Three brief reviews : Coup de Grace by Sofia Ajram, Kill Your Darling by Clay McLeod Chapman, and Candy Cain Kills Again by Brian McAuley

 I recently finished three horror novellas and thought I would write up something about them here since I didn't review them for Library Journal.

Kill Your Darling by Clay McLeod Chapman (Bad Hand Books) is up first. 

The summary from the publisher is: 

The body of Glenn Partridge’s 15-year-old son was discovered in a vacant lot nearly forty years ago. The police are still no closer to finding the murderer decades later.

Glenn refuses to let the memory of his son fade—or let anyone else within this small working-class community forget. His long-suffering wife signs him up for an amateur fiction-writing workshop at the local library, just to get him out of the house and out of his own head.

Rule number Write what you know—so Glenn decides to share his son’s story. The class offers him a chance to make sense of a senseless crime and find the fictional closure life never provided. But as Glenn’s story takes on a life of its own, someone from the past is compelled to come out of hiding before he reaches…

It is a perfect example of grief horror - the tight, suffocating, deeply personal nature of grief when a loved one dies. There is a terror when it overcomes you and it can transform you as much as any supernatural transformation. Glenn Partridge is changed by the death of his son into someone he would not have recognized. The devastation of grief has made him a man obsessed with finding what happened to his son and he learns what happens when the story wasn't meant to be completed.  No one writes about grief better than Clay. This book will break your heart as it fills you with dread. 

Candy Cain Kills Again by Brian McAuley is a sequel to his previous work for Shortwave Publishing's Killer VHS series. From the publisher:

After surviving the horrors of Christmas Eve at the Thornton house, Austin, Mateo and Fiona head to the Church of Nodland to get some confessions from Pastor Wendell and his congregation. Little do they know that Candy Cain is coming to town to wish one and all a very merry axe-mas!

It's a horror romp that will delight those who miss the experience of going into a video store with friends and pulling slashers off the shelf. In this fun, violent ride, the kills come quickly and are wildly creative. This is the kind of book that can smash a reading slump. The characters' relationships are complicated as they deal with the repercussions of the first book. The emotional fallout is handled with care and a deft sense of character development.  

We will end with Coup de Grace by Sofia Ajram. From the publisher: 

Vicken has a plan: throw himself into the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal and end it all for good, believing it to be the only way out for him after a lifetime of depression and pain. But, stepping off the subway, he finds himself in an endless, looping station.

Determined to find a way out again, he starts to explore the rooms and corridors ahead of him. But no matter how many claustrophobic hallways or vast cathedral-esque rooms he passes through, the exit is nowhere in sight.

The more he explores his strange new prison, the more he becomes convinced that he hasn’t been trapped there accidentally, and amongst the shadows and concrete, he comes to realise that he almost certainly is not alone.

A terrifying psychological nightmare from a powerful new voice in horror.

The book has the best sense of depression of any book I have read recently. Readers have the sense of Vicken's dark hopelessness and the endless, gray trap of his existence. Within this novella, Ajram is able to explore the movement between hope and despair within the claustrophobic, confined space of the subway system. The reader is brought along as Vicken wanders in the surreal labyrinth in which he's been trapped. This book is well deserving of the praise which has been heaped upon it. Settle in for an evening and lose yourself within the text. Hopefully, you will make it out. 

Five For Friday - Winter Horror

 To give you a peek behind the scenes, when I picked this theme, I wasn't sure we owned enough titles that weren't checked out to do this post. I requested a pile and then checked the books and authors to make certain that I had some diversity there before I took the picture. Sometimes, you might have to tweak the idea - I could have included more thrillers, suspense, or mystery titles - to make it work. I have several images below I included a cart filled with titles to provide an example of a display on a cart. Both sides of this cart could have been filled with books. 

The title is winter horror but don't hesitate to put suspense or thrillers on the cart. People will read across genres so you don't have to limit yourself. This also makes it easier to keep the display full.

I always suggest a simple sign and minimal decorations. The focus should be the books - not signage and decor. It's possible to completely obscure the books with too many signs!

Here are two option for Five for Friday. This picture can be used for social media or a blog. 

You don't need fancy fixtures for a book display. Create a display of five for your picture and then fill in the cart with other titles and leave it somewhere in your building where people can discover it. You don't have to put a fiction display near the fiction. Move it to a place where it will be a surprise!

This is just a small book cart with a sign. I've used them around our building and in programs. 

Book Display Inspiration Using One Book - Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

Best selling author Grady Hendrix has a new book coming out on January 14, 2025. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is another great book which will likely have a lot of holds at libraries. He does an amazing job of creating a diverse group of young women and their complex relationships. While being increasingly more frightening as the book progresses it does include the humor that has made Grady's books so distinctive. I also was fascinated by the version of witchcraft he created for the novel.  It's a great opportunity to promote other books in your collection. As part of a regular series, I hope to show you the many ways that you can use one title on a display while promoting your holds list and digital collection. 

Here is the summary of the book from the author's website:

Set in a home for unwed mothers in 1970, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, is about four teenage
girls who are sent away to have their babies in secret. Trapped in a maternity home in St. Augustine, Florida, they’re helpless, powerless, and in despair, until they discover the power of witchcraft.

There are a number of ways that you can approach this book. It's about witchcraft but it's also about young women and their group dynamic. It is set in a particular time as well. The home for unwed mothers also has somewhat of a boarding school vibe which creates yet another path you can take. If you set up this display, regardless of which themes you use, put up a sign or bookmarks in each book with information about your holds list and how patrons can add the title to it. You can also put in a bookmark with details about a program or service you offer. 

The book is set in 1970 and the time frame of the book plays an important role in the book.  Some other books about the same basic time and which feature relationship between women as as a plot point include: 

The Girls by Emma Cline
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
Beautiful Revolutionary by Laura Elizabeth Woollett
The Summer We Got Saved by Pat Cunningham Devoto
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

In addition, you can use these links: 

Historical Fiction Set in the 1970s - Penguin Random House
Historical Fiction 1970s Books - Goodreads
28 Groovy Books About the 1970s - Booklist Queen
Making History: Six Books that Embrace the 1970s - LitHub

Another historical element in the book is the issue of pregnant young women in the era before Roe vs Wade became law. 

