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Oct 04

[ARCHIVED] Horror in October: Welcome to our dark side

The original item was published from October 4, 2022 2:49 PM to October 12, 2022 2:22 PM

Welcome to October and to our weekly blog series, Horror in October, where we bring you horror chills and thrills celebrating this month of terrifying delights. We normally spotlight authors of horror in our series, but we’ve decided to change it up this month.

This week is all about creatures of the night and other magical beings that have been providing fodder for tales of terror for centuries. These stories were sometimes used as cautionary tales used to get children to do chores or prevent crimes in society. People who committed crimes, were on the fringes of society, or committed social faux paus were called vampires, witches, and the like.

Vampires, werewolves, and witches, in one form or another, have been around since ancient times, in multiple cultures, known by many different names. Throughout history, the stories about these monsters has changed and have many iterations. We love to see them in horror books. So we’ve collected some of our monster horror novels in this list.

A woman leaning against a rainy window with her finger against the window.

DB 79511 Motherless child by Glen Hirshberg

Young mothers Sophie and Natalie go to a dive bar one night to see famous musician the "Whistler". The night turns into a haze and they wake the next morning covered in blood and no longer human. They fight back against their creator. Violence, strong language, and some descriptions of sex. 2012.

Nude torso of a person with slightly darker dots on skin in pattern with a rose and petals on torso

DB 64793 Guilty pleasures: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, book 1 by Laurell K. Hamilton

Supernatural crime fighter Anita Blake reluctantly attends her friend Catherine's bachelorette party at master vampire Jean-Claude's strip club, Guilty Pleasures. A performer takes Catherine under his power and forces Anita to investigate several gruesome vampire murders to save Catherine's life. Violence, some descriptions of sex, and some strong language. 1993.

Upper body and face of a snarling werewolf on a red background climbing through the black foreground

DB 62102 Cycle of the werewolf by Stephen King

Someone--or something--is attacking residents of rural Tarker's Mills, Maine, during the full moon. Only Marty Coslaw, a ten-year-old who uses a wheelchair, knows the identity of the monster, but no one will believe him. Basis for the 1985 movie Stephen King's Silver Bullet. Strong language and some violence. 1983.

Lighted tunnel with a silhouette of a wraithlike being with torn and holed clothing.

DB 39770 Blood price by Tanya Huff

Eight months ago, Vicki Nelson quit the Toronto homicide department because retinitis pigmentosa caused night blindness and some loss of her peripheral vision. Now a private detective, Vicki happens upon a corpse drained of blood. When the police refuse to believe a vampire is responsible, Vicki finds help from a surprising source: romance writer Henry Fitzroy, a benign vampire. Strong language and violence.

Black and white photo of Abraham Lincoln holding an ax and red bloody hand prints and foot prints.

DB 70658 Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

A store clerk in the remote town of Rhinebeck, New York, is given the long-lost journal of Abraham Lincoln with instructions to write a manuscript. But the new volumes narrate Lincoln's previously unknown path in life, as one of the greatest vampire hunters. Violence and some strong language. Bestseller. 2010.

A person with their mouth open and long splintered fingernails ripping out through paper.

DB 88159 The howling by Gary Brandner

After a brutal attack caused Karyn Beatty to have a miscarriage and nervous breakdown, she and husband Roy move to a secluded California town. Roy thinks Karyn is imagining things when she hears howling coming from the nearby woods. Violence, some strong language, and some explicit descriptions of sex. 1977.

Battle ships on sea with images of a wolf, two people walking, camels, and planes above.

DB 76428 The hunter from the woods by Robert R. McCammon

Six interconnecting stories about British spy and werewolf Michael Gallatin, from The Wolf's Hour (DB 44469). In "Sea Chase" Michael is assigned to protect a defecting German scientist en route to England aboard a Norwegian diesel ship, but trouble follows. Violence, strong language, and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2011.

Black and red image of a young girl with her eyes closed.

DB 12688 The exorcist by William Peter Blatty

A novel concerning the diabolical possession of a film star's daughter. While the actress is filming a picture in Washington, D.C., she becomes concerned over the increasingly bizarre and macabre behavior of her child, and is finally forced to seek the services of an exorcist when all else fails. Explicit descriptions of sex and strong language.

The head from nose, eyes, and ears of an elk with antlers on a black background.

DB 100116 The only good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Ten years ago, four young Blackfeet men went on a prohibited elk hunt in lands reserved for the tribe's elders. As adults, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2020.

Church and trees with fire flaming into sky.

DB 87060 Little heaven by Nick Cutter

A woman hires three mercenaries to check on her nephew in the remote New Mexico town of Little Heaven. She fears the boy is being held by the religious cult that controls the town, but the mercenaries encounter a more supernatural menace. Violence, strong language, and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2017.