I really enjoyed this collection of essays! Each entry brought a new appreciation of horror and they were organized in such a great way - almost even guides you through different ways to process horror. My favorites were by Malerman and Hendrix but I did enjoy all of the entries.

Highly recommend to fans of horror - this feels like a love letter.

As a casual horror fan, I was excited for the opportunity to go on a deeper dive into the genre. Why do we crave horror as readers? Why are writers compelled to silver their deepest fears into the funhouse mirrors of their work?

I wouldn’t say that the answers surprised me. We live in a scary world, and despite appearances, no generation has premium on that. Horror lets us look at reality slantwise. It allows for the possibility of survival. It lets us be seen. It’s cathartic on a fundamental level.

Those were only some of the answers given by <I>Why I Love Horror</I>’s participants. But even more importantly, each essay introduced the reader to a writer’s voice. And oh, those voices are captivating ones! I was already somewhat aware of Gabino Iglesias, Tananarive Due, Grady Hendrix, and, of course, Stephen Graham Jones. But it was David Dimchuk, whom I had not even heard of before, who really sucker-punched me. I need to read his stuff <I>yesterday</I>!

Help, my TBR is growing. Now there’s a horror story idea.

I think Spratford’s idea was a terrific one, and the resulting essay collection proves both insightful and quite valuable as a sampler. A librarian through and through, Spratford also provides ‘if you like A, try B’ recommendations, and I’m here for it. I’m glad I picked up this ARC and would happily recommend it to readers curious to dip their toes in the horror genre. (Careful, there’s sharks.)

Thank you for NetGalley and Saga Press for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions within are my own.

I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have received an advanced copy of Why I Love Horror from the author, and Saga Press! 🫶

Why I Love Horror is a love letter to the horror genre and I loved everything about this incredible and beautiful book! 🥹🖤 This book takes the reader a glimpse into the minds of multiple horror authors and explores why they love horror and how they got into writing horror books! 🫶

Mother Horror’s introduction had me crying my eyes out and it touched the depths of my soul! 🥹 It made me feel seen and I knew from that moment that this book would become a part of my heart forever! ❤️

Something I loved immensely is that this book is for all various of levels of horror reading lovers. In the intros to each author’s essay there is a book recommendation for the first book to read from the author. For readers who have read books from that author in the same section there is a recommendation for another book from another author. In other words I added a ton of books to my TBR just from reading this book! 😍

All of the essays in this book are incredible and it made me love and appreciate every author in this book so much! 🫶 I beyond appreciate every author for being vulnerable and sharing with the world what got each of them into writing horror novels and it was an honor to be able to read them all! 🫶

I was fascinated when I first heard about this book. As someone who has always been obsessed with understanding what makes an author think the way they do, I loved the idea of getting an inside look into their minds. Reading an author’s work often feels like an intimate, one-sided conversation, but the question I always wish I could ask is why horror? This collection finally gave me that answer.

The book brings together essays from multiple horror authors such as Grady Hendrix, Rachel Harrison, Alma Katsu, Tananarive Due, Paul Tremblay, Jennifer McMahon, and more. Many of the essays stood out to me because they offered such different perspectives. Some writers reflect on their childhoods or their early reading lives, while others share personal hardships. A common thread, though, is the way horror feels contained compared to real-world horrors, which are far more chaotic and never-ending. Within horror, there’s always a conclusion and even if it’s bleak ❤️‍🩹 whereas reality often offers none. That sense of control and closure is something both writers and readers can find comfort in, despite the monsters.

I found it fascinating to see how closely the minds of horror writers and readers align. Several essays introduced ideas that genuinely made me stop and think, and I love when a book challenges me that way. It was also a treat for me personally since I rarely pick up nonfiction nowadays, so this felt like a special experience.

Another highlight is the editor’s contributions: short summaries and recommendations for which book to start with if you want to explore an author’s work. I found that incredibly useful, especially since I’m always looking for new horror subgenres or authors to dive into.

Overall, this is an enlightening and thought-provoking collection that I would highly recommend to any horror lover. Whether you’re new to the genre or already have your favorite authors, Why I Love Horror offers insights that deepen your appreciation and understanding of why we’re drawn to the dark.

One of my FAVORITE parts of reading horror is the afterwards so many authors leave- so often we get a cathartic dive into who the author is, and where that particular story was coming from. These words are such a welcome cooldown as we're mentally, emotionally, and sometimes physically, recovering from the ending that a great horror story leaves us with.

So imagine an ENTIRE BOOK of this. I know I was HYPED at just the idea; and I'm happy to report this book is just as good as I'd hoped, if not better. In these 18 essays so many of my favorite authors leave deeply personal and at times shockingly honest looks into what horror means to them and their lives.

