Marina Enríquez

 

Shock of the new: Jordan Peele, Mariana Enríquez and more on the horror fiction renaissance

As authors across the world explore their darkest fears, horror fiction is evolving to offer a chilling reflection of our times

Neil McRobert

Saturday 28 October 2023

There was a time, a few decades ago, when horror fiction meant just a few names. Stephen King and Dean Koontz in the US, James Herbert and Clive Barker in the UK. It was a boom time for sales but not critical recognition: a sea of paperbacks passed beneath school desks. And then, in the mid 90s, horror largely disappeared. Writers of darkness were repackaged into more market-friendly categories – thriller, dark fantasy, or that neutering, catch-all classification: suspense.