A Selection of Horror Books Released, 6 to 12 Jul 2025
Themes: Psychological, haunted house, plant, and dark fantasy horror
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Table of Contents
The Bloodless Queen – Joshua Phillip Johnson
Dark fantasy horror
On the autumnal equinox of 1987, after fencing off half of the Earth’s land for huge nature reserves called Harbors, the leaders of the world called on their peoples to celebrate. Then began the horror and the magic.
Everyone who died that day – all 132,329 of them – instead of going cold and still, turned odd and fae. They became mischievous and murderous, before disappearing into their nearest Harbor, never seen again.
And each year after that on the autumnal equinox, the same terrible transformations would occur: the wretched dead not dying, but instead riddling and whispering of a faerie queen, bloodless and powerful, while fleeing into the wild confines of the Harbors.
In the present day, Evangeline and Calidore are working as fencers, government-employed protectors whose magical powers come from mysterious tattoos of prime numbers. When they aren’t fixing the fences of the Midwest Harbor that separates the human world from Faerie or patrolling on the equinox, they are parents of an almost-seven-year-old daughter named Winnie.
But as the new year’s autumnal equinox approaches, Evangeline and Calidore find themselves thrust into a vast conspiracy that stretches across governments, religions, and fencers worldwide. As they race to untangle this web of power and intrigue, they will need to confront the questions that have haunted the world since the fences were built: What lies at the heart of the Harbors? Who waits there?
The Clown King and Other Stories of the Pre-apocalypse – Tom Coombe
Horror collection
Seventeen stories that take place on the edge of disaster, where vampiric priests, evil statues, and fitness cults are only harbingers of worse things to come.
A teenage horror fan searches for the origins of a too-real, homemade slasher film.
Two siblings inherit a statue that draws worshippers from around the world.
A struggling restaurant’s survival depends on a mythical beast.
A nationwide phenomenon of sinister clown sightings portends the arrival of something far more catastrophic.
Good to Grave – Michael Park
Psychological horror
At a high-stakes job interview in New York City, Josie notices something odd: her interviewer’s shadow moves before it should. A recent college grad, Josie is in financial trouble. Now, this elite offer at The Eburos Group changes her fortunes overnight, but it comes with a frightening catch.
Drawn into the machinations of the eccentric CEO, Mr. Dean, Josie’s reality unravels.
From a Brooklyn cult to a possessed safehouse near the ruins of an abandoned baseball stadium, Josie uncovers Mr. Dean’s true purpose and the secret buried beneath the company’s Manhattan headquarters.
How to Survive a Horror Story – Mallory Arnold
Haunted house horror
Seven authors enter the manor. Can they survive the story within?
When legendary horror author Mortimer Queen passes, a group of writers find themselves invited to his last will and testament reading expecting a piece of his massive fortune. Each have their own unique connection to the literary icon, some known, some soon to be discovered, and they’ve been waiting for their chance to step into the author’s shoes for some time.
Instead, they arrive at his grand manor and are invited to play a game. The rules are simple, solve the riddle and progress to the next room. If they don’t, the manor will take one of them for itself.
You see, the Queen estate was built on the bones of Mortimer’s family, and like any true horror story, the house is still very, very hungry.
Monsters and Other Tales of Humanity – Carla E. Dash
Horror collection
Revealing how terrifying and how heroic individuals can be when untethered from relationships, this collection portrays the ways people cope with loneliness.
A woman is haunted by Death, who progressively resembles her drowned fiancé.
A child seeks beauty in a handsome stranger’s greenhouse and holds out hope for a savior.
A woman’s husband is murdered by police, and her monstrous children enact a bloody revenge.
A negligent mail carrier believes stars are disappearing from the sky, heralding the annihilation of the universe.
A video game character’s dissonance with the actions he must perform precipitates a choice that could destroy his world.
Speculative and lyrical, these stories explore the human need for connection and how the lack of ties warps lives.
Predatory Natures – Amy Goldsmith
Plant horror
A teen girl’s dream job aboard a luxury train derails when she discovers the strange cargo being transported – a mysterious and beautiful greenhouse – but its flowering façade may hide deadly thorns beneath.
When Lara Williams gets a summer job aboard the luxury train the Banebury, she thinks she’s landed a five-star escape from her past. Even after she learns that her ex-friend Rhys, who she definitely did not have feelings for before their relationship imploded, is one of her coworkers, she’s determined to make things work.
But on the first day of their journey, the trip takes a strange turn. Two mysterious carriages filled with an array of beautiful and rare plants are attached to the Banebury in the middle of the night.
And with them comes a pair of siblings. Wealthy, mysterious, and charismatic, Gwen and Gwydion claim the plants they’re transporting are for research, but Lara can’t shake the feeling that there’s something otherworldly about the strange blooms. Something that will stop at nothing to ensure the Banebury never reaches its destination.
Soon Lara will learn: You can’t outrun your troubles. You have to grab them by their roots. And if she can’t unearth the secrets of the Banebury, they might drag her down for good.
The Shadow Family – C.K. Morris
Psychological horror
Olivia is a local celebrity, for all the wrong reasons.
Branded “One-Leg Olivia” after surviving a botched kidnapping, she’s more myth than person. Shunned at school and stuck between feuding parents, Olivia dreams of life after senior year.
So, when a wealthy stranger, claiming to be her long-lost cousin, offers $25,000 to attend her birthday party, it’s a no-brainer.
But what starts as a dream opportunity soon spirals into a blood-soaked nightmare. To survive the night, Olivia must battle her past, a savage predator, and worst of all: her own twisted family.
Published: 12 July 2025
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