What Life Was Like Before Roe V Wade - PM Press
Selected Books on History of Abortion - University of Wisconsin -Madison

Also check the subject headings of the books in your collection to find other titles. Don't forget to include your non-fiction. You should have books about the 1970's in your collection, including in your local history collection. Also, check for movies made in and about the early 1970's. 

Witchcraft is possibly an easier tie-in for the book. I have some lists below to get you started:
Horror Witches Warlocks Books - Goodreads
Popular Witchy Books - Goodreads
8 Horror Books About Witches That Are Truly Scary - Book Riot
Spells and Superstitions: 13 Horror Books About Witches: Read By Dusk
New Book Bonus Annotations: Chapter 7- Witches, Curses, and the Occult: RA For All: Horror

Don't leave out paranormal romance or historical fiction while you are assembling your display. There are also non-fiction titles that you can pull out related to witchcraft and the occult. 

As you can see, a display that focused on the time period in which the book was sent would be different than one that focused on the witchcraft aspect of the book. Either would create a great book display. 

I mentioned boarding schools above so I will add some lists with title suggestions: 
50 Must-Read Books Set in Boarding Schools - Book Riot
The Best Boarding School Novels - FIve Books

You can mix all of these ideas and include some of Grady's previous works. Try to make the display focus on the lesser known authors and those titles that can use a little more light. 

Using the Bram Stoker Awards to Create a Superior Achievement in a Book Display

 If you are not a horror reader, setting up a horror themed book display and reaching out beyond the best known authors like Steven King, Dean Koontz, and Anne Rice may seem daunting. Most readers and library workers have at least one genre that they aren't familiar with and don't personally dive into. There are plenty of resources to assist you. Some of them I have listed here. In addition, the genre focused resource posts I have created can also be used to find great horror titles. 

I want to focus on one resource in particular today. Annually the Horror Writers Association awards The Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in these categories: Novel, First Novel, Short Fiction, Long Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction Collection, Poetry, Anthology, Screenplay, Graphic Novel and Non-Fiction. These titles recommend some of the best of the best of the genre. The HWA has also worked to make these awards as inclusive as possible which will help you curate the best display possible as you select more recently published works. 

The list of past winners can be found on the Stoker Award website. Don't just use the winners - use the nominated books as well. You can also use the back list from nominated authors as well. 

More spooky book display ideas to come!

Recently Read Titles - Our Black Hearts Beat as One by Brian Asman & At Dark, I Become Loathsome by Eric LaRocca

 I recently finished two books, one back list and related to my Brian horror fest and the other an upcoming release. 

Our Black Hearts Beat as One by Brian Asman is a novella about heartbreak. I posted a short review on Goodreads, available here. It's a book with an increasing sense of dread and levels of unease. The plot, from the author's website: 

"Hearts don’t just break, they explode. Destroying everything around them."
Michael Mallory's living the dream as the lead singer of a hot, up-and-coming band, Modern Love. When a sudden breakup shatters his world, he plunges headlong into the city's occult underbelly in a desperate bid to salve his pain. Lost amidst wayward souls and brutish killers, godlings and grotesqueries, Mike's about to learn one incontrovertible 
There's nothing more terrifying than love.

Put this title up on a display with other titles about heartbreak and deep emotions. Because Michael is in a band, fiction about music would also be appropriate. There is also an occult aspect to the book. 

Stoker nominated author Eric LaRocca's next release is At Dark I Become Loathsome. My short review is here on Goodreads. From the publisher's website: 

“If you’re reading this, you’ve likely thought that the world would be a better place without you.”

A single line of text, glowing in the darkness of the internet. Written by Ashley Lutin, who has often thought the same—and worse—in the years since his wife died and his young son disappeared. But the peace of the grave is not for him—it’s for those he can help. Ashley has constructed a peculiar ritual for those whose desire to die is at war with their yearning to live a better life.

Struggling to overcome his own endless grief, one night Ashley finds connection with Jinx—a potential candidate for Ashley’s next ritual—who spins a tale both revolting and fascinating. Thus begins a relationship that traps the two men in an ever-tightening spiral of painful revelations, where long-hidden secrets are dragged, kicking and screaming, into the light.

Only through pain can we find healing. Only through death can we find new life.

As with Our Black Hearts Beat as One, this is horror which is about intense pain and loss. LaRocca's books are a headfirst dive into disturbing ideas and pain. The reader is compelled to go forward even as they can almost feel the emotional trauma of the characters. 

Because LaRocca is a Splatterpunk award winning author, search your collection for other examples of extreme horror and splatterpunk. Bring out the more extreme titles in your collection. I do suggest that you look into adding the Splatterpunk award winners to your collection. They circulate well at my library. 

You can add titles about grief, loss, and surviving loss. Because of the physical transformation, look for books about body modification. 

Ideas For Book Displays and Other Passive Readers Advisory - Horror Edition

Horror is very popular now which makes some library workers uncomfortable because it is a genre they personally avoid. There are plenty of resources out there to help you do don't be scared! 

Remember that I am trying to avoid repeating resources in these guides. You will find horror information on some of the science fiction, fantasy, and crime fiction guides. 

One site you should have bookmarked is Becky Spratford's blog for horror fiction, RA for All - Horror. She posts reviews, trends, and other vital information about horror fiction. There is plenty of detail about the major horror awards such as the Stoker Awards and the Splatterpunk Awards. In addition, it is the place to find information about Summer Scares. A project to promote reading horror in the summer, Summer Scares is a joint effort of United for Libraries, Book Riot, Booklist, The Horror Writers of America, and NoveList, a division of EBSCO Information Services. Three titles are picked for adults, young adults, and middle grade readers. An author is selected to be the spokesperson for the year as well. It's a great way to add horror to your summer displays. The Springfield-Greene County (MO) Library creates a programming guide each year for use by libraries at no charge. A link to that is also on Becky's Summer Scares resource page. Horror themed programming is a nice way to change up your usual summer programming fare. 

