By Dee Holloway 
Welcome to Dead Leaves, an occasional table stacked high with recent horror tomes! Today we’re enjoying the last of the summer sun, and maybe losing our lives (or minds) in the process. The very act of leaving town enacts a sea change in our psyches, opening us to depraved possibilities and risky decisions. So grab your frozen cocktail of choice, slip on your flip-flops, and get ready to paint your hotel room red…
HAUNTED HOTELS
The Gold Persimmon, Lindsay Merbaum: Merbaum‘s debut novella has been a house favorite since it dropped, a lean but powerful book that bears repeat reads. Check out our interview here before descending into this sexy mirrorverse tale of body as haunted house, and vice versa. For fans of: Eyes Wide Shut, vacation personas, and spa days.
The Pink Agave Motel and Other Stories, V. Castro: Eros and grotesquerie are two sides of the same coin, and no one toys with that line like Castro. The episodic nature of vacation suits this collection, which explores all the things that can go wrong… or right… on a trip. For fans of: the Dougie plotline in Twin Peaks: The Return, From Dusk Till Dawn (show, not movie), and Desert Creatures.
The Third Hotel, Laura van den Berg: Psychodrama and shades of magical realism are at play in this elliptical tale of undead husbands, deceptively sunny foreign climes, and memory’s dangerous impact. This book garnered comparisons to Borges upon debut–sure to make you look smart while lounging by the pool. For fans of: Possession, Ari Aster films, and Cuban cigars.
VACATIONLAND
Beneath the Swimming Pools, Teeth!, Mark Jaskowski: In the latest offering from D/M favorites Weirdpunk, Jaskowski goes diving in suburban psyches and surfaces with some troubling treasures. If you find litfic offerings on the cli-fi front trite, this wonderland tour of morphing bodies and warping reality offers a more bracing take on the climate crisis. For fans of: Toxic Avenger, monster-of-the-week X-Files episodes, and Torche.
Diavola, Jennifer Thorne: If you dread destination weddings or hide in the bathroom at clan gatherings, beware. Family trauma with a side of marinara, coming up! Gothic enthusiasts will find much to feast on in this biting tale of picturesque estates and secrets that refuse to stay buried. For fans of: The White Lotus season two, food tours, and Spring.
The Resort, Sara Ochs: “We live where you vacation” is a refrain heard from Cape Cod to Cocoa Beach to Koh Sang, delivered as a reminder… or maybe a threat. Vacation horror is often a great vehicle for commentary on tourism; Ochs‘ first novel is no exception, delivering chilling ocean sequences and a sharp-eyed look at expatriate culture in southeast Asia. For fans of: The Beach, 2022’s Influencer, and tom kha gai.
TERRIFYING TERRAIN
The Ruins, Scott Smith: An oldie but goodie to revisit during these dog days. Smith plunges his carefree vacationing couple into the depths of the Mexican jungle. They’re searching for a missing friend, but absolutely find more than they bargained for. For fans of: non-Eurocentric folk horror, Eli Roth films, and Leonora Carrington.
Untamed Shore, Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Searching for the perfect post-Jaws-at-50 read? Look no further than this Baja-set thriller revolving around a local’s dangerous relationship to a trio of mysterious Americans. With shades of Tom Ripley mixing with an eco-horror tinge and pitch-perfect 70s set dressing, Untamed Shore is a seductive warning against soft-edged depictions of small-town life. For fans of: shorelines, schadenfreude, and The Grifters.
We Like It Cherry, Jacy Morris: The latest offering from D/M favorites Tenebrous Press is a ferocious one-two punch of survival horror and climate commentary. TV host Ezra receives an invitation to document a remote Arctic indigenous group, but his life-changing road trip might be more like life-losing. For a short, brutal ride, this novella is hiding a powerful emotional core. For fans of: The Thing, The Terror, and other frozen horror.
BAD TRIP
Cruel Summer, Wesley Southard: Have you ever traveled with family or a partner and realized halfway through the trip you don’t know them at all? This book is for your worst nightmare’s version of that realization. Twisted and totally chilling, Southard‘s award-winner blends contemporary relationship horror with age-old supernatural power. For fans of: Old Gods of Appalachia, Florida Man headlines, and revenge tales.
Narcissus, Adam Godfrey: Word to the wise–never vacation with your Classics-major friends (see also: never read Latin incantations aloud from dusty books). Narcissus is a fast read at just over 100 pages, but a freaky one. Come for a dark twist on the Narcissus myth, stay for some canny reflections, har har, on the nature of the self. For fans of: Greek mythology, flirting with your own image in shop windows, and Infinity Pool.
Worst-Laid Plans, ed. Samantha Kolesnik: The perfect vacation read is one you can dip into while waiting in line or for your next Mai Tai. Worst-Laid Plans, edited by horror powerhouse Samantha Kolesnik (Elogona, Lonesome Haunts, and more), gathers the most classic travel-horror tropes and dials them up to 11. With a table of contents including Hailey Piper, V.Castro, Greg Sisco, and more, Worst-Laid Plans invites readers to a cannibal island feast, dares them to ask for directions, and insinuates disturbing things about their sexuality. What more could you want from an anthology? For fans of: vintage volumes of The Year’s Best Horror Stories, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, and following the map.
Did you have a long, strange trip this year? Got any last-minute Labor Day plans? Share your spookiest just-visiting stories in the comments and stock up on bloody beach reads through the Bookshop links above. Happy reading, ghouls!
