You’ve heard of mushroom horror? Well, make room for its new cousin: algae horror. Anyone who has experienced the notorious “red tides” off of the United States’ southern coasts knows just how harmful, creepy, and off-putting large-scale algal blooms can be. But Trang Thahn Tran (author of She Is a Haunting) takes the red tide to new supernatural heights in their latest YA horror novel, They Bloom at Night, which came out earlier this month. Continue reading Review of They Bloom at Night—Algae Horror
Month: March 2025
Review of Beneath the Poet’s House—A Poe-inspired Thriller
It’s not unusual these days to see modern horror stories inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Here on The Gothic Library, I’ve reviewed such books as T. Kingfisher’s fantastical reimagining of “The Fall of the House of Usher” and a YA anthology that retells a variety of Poe stories for the next generation. But Christa Carmen takes this idea a step further by drawing not just on Poe’s fiction but also from his real life—and even more obscurely, his romantic and literary relationship with the poet Sarah Helen Whitman—in her suspense novel Beneath the Poet’s House, which came out back in December. Whether you’re a hardcore Edgar Allan Poe nerd or you just like your fiction paired with fun facts about fascinating historical figures, Beneath the Poet’s House is a great way to learn some literary history while also experiencing some serious thrills and chills. Continue reading Review of Beneath the Poet’s House—A Poe-inspired Thriller