ReadJumpScares by Emily Hughes includes information about horror novels including her very valuable list of this years' upcoming horror novels. Her website also lists what she has written about horror on a variety of websites. 

The Horror Writers Association is the premier organization for those interested in horror and dark  fantasy. The organization issues the annual Bram Stoker Awards. In addition to a blog with interviews and information about a variety of people from the world of horror, they also have a strong interest in helping libraries promote horror. You can reach out to them for information including how to find an author to speak at your library. 

Founded by authors Brian Keene and Wrath James White, the Splatterpunk Awards are presented annually at KillerCon. These awards are focused on splatterpunk and extreme horror. These subgenres of horror have been growing in popularity and I have found that the winners of these awards circulate well. 

Cemetery Dance was founded by author Richard Chizmar in 1988. Besides publishing books, they also feature news and reviews on their website. The right hand sidebar has links to series like "Brian Keene's History of Horror Fiction."

Horror DNA is a site with news and reviews from all over horror including books, TV, movies, and video games. 

A long time standard bearer of horror, Fangoria magazine also features news and review from horror TV, movies, books, and more. They also have four podcasts. 

If you have more resources, add them below. Also, don't forget to check out my other genre guides for sites with horror information. 

Summer Scares 2024

 I will recap PLA 2024 at the end but there has been a lot of good talk about upcoming horror novels at the convention. I wanted to remind everyone that Summer Scares, a partnership between the Horror Writers of America, BookList and NoveList, is a great opportunity to promote horror outside of October. 

I can guarantee that your patrons don't only think that beach reads are cheery and light. Living near the beach, I see people check out plenty of thrillers, suspense, and horror novels to take with them. Don't prejudge what your patrons are interested in and seasonally limit what portions of your collection that you market to them.

There are adult, YA, and middle grade titles selected each year. They are always back list titles that are in print. An author is selected as spokesperson and this year it is Clay McLeod Chapman who is an excellent author to suggest to patrons who think they don't read horror. You can find out more about his books here. 

There are free webinars with the authors available courtesy of BookList. The Springfield-Greene Co Library (MO) creates a programming guide each year that has ideas for how you can include Summer Scares in your summer programming. 

Becky Spratford, Readers Advisory expert and secretary of the Horror Writers, maintains a regularly updated list of resources on her blog, RA For All: Horror. Her blog includes information about the 9 books selected for this year, a link to the programming guide, webinars, and other information to help you shake up summer reading by adding some horror to your programming, displays, and book suggestions. 

My TopHorror Reads of 2023

 I read fairly broadly every year but my December LibFaves are always horror focused. While EarlyWord has changed to a spreadsheet for this year (see their website for details), I thought I would curate my list here of what were my favorite horror reads in 2023. Are they the best of the year? I don't know! That's someone else's list. Also, a few people do have more than one entry. I couldn't decide and it's my list.  They aren't in any order. 

Bad Cree by Jessica Johns (Doubleday): A story filled with complex female relationships as Mackenzie, a young Cree woman,  tries to deal with her sister Sabrina's death. Eventually, her intense dreams, filled with violence, drive her home to Alberta where she and her family must face their guilt and grief. This is coming of age horror and grief horror. I love a story with a core of female relationships not built around the men in their lives. With this debut, Jessica Johns shows great promise. 

Chapman Chapbooks #1-3 (Shortwave Media) and What Kind of Mother (Quirk Books) by Clay McLeod Chapman: Becky Spratford (RA for All and RA for All: Horror) has said that for this year it's WTF for the win. Clay's books are definitely filled with moments that will make you question what you just read as well as what kind of mind could create the story you are reading. In What Kind of Mother, Madi, a palm reader, has been forced to return to her hometown  in the Chesapeake Bay Area with her teenage daughter. While working a farmer's market, she is reintroduced to her high school boyfriend, Henry. He's been searching for his missing infant son for 5 years. As Madi grows more unsure of what happened and if Henry was involved, the reader is drawn deeper and deeper into a story that starts with unease and ends with terror. 

The Chapbooks are three short stories that are quick shots of Clay storytelling. They are all three terrifying and will leave you terrified at the idea that someone would write these. It's as if someone went ahead with one of those "Can you imagine..." ideas that you have with your friends late at night. Baby carrots become horrifying in his hands. . .  

What Clay is especially skilled at doing is taking small ordinary events and moments and infusing them with emotion and horror as part of revealing what could happen next. With his books, it's difficult to predict what is going to happen next. He's perfect for that person who thinks that they have read everything and is feeling kind of jaded.

Loteria (Agora Books) and The Shoemaker's Magician by Cina Pelayo(Agora Books): From my Goodreads review of Loteria: Rich collection of poetry, short stories and a novella. There are ghosts and monsters within the text, both human and supernatural. Great for fans of Latin American folktales, horror, or for breaking a reading slump. As with all of her work, Cina Pelayo digs deeply into the human heart and shows us our pain and love and hatred and joy. 

In The Shoemaker's Magician, Pelayo has another genre blend of mystery/police procedural with horror and fairy tale retellings. This is book 2 in the Chicago Saga which began with The Children of Chicago. What you will get immediately is a sense of Chicago as a real place and how much love its residents have for it, complicated history and all. Paloma Ramos has a YouTube show discussing classic horror. Her neurodivergent son, Bela, occupies a lot of her remaining time. Her husband Sebastian, a homicide detective, is called to case in which a poster from a 1920's film is attached to the body. This starts a mystery Paloma and Sebastian try to solve together. It's tied to a horror TV host, Grand, and a lost silent film. This book is perfect for a mystery/thriller fan who is open to some horror and supernatural touches.  It's a gripping story that is driven by complex characters and their relationships. 

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus (MTV Books): From my Goodreads review- Scientifically accurate and stands as a terrifying story of a diver being swallowed by a sperm whale. Jay, feeling guilty about his father's suicide and his refusal to visit before, attempts a dive to find his father's remains. An accidental encounter with a giant squid puts Jay in real jeopardy when a hungry sperm whale swallows the squid. Jay is dragged along and has one hour to find a way out before he runs out of oxygen. 

