“Horror is a story in which the author manipulates the reader's emotions by introducing situations in which unexplainable phenomena and unearthly creatures threaten the protagonist and provoke terror in the reader” (Spratford, 2012).
Horror is meant for any reader that wants to evoke the emotion of fear. There are horror books for people of all ages and they include varying levels of scariness and gore. If you are worried that a book might be too scary for you, a good way to check would be to look up the content warnings associated with the book and read a summary or review.
Spooky images are free use and created by freestocks-photos, tombud and Bru-nO - obtained from Pixabay.
Adults are a very loyal fan base of the horror genre and they know the common tropes associated with this genre. Many adult horror readers have certain sub-genres or authors that they tend to gravitate towards. Horror books marketed for adults are usually scarier than those who are meant for a younger audience, and also include more mature topics as well. According to the Horror Writer's Association, many adults first heard their first scary story as children--oftentimes in the form of a short story told aloud. Short story anthologies such as Alvin Schwart'z middle-grade (targeted at reader's aged 8-12) Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark or the easy reader (targeted at beginner readers ages 5-9) In A Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories are just two examples of books that created young horror fans.
Hi! I'm Roeki DeMaria (roh-key dee-muh-ree-uh). My pronouns are she/her/hers. I'm a third-semester SLIS student. I am interested in working as a teen librarian at a public library. My interests are reading, photography, and hanging out with my three lovely and obnoxious cats. The movie Signs directed by M. Night Shyamalan terrified me so much I slept with water by my bed for a month. I was 9.
Hello! My name is Jenna Mushin (Muh-shin) and I use either she/her or they/them pronouns. I am in my third semester at SLIS and I love reading horror books (the scarier the better). My personal interests include singing, being in nature, and being with my partner and our pets!
Hi, I'm Rebecca Schmidt! I use she/her pronouns. It is my dream to work as a Librarian in an Academic Library someday. I love baking pies, making art, gardening, and playing video games. The scariest video game I've ever played is Phasmophobia. It's a game that relies on psychological horror and jump scares to terrify the player, I refuse to play it alone!
Use the tabs on the top of this page or the links below to navigate this LibGuide. This guide is intended for people interested in the Horror genre. Most of the resources within this guide are themed around books specifically, but we have provided some resources which include examples of the Horror genre in podcasts, movies, television shows, and internet videos as well.
Bram Stoker Awards http://www.thebramstokerawards.com/
Shirley Jackson Awards https://www.shirleyjacksonawards.org/
International Horror Guild Award: https://www.horroraward.org/
August Derleth Award
