The Killer B's

If you’re curious where my writing inspiration comes from, these are the five most influential modern horror authors in my life.  Each of these writers has pushed the boundaries of the genre in exciting new directions, combining sharp, cutting prose with sweeping imagination. 

If you've never experienced their work, please take some time to explore "The Killer B's."

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Nathan Ballingrud 

Ballingrud’s prose is a reckoning force—something of a marriage between Hemingway's punchy wordsmithery and Cormac McCarthy's gut-wrenching imagery. He writes horror with heart, and I have so much admiration for the tenderness layered into his writing. In North American Lake Monsters, Ballingrud treats us to a short story collection focusing on the darker impulses of humanity. These award-winning tales add a small twist of the supernatural to otherwise very real monsters living among us: poverty, domestic violence, and racism, to name a few.

In Wounds (also published as "The Atlas of Hell"), Ballingrud takes a more fantastical horror approach. He introduces a new mythos of Hell as a factory for “Love,” with a series of chilling, playful, and brilliant monster tales—culminating with an unforgettable pirate expedition to the Devil's dining room in The Butcher’s Table.

You can find Ballingrud's website here and his Wounds story collection here.  He has a new novella publication called "The Crypt of the Moon Spider," which has been described as a "lunar gothic horror story.”  Do not miss out on Nathan's work!

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Clive Barker 

No introduction needed here. Barker has been at the top of the transformative horror genre for 40 years. Barker's impact on the horror community has been immeasurable. Until he came on the scene, "horror" was mostly relegated to dealing with external threats: monsters, vampires, eldritch gods, serial killers, etc. In other words, all the badness existed “out there.” Barker was willing to show us the darkness hiding within our own hearts, and to teach us that we do not outgrow our boogeymen; they grow up with us. 

His “Hellbound Heart” is one of the finest novellas I’ve read— a perfect deconstruction of terror, torture, and temptation. The “Books of Blood” are also worth exploring for their colorful takes on the old Faustian bargain. Barker's work often veers into bloody, visceral, and sexual terrain, so take that as a warning. This is not for the casual holiday horror reader.

Explore Barker's work on his website, here

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Agustina Bazterrica 

A rising star in the horror community, Bazterrica's debut novel, “Tender is the Flesh” made enormous waves for its impactful use of shock horror to deliver scathing cultural critique. The story is a re-imagining of Upton Sinclaire’s “The Jungle,” where subclass humans are raised as livestock and butchered for their meat. Baztericca uses this horrible landscape to deliver withering criticism of capitalism, groupthink, and our barbarous treatment of animals.

Her book requires a strong stomach to finish, but if you can get through the first few chapters, it really is a masterclass of literary technique. There are gut wrenching depictions of a human slaughterhouse in the first half—(gruesome enough that I almost dropped the book)—but Bazterrica never loses control of the narrative. Her prowess comes from her continuous manipulation of the reader's emotions. I’ve never experienced such a head-jerking rollercoaster of disgust, loathing, apathy, empathy, and compassion. And that's high praise from a seasoned horror reader.

I'll be keeping my eye out for future novels from this writer.

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Laird Barron 

Barron may be the finest living prose writer in the horror genre. His work shines brightest in the short-story format, of which he has many different publications.  Many of his tales play with elements of crime noire, cosmic horror, and clannish family terror—and are often set in the dark woodland crypts of the Pacific Northwest or the frozen tundras of Alaska. His collections are intricately designed and carefully woven together like a diabolical puzzle, with plenty of easter eggs and hidden horrors for the attentive reader. 

Barron is not only a master craftsman as a writer, but he’s one of the few living authors who can deliver on savvy, sophisticated terror. His writing challenges you to look deeper below the surface of the story, for the wicked monsters swimming beneath.

Rest assured, you'll hear much more about him in future posts on "The Dark Atlas."  His website can be found here.

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Christopher Buehlman 

Here’s a writer with a true ear for narrative voice. Buehlman’s stories largely focus on various historical and fantastical time periods—for example, mid-twentieth century New York City in The Lesser Dead, or medieval Europe in Between Two Fires. His choice of setting always provides a fascinating backdrop, but what really shines in his novels is the incredible narrative voice of his characters. Buehlman's novels range through an endless cast of characters, effortlessly jumping from the mind of a cheeky teenage vampire in Brooklyn, to a disgruntled, surly knight wandering Medieval Europe, to a quiet academic in the segregated South. There’s a kind of playful, wondrous imagination in his writing, which blurs the line between fantasy and horror. 

His award-winning novel Between Two Fires is an action-packed, historical horror adventure.  Buehlman has proven that horror as a genre is limitless, fantastical, and fun.

Check out his work here.