Friends, if you're anything like me, you will feel SEEN! One of the reasons I love horror is I so often connect with the emotions of our heroes... and sometimes the monsters too... Hearing these heroes right with the same perspectives felt so reassuring. And yes I said heroes- because the books these authors write SAVE LIVES. So many of us read horror, and watch horror, to not only escape, but also process the very real horrors in our lives, and through both the entertainment and the lessons we learn, we gain the strength needed to carry on. If this is you, believe me, in every single essay you will discover your favorite authors see you, understand you, and have walked many of those same dark and stormy roads.

My only complaint- there isn't more! I want to hear from EVERY AUTHOR! Guess we'll just have to wait for a Volume 2!

I don’t usually read anthologies but this one was incredible!
Every shared story was relatable in some way to me and made me love horror even more and I didn’t think that was possible. :)

More of a reflection than a review, but I want to get personal with this because I feel it is what the book is ultimately calling us to do.

I can pinpoint exactly when I became a horror fan for life. It was 2014 and my dad was just diagnosed with Stage IV cancer out of the blue. This was the era when I first read Nathan Ballingrud, Julia Elliott, Claire Beams, Karen Russell, Stephen Graham Jones, Michael McDowell, Stephen King, Ira Levin, Tananarive Due...At that time, horror stories were the only thing that seemed to cut through the static. For the next 11 months, I read horror to keep me up though long drives, hospital tests, chemo appointments, when I couldn’t sleep, and then through days of hospice care.

And after reading this book, I feel safe saying that my experience is not unique. Horror connects us in a way unmatched by other genres.

Why do I love horror? Because it keeps me grounded and surrounded by some of the coolest and kindest people I’ve ever met. Horror is a safe space where we can explore and work through the real-life horrors and come out stronger. It is charis and catharsis. And maybe I’m oversharing, but I think you all will get it. There is something deeply healing for me that this book came out on the same day of my dad’s passing exactly 10 years ago. I’ve meditated on these essays. Sharing both tears and laughter with the authors.

Many thanks to the included authors who are never afraid to shine lights in the dark, especially when that beam reflects their own journeys with the genre.I especially loved reading "The Giant Footprint of Horror" by Hailey Piper, "What You Can Learn from Horror: Don't Run from Darkness; It's Trying to Teach You a Lesson" by Alma Katsu, "My Long Road to Horror" by Tananarive Due, and "Of Men and Monsters" by David Demchuk. This essay collection is one for the ages and Spratford should be incredibly proud of the work done to bring this edited volume together.

🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸/5 drops of blood and big hugs. Highly recommend.

For people who are not horror fans, the genre is perplexing. Why would someone go out of their way to be afraid or to engage with the gross and the horrible? Writers of horror fiction deal with an additional question, not often put to them directly: What kind of person creates these disturbing things? Becky Siegel Spratford, a Readers’ Advisory Specialist, decided to investigate the question by asking a group of today’s most prominent horror writers why they love horror and have chosen to work in the genre.

In this volume, you won’t find Stephen King answering this question, or Anne Rice or Clive Barker. They are already on record elsewhere about their motivations. Instead, this group of authors is younger (many of them cite the above authors as influences) and their reasons are much more relevant to current events. For some, like John Langan, the atmosphere of the 1980s, filled with Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and Time-Life’s Mysteries of the Unknown presented wonder as a gateway for horror. For others, like Tananarive Due and Jennifer McMahon, horror is a way of dealing with traumas—to share what is frightening in an effort to fell less alone in that fear or to confront those fears in a way that is safe and satisfying. The reasons are diverse, but Spratford groups them in a way that is natural and cohesive.

The essays are all fairly short and absolutely sincere. In many ways, Why I Love Horror is a treatise against the genre bias that often affects horror. For fans and creators, it serves as confirmation that horror is an valuable genre. But we know that. Will the readers who actually ask “Why do you love horror?” be curious enough to read this book? I hope so.

Chances are one of your top horror authors have an essay in this book and I have no doubts that one or many of these will resonate with you. What an incredible collection of work from some of the most prominent voices in the horror world. Be sure to get a copy to dabble in during spooky season.

As a person that shunned horror in my childhood, I really wish I had access to a book like this when I was perusing the library shelves in high school. I married a man who loves horror and the fact that I didn’t partake at all made him nervous because he partook of the genre in so many formats (books, comics, movies, video games, podcasts), and wasn’t sure I’d be able to avoid it. But he asked if I was willing to give horror a try and I said yes. Sam then carefully curated my horror experience until I was able to find the horror that spoke to me. And with this collection Becky has done the same for the reader who believes, as I did, that horror is not for them.

This essay collection was fantastic. Not only did each author write a beautifully compelling piece that felt so personal, but Becky Siegel Spratford’s introductions for each author give you not only a place to start with that author’s work, but if you are already a fan, she also recommends another author whose work may be scratch that same itch. I have already picked up one new book from an author in these pages and I have a large list of others.

