Have horror novel covers lost their flair?

[Nether]

I stumbled on a video discussing the changing trends regarding horror novel covers that seems to articulate a discontent I think I may have had for a while

It got me thinking about whether it's indicative of some larger trends, where the publishing industry might be trying to downplay the horror-ness of horror to appeal to a broader audience, so the books are being positioned to resemble potentially more popular genres.

It's particularly salient for me since I've been watching a few self-publishing cover design videos where the experts in question (usually professionals within the space who have done that kind of work for publishers in the past) hammer home the importance of designing towards trends, when the trend itself feels... I guess lacking. Like the video's creator notes, a lot of horror novels you wouldn't necessarily be able to spot from the art, or even the title with the art. (And, like he notes, the new covers still *look* good from an artistic standpoint.)

I hadn't really thought a lot about covers in a while, but... geez. Looking at the different covers for some horror novels for both re-releases and international is interesting

10 covers for Stephen King’s It, ranked from least to most terrifying.

Stephen King’s It, the novel that birthed a million Coulrophobics (and, hopefully, far fewer underage sewer orgies), celebrates its 34th publication anniversary this week. King’s 1100-p…

lithub.com

And if I ever do go the self-publishing route for horror, I think I probably will just choose a more conspicuously-horror cover.

 

[Calla Lily]

Let's agree to disagree. I enjoy classic paperback covers too. Lurid is fun. But I can point out more than a dozen covers from books pubbed in the last year--and a few that are coming soon--that are nightmare-inducing.

 

[Nether]

Let's agree to disagree. I enjoy classic paperback covers too. Lurid is fun. But I can point out more than a dozen covers from books pubbed in the last year--and a few that are coming soon--that are nightmare-inducing.

If you could name them, I'd be very interested in seeing them.

Amusingly enough, later that same afternoon, I stumbled on a horror novel with a rather incredible cover at a Dollar Tree

It's the kind of thing I would have loved to have as a poster on my wall back when I was a poster kind of person.

(Rather sadly, the novel itself didn't interest me... although, to be fair, it also describes itself as a "supernatural thriller" rather than a horror novel.)

 

[RedRajah]

I appreciated Grady Hendrix's "Paperbacks From Hell" on the topic of horror book covers.

 

[Calla Lily]

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo
Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca
What Waits in the Dark by Joe Sullivan
Through a Mirror, Darkly by Kevin Lucia

(not a definitive list)

 

[Curlz]

More like horror novels now have variety of flair. You get the ones with the monster on the cover but also the ones where the monster is not visible. Nothing is lost, just new things are in alongside the old stuff.

 

[Nether]

Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

Now that's a cover and title combo.

What Waits in the Dark by Joe Sullivan

Also very impressive.

Through a Mirror, Darkly by Kevin Lucia

Intriguing. The cover of his other book, Things You Need, really grabs me. Might wind up checking that out.

Thanks for the heads-up.