Observations on 2009 Best Horror of the Year List

A couple weeks ago, Ellen Datlow (editor of the well known The Best Horror of the Year series) released a lengthy list of 2009's best horror stories, mostly through an extended set of honorable mentions. The judgments of Ms. Datlow and her peers may not be the end all and be all of the genre, but they're pretty useful at providing a good snapshot of contemporary horror. Fortunately, 2009's list confirms what others have already suspected: weird fiction continues to hold a solid position in horror overall, and may even be trending upward.

Glancing over the names of authors, stories, and anthologies, one finds just how significantly represented the weird really is. Indeed, a case could be made that weird horror comprises at least one third or more of the entire honorable mentions list. Amid the weird itself, overtly Lovecraftian fiction also has a strong presence--a surprising glimpse at the allure of contemporary Cthulhu Mythos fiction. In the eyes of speculative literature's primary catalogers, at least, weird fiction remains a major contestant in horror, capable of matching and even outshining more popular dark variants.

Ellen Datlow's selections also give a little well deserved recognition to the weird's brightest stars. I was personally glad to see multiple stories chosen from the following: Reggie Oliver, Gary McMahon, John Langan, Richard Gavin, Simon Strantzas, Joel Lane, and R.B. Russell. There are plenty of other excellent weird writers who had a single story or two chosen: Michael Cisco, Laird Barron, and W.H. Pugmire, among others. These authors are certainly at the forefront of crafting the finest new oddities, and their appearances in the Best Horror of the Year serve the dual purpose of entrenching them in the sub-genre, while expanding each author's own niche in wider horror.

-Grim Blogger