The list of authors is also beautifully diverse. If you are hoping to find an author whose experiences have paralleled your own in one way or another, I can almost guarantee you will find someone here. For a genre that was so densely a boys club for so long, it is beautifully refreshing to see the doors flung wide and all different perspectives embraced. I too believe there is no easier place for us all to come together than through horror.

The only downside I came across with this book was that Paul Tremblay’s essay was difficult to read on my e-reader. His essay was in blocks of text that surrounded pieces of art drawn by this daughter. I loved it, but at least in the ARC format, these were essentially added as images, so you could not enlarge the text and on my e-reader it seemed to be about a 6pt font. Fantastic essay, especially with the illustrations, but incredibly difficult to read.

With that single caveat in mind, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Becky Siegel Spratford did an excellent job of curating this list of authors and then arranging the essays in a way that flows beautifully from beginning to end. Each essay stands alone, so you can jump to any author you like and read their own personal “why horror,” but there is also an elegance in the chosen structure.

Why I Love Horror (2025) is a collection of essays edited by Becky Siegel Spratford with contributions from Grady Hendrix, Paul Tremblay, Clay McLeod Chapman, Stephen Graham Jones, Josh Malerman, Victor LaValle, Tananarive Due, Hailey Piper, and Rachel Harrison and more. Why I Love Horror is full of reading recommendations, personal reflections, horror theory, and above all heartfelt and beautiful writing.

I loved this was nice collection and every essay in this book was well written. I loved getting the chance to read this one and had a great time driving into this anthology. this book was great experience getting the chance to read. I loved how well it truly capture the heart of the horror genre. it was a fun read for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, Becky Siegel Spratford, the publishers, and the amazing writers of these essays for this ARC. This was the book I didn't even know I needed! Why is it embarrassing to say we love horror? I suspect romance readers find themselves in the same boat. Which is crazy when both are such huge industries. I finally admitted to myself that horror comedy is my favorite genre.
I loved reading about the passion these modern writers have for horror. I loved hearing about their childhood experiences with horror. There was a good bit of nostalgia there for me and some heartbreak for what some of those authors dealt with growing up. Once again, Grady Hendrix charmed me while simultaneously giving me the heebie-jeebies. I also loved Spratford's introductions for each essay with a book recommendation and a suggestion for a similar author. While I had read some of the books, I now have a long list of new books to take to the library with me!

content: a few swear words, brief description of violence/horror, some abuse discussion (trigger warnings included)

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.

Wow, I don’t know what I expected going into this book, but, I’m blown away. The genre of horror is so unique and can be interpreted in so many ways, and this book is proof. A must read for horror lovers.

Reasons why I absolutely adored Why I Love Horror (9/23, Saga Press)

1.) Becky Siegel Spratford is an absolute legend amongst those of us who are a) horror obsessed, b) library workers, and c) interested in sharp, concise, talented reviewing and readers advisory. She's the GOAT, and she threads through every part of this collection like a legendary coach, guiding and shaping this collection with a solid idea of where she's going and what she wants out of the collection.

We're lead, through her introductions to each essay, on a journey through the landscape of why someone would love to write horror, starting with love based on the fictional monsters of childhood ("Brian Keene's Giant-Sized Man-Thing" by Brian Keene, "The Giant Footprint of Horror" by Hailey Piper, "In the Bermuda Triangle with Sasquatch, Flesh Smouldering" by John Langan) before moving on to the real-life horrors that led writers to the genre ("What You Can Learn From Horror: Don't Run From the Darkness; It's Trying To Teach You A Lesson" by Alma Katsu, "Horror is Life: A Blood-Soaked Love Letter" by Gabino Iglesias, "My Long Road to Horror" by Tananarive Due, "Monster Girl: How Horror Gave Me a Place to Belong" by Jennifer McMahon), the ways in which writers use horror to process their trauma ("Why I love Horror" by Grady Hendrix, "My Mother Was Margaret White" by Cynthia Pelayo, "Why I Am Horror" by Clay McLeod Chapman, "A Day in my Psychadelic World" by Nuzo Onoh), and the injustices of life these writers use horror to fight against, push back on, reshape in their own image ("Permission to Scream" by Rachel Harrison, "Horror Saved my Life" by Victor LaValle, "Tales from My Crypt" by Mary SanGiovanni). Spratford ends the collection with two essays that ruminate on the larger picture, of how horror writing connects us to the world at large, to things like humanity, consciousness, the soul and the spirit. How horror is actually for, and in, all of us ("Of Men and Monsters" by David Demchuck, "Why Horror" by Stephen Graham Jones). And, not to be forgotten, in the middle of it all, Josh Malerman sits us down on the Amtrak to explain just how and why 'why horror' isn't exactly the question ("On the Amtrak, Headed Home")

2.) This book pulled in an absolutely star-studded top tier group of horror writers. Remember what I said about BSS being the GOAT? Well, part of that is the fact that she's been in the horror scene for a long time, meaning she's been able to pull in some of the biggest named voices working in horror today and at the same time is able to highlight newer, still rising voices that stand amongst the stalwarts and long-time pillars of the haunted hallowed halls. The authors tapped to write these essays span the gamut of horror subgenre, as well as the age groups and subject matters they cover. There are writers of color, queer writers, and marginalized voices championed throughout this collection, both in the authors chosen and in the "if you like X, try Y" blurb BSS gives in the introduction to every essay in this collection.

