I decided to do something a little different with my end-of-year list, and categorize my favorite stories by theme. Four really stood out this past year, with most authors using houses, deaths, kids, or creatures. From there, I chose five titles for each theme, ranging from flash fiction to full-length novels. These are the ones which stayed with me, even though I read nearly 400 this year...
I present the BEST FICTION OF 2021 from the Lair, inlcuding horror, science fiction and supernatural suspense:
HOUSE THEMETHE HOUSE WHERE SHE DIED by Amy Cross is a very unique haunted house story with the narrator being the house itself. (novel)
HOUSE WITH ONE HUNDRED DOORS: AND OTHER DARK TALES by Travis Brown includes several house-themed horrors, but the one which gave me nightmares is THE WHISTLER. (anthology)
THE DOLLHOUSE by Bradley Poage tells the twisted tale of a house within a house. (short story)
THESE GHOSTS BLEED by Christy Aldridge is far more horrific than the revenge haunting of a dead wife.
BELOW DECK: HELL OR HIGH WATER by Matt Shaw technically takes place on a yacht, but is now home to a very depraved crew with a rather sick business venture. (novella)
DEATH THEMEA HOSTILE TAKEOVER by Christopher Motz first appears to be following the same formula as the movie, The Belko Experiment, but don't be fooled...this is far more brutal and sinister. (novel)
JUDGE DEE AND THE THREE DEATHS OF COUNT WERDENFELS by Lavie Tidhar centers on the vampire who serves as judge, jury, and executioner to make sure others of his kind are following their laws. (short story)
NAKED IN MY BEAUTIFUL CLOTHES and FOLLOW THE CROWS by Joshua Scribner are both told through the POVs of predators, with a supernatural element. (flash fiction)
THE REFLECTION by Dan DeLuise is my favorite of the Five-Minute Fright series. (flash fiction)
TOMB OF THE GODS by Brian Moreland is a terrifying mix of mythology, religion, horror and science fiction. (novel)
KIDS THEMEAUTUMN BLEEDS INTO WINTER by Jeff Strand is a coming of age story, under the most gruesome circumstances, and then some. (novel)
SCARY MOVIES by Stories From The Attic will definitely appeal to 80s horror movie fans. (short story)
HIDE AND SEEKER by Daka Hermon is a YA horror fiction novel centered on a group of friends who are marked by a demonic entity called the Seeker, after they break the rules of the game, Hide and Seek. (novel)
LORD OF PLAYGROUNDS by Brett O'Reilly is essentially cult versus cult, scam artists versus true believers. (novella)
OF MEN AND MONSTERS by Tom Deady follows a boy escaping an abusive father with his older brother and mother..he discovers his new sea pet is a vicious creature and finds out he's not the only one with a monster in his house. (novella)
CREATURE THEMEWITH TEETH by Brian Keene also includes two short stories, The Last Supper and Down Under. All three are great vampire stories. (novella)
TRAPPED by Armand Rosamilia centers on characters from his previous five Severed Press stories (OGROMNY, THE BEAST, FROZEN IN ICE, THE SEA WAS ANGRY and ABANDONED) snowed in at the same airport during a massive blizzard. (novella)
THE THING THAT CALLS by J.J. Mott is a collection of a dozen short stories by the author. My favorite is LITTLE ONES, and the specific reason this anthology made my list. (anthology)
THINGS UNDONE by Travis Liebert is a collection of 18 frightening tales, full of Lovecraftian nightmares. (anthology)
SEVERED by Joshua Marsella is an action-packed battle with an ancient demon in the jungle of Vietnam. (novella)
HONORABLE MENTIONTHE NIGHT AIR by Kiran Revi is quite excellent...I'd love to see this one become a horror film.
Revi has essentially mixed themes from the Twilight Zone's episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" and the movie Escape Room, but added a terrifying element of demonic hell.
Perhaps these themes could be called the four horseman of 2021?
Annnywaaay...if you've never read any of these authors, you now have a list of great starting points.
As always,
AstraDaemon
SOMETHING UNNATURAL by Joshua Scribner is a novella centered on a family struggling to survive an apocalyptic event. While the author is best known for his flash fiction, he does write longer stories every once in a while, and they are usually mind-blowing. This one is no exception.
