January was dominated by Venus and Mercury retrogrades, which means things might have been rocky in the love department recently. Even if you survived the emotional rollercoaster of the last few weeks, you might not be ready for the onslaught of hearts and flowers coming your way with Valentine’s Day right around the corner.
To combat the blues, we’ve curated a list of some good horror books to give you a break from the romance.
1. The Final Girl Support Group – Grady Hendrix
The sub-genre of “Final Girl Horror,” which explores the motif of the final girl left alive at the end of the movie, is starting to pick up in 2022. This story explores what happens to a support group of final girls when a killer decides to come back to finish the job.
2. Sleeping Beauties – Stephen King and Owen King
What if every woman on Earth fell asleep at the same time? And in their dreams, they can create a utopia for themselves. Given the chance, would they return to their real lives? Authors Stephen King and his son Owen King unpack a pandemic event that explores morality, spirituality, and the human condition.
3. Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires – Grady Hendrix
A group of Southern women create a book club to read horror books, never expecting that a real-life horror story will drop into their neighborhood when a vampire moves into town. They have to work together to keep their families safe in this humorous horror novel.
4. Home Before Dark – Riley Sager
Maggie Holt grew up with the knowledge that her father had secrets, and the biggest secret was the mystery of Baneberry Hall. When Maggie steps foot in Baneberry to renovate and sell it, mysterious and haunted things start happening. This book is a modern-day gothic novel that is reminiscent of Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre, but packed with the twists and turns that Riley Sager is known for writing.
5. Red Dragon – Thomas Harris
Are you a fan of the TV show Hannibal or the movie Silence of the Lambs? Red Dragon is the prequel to Silence of the Lambs, which explores profiler Will Graham’s conflict over consulting with the infamous Lecter on an FBI case.
The best remedy for anti-valentine’s energy is some spooky vibes, and what better way to de-stress before the holiday by curling up with a spooky book? Consider checking out GoodReads’s list of the Best Horror Novels of all-time for more inspiration.