All Rob wanted was a normal life. She almost got it, too. But when her oldest daughter, Callie, exhibits the same darkness Rob remembers from the childhood she left behind at Sundial, the mother and daughter embark on a dark, desert journey to the past in the hopes of redeeming their future. In my mind and reading experience, psychological horror has come to be characterized by the ‘wait a minute moment.’ In this, you are never sure if what you are reading on the page is truly horrific or your mind playing tricks on you. It is one of those genres that is hard to nail down and can mean something entirely different to different readers. It is a sub-genre that has come to be characterized by the slowest of burns – stories with something simmering under the surface that eventually comes to a boil. My favorites of the past year included reads like When the Reckoning Comes by Tanya McQueen and Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw. The list below is looking at some relatively newer releases, so you don’t miss out on any of what the genre has to offer. Ready? Let the mind games begin. Want to explore more horror and its sub-genres? Check out our picks for social horror.
