Andrew K. Clark is a writer from Western North Carolina where his people settled before the Revolutionary War. His debut novel, Where Dark Things Grow (Cowboy Jamboree Press) was a finalist for the Manly Wade Wellman Award, shortlisted for the Sir Walter Raleigh Fiction Award, and won an IPPY from the Independent Book Publishers Awards. The sequel, Where Dark Things Rise (Quill & Crow Publishing House) won an IPPY, an IndieReader Discovery Award, and was a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award. Hollow Folk, his third novel, received a Kirkus Indie “Get It” verdict (Quill & Crow, September 2026). He is co-host of the Dark Forms podcast and received his MFA from Converse University. Connect with him at andrewkclark.com.

Like a lot of horror fans, I come alive when the heat of summer breaks and the cool fall air comes calling. There’s something magical about the leaves turning into bright oranges, reds, and yellows, and the days growing shorter. For me, Fall is the best season to go for hikes deep in the woods of the mountains of Western North Carolina where I live. It also means watching spooky movies or sipping hot tea on the back porch while sitting with a good book. I’m excited my new novel, Hollow Folk – an Appalachian gothic horror romance set in a haunted mountain inn – came out this fall, the best time of the year for dark stories.

While I often return to classic horror books this time of year or check out the latest from longtime favorites, I love finding new stories to satisfy my fall spooky vibes itch.

These books, by fresh new voices in horror, are perfect for your fall reading list, pumpkin spice optional.

Hollow Folk by Andrew K. Clark

When Ethan Ray, a grad student, clocks in at what he expects to a peaceful night shift at Holloway mountain resort, the Appalachian sky instead decides to cast a reddish-brown hue throughout. With this comes powerful winds that silently whip through the trees and strange owl gargoyles that become real. Every clock pauses at 3 a.m. Ethan and his co-workers, Kal and Teresa, are now trapped inside the hotel. But this hotel isn’t just old. It’s a border. Something ancient has woke up, and the only way the three of them can escape is by unearthing Holloway’s secrets, all while a new love blooms between Ethan and Teresa. The only problem is that all of them are plagued with the same vision: someone here can’t be trusted.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon

The Winter Folk by Jen Julian

Jen Julian’s The Winter Folk is a dark portal fantasy set in the Southern Appalachian Mountains and within a mystical mountain lodge in another dimension, where strangeness thrives and a danger is always present. When college dropout Moth makes a bargain with the mysterious Mr. Oslin for one winter of service in exchange for one wish, she sets in motion changes in her life that summon her back decades later. Digging deeper, we find fraught family relationships alongside the complex emotions of love, lust, desire, envy, and rivalry, all working toward a fevered tension that will keep you up reading way past your bedtime.

For fans of: T. Kingfisher’s The Twisted Ones, the film Crimson Peak.

Pairs well with: campfire and a good strong whiskey.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon 

Crater Girl by Polly Schattel

In Crater Girl, Polly Schattel conjures a surreal Southern Gothic mystery built on dread and momentum in equal measure. Greta, a transwoman in rural Alabama, carries the weight of bad decisions and a well-earned distrust of just about everyone. When the women closest to her go missing, undocumented and invisible to a community that never claimed them, finding them becomes her best shot at redemption. As Greta searches for the women, a missing-person mystery becomes a wonderfully strange cosmic horror.

For fans of: Paul Tremblay, the film Ma Vie en Rose (My Life in Pink)

Pairs well with: strong coffee and dark chocolate.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon 

The Stitch Witches by Krissie K. Williams

Krissie K. Williams’s The Stitch Witches is set thirty years after the Salem Witch trials in the Puritan village of Promise Land, Massachusetts. When a series of gruesome murders take place, the locals begin to suspect Satanic forces are at work. Orphelia, who comes from a wealthy family involved in the slave trade, and Settle, a woman enslaved by Orphelia’s family, become tangled in the murder mystery, panic, and suspicion swirling within Promise Land. As fear turns the village against itself, Orphelia and Settle must uncover the town’s dark secrets before a new witch hunt casts its gaze on them.

For fans of: Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic, the film Antebellum (2020).

Pairs well with: candlelight and black tea sweetened with honey or molasses.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon 

Hymn for the Forsaken by Megan Lynch

Set in Cuppytown, West Virginia, Hymn for the Forsaken is a modern Appalachian Gothic, steeped in the region’s dark history, themes of class and societal status, and laced with deceit and dread. Ina Klee’s family’s land has long been an important part of her family’s legacy and stability and is threatened by an outside tech company hoping to develop it for a massive data center. Can Ina protect her home without losing herself in the process? After reading this book, you’ll never look at crows the same way.

