What’s Trending in Horror Right Now?

 First of all, this is only my observation and is in no way a study on what is actually trending. I’m just here letting you know what I’ve seen happening in my own little world of horror books and movies.

First up, AI. A I horror stories, whether in film or books, seem to be on the rise. Probably for good reason. With movies like Companion and Megan 2.0, or books like Sapient by Mark S. Williams we get the sense that the fear of artificial intelligence going awry is on the rise, and why not? It is definitely making a stir in the literature and arts world, with writers and artists being put out by AI generated art and books. We have robots that sweep and mop, that make our food, that drive our cars, and who knows what else they will do before long. Robot armies, police, who gets replaced next?

In the film Companion, we get a look at AI from the robot’s perspective, so to speak. But I think that this movie really begs the question, where do we draw the line between artificial intelligence and real life and what happens when we can no longer make that distinction. What happens when the AI becomes so real that we can’t decipher between the robot and the human? What happens when we mix the human parts with AI? Is it human or robot and how do we determine the difference between the two?

Just to throw a little note in here, support your local authors and artists who are NOT using AI. We work really hard and put a lot of passion into what we do. There is no AI on earth that will ever be able to do what we humans can do.

The second trend I’ve seen, and am totally here for, is the return of 80s slasher. I’m an eighties baby and I was basically spoon fed this shit growing up. I will never get enough eighties horror, especially slashers. In fact, I have some blogs dedicated to them, go check them out here.

R.L. Stein seems to be making a huge hit on streaming devices with his Fear Street series, the latest movie to grace the screens being Prom Queen. Although I did prefer the Fear Street trilogy over Prom Queen, it still had its moments. Some other popular slasher style horror in the past few years has been Clown in a Corn Field, both the movie and film by Adam Cesar.

This one has classic slasher vibes mixed with those old carnival horror movie vibes that I loved so much as a kid. Some more books are I was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones, My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix, Tastes Like Candy by Ivy Tholen which also give those Prom Queen vibes, Camp Slasher by Dan Padavonka, and Camp Slaughter by Sergio Gomez, the titles say it all in these last two.

These are just a few of the titles I’ve found that sport eighties slasher vibes. I  know that there are many, many more books and films out there but there are way too many to list.

Another trend that I’ve noticed is that werewolves and vampires seem to be making a comeback. I’m not going to lie, I’m kind of excited about this one too. If you type “werewolf movies” in the search bar on Prime you will find that they have a vast selection. Some of the newer ones include Wolf Man (2024), and Werewolves (2025). I’ve seen Werewolves but have yet to see Wolf Man. We also have Sinners, which is a vampire horror movie that was recently out in theaters, and the new Interview With The Vampire television series based on the Ann Rice books that first aired, last year I believe? A few book titles that I’ve seen recently include When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy, and Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison, and, The Southern Bookclub's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix, which is an eighties vampire horror.

It seems a lot of what’s old is becoming new again as it often does. Whatever the case, I’m here for all of it and I can’t wait to see what books and films will come out next.

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