The idea for this came to me several months ago, probably during the latest flair up of “indie/self pub is inferior” or something similar, and you may have seen (or want to check out) where I started with fantasy suggestions. The point of which is not to argue, but to highlight some writers that are either underrated, or great examples of where to start with indie horror. My original idea was to have separate posts for both, but boiling it down to the nitty gritty of who/what constituted something as underrated, or in that vein, what makes something a good place to start, became a little too convoluted. And in my opinion, they aren’t mutually exclusive anyway. Indie horror is a budding community, it’s been around for many years, but now it’s broadening into something even bigger. Every author was unread at one point in time, and you just might find a new favorite, so why not take a chance on the below?
Who am I? I, too, thought that may be asked when presenting this list, so instead of making it myself, I asked my bookstagram, my twitter, this blog, my discord channels, and gathered a list of ten horror books from different people. Each person gave a different reason as to why something may be underrated or a good place to start. So, I’m just putting the list together. Regardless of if they are independent/small press releases or self published, the point was to pull people away from traditional publishers to try something new. These authors have stood by their stories, perhaps even surviving the trenches that is traditional querying, and worked tirelessly to make them the best they can. Every word of their efforts is worth checking out.
If you think I’m missing some that are big, or worth it, maybe I’ll add them or do another volume! Just comment below.
Below I will include the cover, purchase links, sub-genres, and synopsis of each. I won’t include each person’s commentary, but please remember these are all endorsed by avid readers!
Synopsis (Epistolary Horror)
When controversial comic creator Riley Langdon is faced with an unimaginable crime committed in her name, she retreats from the spotlight she spent years seeking. But as media, fandom, and obsession churn, Riley’s story takes on a life of its own.
Riley Langdon has never shied from extreme horror, especially not in her deep web revenge comic, Red. But now that a cult fandom has put her on a pedestal, she doesn’t know how to respond to a mysterious death that too much resembles pages she wrote. As she tries to pick up the pieces of the life she’s made for herself, the fandom of Red turns against itself and an obsessed fan attempts to make the deep web what he hoped it would be. Told in blog posts, chat logs, emails, and more, Revenge Arc blends horror and mystery for an unforgettable experience.
Synopsis (Psychological Thriller/Horror)
From Bram Stoker and British Fantasy Award nominated author Gemma Amor comes an atmospheric gothic mystery that will haunt you long after the final page is turned.
Morgan always knew her father, Owen, never murdered her mother, and has spent the last six years campaigning for his release from prison. Finally he is set free, but they can no longer live in the house that was last decorated by her mother’s blood. Salvation comes in the form of a tall, dark and notorious decorative granite tower on the Cornish coastline known only as ‘The Folly’. The owner makes them an offer: take care of the Folly, and you can live there. It’s an offer too good to refuse.
At first the Folly is idyllic, but soon a stranger arrives who acts like Morgan’s mother, talks like her mother, and wears her dead mother’s clothes. Is this stranger hell-bent on vengeance, in touch with her restless mother’s spirit itself, or simply just deranged? And, most importantly, what exactly happened the night Morgan’s mother died?
An atmospheric nod to The Lighthouse, with hints of Du Maurier’s Rebecca, played out on a lonely, Cornish backdrop, THE FOLLY is visceral mystery and family drama, a dark examination of love, loyalty, guilt and possession that draws on the very real horror of betrayal by those closest to us, by those we love the best.
Synopsis (Ghost & Suspense Horror)
Taryn planned for an easy out and back hike into the Sawtooth Mountains to scatter her wife’s ashes. Gemma had been the outdoorsy type, while Taryn preferred the city, though an alpine lake at the end of the trail held a special place for them both. They had spent time together there in that forest, Gemma spinning campfire tales of the things that made a home in the dark. Little did Taryn know that when she entered those mountains to fulfill her final marital duty, she would be in for the fight of her life against a supernatural predator known as the Sawtooth. And the Sawtooth was no legend…
Amazon GoodReads Author Site (FanFi Fam)
Synopsis (Conspiracy & Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
Three friends take their punk trio into a remote mountain town for an unplanned stop on their Farewell Tour. When the show is interrupted by a catastrophic train derailment, the little resort town is transformed into a landscape of terror, and the three friends must fight for survival against a populace turned suddenly monstrous.
But there is more than the infected to worry about, as one of the three carries a dark secret that will test the group’s love, loyalty…and very survival.
Combining horror, suspense, and deep psychological drama, Cymbals Eat Guitars is the punk rock zombie survival story you’ve been waiting for.
Synopsis (Occult Horror, Post Apocalypse Sci-fi Horror)
“Iain Rob Wright blows me away.” J A Konrath, bestselling author of Origins and Afraid.WELCOME ABOARD…Police Officer Jack Wardsley’s life ended the moment his partner was murdered, and his recent record of booze-fuelled police brutality has prompted his seniors to give him an ultimatum: take a few weeks off and let go of the anger – or face the consequences.That’s why Jack is about to board The Spirit of Kirkpatrick, a cruise liner built for relaxation. Unfortunately, he won’t get the chance to do much thinking, as there’s a virus onboard, and soon the ship will be overrun with blood and death. There’s nowhere to escape.Just when Jack thinks his time is up, he wakes up in bed. Was it all a dream? The day seems to be starting over again, but will this time be different? Or will things end the same way as before, with everybody dead?Can anything Jack can do anything to stop the spread of the evil pathogen, or is he doomed never to see land again?“Iain Rob Wright has written a novel unlike anything else. A story that is equal parts Dawn of the Dead and Groundhog Day. An unforgettable classic.” Get your free copy today!
