My October in reading — Becky Robison

Spooky season, spooky books. I don’t make the rules.

Want a small press book with big Stephen King vibes? Kill Radio is the novel for you. A radio that picks up Hell’s frequencies. Supernatural horrors tormenting a single mom and her cute kid. A friendly fisherman. A handsome new coworker who may also practice witchcraft. All th tropes are there—but Bolger delivers them with a fresh voice. I enjoyed this one.

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

I’ve been meaning to read something by Kingfisher for years, and now that I’ve finally done it, I’m berating myself for waiting so long. A reimagining of Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher with a nonbinary narrator and teeming with malicious fungi? Right up my alley. I’m thrilled that this is going to be a series. I’ll spend as much time in Alex Easton’s unnerving universe as Kingfisher is willing to write.

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror, edited by Jordan Peele and John Joseph Adams

As with any anthology, I liked some stories in this collection more than others. My favorites were “Invasion of the Baby Snatchers” by Lesley Nneka Arimah (extraterrestrial pregnancy body horror), “Pressure” by Ezra Claytan Daniels (sibling horror), and “A Grief of the Dead” by Rion Amilcar Scott (zombie/bird/mourning horror). But overall, this was an excellent collection of horror stories—perfect for the season. I definitely recommend it.

The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

This is one of the best novels I’ve read all year. Our narrator is Anisa, a professional translator of Bollywood movies living in London, who doesn’t feel fulfilled in her work—especially because her boyfriend seems to pick up any language at the drop of a hat. Finally he tells her about the Centre, a secretive, immersive language-learning institute. When Anisa starts going to the Centre, she slowly uncovers the madness to its methods. Language acquisition as a medium for horror? Brilliant! And the high-strung first-person narration was Poe-esque in the best possible way. I couldn’t put it down.

Tales from the Clergy: Stories Inspired by Ghost, edited by Mark C. Scioneaux

I love the band Ghost, I love scary stories—seemed like a good fit. Although I have to say, my favorite stories in the collection were those that referenced Ghost the least. None of them were explicitly about the band, but I especially enjoyed those that used lyrics to take us far, far away from anything related to Satanic metal. I’m not sure my brain would have made the leap from the song “Mummy Dust” to an old-fashioned tent revival, for instance. I’m glad these authors’ brains went there.