5 Dark Fiction & Magical Realism Books by Indian Authors

Ghost Stories of Shimla Hills by Minakshi Chaudry

A collection of fifteen supernatural short stories combining Dark Fantasy and Horror.  Most readers are familiar with haunted southern gothic, sprawling spectral mansions of Victorian England, and even the animal spirits of China, Korea, and Japan. But how much do you know of India’s ghost stories?  This collection by former journalist Chaudry combines local folklore and legend of India with some “based on a true story” style elements to create a spooky, mysterious body of work.  If you like this collection, you can also continue the dark and daring adventure of reading its sequel More Ghost Stories of Shimla Hills.

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

This novel combines historical fiction with a dose of Magical Realism to create a lush and imaginative tale reminiscent of some of the greatest literary masterminds.  Rahel and Estha are twin sisters, attempting to unravel the secrets and mysteries of their family.  The novel explores the topics of familial strife and drama and the difficulties of breaking a pattern of generational trauma, set against the backdrop of India and its class system.  The reader will have to put together the pieces as the book jumps in the timeline from the girls’ childhood into adulthood.  Make no mistake, this is not a fluffy read in the least, and will require a great deal of emotional fortitude to deal with its heavy subject matter.  Readers beware that this does have some incredibly triggering content in the form of domestic violence, child abuse, racism/xenophobia, sexual abuse etc, which some may find very difficult to digest.

Maya’s New Husband by Neil D’Silva

If you’re looking for something to motivate your NaNoWriMo dreams, look no further than this novel; it was penned during NaNoWriMo 2014 and has been met with much acclaim!  Perhaps it will inspire some of our readers to pursue their dreams and finish their own novel…. Something is lurking in the streets of Mumbai, stealing away into the night to snatch people away, never to be seen again!  Poor Maya, a humble school teacher, is attempting to piece her life back together after a traumatic life change, and although at first reluctant to allow a new romance, she eventually finds love in the most unexpected of places. The strange and mysterious Bhaskar Sadachari sweeps her off her feet despite her better judgement, and shortly thereafter things begin to take a dark, foreboding turn.  This novel is part horror and part crime-thriller, and is not short on sadness and other dark themes.  The faint of heart should turn away, as it contains more than a bit of gore and violence.

Frankly Spooking by Sriramana Suliya

Short stories are always a great way to get to know a new author’s personality and thought process, and an introduction to their writing voice.  You can explore their work in bite sized pieces, and really get a feel for their character development and storytelling style, and if it will jive with your tastes.  This is a collection of 30 short horror and ghost stories mixing a fear of the unknown with a little bit of the familiar, just enough to set your senses tingling with anxious dread.  It features a mix of previously published stories from the author’s blog along with some new favourites.  The author notes himself to be a big fan of the reigning horror royalty, Stephen King, and noted spooky children’s author Roald Dahl, as well as having a fascination with psychological horror and thrillers; his work is a clever mix of his interests as you will see for yourself when you read it.

The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divrkaruni

This thoughtful novel blends Dark Fantasy, Myths and Folklore, and Magical Realism genres together for a sorrowful tale of romance.  Tilo is a gifted young woman who intimately understands the mystical, magical properties of each spice she sells. She provides spices, cures, and tonics to the people in her community, a special sort of priestess one may say.  This magical journey eventually finds her far from home, in the city of Oakland, in California.  Tilo continues her work as a spice mistress, but lo and behold, as often happens in fantasy tales, a mysterious stranger comes along who threatens to change everything.  Tilo must do some soul searching to decide her fate and what means the most in her life.  It is a poetic, bittersweet tale about love and loss.

Indian Horror and Thriller Movies

“Ghost Stories” now streaming on Netflix

This anthology of four short films clocks in at about two and a half hours, but it’s certainly worthwhile.  Don’t expect big jump scares or over the top gore from this one; it falls closer to the “thriller” category than true horror.  This collection is a little different than usual horror fare, especially given that each of its four Emmy-Nominated directors is stepping outside of their comfort zone and relatively new to the Horror genre.  American audiences who may be quite used to the Asian Horror fair of Korea or Japan will find something a little new here in this collection of Hindi language short films.  And some may find it an interesting look at the intersection of Horror and cultural politics than what they were previously used to.

“Adrishya” now streaming on Netflix

If you’re a fan of low-budget, super campy, unintentionally funny Horror films, then this one will be right up your alley.  If you’re looking for over-the-top soap opera or telenovela performances, cornball dialogue, heinous sound design, horrible special effects, and hilarious attempts at jump scares? This is going to really light your fire.  It’s clear the filmmakers were big fans of Horror hits like “Pet Semetary” “The Exorcist” and “The Sixth Sense,” but though they tried their best to deliver they fell very far short of that finish line.  This 90ish minute Hindi-Language film is chock full of the most ridiculous filmmaking this blogger has had the privilege of seeing in awhile.  Grab a couple of beers or a bottle of wine, your favourite snacks, and set the bar for expectations on the floor, and kick back for a ridiculously bad watch party. Points for admirable efforts, even with that awkwardly placed Bollywood music video. (Think earnest best efforts of Ed Wood; it’s pretty close to the same level of execution.)

“Evil Eye” now streaming on Amazon Prime

When a young woman finally meets the man of her dreams, her mother is at first overjoyed, but soon after becomes convinced this wonderful boyfriend has nefarious intentions.  This moody thriller explores cultural connections of first-generation American children to immigrant children in a nice, neat psychological thriller package.  Although it is a bit predictable in story, it’s still an enjoyable ride mostly thanks to the wonderful performances from Surita Choudhury, Sunita Mani, Omar Maskati, and Bernard White.  A compelling adaptation of an “Audible Original” by playwright Madhuri Shekar in a Blumhouse Production.

“Kaali Khuhi” now streaming on Netflix

A man and his family return to his home village to care for his mother who has fallen mysteriously ill.  When they arrive in the village, strange things begin to happen and the man’s young daughter begins to uncover some frightening truths.  Can the curse on this village be lifted and its inhabitants saved from the community’s dark past of female infanticide, or will horrors continue to befall the residents for future generations?  An emotional ride with some of the most beautiful cinematography and heart wrenching thematic elements.