Jay's descent into the whale is entangled with a descent into his complicated feelings about his father, a local diving legend. Coming to terms with his father and his feelings is an important to Jay's survival as is finding a way out of the whale. Kraus uses the alien, claustrophobic environment of the deep sea to mirror how unprocessed trauma and grief have trapped Jay. His real physical danger is reflected in the flashbacks to his childhood, which show the emotional cost of having a father like his. 

Recommended for fans of Jaws and deep sea terror and survivor stories as well as fans of complicated family stories and those about death and grief.

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix (Penguin Random House): Best selling author Grady Hendrix has written another book deserving of its attention and praise. Louise reluctantly leaves her daughter with her ex and travels to Charleston after the death of her parents. Her father and her mother left a house filled with memories and the puppets and dolls which occupied so much of their mother's time. Mark has never left his hometown and fails at one enterprise after another. While Louise intends on selling the house as quickly as possible, she learns the truth about the house and its plans for them... Grady is so very good at describing and getting to the heart of relationships. His description of complicated sibling relationships is so dead on accurate. This is one of those books that everyone I suggest it to adores. 

Hungers As Old As This Land by Zachary Rosenberg (Brigids Gate Press, LLC): From my Goodreads review-This horror western is a fast read and it's a testament to Rosenberg's talents that readers seem to be left wanting more of both the world he's created and his characters. What could be a typical western plot of a good town facing invasion by bad men is made fresh with strong female characters, a town established as a haven for Jewish settlers, and bargain between a small town and monsters hiding in the nearby mountains. There is great character development with the two main characters being tough women who can take care of themselves and hold their ground. It's a rich novella that packs a lot into its pages. I can't wait to read something else from this author.

Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison (Berkley): From my Goodreads review - Vesper is living a listless existence as a waitress at a chain restaurant in New York City. Disaffected and sarcastic, she has fled the authoritarian religious group she grew up in, knowing that if you leave, you can never return. She's surprised to receive an invitation to the wedding of her childhood best friend and her first love, both of whom stayed loyal to the cult and remained in their tiny New Jersey town. Despite a tense relationship with her cold, detached scream queen mother, a star of b horror films, Vesper's curiosity gets the better of her and she returns for the wedding, the prodigal child. 

Vesper learns secrets about her family and childhood faith that she struggles to accept. It's a darkly humorous book that still manages to wrestle with themes of faith, memory, family, and identity. How much of one's identity is tied to one's past? Can you escape who you used to be or who other people wanted you to be? Harrison has written a book that is fast paced and filled with great characters. If you are a fan of fiction about cults, family tension, or strained parent/child relationships you will enjoy this release. There are twists and turns that will keep you reading.

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy (Tor Nightfire): This is another recent horror novel that has a 70-80's horror movie feel that I love. The comparison to Rosemary's Baby is apt and New York City is drawn so that readers will have a real sense of the city. Ana and her husband Reid win a lottery for an apartment in a desirable New York City building. While Ana grows increasingly disturbed by strange happenings at the building, Reid dismisses her sense of unease but the couple and their baby are drawn deeper and deeper into whatever is wrong with their new home. The sense of unease grows into terror as the couple realize what is really going on at the Depford building.  

Ana's postpartum depression and disability are woven into the story as she tries to move forward. Antisemitism is also deftly handled by Cassidy. A reader that doesn't always feel drawn to horror but loves horror movies will enjoy this book. 

Lone Women by Victor LaValle (One World): Another genre blending book with historical fiction and horror combined, Lone Women is the story of Adelaide Henry in the Montana of 1915. She has fled her home in California with only a mysterious trunk that must never be opened. The book is fast paced and even after the secret of the trunk is revealed, the reader is compelled to read on. There are some great female characters and relationships in the book. Issues of sexism, racism, and classism are woven into the story as Adelaide struggles to find her place in the world and escape her family's past. She is a wonderfully complex character who kept me reading.

Another book to recommend to those readers who are open to horror when blended with a genre they already love. It should be showcased on any list or display of historical fiction. 

The Reformatory by Tananrive Due (Saga Press):  I was partially familiar with the history of the Dozier School for Boys in Florida. (TampaBay Times story can be read here.) Set in fictional, Gracetown, Florida, this book was inspired by the real-life horrors of the Dozier School as well as what Due's relative experienced there.  There are real world terrors blended in the supernatural throughout the book. Robby Stephens Jr. is sent to  Gracetown School for Boys after kicking the son of a powerful man while defending his sister, Gloria. Robby can see "haints" or ghosts, a talent that allowed him to see his beloved mother after she died. In the reformatory, Robby is haunted by boys who died terrible deaths at the hands of sadistic staff members. He makes friends while at the school with Redbone and Blue who try to help him learn how to survive. His sister, burdened by the reputation of their father whose activism forced him to flee to Chicago, works tirelessly to get Robby released, harnessing connections to the NAACP and activist lawyers. 

Tying the horrors of the Jim Crow south to those of restless souls tied to where they were unjustly murdered, Due has written one of the best books of the year. Robert and Gloria are multidimensional characters, dealing with tragedy upon tragedy. The supporting cast of their friends and supporters is given depth and Due narrates their struggles with racism and poverty as both a collective struggle while also allowing each character to face them as individuals.    Historical fiction fans who love books like The Nickel Boys by Colton Whitehead should love this book. 

Spin a Black Yarn by Josh Malerman (Del Rey): Imagine that you are sitting on a plane and a seemingly nice guy sits down next to you and begins to tell you a story. The story, while normal at first, becomes increasingly more disturbing and horrifying as it proceeds. You are trapped until the plane lands. This guy is Josh Malerman. Spin a Black Yarn is five completely different stories, each a unique take on something we think we know about - sibling relationships or deathbed confessions, for example.  This compelling collection is disquieting and the terror creeps up on the reader, no mean feat given that these are shorter works. This collection really showcases Malerman's talent with characters and dialogue. 

There were a ton more great books published this year. I am still working through them all. It's not a comprehensive list. Check Becky's blog for more lists of great 2023 books. I hope 2024 brings us more genre blended stories as well as more Jewish horror! 

