Spooky Season! Extreme Horror Recommendations for Halloween

I've been getting more into extreme horror and splatterpunk this year. Let me share with you some of my favorites!

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What is Extreme Horror/Splatterpunk?

First off, are splatterpunk and extreme horror interchangeable? Some say yes; some say no. For the purposes of this post, I say yes.

So what is it? It's gory for the sake of being gory. It's over-the-top torture porn. It's taboo. If you're into that, it's a lot of fun!

If you're not into that, leave now! You've been warned. :)

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My Extreme Horror/Splatterpunk Recommendations for Newbies

1. Zola by D.E. McCluskey

Premise: Gordon Zola's mother loves cheese more than anything, except her son. When she discovers a secret that Gordon had been told to keep to himself, everything changes—except for her love of cheese.

Zola, marked as an "extreme horror novella with cheese," is the most disgusting, filthy, perverse book I have ever read. I loved it. Do not let your friends or family catch you reading this.

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2. Blender Babies by Jon Athan

Premise: A craze has started—people are blending up babies and drinking them to release their "essence," a super strong, highly addictive drug. One man must protect his wife, son, and newborn daughter in a world that would love nothing more than to drink his daughter.

Jon Athan, author of several books on this list, is a sick and twisted individual. I would love to be friends with him. This book is a fairly straightforward glimpse of a man and his family trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world where nearly everyone has gone crazy for babies. It's exactly what you would expect from the title and the cover, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

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3. The Abuse of Ashley Collins by Jon Athan

Premise: Sixteen-year-old Ashley Collins has an attitude problem. With a little encouragement from a coworker, Ashley's dad decides to set up a little in-home punishment to get his daughter back in line. Things quickly spiral out of control.

This was fast-paced...maybe a little too fast-paced...there wasn't a lot of time for character development. But it was still a tense story with a payoff that I really enjoyed.

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4. Survivor by J.F. Gonzalez

Premise: A woman gets kidnapped to perform in a snuff film. She'll do whatever it takes to survive.

We're getting into the big leagues now with Survivor, a seminal work of splatterpunk fiction. This book made my bones feel soft.

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5. The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum

Premise: Two young girls, Meg and Susan, are left with an alcoholic aunt, who holds Meg captive in the basement as "punishment." Slowly, the neighborhood children are brought in on the abuse.

The Girl Next Door is sadly inspired by the horrific true story of Sylvia Likens. While this is not the goriest book on the list, for me, it is the most haunting.

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6. 100% Match by Patrick C. Harrison III

Premise: A man looks for his soulmate. There, doesn't that sound nice?

A quick read, 100% Match is 100% hilarious and disgusting. There is not a sentence in this book that doesn't come across as fucked up. I honestly wish it was a full-length novel.

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7. Woom by Duncan Ralston

Premise: Angel and Shyla, the plus-sized prostitute, meet in Room #6 at a motel. But instead of having sex, Angel starts telling Shyla stories. Dark and twisted stories about the history of the room their in.

This is my favorite book on the list. I don't even want to tell you anything about it, because it's so much better if you go in blind. I will say that it's a tale of interconnected short stories told through a framing device (Angel and Shyla). Also, there's a follow-up book that, while not a direct sequel, is set in the same universe and is nearly as good.

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There you have it! Seven sick and twisted recommendations for those of you who are into that. Let me know if you have any recs to share!