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The Midnight Society Kaitlin Conner Readers’ Advisory Librarian, NoveList Gregg Winsor Reference Librarian, Johnson County Library, Kansas Autumn Winters Recommendations Lead, NoveList 2
libraryreads.org 3
Speculative Fiction Science Fiction Fantasy Horror What if our scientific theories are real? What if magic or magical creatures exist? What if our nightmares are real? 4
The Pull of the Grave 5
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“It shows us that the control we believe we have is purely illusory, and that every moment we teeter on chaos and oblivion.” - Clive Barker Introduction to “Scared Stiff: Tales of Sex and Death” by Ramsey Campbell, 1987. 7
‘Visceral’ Fiction 8
History of the Genre 9
Gothic Horror in the 18th Century A significant amount of horror fiction of this era was marketed towards a female audience, a typical scenario being a resourceful female menaced in a gloomy castle. 1764 1796 1797 10
19th Century Horror The gothic tradition turns to the genre modern readers call horror and many foundational characters are born. 1818 1839 1886 1897 11
Early 20th Century Pulp Fiction Pulp magazines emerged to give more genre writers an outlet. H.P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, and Robert Bloch, among many others, published stories in magazines. 1928 1931 1937 12
Pre-Modern Era The real-life horrors of World War II and the looming paranoia and menace of the Cold War usher in a new generation as horror novels gain mainstream acceptability. 1954 1959 1967 1974 13
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NoveList Appeals and Themes 15
Menacing Bleak Suspenseful Brooding Creepy Gruesome Atmospheric Compelling Darkly Strong female Flawed humorous Menacing Disturbing Intensifying Flawed Moody Violent 16
Cursed! Possessed! Trapped! P Childhood trauma l o Don’t go in there! t Evil transformations Witchcraft and the occult Zombie apocalypse 17
Trapped! Think isolated cabins, Arctic research bases, submarines, graves, or elevators. 18
Band of survivors C h Creature feature a Creepy clowns and bad seeds r Evil animals a c Final girls t Real life monsters e r Vampire menace s Werewolves among us 19
Creepy Clowns and Bad Seeds Menace lurks behind things that seem innocent. 20
Body horror S t Found footage y l Lovecraftian horror e Monster mashups 21
Found Footage Framing devices (such as letters or diaries) highlight the horror in real time. 22
Subgenres and Trends 23
Subgenres Historical horror Gothic fiction Ghost stories 24
More Subgenres! Supernatural mysteries Psychological suspense Weird Westerns 25
Socially Conscious Horror 26
(Deconstructing) Lovecraftian Horror 27
Folk Horror 28
Books as Hooks 29
Anthologies 30
Horror in Translation 31
Nonfiction 32
Conversations with the Dead (or, questions to ask horror fans.) 33
“What’s your scare level?” Atmospheric dread Intense terror and gore 34
“What horror movies/podcasts/shows do you like?” 35
“What’s your monster?” 36
Horror Starter Pack Representative of genre Well-reviewed Wide appeal Stand-alone or series starter 37
My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix (2016) Darkly humorous Strong female friendship Nostalgic (1980s music playlists) Meticulous attention to period detail Possessed! 38
White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi (2009) Gothic Creepy British manor house Atmospheric Ghosts! Maybe! Nonlinear Under 250 pages 39
John Dies at the End by David Wong (2007) Jokes jokes jokes Gross-out body horror So meta Fast-paced Well-developed characters, in spite of it all 40
The Passage by Justin Cronin (2010) Band of survivors Vampire menace First in a trilogy Sweeping epic Bleak Menacing 41
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (2017) Short stories Queer feminist take on body horror and fantasy Creepy and surreal Thought-provoking Multiple award winner In development as an FX anthology series 42
Resources 43
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Indie Publishers 45
Awards The Bram Stoker Award is awarded by the Horror Writers Association for “superior achievement” in horror writing. thebramstokerawards.com The Shirley Jackson Award is for outstanding achievement in horror, the dark fantastic, and psychological suspense. shirleyjacksonawards.org 46
2018 Bram Stoker Shortlist 47
NoveList Resources 48 48
Genre outlines Keeping up pages Recommended reads lists Haunted! 49
Genre browse 50
Books we can’t wait to read 51
Questions? 52
Thank you Learn more at ebscohost.com/novelist & libraryreads.org 53
Finding Horror in NoveList 54
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