The Fright Stuff

Scary Video Games? I Cannot. Books About Them? Yes.

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Emily Martin

Contributing Editor

Emily has a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi, MS, and she has an MFA in Creative Writing from GCSU in Milledgeville, GA, home of Flannery O’Connor. She spends her free time reading, watching horror movies and musicals, cuddling cats, Instagramming pictures of cats, and blogging/podcasting about books with the ladies over at #BookSquadGoals (www.booksquadgoals.com). She can be reached at emily.ecm@gmail.com.

Hi, Horror Fans!

So I know last week I told you July is National Anti-Boredom Month. Well, on that same train, today is video games day. So I feel like today is a good thing to confess something to all of you. I love a good horror book. We all know this. I will line up to watch any and every horror movie. Yes, all of them. But horror video games? Way too scary for me. Something about putting myself right there in the horror story is just a little too much for me to handle. Horror novels about video games though? Fair game. So today I have a few to highlight for you. Enjoy!

Bookish Goods

umbrella corp bookmark

Umbrella Corporation Bookmark by 1WhiteOakPress

Speaking of video games I won’t play because I’m too scared… Resident Evil. But if you are brave enough to be a fan of this game, then show your love with this cool Umbrella Corp bookmark. Hey, I have watched the movies, so I do know what this means, and this is really cool. This bookmark is printed and pressed on a 2×6 aluminum piece. It’s $12 and ships quickly! So you can put this bookmark in your book before the zombie apocalypse.

New Releases

carmilla the last vampire hunter book cover

Carmilla Volume 2: The Last Vampire Hunter by Amy Chu and Soo Lee

Here’s the second volume in Amy Chu and Soo Lee’s graphic novel series Carmilla: the Last Vampire Hunter. This queer, feminist horror story reimagines the classic tale of Carmilla in contemporary times. Volume 2 sees vampire hunter Athena Lo travel to San Francisco’s Chinatown to discover more about her past.

pink slime book cover

Pink Slime by Fernanda Trías

Pink Slime is a dystopian horror novel in translation about a city being destroyed by an algae bloom that poisons the air. As the city is taken over by plague, a secret corporation produces the only kind of food anyone can actually afford: a mysterious pink slime. This novel was released in Uruguay in 2020 but was recently translated into English by Heather Cleary.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

erebos book cover

Erebos by Ursula Poznanski

Let’s talk about video game horror. Yikes. This first one is another novel in translation. 16-year-old Nick receives a strange computer game called Erebos. The game is strangely secretive. You’re always supposed to play alone. You’re never supposed to talk about the game. And you’re never to tell anyone your nickname in the game. When the game gives Nick a dangerous assignment and he refuses to do it, Nick is banished from the game forever. But who is the manipulative, cunning person behind the game? Nick is determined to find out.

zero lives remaining book cover

Zero Lives Remaining by Adam Cesare

Love Clown in a Cornfield? Then read Adam Cesare’s arcade game-inspired horror novel. Robby Asaro is a ghost living inside of an arcade game. When Robby sets out to protect arcade patron Tiffany Park, he unwittingly sets off a supernatural disaster. Tiffany and her friends now find themselves trapped inside the arcade. What was once their safe haven is now a place of mass murder, and if they don’t get out soon, they could be next.

Well, I’m terrified now. I’m going to go hide under the covers and wait for a less scary holiday. Until then, you can follow me (and message me) on Instagram at emandhercat. Sweet dreams, horror fans!

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