Horror
For those friends and family members who like the thrill of fear crawling up their spines when they read:

- Salem’s Lot or The Shining or really anything by Stephen King
Salem’s Lot is a classic vampire novel (they don’t glitter) in which few survive and evil vampires overrun the town of Salem. The Shining is a freaky book that is WAY better than the movie and will send shivers up your spines. It’s a horror must read.

Because I’m such a King fan, I’ll recommend a few other books by him for your friends who love horror:
- It (I’m reading it right now and it’s scaring the crap out of me).
- Duma Key which I reviewed.
- Carrie which is an extremely disturbing story about a telekinetic misfit who kills most of her high school.
- Cujo – a tragic story about a rabid dog, a child and a mother.
Obviously Stephen King has written a ton, so just dive in.

- Edgar Allan Poe: Selected Works
This is a great compilation of Poe works. My favorite is The Masque of the Red Death. Extremely scary.

- Tales of H. P. Lovecraft
H.P. Lovecraft is the king of weird horror. It’s a compilation of H.P. Lovecraft’s short stories. I wouldn’t say his stuff scares me, but it’s pretty creepy.

- Infected by Scott Sigler
I’ve reviewed Infected previously and I still absolutely love it. The sequel is Contagious, which also absolutely rocks. I reviewed that one too. They are awesome books, horrific, extremely bloody and macabre.

- Crescent by Phil Rossi
I haven’t reviewed this one yet, but Crescent is a Sci Fi/Horror novel about a haunted space station which wants to consume every living inhabitant. It’s definitely rated R, so don’t get it for any young folk.

- Locke & Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
This is a graphic novel series about the Locke family who, because of the father’s horrific murder, have moved to the family home “Keyhouse”. They think they’ve gotten away from their past, but the ghost haunting the well of Keyhouse proves them wrong in a macabre and bloody scene.

I’ve reviewed the first Locke and Key novel and am in the process of reading the rest of them. Book 2 – Locke & Key: Head Games is a great extension to the story. I can’t wait to read more.

- Pseudopod CDs
No Horror fan’s collection of books would be complete without a subscription to Pseudopod(which is free). Barring that, get them one of the cds of this fantastic podcast of short fiction. I happen to love all three of the podcasts in the Escape Pod/Pseudopod/Pod Castle network, but Pseudopod is what any horror fan needs to accompany them through their journey through short fiction. (I don’t get paid to recommend these guys, I just love them and the short stories they provide really are awesome.)

Author: Joe Hill

Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural, Other…

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: This book of short stories is a fantastic piece of work by Joe Hill. And…(at least in the audio book) there’s a secret story in the back.

I’d say my favorite short that is in this compilation is Best New Horror, a story of a man who edits the volume Best New Horror each year. He gets a submission that quickens his blood, one that he simply must have. However, finding the author of the story proves to be difficult… and what the editor finds is unexpected and horrifying. I love it because of the ending, which I will not spoil, but it’s truly a must read.

My next favorite is an ultra short called Dead-Wood about ghost trees. It’s hard to explain, you’ll just have to read it… you can go to audible.com and hear that one for free – it’s the one that got me excited about buying this book.

Another great story is the last one – the one that is hidden much like a “secret song” that one used to find on CD’s. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but let’s just say it’s about a father and his typewriter.

The last story I will mention here is the one the book is named for, called 20th Century Ghost. About a girl who haunts a classic old theatre called the Rosebud. She was beautiful in life and makes for a lovely, shocking sight to all that see her.

I really recommend this book to anyone who loves ghost stories. As Christopher Golden says in his introduction, they are not all horror stories, but gems from an author who represents promise fulfilled.

Author: A collaboration of talented authors

Genre: Sci Fi/Fantasy

Julia Rating: 10 out of 10

Comments:

I’m not always always enamored with these collaboration pieces, however this particular Writers of the Future volume really stood out for me. The majority of the stories were fantastic, and there’s little nuggets of gold in there from acclaimed writers and editors like Robert Heinlein, Algis Budrys and L. Ron Hubbard. So, these books really have something for everyone.

I really love the Writers of the Future contest because it gives such a wonderful opportunity to aspiring writers. The winning writers get their work published in one of the Writers of the Future volumes and some get cash prizes. The judges of the contest are writers and editors themselves, so they generally pick excellent material for the books.

Just as a note, my favorite stories in the book are:
Asleep in the Forest of the Tall Cats by Kenneth Brady
Shipwoman by Roxanne Hutton
The Key by Blair MacGregor

The Genre: Sci Fi/Fantasy (mostly Fantasy)

Julia Rating: 10 (out of a scale of 1-10, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest)

My Comments:
A fabulous compilation of short stories and poetry by a modern master.
I loved reading this compilation of Fantasy, Sci Fi and Supernatural stories by Neil Gaiman – he is one of my personal favorites.

A fun feature of this book is that with each story comes author commentary, which is great for writers and readers alike.
Writers constantly get asked the question, “Where do your ideas come from?”. This book is not only a great compilation of stories and poetry, but also delves into the answer to that question – at least as far as Neil Gaiman is concerned. Neil Gaiman’s commentary gives you a peak into his interesting, dark and somewhat twisted mind.