On Using Subject Headings for Book Displays

 I wanted to follow up on a question I received during the PLA webinar about passive readers advisory as a way to market your collection. Don't forget that books can be approached in a lot of ways. One way you can start is by looking at subject headings. You can search a lot of library catalogs by subject. They are often hyperlinked which makes it easy to search. 

If we look at the example in the last post, What Kind of Mother by Clay McLeod Chapman, here are the subject headings from the MARC record:

Missing children

Homecoming

Palmists

Father and child

Kidnapping

Man-woman relationships

Occult & Supernatural.

Horror fiction

Gothic fiction.

Thrillers (Fiction)

There are likely lots of titles on your shelves about kidnappings, homecomings, and missing children. 

If we look at the publisher's summary of the book:

Madi returns to her hometown and reconnects with an ex from high school, now known locally for his refusal to give up looking for his infant son who has been missing for years. As Madi gets drawn into the search, she begins to see visions that lead to disturbing revelations about the real story of the boy's disappearance"-- Provided by publisher.

After striking out on her own as a teen mom, Madi Price is forced to return to her hometown of Brandywine, Virginia, with her seventeen-year-old daughter. With nothing to her name, she scrapes together a living as a palm reader at the local farmers market. It's there that she connects with old high school flame Henry McCabe, now a reclusive local fisherman whose infant son, Skyler, went missing five years ago. Everyone in town is sure Skyler is dead, but when Madi reads Henry's palm, she's haunted by strange and disturbing visions that suggest otherwise. As she follows the thread of these visions, Madi discovers a terrifying nightmare waiting at the center of the labyrinth--and it's coming for everyone she holds dear.

There are more that can be pulled out: 

Reconnecting with an ex

Visions

Teen mothers

High school flames/sweethearts

This is before we dive into the setting or the fact there are crabs a'plenty in this book.

Never forget that there are many ways to approach the same book and when you are assembling as display, don't trap yourself into thinking that you don't have enough of a certain kind of book. You can be liberal without you interpret a book or a theme. 

I mentioned that I turned haunted houses into "Not So Happy Home" and included suspense novels about bad marriages, abusive relationships, and even added non-fiction about home repair. 

I hope this helps! 

Book Display Idea - Gen X Horror

 This where I say-  use what I have here or don't. Whatever.

There are many options for this kind of generational display. You could look for books published during a defined time period, for Gen X  you could use the late 70's through late 90's. But don't be doctrinaire, there are plenty of books by members of Generation X that are set during that time period or which have the sense or flavor of that generation. If someone else on staff disagrees with your choices, invite them to add their own choices. Ask patrons for their suggestions on your social media or in your library.

You can add some non-fiction about significant events that took place in the 80's and 90's. There are plenty of examples of terrifying things that took place during those years. Also, check your DVD collection and add some of those. Goosebumps was first published in 1992...

For a passive program, add one for Baby Boomers, Millennials, and Gen Z. Let your patrons fight it out and read some great books. A more active program would involve putting on a short film festival and having plenty of books for people to check out.

 Some great options for titles include: 

My Best Friend's Exorcism, We Sold Our Souls, and Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix should all be on this kind of display Paperbacks is a non-fiction Stoker award winner and includes information about those paperbacks your parents read. My Best Friend's Exorcism is set in the Satanic panic era (Kirkus called it "The Exorcist by way of Heathers). We Sold Our Souls tells of a 90's metal band whose lead singer abandoned them to become a successful solo act. Kris finds out that he did this by selling her soul to a demon. 

Dark Ink Books issued an anthology called Generation Xed. A collection of twenty-two author's monster, folk, paranormal, and psychological horror short stories, this collection would be an obvious pick. 

The Hunger by Whitley Strieber is on the list of influential vampire novels published in the 80's. It was also an influential film with David Bowie, Catherine Deneuve, and Susan Sarandon. The Wolfen is his 1978 debut novel about werewolves in NYC. Strieber is also known because of Communion, his 1987 non-fiction book about encountering aliens. He still maintains a website on the subject.  

The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay is a horror novel that includes an increasing sense of dread, a slacker lead character, and a woman with a sort of goth flavor who may or may not be a vampire. As Art Barbara looks back on his life, Mercy annotates his memoir, creating a sense of unease as readers decide who is a reliable narrator. Husker Du is the soundtrack for this book.

Clay McLeod Chapman is an author with several options for this display or list. The Remaking follows the same tale as it changes in how it is told every 20 years. With each retelling, there are terrifying consequences. The chapters about a film in the 70's and 90's have a wonderful sense of time and place. Whisper Down the Lane switches between the 1980's and thirty years later. Lies told in the past come back to haunt a teacher. Based upon the McMartin Preschool case and the Satanic Panic, this book explores parenthood, divorce in the 80's,  and mass hysteria. Finally, Ghost Eaters is about addiction to people, relationships, and drugs. When her charismatic friend and former college boyfriend Silas dies after she tries to finally quit him for good, Erin falls apart. She learns of a drug that allows users to talk to the dead... This book has a gothic/punk feel that is appropriate for this display.

Gothic by Philip Fracassi is an option I will include because like Ghost Eaters, it has the right feel, tone, and atmosphere. Writer Tyson Parks is a bestselling author who fears his best years are behind him. He receives an ornate desk as a birthday gift and begins to write around the clock at a frantic pace. Friends and family begin to notice his strange, violent behavior while a mysterious woman begins making inquiries about an artifact... This book is like falling into a movie from the great late 70's horror boom. Gen Xers would have watched them on early cable or in cinema reissues.   

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis is very representative of the 90's. Patrick Bateman is a successful, wealthy, narcissistic stockbroker who is also a serial killer. It's a graphically violent book that was made into a successful film. Any works by Ellis would work on a GenX display.  

Anne Rice had a huge fan base among my friends in the 1980's. The 1994 film version of Interview With a Vampire was also very popular. Rice's vampire tales are Gothic and sensual. She has a fairly large backlist and any can be put on a display, regardless of when they were released. 

Nancy Collins' 1989 book Sunglasses After Dark introduced Sonja Blue to a wide audience. Sonja is a living vampire with a soul and was trained to hunt the vampires who prey upon innocent people. It has a punk sensibility and helped usher in other urban fantasy books. 

