MalevolentDark.com Top 10 Extreme Horror Fiction of 2024
Check out the lists for 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017.
1. The Old Lady by Kristopher Triana
Publication date: February 20, 2024
Length: 348 pages
Amazon rating: 4.5
Amazon description: After the death of her estranged father, Tracey returns to the remote cabin she grew up in. As a traumatized veteran of the Vietnam War, Tracey’s father subjected her to rigorous survival training under brutal conditions, believing it was for her own good. She escaped and never looked back. Now in her fifties with a criminal record, Tracey returns to claim the property she’s inherited. Hiking through the forest, teenager Alicia and her friends get lost in the snow. They stumble upon a compound run by extremists, and when the teens see too much, only Alicia manages to escape. She searches for help and comes across a secluded cabin. With the panicked girl banging on her door, Tracey is launched into combat mode, awakening her inner demons. Though she suffers from extreme PTSD, she is skilled in combat, making her a deadly adversary. As a snowstorm hammers down, the women must work together to save Alicia’s friends from their captors. Alicia has a protector now, but what if this strange old lady is even more dangerous than the people she’s escaped from?
2. Living Death Race: Beauty & the Brains by John Everson
Publication date: July 30, 2024
Length: 115 pages
Amazon rating: 4.6
Amazon description: In an apocalyptic near-future where zombies have taken over, the remaining humans live walled up in a few key cities. Once a year, their doors open to let the bravest of drivers out to compete in the LIVING DEATH RACE. Mira “Beauty” Linn made her money to trick out her classic 1972 Mustang in the underground, illegal zombie cock fight ring. But when Tony shanghaies her and her car to drive in the Living Death Race, she vows to let nothing get between her and the prize. Not Kill Bill and the Cootch, not Master & Servant, not Gwen, Tony’s zombie mistress and definitely not Tony, who someone erroneously dubbed The Brains. But Tony has his own plans as he drives “Deathasus” hard in this cross-country marathon to dole out more death to the dead.
3. This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances by Eric LaRocca
Publication date: April 2, 2024
Length: 213 pages
Amazon rating: 4.4
Amazon description: A brand-new collection of four intense, claustrophobic, and terrifying horror tales from the Bram Stoker Award-nominated and Splatterpunk Award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. The four tales are titled “This Skin Was Once Mine,” “Seedling,” “All the Parts of You That Won’t Easily Burn,” and “Prickle.”
4. Splatology 2.0 edited by Sidney Shiv and Chisto Healy
Publication date: July 10, 2024
Length: 306 pages
Amazon rating: 4.4
Amazon description: The ultimate Splatterpunk anthology that pushes the boundaries of horror and gore. This revamped edition brings you an unforgettable collection of stories that will make you laugh, cry, and gag, penned by 17 authors who aren’t afraid to delve into the darkest corners of human nature. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the first edition of Splatology had to be withdrawn. However, our authors’ brilliant and chilling tales should not be lost in the shadows. Thus, we present Splatology 2.0, a blend of classic favorites and fresh Splatterpunk nightmares that will haunt your dreams. Rachelschallenge.org in the USA and Black Country Women’s Aid in the UK are the two charities that will benefit from the proceeds of this anthology.
5. The Obituaries #6: Red Romance
Publication date: June 16, 2024
ObitsHorror.com description: The sixth issue of The Obituaries contains a brand new short story by C.V. Hunt, as well as brand new stories by Aron Beauregard, Daniel J. Volpe, and Kristopher Triana. It also features all-new faux obituaries, including one by C.V. Hunt. Featuring gruesome cover art by Shadows and Shivers and brutal interior illustrations by Nick Justus.
6. This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer
Publication date: January 16, 2024
Length: 307 pages
Amazon rating: 3.6
Amazon description: Take only pictures. Leave only bones. This trip is going to be Dylan’s big break. Her geologist friend Clay has discovered an untouched cliff face in the Kentucky wilderness, and she is going to be the first person to climb it. Together with Clay, his research assistant Sylvia, and Dylan’s boyfriend Luke, Dylan is going to document her achievement on Instagram and finally cement her place as the next rising star in rock climbing. Seven months later, three bodies are discovered in the trees just off the highway. All are in various states of decay: one a stark, white skeleton; the second emptied of its organs; and the third a mutilated corpse with the tongue, eyes, ears, and fingers removed. But Dylan is still missing — and no trace of her, dead or alive, has been discovered. Were the climbers murdered? Did they succumb to cannibalism? Or are their impossible bodies the work of an even more sinister force?
7. American Rapture by CJ Leede
Publication date: October 15, 2024
Length: 372 pages
Amazon rating: 4.3
Amazon description: A virus is spreading across America, transforming the infected and making them feral with lust. Sophie, a good Catholic girl, must traverse the hellscape of the Midwest to try to find her family while the world around her burns. Along the way she discovers there are far worse fates than dying a virgin. The end times are coming.
8. Wrecks & Violets by Mehitobel Wilson
Publication date: December 17, 2024
Length: 386 pages
Amazon rating: 5.0
Amazon description: Cimarron Street Books is pleased to bring you Bram Stoker Award nominee Mehitobel Wilson’s newest and biggest collection of flammable short fiction. She’s been doing this since 1998, and it’s time you caught up with her singular voice, pinpoint prose, caustic ways, and devilish imagination. Be prepared to be caught unaware. As Bel says, “It’s unnerving when one’s reptile brain has something to say, especially when it whispers secret truths.” With an Introduction by Brian Keene.
9. Benjamin by Aron Beauregard and Shane McKenzie
Publication date: September 27, 2024
Length: 462 pages
Amazon rating: 4.6
Amazon description: In the city of fear, money holds dominion over all. With a new designer drug numbing the population, a rash of mysterious disappearances, and a murder rate rising higher than the tallest skyscraper, the only people with the means to distance themselves from the corruption are the ones fostering it. Enter Benjamin — a lone hundred-dollar bill caught in the middle. In a storm of pills, bullets, and bloodshed, Benjamin passes through the hands of several desperate criminals. Will this bill be the missing piece that finally solves their problems, or a witness to their final moments? There’s only one way to find out: follow Benjamin. This volume contains 6 QR codes — over 14 minutes of complementary animated video — and 6 interior illustrations. The immersive videos are designed to give the reader a sense of the story’s atmosphere before beginning the experience. These nightmarish fever dreams are laced with symbolism open to the viewer’s interpretation. Can you find the deeper meaning?
10. Master of Bodies by Robert Essig
Publication date: October 1, 2024
Length: 107 pages
Amazon rating: 4.5
Amazon description: What if you could bring the dead back to life? What would you do? Kipp discovers his special talent at his grandmother’s funeral. And oh, what a talent it is. No one ever looks at him the same afterward. Eventually he forgets about what he can do … until tragedy strikes again and again. Kipp is a magnet for tragedy. Sometimes bringing the dead back to life isn’t what it’s all chalked up to be. With great power is great responsibility, but Kipp isn’t the most responsible guy out there. He tries. He’s even found a woman who is crazy about him, despite the oddness in his demeanor. You’d be a little odd too if you could do what Kipp does. Everything is great until the moment tragedy strikes, and it always seems to be there hiding in the shadows of Kipp’s twisted reality. What would you do if you could bring the dead back to life?
HOW THE TOP 10 EXTREME HORROR FICTION LISTS WORK
The MalevolentDark.com Top 10 Extreme Horror Fiction lists are compiled by senior contributor Lionel Ray Green. His lists are independent and subjective but partly based on a personally developed point system using a combination of factors, including reviews, recognitions, ratings, and media buzz. Check out the lists for 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017 by clicking on the year.