Enjoy a slice of Halloween in January with these horror books
Leave on the lights and grab a blanket, the books this month from the St. Joseph Public Library are all about horror. The books are available at the St. Joseph Public Library, at other Missouri Evergreen libraries, or from one of the SJPL eContent vendors. Visit the library’s catalog at https://sjpl.modiscovery.org to find these or other great books to enjoy.
"Dead of Winter" by Darcy Coates. Forced to take shelter in a remote cabin after their bus breaks down in the Rocky Mountains, Christa is trapped with eight strangers from her tour group. As the weather worsens the body count also begins to rise — a killer is picking members of the group off one by one. Will any of them escape this snowbound thriller alive?     
"We Used to Live Here" by Marcus Kliewer. Charlie and Eve purchase an old home with plans to flip the property. While Charlie is out running errands Eve answers a knock at the door. A man is there with his family, claiming to have previously lived in the home and asking if he could quickly show his kids around. One thing after another extends their visit, ignoring all hints to leave, and bizarre things begin happening around the house. Is Eve losing her grip on reality, or is something wrong with the house and the strange visitors?  
"The Writing Retreat" by Julia Bartz. Alex is dissatisfied with her job and suffering from writer’s block when she wins a spot at a writing retreat hosted by the eccentric and reclusive Roza Vallo. Five aspiring female writers are expected to complete a novel while staying at an isolated mansion. As the pressure mounts the line between reality and fiction blurs. Something sinister is at play, and Roza Vallo may not be who she says she is.   
"The Terror" by Dan Simmons. Cozy up with this historic tale of terror based on the ill-fated Franklin Expedition to the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic. In 1845, Captain Sir John Franklin of the hauntingly monikered HMS Erebus and Captain James Fitzjames of the HMS Terror set sail from England on what was intended to be a heartily provisioned three-year voyage. Simmons begins in 1847, almost two years into the expedition, from the perspective of Francis Crozier, now Captain of the Terror. Simmons ushers us through with a well-researched narrative and fictional journal entries detailing the horrors that befell the crew of the Erebus and Terror.  
"The Darkest Night" edited by Lindy Ryan. If you prefer your winter horror in bite-sized portions, The Darkest Night: 22 Winter Horror Stories, edited by Lindy Ryan might just be what you’re looking for. This anthology features authors such as Josh Malerman (Incidents Around the House), Nat Cassidy (When the Wolf Comes Home), Rachel Harrison (Play Nice), Darcy Coates (Haunting of Blackwood House), and many more. Together, the collection offers a chilling anthology that explores how winter’s cold, darkness, and isolation become catalysts for fear, grief, and the uncanny. 