Brian Keene came to prominence in the early 2000's but brings a solid Generation X feel to his fiction and non-fiction.  

Clive Barker would be a perfect addition to this display. He became the "future of horror" after the US publication of Books of Blood in the mid-80's. Don't forget the film adaptations of his works.

John Saul was first published in the mid70's but produced many bestselling horror novels in the 80's and 90's. HIs novels have sold millions of copies and anyone reading horror in the 80's and 90's would have been familiar with his work. 

Jack Ketchum  and Peter Straub also published horror in the 80's and 90's. 

Rewind or Die by Unnerving is a series of novellas with the distinctive feel of the horror movies you would pick up at the video store. There are plenty of authors whose works you have in your collection represented in the series. 

Other ideas would include the novels by Stephen King which became movies in the 80's and 90's, horror novels about slashers like My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones and Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix, and the novels set in the Aliens franchise,

I will leave you with this hilarious list: Twitter is Sharing the Disturbing Books They Read When They Were Way Too Young. 

my theory is every gen X person read a stephen king book way too young and that’s why they are the way they are

— Amy (@lolennui) April 6, 2022

Some Lists: 

The Essential Gen X Book List from Penguin Random House - Notable because it does include American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. The movie and the book are both Gen X horror material.

When You're Strange: 5 GenX Films That Shaped My Goth Goth Heart  from Popmatters- Don't forget your DVD collection. You also now have an excuse to put Lost Boys and Edward Scissorhands on a display. 

GenX Horror from Letterboxd - A list from a user that includes many released between 92 and 02 that you likely have on the shelf. 

Gen X Books from Goodreads - Not strictly horror but you can add some of these if your display must live past the horror in your collection.

Book Display Idea - Use a specific book : Wasps in the Ice Cream by Tim McGregor

 Growing up can be hazardous as noted by the many coming of age horror books. This popular theme is part of what makes Wasps in the Ice Cream by Tim McGregor such a great read. The listless summer of 1987 finds Mark Prewitt spending time with friends he's not sure that he likes anymore, working two part-time jobs to restore an old car, and mooning after one of the hot girls in school. The Farrow sisters are part of a strange, reclusive family, subject to rumor and the hatred of the other people in their small town. After he participates in a prank pulled on the Farrow sisters, Mark decides to try to make amends. He is drawn into their world, especially that of the middle sister, George. When their secret relationship is exposed, Mark has to choose between his friends and the world he and George have created. 

Beyond coming of age and the late 80's, the book also has themes of aliention and  small towns, outsiders, family secrets, alienation and disaffection. There are also Satanic panic vibes as rumors and stories about the Farrows swirl around the small town. A book list or display of read alikes can be created with any these ideas at the center. 

Coming of age in the 80's horror? Try putting up these titles on a display - 

• The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay
• Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman
• Ghoul by Brian Keene
• The Rust Maidens by Gwendolyn Kiste
• Straight on Til Morning and All Hallows, both by Christopher Golden
• My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix 
  

I think that Ghoul and Rust Maidens are probably the closest read alikes. However, Whisper Down the Lane is about the Satanic Panic which somewhat mirrors the sort of rumors and panic that the Farrow sisters faced. Mercy from The Pallbearer's Club is another character like George who is a spooky outsider who is a possible threat to the protagonist. 

George is my favorite character in the book so I'm a little biased. I also loved Mercy in The Pallbearer's Club. A display that focused on girls like George might be popular given the hit series Wednesday. Other books with an outsider teenage girl coming of age include: 

• Boring Girls by Sara Taylor
• Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester
• The Girls by Emma Cline
• We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix
• Jawbone by Monica Ojeda
  

If you want to use George Farrow as the center of your book list or display, you can tap some of the Wednesday Addams book lists online. There are some from Buzzfeed, Booktopia, and YA readalikes from Teen Librarian Toolbox. 

The small town 80's setting will make some of your patrons think of Stranger Things and there is nothing wrong with harnessing a pop culture trend to help draw attention to your collection's back list. There are plenty of lists with read alikes including from Book Riot, YA titles from Epic Reads, and Goodreads. 

The Farrows are a secretive family, Family secrets can help a book have a sense of dread. More books with family secrets are listed on: Goodreads, Novel Suspects, and Crime Reads. 

There are also non-fiction books including memoirs that you can add to a display. Don't allow yourself to be limited by genre. If you make your displays more open, they are easier to fill throughout the time the display is active. 

Here are some more lists with ideas for your book display:

Goodreads has a list of coming of age horror books. 
Tor.com comes through with a list of Five Coming of Age Horror Novels. 
Small town horror books from Bustle and from Mid-Continent Public Library.
I won't link to a list but Stephen King's backlist is filled with small town horror. 

Book Display Idea: Use a specific title: White Horse by Erika T. Wurth

White Horse is one of NoveList’s Best of the Year titles for 2022. If you are following or promoting the NoveList 2023 Reading Challenge, it fills the January prompt.  Kari James is an urban Indian, working in bars, reading Stephen King, and listening to heavy metal. She spends her free time with her cousin, Debby, and at the White Horse, an Indian bar. Abandoned by her mother while an infant, Keri is forced to look into her past as well as her family’s past when Debby gives her a bracelet that was her mother’s. The bracelet seems to bring forth visions. It’s a horror novel with heart that dives into the pain and horror in digging up the truth.

It is another title that is a compelling story of women’s friendships and relationships as are The Bandit Queen and Bad Cree. A display filled with books that center the relationships between groups of women would be a great display to use for March and Women’s History Month. The books don’t need to have one tone as families and friendships are complicated. You can look at books like The Girls from Corona del Mar by Rufi Thorpe, The Story Hour by Thirty Umrigar, and Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin for different takes on women’s relationships. This theme would also work for 

Another theme in the book is family secrets. Besides Bad Cree, there are also books like The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig, White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi, Shelter by Jung Yun, and Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng which include complex characters and families with secrets. Remember that if you are working with a them like family secrets or women’s friendships, you aren’t limited to one genre or even just fiction. Starting with a book display theme like that will make the display easier to create and keep filled. The object is to draw attention to hidden gems in your collection rather than to create a perfect display. 

