone-rattling dinosaur stories, each accompanied by hauntingly beautiful black and white artwork. In this gripping anthology, the prehistoric world comes alive with tales that will send shivers down your spine and transport you to a realm where the echoes of ancient roars still reverberate.
Within these pages, you’ll encounter relentless Velociraptors stalking their prey in the moonlit shadows, colossal Tyrannosaurs with insatiable appetites, and the eerie cries of unknown creatures lurking in the dense foliage of forgotten landscapes. The boundaries between past and present blur as the terrifying reality of a world ruled by dinosaurs unfolds before your eyes.
With each story expertly crafted to send shivers down your spine, “Jurassic Terrors” explores the darker corners of the Mesozoic Era. From the suspenseful silence before a predator strikes to the heart-pounding chases through primordial jungles, this anthology captures the essence of fear in its most primal form.
Featuring captivating black and white artwork that enhances the atmospheric tension of each tale, “Jurassic Terrors” is not just a book—it’s an immersive experience into the unknown, where the line between science and fiction blurs, and the ancient whispers of dinosaurs become hauntingly real.
Whether you’re a paleontology enthusiast or someone seeking a pulse-pounding escape, “Jurassic Terrors” promises to enthrall, terrify, and leave you questioning what might still lurk in the shadows of our prehistoric past.
Tales Accursed: A Folk Horror Anthology
Edited by Richard Wells
Published: October 3rd, 2024
Tales Accursed is the second collection of classic supernatural stories selected by the artist Richard Wells. Each of the sixteen tales is accompanied by one of Richard’s striking lino-print illustrations.
This anthology contains work from both the established masters of folk horror, and some more surprising from Shirley Jackson and M. R. James to E. F. Benson and William Croft Dickinson. Tales Accursed will raise the hairs on your neck and keep you alert to the slightest rustle in the through the chill splendour of moonlit nights come apparitions through the orchard; sea-witches perch on the sharp fangs of rocks as they weave their spells; fir-woods lie unnaturally still with no birdsong, no breeze, nor any undergrowth; and hooded creatures crouch on grey secluded beaches. This book combines ancient horrors from the wilderness with sinister shadows of the landscape to remind us of the settings of our ancestors.
Tales Accursed is a gloriously creepy collection of chilling folk horror tales that is both thrilling and unnerving.
House of Bone and Rain
Gabino Iglesias
Expected Publication: October 8th, 2024
From the Shirley Jackson and Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Devil Takes You Home, a group of five teenage boys in Puerto Rico seek vengeance after one of their mothers is murdered. Set during a vicious hurricane, a Latinx Stand By Me with a haunted, dark heart.
For childhood friends Gabe, Xavier, Tavo, Paul, and Bimbo, death has always been close. Hurricanes. Car accidents. Gang violence. Suicide. Estamos rodeados de fantasmas was Gabe’s grandmother’s refrain. We are surrounded by ghosts. But this time is different. Bimbo’s mom has been shot dead. We’re gonna kill the guys who killed her Bimbo swears. And they all agree.
Feral with grief, Bimbo has become unrecognizable, taking no prisoners in his search for names. Soon, they learn Maria was gunned down by guys working for the drug kingpin of Puerto Rico. No one has ever gone up against him and survived. As the boys strategize, a storm gathers far from the coast. Hurricanes are known to carry evil spirits in their currents and bring them ashore, spirits which impose their own order.
Blurring the boundaries between myth, mysticism, and the grim realities of our world, House of Bone and Rain is a harrowing coming of age story; a doomed tale of devotion, the afterlife of violence, and what rolls in on the tide.
A Christmas Ghost Story
Kim Newman
Expected Publication: October 8th, 2024
Lynda and her teenage son Rust prepare for Christmas, hanging fairy lights and making decorations. The first door of the advent calendar is opened, but the chocolate inside tastes off. Rust receives his first Christmas card, it’s unsigned and the message is aggressive rather than festive.
The cards keep coming, one each day and each more sinister than the last, and a frightened Lynda recalls a seasonal TV show from her childhood that featured similar happenings, and while she remembers it vividly, there is no evidence that it was ever broadcast…
As their Christmas cheer is gradually poisoned, with real dead robins replacing plastic ones, the turkey rotting in the freezer and Rust becoming increasingly unwell, Lynda begins to wonder if her childhood Christmases were in fact as joy filled as she remembers…
A terrifying tale of seasonal dread from a master of horror.
All the Hearts You Eat
Hailey Piper
Expected Publication: October 15th, 2024
A visceral and heartbreaking work of gothic horror about small town mysteries, local folklore and the things we leave behind when we’re gone, from the Bram Stoker Award winning author of Queen of Teeth.
What really happened to Cabrina Brite?
Ivory’s life changes irrevocably when she discovers the body of Cabrina Brite on the sands of Cape Morning, along with a mysterious poem. How did she die, and why does it seem she was trying to swim to Ghost Cat Island, the centre of so many local mysteries?
Desperate to uncover the answers surrounding Cabrina’s death, and haunted by her discovery, Ivory begins to see the pale ghost of Cabrina, only to shake it off as a mere hallucination. But Ivory is not alone. Cabrina’s closest friends have also seen a similar apparition, and as they toy with occult possibilities, they begin to unravel the truth behind Cabrina’s death.
Because Cape Morning isn’t a ghost town, but a town filled with ghosts, and Ivory is about to discover just what happens when you let one in.
Let me know if you’ve read any of these, or are planning to and, as always, let me know your new horror release recommendations!
Unwrapping Words 