Rachel Harrison | Musings of the Monster Librarian

Book Review: Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature edited by Becky Siegel Spratford

Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature edited by Becky Siegel Spratford

Saga Press, 2025

ISBN-13: 9781668205099

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

Librarian Becky Siegel Spratford presents eighteen essays by current horror authors on why they love horror. The collection begins with a welcome to the reader by Sadie Hartman, followed by Spratford’s own essay, “Why Ask Why,” where she tells her story about how she found herself working with horror and curating this book full of talented horror writers. Before each essay, Spratford includes an introduction to the authors, a book recommendation to start with from their works, and a recommendation of an author in a similar vein.

My experience reading this was like opening a door to different times in my life where horror made significant appearances, despite having never really left me. Childhood memories and horror are foundational for some in this community. In “Brian Keene’s Giant-Size Man-Thing,” the author discusses his introduction to horror through comics and how horror helped him cope with dread and fear. John Langan writes of his childhood fascination with cryptids in “In the Bermuda Triangle with Sasquatch, Flesh Smoldering.” Jennifer McMahon’s “Monster Girl: How Horror Gave Me a Place to Belong” hit particularly close to home in terms of feeling out of place, being the weird girl who liked horror, and experiencing struggles at home. “My Mother Was Margaret White” by Cynthia Pelayo discusses abuse she experienced at home and at school, never feeling safe anywhere. Horror saved us both. “Permission to Scream” by Rachel Harrison and and “Tales From My Crypt” by Mary SanGiovanni specifically focus on girlhood and horror, both also speaking to similar experiences for me.

Horror providing comfort or a safe space is another thread that ties these essays together. Hailey Piper describes, in “The Giant Footprint of Horror”, how Godzilla introduced her to horror, and that there is joy in this dreadful genre. “My Long Road to Horror”, by Tananarive Due, describes horror as feeling. She writes a short but powerful history of her family and their personal horrors of racism and struggle.

Authors remind the reader that horror is more than a genre, it is an entire community. Alma Katsu’s “What You Can Learn from Horror: Don’t Run from Darkness; It’s Trying to Teach You a Lesson”, presents an essay questioning why people shy away from horror. A true crime writer I had a conversation with during my undergrad found it fascinating that there is a line in the sand between what his audience will and will not read: that line is fictional horror. Katsu states “I’m here to argue against running away from darkness,” (52) and provides personal information regarding past employment with government agencies as an intelligence analyst. Gabino Iglesias, in “Horror is Life: A Blood-soaked Love Letter,” discusses his life in Puerto Rico and discovering horror, which turns into a moving statement on how horror changed his life. In “A Day in My Psychedelic World,” Nuzo Onoh, dubbed the Queen of African Horror, reminds us there is horror for everybody.

There are so many great essays in this book. Other authors who contribute are Josh Malerman, Paul Tremblay, whose piece is accompanied by his daughter Emma, Grady Hendrix, Clay McLeod Chapman, Victor LaValle, David Demchuk, and Stephen Graham Jones. This would make a great addition to a general library collection, as well as essential reading for a course on horror. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Book Review: The Return by Rachel Harrison

The Return by Rachel Harrison

Berkeley, 2020

ISBN-13 : 978-0593098677

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

Rachel Harrison is now on the radar as one of the most interesting new voices in horror/suspense. The Return was one of 2020’s few surprise stories. Others published quality debuts, yet Harrison’s rose to the top for this reviewer. It’s not flashy, bloody, or full of unique devices. It’s simply a great story told very well– and that’s good enough for most horror fans.

Julie disappeared from her front porch two years ago and only two people believe she’s still alive: her close friend Elise and her husband Tristan.

Two years later, Julie abruptly reappears in the same spot, with no recollection of what happened.

Elise and Julie and two additional close friends celebrate Julie’s return some time later, with an escape to a themed getaway. Once there, the quartet of friends attempt to reclaim their tight bonds from before the disappearance. Something is very off about the place, which Harrison handles well, alluding to without ever becoming heavy handed in the description. Julie seems “off” as well. Something has changed within her, something that happened while she was gone.

Harrison’s storytelling carries the show in The Return. The dialogue, wit, and character interaction flow with ease, and the suspense and darkness deepen. Harrison displays the skills of a veteran with writing that is neither showy nor cliche.

Full of twists and well-developed characters, The Return is one of the Stoker nominees most recommended.

Reviewed by David Simms

Editor’s note: The Return is a nominee on the final ballot for this year’s Bram Stoker Awards in the category of Superior Achievement in a First Novel.