3.) Speaking of the "if you like X, try Y" format, this collection was able to put me on to SO MANY NEW HORROR BOOKS AND AUTHORS I HAVEN'T TRIED YET. This is part of what I love so much about collections, in general. They're like a little sampler platter of treats, the ability to get a taste for, in this instance, not only what makes these authors love horror as a genre, but also for the way they write about horror, and themselves. There wasn't a singular essay in which I didn't walk away with another set of recommendations for authors or stories to try, and in that way, this entire collection is like a little nesting doll of your favorite horror authors' favorite horror authors.

4.) I am a sucker for anything meta about the craft and art of writing. This becomes doubly true when paired with the librarian question of my heart: why. So much about loving what we love is ephemeral, shaped my myriads of external and internal facets that create this life experience, that asking human beings, particularly skilled creative ones, to sit down and enumerate the whys of something being true is like candy to my soul. And the variety of explanations, reactions, suppositions and superstitions put forward in this collection are so wide, and varied, touching on so many aspects of the human experience (including unflinching looks at things like death, abuse, bullying, homophobia, and racism) that it feels impossible to walk away from this book without being seen somewhere in it's pages.

5.) Because I, too, love horror. Because part of the fun of reading this book was imagining what I would draft in my own version of a "why I love horror" essay. Piggybacking off of point 4, stopping and asking myself the 'why' became a really fun exercise in nostalgia, in media literacy, in pulling together the spiderweb of influences that have brought me to where I am as a horror reader. It's almost indulgent, in the way that only the best navel-gazing can be sometimes, but indulgency isn't a mortal sin and it sure as hell shouldn't be deterrent from reading this book. Whether you're a horror reader on the hunt for more titles, a genre-lover always wanting to know why people love what they love, or just a fan of any of the authors contained in this stunner of a collection, this book is absolutely worth picking up!

*an ARC of this book was graciously provided from Saga in exchange for review

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga for a free ARC. I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes horror. I could find myself in almost each essay that was written.

A huge thank you to Saga Press for gifting me an advance copy of this book!

Brief Synopsis:

Why I Love Horror is a collection of nonfiction essays written by your favorite horror authors, telling you why they love horror. Spratford provides a brief introduction to each essay, suggesting a starting point for each author’s back catalogue as well as recommendations for other similar authors if you’re already a fan.

My Thoughts:

I LOVED this!! Imagine, if you will, getting a small glimpse into the mind of your favorite horror author, learning about their horror origin story and gaining insight on the horror genre as a whole. If any of that sounds amazing to you, you need this book.

The ToC for this collection is absolutely STACKED. Why I Love Horror contains essays from Alma Katsu, Gabino Iglesias, John Langan, Paul Tremblay, Grady Hendrix, Rachel Harrison, Stephen Graham Jones, and so many more.

Each author’s story is unique, but one thread that seems to weave throughout the entire book is that horror is a genre that allows people to understand and face their own fears. It allows us to feel seen in a world that sometimes feels isolating, and it allows us to escape a world that is sometimes scarier than fiction.

I absolutely adored this collection and will be thinking about these insightful essays for years to come. I already have plans of rereading so I can tab and highlight my favorite quotes. This truly is a collection that belongs on every horror reader’s bookshelf!

In closing, I would just like to scream, GIVE ME ALL THE HORROR NONFICTION!! I’m gonna need an On Writing style book from each of these authors, please and thank you!

Why I Love Horror hits shelves 9/23/25! Do yourself a favor and pick up this book. If you love horror, I think you’re going to love this book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
✔️ HIGHLY Recommend!

This was a wonderful collection of essays from so many of my favorite horror authors. It was great to hear more about their backgrounds, and how each of them got into horror. Some essays describe how they ended up writing horror, some define horror for themselves, some talk about why horror is a necessary genre. Each one is as varied and interesting as the authors themselves. Some of my favorites include Paul Tremblay, Grady Hendrix, and Stephen Graham Jones. I highly recommend this one for my fellow horror lit fans!

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a fantastic idea, asking people who create horror stories why they love it. I could relate to most of them and I enjoyed reading their ideas and stories about their lives. It seemed like everyone had a specific memory that helped get them where they are.