Spring may be in full bloom, but April’s horror lineup proves the rot is still very much alive beneath the surface. This month’s releases dig into haunted houses, fractured timelines, buried rage and the ghosts we carry — whether in our homes, our histories or our own bodies. From surreal revenge to gothic reckonings and quiet, creeping dread, these stories remind us that what’s been hidden doesn’t stay that way for long.
Bodies of Work by Clay McLeod Chapman
(Titan Books, April 7)
A reclusive janitor who murders forgotten women to fuel his “art” finds himself haunted by the voices he stole — voices that now demand revenge. This chilling, surreal novella delivers a brutal reckoning where the unseen refuse to stay silent.
Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker
(Hanover Square Press, April 14)
In this lyrical, mythology-laced horror novel, a man on the run and a samurai in exile—centuries apart—find their lives entwined by a haunted house where time fractures and something ancient waits beneath. As their realities blur, only one truth remains: not every ghost is what it seems, and some doors should never be opened.
The Haunted House She Calls Her Own by Gwendolyn Kiste
(Raw Dog Screaming Press, April 14)
This haunting collection weaves gothic, feminist and query tales where the past refuses to stay buried and the house itself becomes a prison of memory and rage. Featuring award-winning and original stories, these eerie, emotionally charged narratives explore survival, resistance and the ghosts we carry within us.
May the Dead Keep You by Jill Baguchinsky
(Little, Brown, April 21)
In a redwood-shrouded estate steeped in rot and memory, a solitary girl is drawn into a haunting that twists love into something possessive and violent. As the house’s dark history seeps into everyone around her, she must break the cycle before it consumes her, too.
Molka by Monika Kim
(Erewhon Books, April 28)
In a surveillance-soaked Seoul, a hidden camera scandal entangles a lonely IT voyeur and a woman unraveling under grief, betrayal and obsession. A chilling exploration of voyeurism, power and female raged pushed to its breaking point.
Dark Is When the Devil Comes by Daisy Pearce
(Minotaur Books, April 28)
When a woman returns to her isolated hometown after a failed marriage, she vanishes into the woods — awakening old fears and something far worse that may have followed her back. Thick with dread and unease, the forest in this chilling tale doesn’t just take — it keeps.
The Chill Quill is a monthly roundup of thriller, horror, mystery, and dark fantasy titles released each month by Lindy Ryan. Read previous editions here.
