Here’s a small selection of the horror and genre news that caught our eye during the last week …
Out now from author Morgan Blades and Infested Publishing, Worm Hill
There’s no hero’s cheer for Police Jules Sergeant Lamb. There’s paperwork, and an empty flat, and a floating body in the River Wear.
Business-as-usual until someone notices the body hasn’t got any hands. He suddenly finds himself under the burning spotlight of the world’s media with a chance to become a real hero right out of an old folktale – or old cop show at least. But as the bodies pile up, Lamb starts to realize there’s something very wrong crawling under the skin of County Durham.
Worm Hill is a retelling of the ‘Lambton Worm’ myth set in the modern North-East of England, through the lens of a satirical police procedural turned folkloric.
This novella draws heavily on the archaeology, history, and landscape of North-East England; exploring the intersections of myths, institutions, and ordinary lives, and blending dark humour with elements of horror, speculative fiction, and regional folklore. Available now in paperback, with other editions to follow, you can grab yours here.
Coming 22 September from author S. J. Shank and Carthago Nova Press, Our Lady of Holy Slaughter
Livonia, 1236.
The crusading Sword Brothers marched south from Riga expecting glorious victory. They found catastrophic defeat.
Now, far from their stronghold, a handful of survivors seeks refuge in the swamp, relying as much on their prayers as their wiles to evade the pagans who hunt them—and the devils said to rule the wastes.
What, then, to make of the mysterious veiled woman who appears beneath the moonlight? Has the apparition come to deliver them from evil … or to their doom?
When one has strayed this far, few paths lead to salvation. Available for pre-order now in eBook, with other editions to follow, you can guarantee your copy here.
New from writer Jon Cohn and Crystal Lake Pubishing’s Crystal Cove Press imprint, Rituals in the Night
Welcome to Odder, Alaska, emphasis on ODD.
Nineteen-year-old David Warren has spent the last year haunted by a single night. A reckless search for the supernatural ended with his friend losing an arm to an impossible beast. Now, guilt drives him back into the abandoned corners of Odder in search of answers, and forgiveness.
Instead, he finds something else.
After a violent encounter with a monstrous creature, David begins to change. He’s becoming something frightening, a creature of the night with transformative powers and a hunger he barely understands. His new condition ties him to a dangerous and alluring woman, drawing David into a forbidden world he was never meant to see.
As David struggles to control what he’s becoming, he finds himself the target of a powerful, dangerous figure. Tony Hart, a ruthless industrialist, is hunting for a mysterious spellbook that could doom everyone he loves. The truth leads back to a dark ritual performed by people closer to him than he realizes.
With Tony closing in, a relentless monster hunter on his trail, and ancient magic threatening to tear the town apart, David must uncover Odder’s buried secrets before the night claims him completely.
If the spellbook isn’t found, the ritual will finish what it started, and Odder won’t survive the darkness. Available now in eBook and paperback, you can pick up your copy here.
Arriving 2 October from author Lee Glenwright and Dark Corner Press, Soma
Two years after an event that finally drove self-styled investigative journalist Frank Popper from The Reds, he has spent most of his time questioning his own beliefs, his worth, his reason for being. When the place he once called home falls victim to a brutal serial killer, he seizes the chance to reclaim his sense of self, as he once again takes on the challenge of showing people a truth that most of them would sooner ignore.
Frank has always loved stories…but this time he might be in over his head. Bear witness. Available for pre-order now in paperback, with other editions to follow, you can guarantee your copy here.
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KEV HARRISON
