THE 2019 HORROR DELVE HAUNT AWARDS

I wanted to highlight a few of the favorite things I came across while working on articles for Horror Delve this past year. The original publishing dates for these works are not a factor. Basically, if it was featured on the site during 2019, it’s eligible. I’m calling them The Horror Delve Haunt Awards. There’s no actual trophy to be given out, just tip-of-the-hat to a few things that most impressed me. This is something I’d like to continue doing each year moving forward and hopefully come up with some specific artwork for it next year. I won’t go into much detail about the winners in the posts below but will link to the post where I first covered them if you want to read more.

1. My Favorite Novel: * The Way of the Worm by Ramsey Campbell *. Ramsey is without a doubt my all time favorite author. I’ve read more works by him than anyone else, so it should be no surprise he’d make an appearance here. That being said, this novel was absolutely amazing. Each book of the trilogy was fantastic, but this one culminated the entire storyline so perfectly it awed me. The Way of the Worm may well be my favorite Ramsey Campbell novel. : https://horrordelve.com/2019/03/24/the-way-of-the-worm-by-ramsey-campbell-review/

2. My Favorite Short Story: *“Trouble at Botathan” by Reggie Oliver (2011) *. When I read this story in Paul Finch’s Terror Tales of Cornwall, I found myself instantly riveted by how brilliantly it mixed supernatural mystery with a poignant, personal drama. It’s cosmic, artistic and filled with spooky wonder. I found it to be an extraordinary tale. https://horrordelve.com/2019/05/19/the-eerie-tales-of-reggie-oliver/.

3. Scariest Scene in a Novel: * The Pastor’s Grove scene in Joanna Parypinski’s novel Dark Carnival (2019) *. This scene takes place when two main characters enter an abandoned town hidden deep in a nearby forest that had been known as Pastor’s Grove. The entire novel is excellent, but this scene was particularly brilliant. It’s imaginative and superbly terrifying. : https://horrordelve.com/2019/08/12/dark-carnival-by-joanna-parypinski-review/

4. My Favorite New Discovery: * Reggie Oliver * Reggie takes this one as well. Along with “Trouble at Botathan”, his stories “Striding Edge”, “Holiday From Hell” and “Flowers of the Sea” are incredible. I’ve since read several more by him I haven’t yet covered at Horror Delve but which have helped cement Oliver’s place among my very favorite authors. : https://horrordelve.com/2019/05/19/the-eerie-tales-of-reggie-oliver/

Article by Matt Cowan