Of course, White Horse is a great title to put on a display or list for a women in horror display as part of Women’s History Month in March as well as a display of Native American fiction or horror. Authors like Stephen Graham Jones, Ramona Emerson, Jessica Johns, Owl Goingback, and Daniel H. Wilson have all written recent, compelling horror novels. There are also authors like Leslie Marmon Silko, Louise Erdrich, Tommy Orange, and Cherie Dimaline who have written recent books that you can check out. Remember you can check your collection for non-fiction and DVDs that can be added. 

As always, using a book like White Horse to inspire a book display or list is a great way to see what you have in your collection, both in physical and eBook form as well as what you are missing. Remember to include information about your digital collection in a physical book display as well as links to your collection. 

Other Resources:
Brightly had a list of female friendships: Ups, Downs, and Everything In-Between: 11 Great Books About Female Friendships

Goodreads has a list of books shelved as female friendship books. 

From Book Riot, 12 Female Friendship Books for Galentine’s Day. 

Books on Goodreads shelved under Family Secrets.

23 Books with Family Secrets We Still Can’t Believe on Epic Reads. 

8 Novels About Family Secrets Lurking Right Under Your Nose on Book Riot

The Horror Writers Association has a series of interview with Native American Authors.

The Seattle Public Library has a list of recent novels on their Native American Fiction list. 

Books shelved as Native American Fiction on Goodreads. 

Theme to Explore - Blending Genre in Book Displays

 Setting aside any libraryland debates about genre spine labels, genre filing on the shelf versus interfiling and so forth, I thought I would talk about how to use books which cross several genres or are genre blended as a theme for an online list or book display. Many books have crossover appeal. You can use this to gently suggest to your readers that there are books outside their usual lanes that they will enjoy and perhaps create another entire world of books for that patron to explore. 

The easiest option is to do a "If you liked this... Try this" book display/list. You can go outside of the usual similar titles in the same genre and instead match up a memoir or biography with a fiction title. Pick someone who lived in the same era or a biography with a fictional depiction of that person. A recent idea from the news and popular culture would be a novel about the British royal family with a biography of a British royal. Pair a book like Children of Chicago by Cynthia Pelayo with non-fiction books about Chicago, Chicago travel books, and DVDs about Chicago. 

The Chicago Public Library has a convenient list of fiction set in Chicago. 

This is a simple version of blending genres in a book display - pick a setting or character and grab materials from your location, regardless of genre of type. 

Another option using Children of Chicago?  It's also a police procedural so look for romantic suspense, mysteries, thrillers, historical fiction which are also police procedurals in part. There are plenty of titles in other genres which focus on a single police detective. Try adding them to a display. The fact that some are romantic suspense while others are historical mysteries shouldn't matter. Let your patrons explore and trust their curiosity. 

The truth is that while it was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for best novel, Children of Chicago is not only a horror novel. As was mentioned before it's a police procedural, urban fantasy, modern fairy tale, and serial killer thriller. There are plenty of books in your collection which share these descriptions. Gather them up and put them on a display. 

You can use this sort of display to introduce patrons to the idea of genre blending in novels. Use a picture of a blender on a sign and put up materials from your collection that cross genres. Romance fans are already familiar with this idea due to the proliferation of subgenres in romance  - romantic suspense, historical romance, inspirational romance and so forth. There are also mysteries which are also historical fiction, horror which is also comedic, and science fiction which has elements from thrillers blended in. 

One theme you can use is literary fiction/genre fiction. There are plenty of titles which combine aspects of literary fiction including complex language and a character driven plot. Literary fiction giants like Colson Whitehead (Zone One) have written horror while horror authors like Stephen Graham Jones and Andy Davidson would definitely appeal to literary fiction lovers.
 
While examples of literary genre fiction in all genres can be found, I would caution you that romance readers do expect a central love story and a happy (at least for now) ending. Books that have romantic elements could be called love stories on a display or list. 

Below I have some lists and articles that should help you in your exploration of genre blending and blended genres. Use them as a start to introduce your patrons to books outside their usual reads!

More resources: 

Goodreads has a list of genre blending fiction. 
Books shelfed on Goodreads as Literary Romance.
More from Goodreads with Best Literary Mysteries
Bookriot has several lists: genre-blending literary fiction, genre-blending historical fiction,      redefining romance in literary fiction, best literary mystery
ALA Publishing published The Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Blends. 
This article from Writer's Digest talks about cross pollination which would be a cute theme for a genre blending display. 
Tor.com has Five Genre-Blending Young Adult Books. 
Five Books in Which Unexpected Romance Sneaks Up On You from The Atlantic
The Millions has The Case for Genre Fiction: A Guide to Literary Science Fiction and Fantasy

Book Display Idea: Use a specific title- How To Sell A Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

 This month Grady Hendrix's new title, How To Sell A Haunted House, is published. He is a best selling horror author whose books have a lot of crossover appeal to readers who don't necessarily seek out horror. Even if you have a holds list for the book, you can harness his popularity to draw attention to other titles on your shelves. 

First, as always, put up signage promoting your holds list. Don't assume that everyone knows how easy it is and what the notification options are. If you have any of his titles as part of your eBook collection, add information about that as well. The purpose of a book display or online booklist is to promote your library's collection. Don't get hung up on specific titles; it's not a homework assignment. Unless you post pictures online, no one is going to grade you. Just search for subject headings and look for titles that are close enough. It's a great way to become more proficient with your searching. 

Grady has a backlist which are the easiest titles to add to a book display or book list. Most libraries have copies of: Final Girl Support Group, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, We Sold Our Souls, Paperbacks From Hell, My Best Friend's Exorcism, and Horrorstör. Remember to check your collection for large print copies and audiobooks.

Because different readers will approach the same title from different directions, there are always a variety of ways to use an individual title as the basis for a book display. A blog post or online list can include several of the themes in any one book. Haunted house is the most obvious start as it's part of the title and is also a significant plot point. There are also plenty of films about haunted houses. 

