⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ T. Kingfisher’s What Moves the Dead quietly unsettles you rather than going for big shocks, and that’s exactly where it shines. A retelling of Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, it keeps the bones of the original story but dresses them in something far stranger, funnier, and biologically grotesque. The atmosphere is … Continue reading A Creepy, Clever Reimagining That Gets Under Your Skin
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I finally sat down with Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney after years of loving both the 1956 and 1978 film adaptations, and I’m honestly kicking myself for not reading it sooner. I’ve watched those films so many times—each one with its own charm, its own atmosphere, its own flavour of creeping … Continue reading A Classic I Should’ve Read Years Ago
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I first picked up His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet on the recommendation of one of my university lecturers. At the time, I was working on a project with some thematic overlap, and, honestly, it felt like perfect timing. I’m still working on that project now, and reading this novel has been both … Continue reading A Gripping Blend of Crime, History, and Psychological Depth
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stephen King’s Insomnia surprised me in the best way. I went in expecting a fairly straightforward horror story, but it turned into something much stranger and more ambitious. Ralph’s sleeplessness starts off feeling uncomfortably real—King captures that foggy, irritable, slightly surreal feeling of being overtired so well that I could practically feel my own … Continue reading A Restless, Haunting Journey Through Derry
⭐⭐⭐ Overall, I enjoyed Influencer by Adam Cesare, just not quite enough to bump it higher. The concept is great: a horror story rooted in internet fame, parasocial chaos, and the curated madness of influencer culture. Cesare leans into the world of streaming and online personas, blending satire and genuine menace. When the horror elements … Continue reading A Slick, Modern Horror with Uneven Footing
⭐️⭐️⭐️ I’m honestly not quite sure what to say about Morsels by Abe Moss. It’s one of those books that isn’t bad at all — the writing’s solid, the pacing works fine — but for some reason it just feels very… average. “Meh” really sums it up. I didn’t dislike it, but I never felt … Continue reading Decently Readable, But Mostly Meh
⭐⭐⭐⭐ I never thought I would say it, but it was a real pleasure to read a story from the perspective of someone so utterly unhinged. Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito is not your usual historical novel – it’s a dark, twisted character study wrapped up in lace, corsets, and all the suffocating etiquette of … Continue reading A Fascinating Descent into Madness
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I went into Episode Thirteen with cautious optimism. I’ve picked up a fair few books lately that had been hyped up online, only to find them flat, predictable, or just not worth the buzz. Honestly, I was ready for another disappointment, but wow, Craig DiLouie completely blindsided me with this one in the best … Continue reading A Chilling, Clever Horror That Exceeded Every Expectation
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Lamb by Lucy Rose is one of those books that creeps under your skin almost from the first page, and once it’s there, it refuses to leave. It’s hard to believe this is a debut because the voice is so assured, the world so fully realised, and the atmosphere so thick with tension … Continue reading A Feast of Darkness, Beauty, and Motherhood
Horror is a genre I cannot seem to leave behind. I might stray into other territories—comedy, science fiction, even the odd experimental piece—but horror always remains the gravitational centre of my writing. It pulls me back, again and again, in a way that feels almost inevitable, as though some invisible force constantly tugs at my … Continue reading Why I Keep Coming Back to Horror – A Personal Essay on Horror and What Draws Me to Unsettling Stories
Gareth Ellis - Author 