The Resurgence of the Horror Novella

And 5 Novellas You Should Read

Published in

A Thousand Lives

5 min readMar 3, 2022

Horror novels? Novellas? What is the difference and why does it matter? When some readers think of horror novels, they might think of the tomes Stephen King has written and shudder. Clocking in at over 1000 pages, IT is arguably one of the most well known of King’s novels, or just horror novels in general. There’s also The Stand, which has an uncut version of over 1000 pages. With all of the things that we have going on from day to day, it can be difficult to find the time to sit down and read such long books.

Enter the novella. Novellas are typically classified as smaller publications between 30k and 60k words, or in my experience less than 150–200 pages. Recently, there has been a resurgence in this short format, especially among some great indie small presses (Off Limits Press, Goulish Books, and Grindhouse Press just to name a few). I think that horror in short form is especially effective, sometimes more effective than full novels. When done well, it effectively builds dread or terror, gives the reader enough time to connect with the characters and the story, but doesn’t go on long enough for the reader to disengage. It is also great for readers who may be new to the genre of horror, or give seasoned readers a chance to explore a sub-genre they may not have given much thought. Of the 150+ books I read in 2021, some of my favorites of the year were in novella form. Today I have five recommendations that I think will appeal to new and old horror fans. These are horror titles and some of these do contain sensitive subject matter, I always recommend checking out content warnings before picking any of these up!

The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper

Monique’s girlfriend Donna has disappeared. But she isn’t just missing, she was taken. Monique must head into the sewers underneath New York where she encounters a strange cult and creatures in an effort to save Donna. While cosmic horror in generally not my favorite sub-genre, this novella was great and you don’t need to be a lover of cosmic horror to be invested in this story. The mythos that she created was so interesting and I almost wish it had been a little longer or expanded on (or that there would be another story about it!). I have actually loved all of the novellas I have read from Piper and I am looking forward to getting to her debut novel that released last year, Queen of Teeth.

“And here, in the darkest place, Monique found monsters.
Maybe if her parents knew how far she’d fallen, they would at last regret having bashed their only child.
Unlikely. That was her imagination preying on her thoughts with something more painful than monsters in the dark-The illusion that her parents could accept her.”

Crossroads by Laurel Hightower

Can a novella manage to terrify and completely rip your heart out in 110 pages? I am here to tell you it absolutely can. This story follows Chris, who’s son was tragically take from her in a car accident. After visiting his roadside memorial, what she believes to be his ghost begins to appear to her at night. But is it really her son? Hightower explores grief in such a realistic way that I felt every emotion Chris did and the ending of this novella was terrifying to say to least. I constantly recommend this book to anyone who will listen and you should be on the lookout for her novel Below, which will release at the end of March 2022.

“The first time Chris buried a part of herself by her son’s roadside cross, it was an accident.”

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca

Two lonely women in an internet chat room in the early 2000’s. What follows starts innocently enough and becomes a whirlwind of horror and gruesomeness. I think that this is a novella that is divisive in the horror community, most readers either loved it or hated it. I was on the former side, I read this in one sitting and at one point had to set it down because I was pretty disgusted (in the best way). I don’t want to say much more because I think going on blind is effective, but ask yourself, what have you done today to deserve your eyes?

If you read and loved this and want more LaRocca, check out his short story collection The Strange Thing We Become (which is out of print, but we will rereleased soon!) and his novella We Can Never Leave This Place releasing in June of 2022.

“I guess that’s what makes people do horrible things — they think whatever they’re doing isn’t nearly as bad as what somebody else will do”

Mapping The Interior by Stephen Graham Jones

This is about a young boy who while awake late at night, sees a mysterious figure stepping through a doorway in his house. The figure reminds him of his father, who died before the family left the reservation. Over the next few nights, the boy begins to map out the house, and discovers it is impossibly large. It’s a story about grief and ghosts and the holes they leave in our lives and I wouldn’t call it traditionally scary, but it is horrific nonetheless. This was one of the books that made me fall in love with SGJ’s writing. Want a full length novel of his? Try The Only Good Indians or My Heart is a Chainsaw.

“I’m all right,” I told her. This is a lie, when you’re twelve. And all the other years, too.”

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

A twist on the horrific history of the south and the KKK, where Maryse Boudreaux is a resistance fighter against the creatures called Klu Kluxes, the novella has some of the most haunting imagery I have ever read. Historically rich, cosmic horror against the backdrop of the racist south, this is a book that you will not forget once you have read it. I flew through this one in two sittings and there was a scene in this book that I still think about and shudder to this day. There is a lot packed into this short work, but the author manages to make all of the elements work together and produce something equally horrific and emotional. This is one that I want to revisit again at some point soon and I think the themes and commentary on race is something that is important and well done in this one.

“Girl, every choice we make is a new tomorrow. Whole worlds waiting to be born.”

I hope that this list adds some new favorites to your shelves. Want to connect with me about books? Leave a comment and share your favorite horror novellas with me.

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