Local haunted houses, ghost stories, and creepy buildings is a way to work non-fiction into your display/list. Add books from your local collection and more general books from non-fiction. For online resources, add links to reputable sites detailing local haunts and ghost tales. Every place has some local ghost stories. You can bring in a local historian to assist with a program about local haunts if you want to tie a program to the release. Remember horror is not just for October. 

Some Florida examples of local haunts?
 Campus Haunts: The spookiest spots at UF - hosted on the University of Florida's website, this is an article about ghosts and haunted places on the University of Florida's Gainesville campus. 
Creepiest places in Florida guaranteed to haunt your dreams - A Jacksonville TV station's roadmap for a haunted tour around the Sunshine State. 
Best Florida ghost stories from Tampa's most haunted places - A Tampa news story about the most haunted places in Tampa, Florida. 

I've set up displays with "Not So Happy Home Sweet Home" on a sign and included horror titles and suspense titles. The display focused on both haunted houses and dysfunctional families. A display like that would use another aspect of How To Sell A Haunted House - dysfunctional families and sibling relationships. 

Finally we come to creepy dolls, puppets and clowns. Some people have strong feelings about these creepy subjects so be forewarned. This is a great direction to go if you want to include DVDs as there are horror films with that general subject. It's also a way to make a companion youth display. While younger readers are unlikely to pick up Grady's new book, there are plenty of juvenile fiction titles that include creepy dolls and puppets. Look for read alikes for the Goosebumps classic Night of the Living Dummy. Putting youth materials outside of the youth services department is a way to remind your patrons that you do have them in your collection. Also, many kids love spooky books. 

More resources - 

RA For All Horror: Haunted House Label - Becky Spratford's blog focusing on horror. These are posts with a haunted house label including book reviews and read alikes. 
RA For All Horror - Bonus annotations: Ghosts and Haunted Houses - with the third edition of The Readers Advisory Guide to Horror, Becky added bonus content on her blog including book suggestions. 

The Readers Advisory Guide to Horror, 3rd Edition - This series is vital for anyone who does readers' advisory, especially in genres that you don't personally read. There is a lot of great horror content including suggested titles in subgenres, podcasts, horror movies, TV shows, historical information, and key authors. 

30 Haunted House Books That Will Give You The Creeps - Book Riot's 2019 list includes some classics, modern gems, and youth titles. 

Goodreads' list of haunted house books is 1700+ titles long 

Living Dangerously: 13 Haunted House Novels: This list from the NYPL is includes because it strays from just straight horror. It shows how you can mine your backlist and get those books circulating 

The 20 best haunted house films of all time: This list from Entertainment Weekly should give you a good start if you want to add DVDs to your display or list. 

Goodreads has a 6000 + list of books with dysfunctional families. 

8 Mysteries and Thrillers About Dysfunctional Families:  Book Riot's list includes some good examples from the most popular genre. 

Home for the Holidays: Eat Together, Stay Together: The LineUp had Mother Horror, Sadie Hartmann, put together a list of family horror books. 

5 Horror Books That Are All About Family: Tor Nightfire has a 2019 list of family horror. 

Goodreads' list of Creepy Dolls books 

String Pullers: 6 Books Featuring Creepy Dolls and Puppets: A Tor Nightfire list that again shows how broad you can go when featuring a theme in a horror novel. 

Toy Story in Hell: 10 Books Featuring Creepy Dolls: Another Book Riot list that does include some youth materials.

StokerCon 2021 Librarians Day post

As part of the Horror Writers of America's StokerCon Librarian's Day, I am moderating a panel on promoting horror in libraries. I have posted some of the displays I have done which include horror. Don't forget that you can include horror titles in almost any book display. 

Don't get stuck in the box of only promoting horror in October. Don't strictly segregate genres because your patrons don't care as much as you think they do. (One huge exception is romance readers - romance has a happier ever after ending.)

One final tip is this- book displays in libraries are not a school project. The objective is to get materials into the hands of your patrons. Be broad with genre and theme. You don't have to be exacting as far as which titles you include as long as it's not a genre or subgenre specific display. Even then, I use the broadest possible definition. 

This display was easy to fit horror into. It's "Get Possessed by a Book". Include non-fiction titles and some movies. I included titles that were not horror because people will stop for an intriguing cover or a book they have read. This display included graphic novels, audiobooks, non-fiction and dark fantasy in addition to horror. 

Goosebumps - Always popular with kids, especially reluctant readers. While this was an October display, I would put it up during summer reading. It empties out very quickly. 

This display was "What to read next if you love Stephen King." King is always popular in my library and people did stop to pick up other titles because of the display. It would be a great theme to showcase some diverse authors who have written books that you can tie to King's bestsellers. 

Unhappy Families is a great theme to for horror. Mix up the genres because people who read psychological suspense will often read horror. 

National Alien Abduction Day is one of those holidays made for book displays. Include some cosmic horror and introduce your patrons to something new. 

HP Lovecraft is another solid theme as long as you remember to include diverse authors and add a variety of cosmic horror titles

World Goth Day - . Include music and DVDs but this is an anytime display that will be fun for patrons and staff.

Scary reads for the beach. People love to read horror in the summer. Guaranteed. "Beach Reads" does not really just mean light and frothy. 

Shapeshift into Fall. This can include romance as well as horror. By using the word shapeshift instead of werewolf, you can draw in people who "don't read horror." An intriguing cover will draw readers to books they might never have discovered. 

When It by Stephen King was released on streaming this was a great opportunity to showcase read alikes.

Creepy Crawlies includes science fiction. There are also some great films you might have in your collection. 

Zombies were a pop culture phenomenon. This is a great anytime book display. 

Genre blended display with witchy books. Include non-fiction and fantasy. 

Horror short stories are extremely popular. I would also drop horror collections into any short story display.

One of the most common readers advisory questions I get is "What do I read after Stephen King or Dean Koontz." This display is my answer. 

Conspiracy theories was as popular as any library worker would expect and lots of horror fits in. 

When Bird Box was on streaming, I set up a readalike book display. Not all of the titles are horror but people stopped because they had at least heard of the show. Let pop culture sensations help you market your collection.