The Best Horror Books with Alan Baxter
Alan Baxter is a British-Australian author of supernatural thrillers, horror and dark fantasy. He has written over 20 books, has had over 70 short stories published in award-winning magazines and anthologies, and has been shortlisted for the Ditmar Awards, Aurealis Awards and Shadows awards multiple times, winning three Australian Shadows awards in the process. Alan is the Vice President of the Australasian Horror Writers Association and as a Kung Fu teacher could axe kick the bejeezus out of anyone leaving him bad reviews on Good Reads.
We had a great discussion during episode 3 of the Genre Wars Book Podcast about what makes good horror, whether you can actually define the genre and, of course, the best horror books that people should read.
Here are Alan’s recommendations...
Best Horror Book ‘Classics’The Great Secret Show by Clive Barker
"Barker has an unparalleled talent for envisioning other worlds." -- Washington Post
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
"I think the author who influence me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson. Books like I Am Legend were an inspiration to me." -- Stephen King
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
"The books that have profoundly scared me...are few....But Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House beat them all...It scared me as a teenager and it haunts me still." --Neil Gaiman
Best New Horror Books
The Grief Hole by Kaaron Warren
“The Grief Hole put me immediately into a world I wish I'd never seen and never wanted to leave." --Leslie Bohem
Mongrels By Stephen Graeme-Jones
"Hilarious, painful, fascinating, and satisfying...Will easily be remembered as one of the most unique and unforgettable werewolf tales ever written." --New York Journal of Books
The Cipher By Cathe Koja
Winner of the Bram Stoker Award and Locus Awards, finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award, and named one of io9.com's "Top 10 Debut Science Fiction Novels That Took the World By Storm."
Jack Ketchem’s The Girl Next Door
“Thoroughly disturbing.” -- Alan Baxter
To find Alan’s books and read his stories head to AlanBaxter.com.au (I recommend starting with Devouring Dark). Or connect with Alan on Twitter here or Instagram here.
To see all of the best horror book titles above curated in the Genre Wars Shop (which helps support independent bookstores) head here. I’ve also added one of my favourites, House of Leaves.
