The Malevolent Dark Horror Fiction Top 25 December 2024 Edition
Check out the charts for November and October
1. Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney
A young teenager with an obsessive interest in the macabre is determined to figure out who is hunting her classmates before she becomes the next prey.
2. Cornbones by Timothy Roderick
When a man’s last-chance horse bet goes awry, he skips town to outpace the mob to a place where they’ll never find him — a tiny Pennsylvania farming town whose residents live in fear of a vengeful presence that hunts for blood amid the dried-up cornfields.
3. Consumed by Evil by John Durgin
The sequel to The Cursed Among Us follows the chilling aftermath of the Halloween homecoming massacre in a gripping tale of survival, friendship, and the relentless fight against darkness.
4. The Misery of Souls by Justin Boote
The sequel to Soul Searchers finds the couple John and Cathy ready to get on with their lives and raise their 4-year-old daughter Susanne, but the young girl is behaving weirdly, and the strange occurrences are starting again.
5. Black Friday by James Kaine
A retired Marine wanting to help his sick friend accepts an offer from a stranger for a chance to win millions of dollars, but what he doesn’t know is that he will find himself locked in a shopping mall with dozens of other desperate contestants in a survival game broadcast for the entertainment of the most depraved individuals on the dark web.
6. 25 Days by Per Jacobsen
A family on a vacation in a remote cabin is dragged into a deranged game of Secret Santa, and if they want to survive, they will have to fight.
7. The Keeper of the Key by Nicole Willson
This gothic novel by the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Tidepool is about a teenager who relocates to a run-down mansion owned by her mother’s boyfriend and feels the pull of an unknown force that shows her harrowing visions of a strangely familiar man lurking in the shadows.
8. Harvest Time by Dan Fields, Chris Robinson, and Joe Filipas
Two young couples take a westward camping trip across the United States, but the highway takes a fateful detour to a remote Nebraska town plagued by a malevolent force.
9. Moloch by Candace Nola
A village on the brink of ruin seeks salvation from something dark and ancient, but when payment comes due, the villagers aren’t so willing to pay the price.
10. A Blade to Silence the Screams by Tom Deady
A collection of two novellas set against the backdrop of the old west by the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Haven.
11. Everyday Horrors by Steve Rasnic Tem
A new collection of 20 stories by the winner of the World Fantasy, British Fantasy, Bram Stoker, and the Horror Writer Association’s Lifetime Achievement awards.
12. Does the Dog Die? edited by Duncan Ralston
An anthology of canine horror featuring 10 stories by Judith Sonnet, Megan Stockton, Duncan Ralston, Jae Mazer, Patrick C. Harrison III, Mark MJ Green, Michelle von Eschen, Rowland Bercy Jr., RJ Benetti, and Jonathan Butcher.
13. Try Not to Die: In This Damned House by Robert Essig
This interactive extreme horror novel navigates four separate stories filled with more than a dozen horrific outcomes in a darker, more intense type of Choose Your Own Adventure.
14. The House That Demons Built by V. Castro
A White House school trip for a woman’s son unleashes a spiritual hell for the mother because of her powerful psychic abilities.
15. The Haunting of Lotham Lodge by Amy Cross
Book Three in the Ghosts of Rose Radcliffe series continues the story about a team of paranormal investigators and their encounters with the supernatural.
16. Roanoke Hoax by Alex Gates and Steve Higgs
Book 9 in the Blue Moon Sacramento series is about a man’s search for a woman who disappears while investigating a doomsday cult.
17. Red Hill Paradise by Caleb Jones
A young family rents an idyllic cabin in the Appalachian Mountains, but the area holds secrets.
18. A Haunting in Plum Hollow by Ambrose Ibsen
A pair of siblings desperate for a fresh start settle down in the quiet town of Plum Hollow in the hopes of kick-starting their stalled lives, but they move into a house where a family was savagely butchered two years earlier — and the evil behind the slayings may still be present.
19. Zombie Fallout 24: On Unhallowed Ground by Mark Tufo
Book 24 in the Zombie Fallout series follows two timelines: one where Michael Talbot and his crew face an evil presence in the apocalyptic world and another where Talbot pursues an ancient rogue vampire after his daughter-in-law is kidnapped.
20. House Call 2: House of Horrors by Matthew Vaughn
A man is excited to meet someone he’s talked to on the internet, but unfortunately, he’s going to a house he may not be walking out of.
21. Creepers: Volume 28 by Billy Wells
A collection of six stories with twist endings billed for fans of shows like The Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt.
22. Ghosts Are Real and There’s a Monster in Your Closet edited by Patrick C. Harrison III
An anthology of seven stories authored by six Texas storytellers: Patrick C. Harrison III, M Ennenbach, Jae Mazer, Chris Gage, Rachel McShane, and ANT Cruz.
23. The Christmas Presence: The Mystery House Series Book 14 by Eva Pohler
Book 14 in the Mystery House series is about the paranormal investigation of a Colorado log cabin where an unwanted presence has turned the inherited cabin into a living hell for a young woman and her family.
24. Sasquatch 48: The Cabin by Jeffrey B. Miley
THE NEXT TEN
The next 10 releases just outside the Top 25 chart:
26. Something Truly Dreadful by Matthew Salinas
27. GIRL: Daddy’s Girl Book 2 by Crowley Barns
28. The Edge of Insanity by James Flynn
29. The Kielder Prey: The Kielder Experiment: Volume 3 by Rebecca Fernfield
30. Fish Head by Simon McHardy and Sean Hawker
31. Silent Night, Dark Desires by
32. Where Darkness Dares to Tread by Connor Phillips
33. Human Soup by Y.M. Miller
34. Vasectomy by R.J. Powell
35. The Convent Attic by K M McFarland