“I’m Glad I Met You Before You Died.”
From cheesy slashers to chilling psychological thrillers, horror has always been a genre associated with the cold and dark winter months. The dark lets our imaginations run wild and the changing of the seasons has always provided inspiration for the stories that are passed down from generation to generation. So often the formula for a horror tale involves the final girl battling the dangers of the night, before the rising sun on the horizon signals their survival. But, what happens when the horror happens during the warm summer months?
From remote paradises to tranquil summer camps, the warm months have certainly had their fair share of representatives in the horror genre. Here at What We Reading, we teamed up with Read By Dusk to bring you some of our favourite horror books set in summer!
It – Stephen King
A story of growing up from a kid to an adult and all the horrors that come with that transition, It has gone down as one of the best Stephen King books of all time. The story follows the seven children in the Losers Club, united by their unhappy lives one summer as they all begin encountering a terrifying shapeshifting entity that takes the children of Derry every 27 years.
Told across the Losers Club in the present day as adults and through flashbacks to their experiences, Whether it be Curry, Skarsgard or the original book form of Stephen King’s It, the story of the Losers Club battling Pennywise the Dancing Clown across a fateful summer remains as timeless and chilling as ever.
Summer Of Night – Dan Simmons
For fans of It, Dan Simmons’ Summer of Night (Seasons of Horror #1) is the perfect follow-up read! Set in Elm Haven, Illinois in 1960, readers follow the story of five 12-year-old boys as they form bonds that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. But, the promise of a summer to remember is ruined when, on the last day of term, their classmate, Tubby Cooke, suddenly vanishes.
The boys soon realise that this is just the latest in a long line of children’s disappearances and, from a strange man dressed in WW1 attire to a mysterious van that seems to be following them, a series of strange goings on alerts them to an evil lurking underneath the surface of this sleepy Illinois town. An evil that only they can stop.
The Troop – Nick Cutter
One of the most delightfully disturbing body horror books, Nick Cutter’s The Troop follows a group of young boys and the scout leader on a weekend trip to the remote Falstaff Island. There, they encounter a sickly man who arrives at their lodge with an insatiable appetite. A chilling tale of disgusting parasites and the increasingly twisted dynamics that envelop the group, The Troop is a James Herbert Award winner and masterfully combines gruesome imagery with enthralling psychological twists and turns.
The Burning Girls – CJ Tudor
When Reverend Jack Brooks and her daughter Flo arrive at the sleepy Sussex village of Chapel Croft, they believe the change in surroundings will be the perfect way of leaving the ghosts of their past behind them. What they find, however, is a village shrouded in secrecy and lies. From the burning of eight martyrs five hundred years ago to the recent suicide of Jack’s predecessor, Chapel Croft has a dark history.
As Jack and Flo uncover more and more of the truth lurking behind the veil of this picturesque setting, they soon learn that everyone has a connection to its bloody past, an intense distrust of outsiders and something they are willing to protect.
Check out our The Burning Girls Book Review!
Paradise Club – Tim Meyer
Tim Meyer’s Paradise Club is the fun mix of Cabin in the Woods, Surivor and Fyre Festival we never knew we needed. Set against a stunning backdrop of crystal clear waters and sandy beaches, the book follows FBI Agent Elliot Harper and the residents inside an all-inclusive resort tasked with playing a deadly game that definitely wasn’t on the itinerary.
A gang of bloodthirsty maniacs are let loose across the grounds and, in order to survive, each of the hotel’s visitors will have to become a ruthless killer. Adrenaline-pumping and filled with plenty of shocking revelations, Paradise Club is the sort of fun carnage only the slasher genre can serve up.
The Ritual – Adam Nevill
Whether it be through its book form or Netflix adaptation, the story of four university friends and their trek across the Scandinavian wilderness is as chilling as ever. Adam Nevill’s The Ritual follows Luke, Phil, Dom and Hutch as they embark on a hitchhike along the Arctic Circle. Having grown from boys to men, the group struggle to connect and tensions soon begin to emerge.
A wrong turn leads the group into a forest untouched for millennia where hunger, fear and paranoia threaten to consume them. With ancient pagan rites and unidentifiable bones lining the path, The Ritual is a suspenseful ride where there are plenty of fates on the cards worse than death.
Check Out The Best Books Like The Ritual
Kill River – Cameron Roubique
A classic homage to the retro slasher horror of the ‘80s, Cameron Roubique’s Kill River follows 13-year-old Cyndi and her three friends at their summer camp in 1983. The four kids decide to sneak off one night, stumbling across an abandoned water park.
They waste no time enjoying all the rides they have to themselves, but when one of them disappears, the group realise they are trapped in this eerie setting and someone is out there attempting to pick them off one by one. With masked maniacs, 80s nostalgia and plenty of gore, Kill River is the ultimate summer slasher read.
Chasing The Boogeyman – Richard Chizmar
Chasing The Boogeyman is a superb piece of suspenseful metafiction that follows Richard Chizmar as he returns to his hometown just as an evil horror is set loose. Blending true crime with classic horror fiction, readers follow Chizmar as a curfew is placed over his once-peaceful community when a series of mutilated bodies appear throughout the summer of 1988.
This chilling tale of small-town evil sees a madman grip a community with paranoia and fear in a nightmare that never seems to end. With the police and FBI left baffled, Chasing the Boogeyman is Chizmar’s personal documenting of a killer’s reign that has haunted him for years.
Check out our Chasing The Boogeyman Book Review!
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
