Readers can find plenty of horror fiction on bookstore shelves here in America, but what about horror fiction around the world? What kinds of stories do, for example, Japanese horror/speculative fiction writers gravitate toward when trying to terrify their readers? What differentiates Austrian horror fiction and Mexican horror fiction? Are there any interesting worldwide trends in the genre over the past decade?
I don’t have the answers to all these questions, unfortunately, but I can start the discussion by highlighting some recent international horror novels that are available in English in the list below. And lest those of us less familiar with the genre think of horror in two-dimensional terms, we should consider the following statement from the Horror Writers Association: “Horror has once again become primarily about emotion. It is once again writing that delves deep inside and forces us to confront who we are, to examine what we are afraid of, and to wonder what lies ahead down the road of life.” So what terrifies us across languages and borders? Let’s find out.