For fans of: Daryl Gregory’s The Revelator, the film Practical Magic.

Pairs well with: wild herb tea and foraged mushrooms.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon 

This B Just Won’t Die by Tanya Pell

Tanya Pell’s This B Just Won’t Die is both a love letter to the slasher film genre and a brilliant deconstruction of the final girl stereotype. Former scream queen Barbra Jacobs has been typecast as the ultimate final girl since starring in the Mirror horror films twenty years ago. Now forty, she wants to break free of Hollywood’s typecasting and do something new with her career. When a real-life slasher begins killing her fans, however, she realizes she hasn’t escaped; she’s now a real-life final girl.

For fans of: Grady Hendrix’s The Final Girl Support Group, the films Scream and Barbie.

Pairs well with: a Cosmopolitan with strawberry cake.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon 

A River Wide by Amanda J. McGee

In Amanda McGee’s A River Wide, the Appalachian mountain soil is sentient and the river is alive with secrets. The earth itself can cough up a corpse if it takes a notion. When Rhia’s adopted sister, Amey, goes missing, she must use her hidden powers and divination instincts to save her. Rhia faces her small town’s distrust of her and her mystical people, as well as decisions Amey has made, and the cops can’t be trusted. Folklore, witchcraft, and small-town surrealism tangle through this gothic tale, where a sister’s love might be the only thing stronger than magic.

For fans of: Amal El-Mohtar’s The River Has Roots, the film The Night House.

Pairs well with: bourbon and blackberry cobbler.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon 

The Night Pool by Lauren Lee Smith

Part Gold Rush Western, part folk horror novel, Lauren Lee Smith’s The Night Pool centers on three women who make for unlikely companions: Clara, the black smith’s daughter; Mei, a healer from the Chinese immigrant camp; and Haloke, the Nisenan granddaughter of a shaman. After the three witness a terrifying attack on a local woman, something begins slaughtering men working the gold mines. Facing dangers both human and supernatural, the three women must find a way to survive, forging a powerful sisterhood along the way.

For fans of: Stephen Graham Jones’s The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, the films The Last of the Mohicans and Crimson Peak.

Pairs well with: dark beer and sourdough bread with salted butter.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon 

Hive Mind by Allison Gunn

Another scream queen sits at the heart of this thriller set deep in the Appalachian Mountains. In this case the scream queen, Bee, has been murdered, and the prime suspect is her husband Jacob, a Hollywood manager with his own suspicious past. Jacob’s memories of events are scattered and full of dark images, including mysterious hooded figures and twisted spirits. Two journalists explore the strange circumstances surrounding Bee’s death, including Hollywood’s role in exploiting Bee, and find themselves descending into the same madness that has taken Jacob.

For fans of: Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places or Sharp Objects; the series True Detective (Season 1).

Pairs well with: a dark red wine and rye bread toast.

Preorder now: Bookshop.org | Amazon 

Invasive Species by Ellery Adams

Part sea monster horror, part grisly murder mystery, Invasive Species explores the dark undercurrents of 1980s suburban life. The women of Cold Harbor face domestic rivalries, cheating husbands, and harassment in male dominated workplaces, all before facing their greatest threat: a formerly recluse neighbor, Mrs. Smith, who is out to harvest human sacrifices. It takes teenager Jill, and Icelandic housekeeper Una to expose that there’s more to Mrs. Smith than eccentricity. Invasive Species reminds us that sometimes the greatest dangers are right next door.

For fans of: Grady Hendrix’s The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and the films The Stepford Wives (1975) and The Lure (2015).

Pairs well with: A gin and tonic with chilled oysters.

Preorder now: Bookshop.org | Amazon 

Indigent by Briana N. Cox

An entrancing blend of body horror and systemic horror, Briana N. Cox’s Indigent tells the story of a crumbling Atlanta apartment complex where residents begin disappearing.

While the owners of the complex let it deteriorate with plans to tear it down, Xavier, the complex’s maintenance man, is trying to improve conditions. When Xavier becomes infected with parasitic worms, he must uncover the truth behind the infection to save himself and his fellow residents. Indigent confronts racism, class inequality, and marginalization, while never forgetting to entertain.

For fans of: Andrew F. Sullivan’s The Marigold, the film Parasite (2019).

Pairs well with: amaretto and Georgia praline pecans.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon