Slashers Never Go out of Style

In honor of Friday the 13th, I thought I’d bring you a few slasher novels. But first, let’s talk a little bit about slashers and why they will never go out of style.

When you think of slashers, many characters may appear, Jason Vorhees, Chucky, Norman Bates, and many more. I’m not sure when the first slasher novel was written, or when the first movie appeared. But one thing I do know is that slashers will never go out of style. From the big bads on the big screen to the psycos that grace the pages. . . slashers are here to stay.

I, like most of you, can still recall the first slasher to terrorize my dreams. He is the gloved creep known as Freddy Kreuger. The sheer terror that I might fall asleep only to come face to broiled face with this creep kept me up for many a night.

As for novels, the most memorable slasher to come to mind is Decker, the psychiatrist from Clive Barkers horror novel, Cabal. I still have a vivid image printed on my brain of that mask and those button eyes. But what makes Decker so scary is that he was supposed to be the one man Boone could trust. Barker shows us how our perceptions of what a monster really is may be skewed. How the real monsters hide among us and are the people we trust most.

I think this is what makes slashers one of the most horrifying villains of all. We see them every day. We go out to lunch with them, we live next door to them, hell, some of us even marry them. But most of all. . .we trust them. Because they look just like you and me. Maybe they are you are me, who knows?

One thing we do know is they are always full of surprises and unique kills. They never lack weapons either, from machetes, to chainsaws, and everything in between, these dudes, and dudettes, are pretty creative. I mean, you’d think there would only be a few ways to slice and dice, but our beloved slashers prove this wrong.

Take Angela from Sleepaway Camp. She used everything from bees, and arrows, to boiling water as her weapons of choice. Kreuger had his claws and could control your dreams, he even turned someone into a human puppet. Vorhees had his machete, but he’s also used an ax, liquid nitrogen, and even a sleeping bag. I guess when you’re a guy on the go it pays to be able to improvise.

Now, as I promised, here are a few slasher novels to celebrate Friday the 13th.

Benny Rose

The Cannibal King

by Hailey Piper