Things That Go Bump in January: Ideas for Horror Writers
- tkswriter
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
An irregular series spotlighting 14 useful and inspirational online reads and resources for horror writers everywhere
Feel free to share your thoughts here or go to the Discord and discuss.
THAT'S A WRAP: 2025
🛜Mother Horror's Top 50 Horror Books in 2025
The Lineup ||Â 12.26.25
"These 50 are from the 160 books I managed to read while also watching movies and shows, staying informed (true horror), co-owning a business, and maintaining a house and GenXer body–whew!"
TBR FOR 2026 🛜Horror Book Release Dates
Fear Some fiction ||Â 12.27.25
"US release dates... These are the ones we know about... If you know of an upcoming horror book release that isn’t on this page, please tell us about it."
FILM IN REVIEW 🛜Top 13 Killer Films of 2025: Horror, Form, and the Politics of Endurance
Surgeons of Horror ||Â 12.25.25
"In 2025, horror cinema continued its decisive shift away from spectacle toward structure. Rather than functioning as vehicles for shock, the most compelling works of the year positioned fear as a sustained condition—something embedded within systems, bodies, and histories. These films do not simply represent terror; they organise it, asking spectators to endure rather than react, to interpret rather than consume."
HOUSEKEEPING 🛜End-of-the-Year Author Platform Tune-Up (2025 Edition)
Book Publishing Brick by Brick ||Â 12.29.25
Jeffrey Yamaguchi: "[M]y suggestion is to take some time ... to do an author/writer platform tune-up. Not a total revamp, or site redesign, or anything of major magnitude. This is more about simple fixes and updates on your site, newsletter, and social media profiles, so that you can move forward with your larger and more expansive 2026 plans with a running start as the new year commences."
TRENDS 🛜Watch for These 2026 Social Media Trends
Jane Friedman ||Â 12.30.25
Lacy Phillips, P.S. Literary Agency: "The influencer economy is crashing. Even the chronically online are fatigued by disingenuous sales pitches, but this is becoming an opportunity for experts with personal brands."
STEPHEN KING
🛜Why This Year Marks a New Stephen King Renaissance
Bloody Disgusting ||Â 12.24.25
"While the shocking death of beloved director Rob Reiner has Constant Readers revisiting his masterful Misery and Stand by Me, the year has seen a record number of adaptations hit theaters and streaming services, including films based on a pair of novellas written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. ...From murderous monkeys and killer clowns to dystopian game shows and adolescent heroes—not to mention the return of Stranger Things, which continually references the author’s earlier work — 2025 has been a cinematic Stephen King renaissance the likes of which we’ve never seen."
WOMEN IN HORROR 🛜Female cannibals are consuming fiction. Here's why. Peninsula Press || 12.23.25
"Blake got the idea for Girl Dinner after observing trends both online and in literature. On TikTok, the novel’s namesake 'girl dinner' trend involved women posting videos of low-effort meals composed of random snack foods—think French fries, grapes and peanut butter. Blake was also fascinated by 'trad wives' circulating the Internet—female influencers promoting traditional gender roles and a housewife aesthetic, with videos that often involve preparing food. ...At the same time, Blake had also read a number of novels featuring cannibalism. Each time, she stumbled upon them by accident."
FOLK HORROR 🛜Too scary to show? Kazakh horror series becomes festival favourite for gore fans
EuroNews ||Â 12.27.25
"Viewers praised the series online, calling it the 'Stranger Things of Kazakhstan,' and sharing eerie folk stories passed down through generations."
OG HORROR
🛜94 years ago today, the first horror movie to win and Oscar was released (& barely any have won since)
ComicBook.com ||Â 12.24.25
Niall Gray: "What sets the 1931 movie apart from the rest of the genre is largely its originality. At the time of its release, it was an early pioneer of the monster movie, and its focus on the human condition of its titular monster was a key part of its appeal. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has been a beloved story since it was first written, and adapting it onto the big screen proved a success due to the delicate care taken to flesh out its characters as much as possible."
INSPO 🛜62 "Evil" Buildings That Might Be Straight Out of Horror Movies
Bored Panda ||Â 12.25.25
"Some structures stand out more than others, especially the ones that look like they belong on a Marvel or DC movie set. We are talking about those evil-looking buildings, that are surprisingly unsettling and can send a shiver down the spine. ...They have become a subject of online discussion, with their own subreddit community called ‘Evil Buildings,’ where people share photos and stories from around the world."
NEO-NOIR
🛜Nuts & Bolts: George Anastasia of Netflix's "Mob War" horror.org || 12.24.25
"If your horror fiction includes mobbed-up characters and you’d like them to ring true, legendary crime writer George Anastasia offers some advice in this month’s edition of Nuts & Bolts."
DEEP DIVE
🛜Psychological Horror in Stories Without Monsters
Scream Magazine ||Â 12.27.25
"If you want to understand why we fear what we cannot see, you have to look at the stories below, where the monsters could actually be one of your neighbors, a family member, or even yourself. Especially engaging for those who love listening to psychology topic podcasts. Recent trends in storytelling show a shift toward these grounded fears."
MONSTERS 🛜Guillermo del Toro Calls This Free-to-Stream Horror "the Citizen Kane of Giant Insect Films"
Dread Central ||Â 12.23.25
"Them! is widely considered a top-tier creature feature that serves up stellar effects, memorable creature design, and strong performances from a talented cast. Others still connect with the somber tone that delves into camp territory on occasion but never devolves into parody." [includes trailer and link to free stream]
ART IMITATES LIFE 🛜When Fiction Looks Back: 'The Lottery' and The Headlines
Daily Sun ||Â 12.27.25
"What 'The Lottery' ultimately exposes is not the presence of monstrous individuals but the absence of moral courage. The villagers’ greatest failure is not hatred but silence."
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