Synopsis (Monster Horror)
ORKNEY ISLANDS, 1797 – Agnes Tulloch feels a little cheated. This windswept place is not the island paradise her husband promised it to be when they wed. Now with four young children, she struggles to provide for her family while her husband grows increasingly distant.
When a stranger comes ashore to rent an abandoned cottage, Agnes and the other islanders are abuzz with curiosity. Who is this wealthy foreigner and why on earth would he come to Eynhallow? Her curiosity is soon replaced with vexation when her husband hires her out as cook and washerwoman, leaving Agnes with no say in the matter. Agnes begrudgingly befriends this aristocrat-in-exile; a mercurial scientist who toils night and day on some secret pursuit. Despite herself, she’s drawn to his dark, brooding charm. And who is this Byronic stranger sweeping Agnes off her feet? His name is Frankenstein and he’s come to this remote isle to fulfill a monstrous obligation.
Synopsis (Occult Horror, Paranormal Suspense)
SOMETHING WICKED WAITS.
When Robin Griffiths embarks upon the restoration of a stained-glass window in a thirteenth-century church, little does she comprehend the stakes involved. The more slivers of glass she pieces together, the more she realizes things are not what they appear to be in the seemingly cozy hamlet of Bilbury. Piece by piece, sliver by sliver, the window is revealed in all its glory. But will she survive with her sanity intact, or will reawakening the image in the window prove to be her undoing?
“A novel spilling over with mystery, cosmic terror, and radiant color. Catherine McCarthy’s Mosaic is a special kind of descent straight into Hell.” -C. S. Humble, author of That Light Sublime Trilogy and The Black Wells Series
Synopsis (Supernatural Thriller & Horror)
HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO SAVE THE ONES YOU LOVE?
A remote cabin in A snowy forest could be the perfect place for Claire and Emma to work on their marriage and bond with their two children, if only it didn’t come with so many memories of Claire’s inhumane treatment at the hands of her abusive mother, and if only the strange abandoned schoolhouse nearby didn’t have a dark history of its own. When their children go missing in a snowstorm, the two mothers must put their personal troubles aside and rely on one another to get them back, but nothing has prepared them to face the ever-growing horror that steps lightly in the storm.
Soon the two mothers are forced to ask themselves, how far would you go to save the ones you love?
Our Love Will Devour Us is a novel about the bonds of family, the depths of love, and things that hunger in the dark.
Synopsis (Elderly Horror)
Nana: A term of endearment used in some countries for one’s Grandma. Some say the title is derived from the Italian word for Grandmother, Nonna. Another theory is that it stems from the word Nanny, i.e., someone who takes care of children.Meet Olly’s nana, Ivy. It takes more than clean dentures, brandy, and bingo night to keep this one happy!Nana Ivy lives in Newhaven Crescent, where most of the other residents are past their expiry date and all kinds of batshit crazy, the kind of place where you hang your sanity up at the door.Being the matriarchal type, Ivy cares for the other residents as though they were kin, so of course, it’s of enormous concern when their veins begin to blacken and they start shedding skin, not to mention the glistening things crawling out of their hair. They’re pushing their luck, and Nana Ivy knows it. Did I mention she has a dark secret?Young Olly doesn’t know what to make of it when he comes to visit, but he’s about to find out there’s more to his nana than cough drops and slippers. Oh yes, he’s in for a long night.
Synopsis (Urban Fantasy & Horror)
Now a Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off 8 Semi-Finalist and the 2021 Indies Today Awards: Runner-Up in Horror
A cry of pain, hard and desperate, tore through Carthage City one night …
The Nightwalker Killings: bodies drained and tucked away in the abandoned corners of Carthage City Oldtown. The oddity of their stalled decay was a mystery…until the latest victim woke in a fury of teeth and claws.
Joe Kellerman, a young telepath working with a group of occult “Specialists,” finds himself face to face with the vampire known as the Nightwalker—at least, what’s left of him. To stop the vampire’s contagion of death from spreading, Joe searches the killer’s memories to find his missing victims before any more wake to feed.
But as an alluring photojournalist with a history of blackmail starts to suspect his involvement in the Nightwalker case, Joe is stretched thin between past mistakes and his search for the missing, where every face he sees is a life seemingly doomed to a bad end. Maybe that’s why he keeps having visions of a girl in yellow sneakers from the killer’s past—the fleeting hope that someone made it out alive.
Is there anyone left to save, or has Joe finally gone too far into the dark to find his way out again?
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If you don’t mind me being so bold, I am also an indie horror author. I have a free novelette out now, that is a free sampler of my work to come. I’d love if you checked it out!
Synopsis (Ghosts & Paranormal Thriller/Horror)
A debut sample from the forthcoming Tales From Cemetery, this novelette is a FREE SAMPLE from the author’s site!
The Old Mayor’s Mansion sits just a few miles outside the town of Cemetery.
When best friends Sean and Devon want to increase views on their ghost investigation channel, they know the mansion is the perfect spot to film.
Armed with a slew of new equipment, the buddies set out to capture the paranormal hotspot that will make them famous—just maybe not in the way they were hoping.
Download Free GoodReads Author Site
Regardless of the kind of reader you are, I truly believe there’s something above for everyone! Just looking through them while compiling this now, there’s standalone, trilogies, series, a slew of sub-genres from various authors. All hailing from different places across the world too.
I’m excited to check out the ones I haven’t read yet. I have plans to do one for sci-fi still, so if you’re a fan, be on the lookout–or contact me with suggestions!
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