- Genre: Anthology, Essays, Non-Fiction, Biography/Memoir
- Published by: S&S/Saga Press
- Publish date: September 23, 2025
- Number of pages: 272 pages
- Support local! Buy the book on BookShop!
A captivating anthology and heartfelt tribute to the horror genre featuring essays from several of the most celebrated contemporary horror writers including, Grady Hendrix, Paul Tremblay, Stephen Graham Jones, Josh Malerman, Victor LaValle, Tananarive Due, and Rachel Harrison.
For twenty-five years, Becky Siegel Spratford has worked as alibrarianinReader Advisory, training library workers all over the world on how to engage their patrons and readers, and to use her place as a horror expert and critic to get the word out to others; to bring even more readers into the horror fold.
Why I Love Horror is a love letter to the horror genre from many of the most influential and bestselling authors in the industry.
Rating: 5/5
I read this book in less than 24 hours. It made me feel seen in so many ways while also highlighting how diverse the horror genre is because some of the authors love horror for very different reasons than myself.
This was well organized for a collection of essays that were so unique to the authors that contributed. Becky Siegel Spratford takes us on a journey metaphorically by stops on a train ride. She wrote an introduction to each author, a summary of what their essay would be about, and grouped the essays loosely by theme. I love that she also gives a recommendation for a book to read by the author if you are new to them and suggests another author similar to them.
The essays I connected with most were Tananarive Due’s, Rachel Harrison’s, and Mary SanGiovanni’s. Due’s for growing up learning about real life horrors around race and also being introduced to horror films at a young age. Harrison’s for her rage at society in particular the rules against young girls and women and how horror creates a place for that rage. SanGiovanni’s for making me feel seen in why I gravitated to horror as a child for my questions about loss, death, and loneliness. For the most unique essay, I loved the pictures that Paul Tremblay’s daughter drew to accompany his essay.
I highly recommend this book for horror lovers of course, but also anyone that is intrigued by horror even if it’s not your genre of choice.
Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to know!
I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book from Netgalley and . This has not impacted my rating and this review is voluntary.
Musings by Michelle 