Creepy CanCon: 7 Eerie Books to Read this Canada Day by Madison McSweeney

From futuristic body horror to chilling folk tales, Canadian horror stories are as diverse as the lands and the people who inhabit them.

If you’re looking to celebrate Canadian talent on July 1st, or just want something spooky to curl up with at the cottage, take a look at these modern masterpieces of the macabre:

 Bad Cree – Jessica Johns (HarperCollins)

At turns nightmarish and heartfelt, the debut novel by Sucker Creek First Nation author Jessica Johns has a powerful message about family, honesty, and the need to come together during troubled times.

Mackenzie left town after a tragedy, and didn’t return even after her sister passed away. But death stalks her in dreams: at night she sees her sister, frozen, decaying and swarmed by crows - and when she wakes, she brings part of the dream world back with her.

Bad Cree combines a compelling Nightmare on Elm Street-like concept with rich family drama steeped in Indigenous culture and spirituality. It’s refreshing to find a horror story where the protagonist’s loved one believe them; when Mackenzie returns to her community in a desperate attempt to diagnose her affliction, she has a literal village rally around her.

Nightmares in Ecstasy - Brendan Vidito (CLASH Books)

This Wonderland Award winning collection reads like a fever dream, Sudbury author Brendan Vidito supplying thirteen grotesque tales as erotic as they are unnerving.

Nightmares in Ecstasy is a must-read for body horror fans, but there’s more going on than just shock; Vidito’s protagonists seem to be searching for something new or hidden inside themselves as they undergo drastic physical, psychological, and sexual transformations. His finest story, “Piss Slave,” is a visceral exploration of communion through suffering. And “A Feast of You,” which closes the volume, is a genre-hopping tour-de-force that combines cannibalism, cosmic horror and finally, family drama.

Dazzlingly original and dripping with atmosphere, Nightmares in Ecstasy will remind you what it felt like to discover the works of Clive Barker and David Cronenberg for the first time.

Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey)

This atmospheric thriller by Vancouver-based Mexican-Canadian author Silvia Moreno-Garcia draws from gothic romance and Weird horror.

Charming socialite Noemí pays a visit to her recently married cousin Catalina in a remote mountainous village. But it’s not a social call: Catalina has been sending cryptic and paranoid letters, and her new family seems intent on covering up the source of her distress. An unwelcome guest in her in-laws’ stagnating mansion, Noemí soon discovers a history of murder and manipulation that infects the family like a fungus.

Moreno-Garcia’s characters are sinister and alluring, her setting vividly-rendered - the mountains and mansion seem to come to life on the page. The horror is slow-burning until it isn’t, a blending of science and the supernatural that gives its villains terrifying powers of coercion.

Femina by Caitlin Marceau (DarkLit Press)

Seductive as a poisoned candy apple, this collection of women-centred stories and poetry is a great showcase for Montreal-based author Caitlin Marceau.

The stories are eclectic, ranging from mournful (sci-fi mindbender “Tabula Rasa”) to darkly funny (witchy rom-com “Everything She’s Looking For”), from the fairy tale mysticism of “Broken” to the garden centre eco-horror of “Splinter.”

Marceau is equally at ease with traditional ghost stories and cringe-inducing body horror. She knows her way around a twist and doesn’t shy away from experimentation; one of my favourites here is “Raw Footage from Cushing’s Mall,” a disturbing haunting that reads like found footage.

Monkey Beach – Eden Robinson (Vintage Canada)

The full-length debut of acclaimed Haisla and Heiltsuk author Eden Robinson, Monkey Beach is a heartbreaking yet hopeful novel blending coming of age, mystery, and magical realism.

Lisa is a Haisla woman with a strong connection to the spirit world as well of her family’s tragic history – both key to uncovering the truth behind her brother’s disappearance on a fishing boat.Monkey Beach alternates between past and present, Lisa reflecting on her childhood as she travels home to join the search party. Lisa’s traumas are accompanied by visions that range from consoling to horrifying, as trickster spirits with inscrutable motives appear to offer guidance.   

The book is populated by a massive yet tight-knit cast of characters who feel real (Lisa’s impulsive Uncle Mick almost steals the story out from under her, until the ocean takes him), and a host of ghosts and spirits who also feel uncomfortably lifelike.

Lure – Tim McGregor (Tenebrous Press)

A 2022 Shirley Jackson Award nominee, Toronto-based Tim McGregor’s Lure is a grim folk horror fable.

The novella takes place in an impoverished fishing village in a world not quite our own, a place where sea monster bones adorn the church altar. Life is hard, especially for women, who toil until their husbands tire of them; it’s a running joke how many end up drowning. Kaspar, the reverend’s son, tries to be better – which is why he frees the famous mermaid imprisoned within the town fountain. But mercy doesn’t bring salvation: the mermaid has a taste for the village men, and a strange hold over the women.

It’s a chilling parable written with the gallows humour of a sea shanty.

Inside Out – Lor Gislason (DarkLit Press)

Lor Gislason combines gross-out and intricate worldbuilding in this hybrid collection chronicling the most disgusting apocalypse imaginable.

Interconnected but standalone, these short stories envision a world that tries to keep calm and carry on as citizens transform into gelatinous blobs. Gislason makes room for the full breadth of human experience here: some of his characters try desperately to hold onto some semblance of normal life, while others capitalize on the crisis. Blob-worshiping cults form, scientists are freed from the burden of ethics, and busybodies write angry letters to the editor, all as PR reps assure the public that everything is fine.

With copious gore and a cynical sense of humour, it’s a delightfully disgusting showcase of creativity.

By Madison McSweeney

Twitter: @MMcSw13

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