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Best New Horror
This short story was originally published in Joe Hill's collection 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS.
Eddie Carroll is sick to death of editing the collection America's Best New Horror, sick of reading through second-rate stories in order to find the few "best new." But one afternoon he stumbles across a new story so remarkable that he soon embarks on a quixotic quest to find its author - a quest he may not live to regret.
Eddie Carroll is sick to death of editing the collection America's Best New Horror, sick of reading through second-rate stories in order to find the few "best new." But one afternoon he stumbles across a new story so remarkable that he soon embarks on a quixotic quest to find its author - a quest he may not live to regret.
336 pages, ebook
First published October 16, 2007
18 people are currently reading
421 people want to read
About the author
Joe Hill
497 books30.2k followersJoe Hill's debut, Heart-Shaped Box, won the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. His second, Horns, was made into a film freakfest starring Daniel Radcliffe. His other novels include NOS4A2, and his #1 New York Times Best-Seller, The Fireman... which was also the winner of a 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror Novel.
He writes short stories too. Some of them were gathered together in his prize-winning collection, 20th Century Ghosts.
He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with illustrator and art wizard Gabriel Rodriguez.
He lives in New Hampshire with a corgi named McMurtry after a certain beloved writer of cowboy tales. His next book, Strange Weather, a collection of novellas, storms into bookstores in October of 2017.
He writes short stories too. Some of them were gathered together in his prize-winning collection, 20th Century Ghosts.
He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with illustrator and art wizard Gabriel Rodriguez.
He lives in New Hampshire with a corgi named McMurtry after a certain beloved writer of cowboy tales. His next book, Strange Weather, a collection of novellas, storms into bookstores in October of 2017.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
January 6, 2015
That was really good! I enjoyed it a lot!
Was really creepy, although I think if it was possible I would love to read "button boy" in full!
The thought of that story creeped the hell out of me!
All reviews can be found at http://lennonslair.blogspot.co.uk/
Was really creepy, although I think if it was possible I would love to read "button boy" in full!
The thought of that story creeped the hell out of me!
All reviews can be found at http://lennonslair.blogspot.co.uk/
September 28, 2014
Creepy! Loved it!
April 3, 2019
A grizzly representation of the horror publishing business. Almost feels like a sort of inside-joke for dedicated horror writers and readers, poking fun at the obscene and over-the-top nature that often comes with its contents. Genuinely scary at times and offers a black-comedy view on the business.
September 28, 2014
Best New Horror was one of the few Joe Hill stories that wasn't completely for me. A big part of it appealed to me as a fan of the horror genre. As a kid I have always loved horror movies and they are a big part of my childhood. I was able to relate to the main protagonist named Eddie Carroll who longs for that "surprise" he use to feel watching horror movies when he was younger. The is something I have a problem with, whenever I go to see a new horror movie with hopes of being "surprised" or at the very least entertained. (Yeah, I know how jaded I sound.) Becoming disenchanted with a hobby is always a disappointment no matter what your age is. (Especially one that you are passionate about.) It makes me wonder if Joe Hill has ever felt this way at one point or another.
A few other aspects I really enjoyed about this book is that this story takes place in a neighboring town that I lived right next to. (Poughkeepsie, NY.) I loved how certain locations were referenced, I believe Joe Hill went to college at Vassar which is like ten minutes away from where I live. As a fan this is really cool to me. The other aspect to the story that I find fascinating is his detailed description of horror conventions, which is (if you have ever been to one) really cool. So overall I would say I was very pleased with more then half of this novella, at least until I got to the ending of it.
The only thing that really pulled me away from the overall plot was the short story Eddie reads called "Buttonboy." If you have ever seen a Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie, then you'll have a great idea of what "Buttonboy" is all about. I get why people find gore scary and at times it can add to a story's shock value. (Sometimes in a good or bad way.) Now I know as a horror fan I should probably be used to gore and torture. But something about Buttonboy really felt out of place to me, I wasn't expecting it from Joe Hill I guess. I kept waiting for something original to happen with this plot thread, but I kind of knew where it was heading and wad unsatisfied when my assumptions turned out to be true. Perhaps my expectations were just too high I suppose.
Overall I give it a solid 3.5 stars out of 5. It had some really good parts and I felt connected to the background elements. But the ending and grotesque nature of the "story within the story" made me distance myself from it a little bit. Maybe I am just to hypersensitive. lol
A few other aspects I really enjoyed about this book is that this story takes place in a neighboring town that I lived right next to. (Poughkeepsie, NY.) I loved how certain locations were referenced, I believe Joe Hill went to college at Vassar which is like ten minutes away from where I live. As a fan this is really cool to me. The other aspect to the story that I find fascinating is his detailed description of horror conventions, which is (if you have ever been to one) really cool. So overall I would say I was very pleased with more then half of this novella, at least until I got to the ending of it.
The only thing that really pulled me away from the overall plot was the short story Eddie reads called "Buttonboy." If you have ever seen a Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie, then you'll have a great idea of what "Buttonboy" is all about. I get why people find gore scary and at times it can add to a story's shock value. (Sometimes in a good or bad way.) Now I know as a horror fan I should probably be used to gore and torture. But something about Buttonboy really felt out of place to me, I wasn't expecting it from Joe Hill I guess. I kept waiting for something original to happen with this plot thread, but I kind of knew where it was heading and wad unsatisfied when my assumptions turned out to be true. Perhaps my expectations were just too high I suppose.
Overall I give it a solid 3.5 stars out of 5. It had some really good parts and I felt connected to the background elements. But the ending and grotesque nature of the "story within the story" made me distance myself from it a little bit. Maybe I am just to hypersensitive. lol
November 30, 2020
Uno de los mejores relatos cortos que he leído. Lo tiene todo: una historia dentro de la historia que por sí sola ya te pone los pelos de punta y da un mal rollo importante; una pizca de investigación (el protagonista, editor de una revista de relatos de terror, emprende la búsqueda del autor de una historia que le impactó); y un final a la altura del resto de la obra (con homenaje a la matanza de Texas incluido).
Además de todo esto, es un relato de unas pocas páginas, así que no da tiempo a estropearlo cómo puede pasar con algunas novelas de idea interesante pero que fallan en su desarrollo.
El primer 5 estrellas que pongo.
Además de todo esto, es un relato de unas pocas páginas, así que no da tiempo a estropearlo cómo puede pasar con algunas novelas de idea interesante pero que fallan en su desarrollo.
El primer 5 estrellas que pongo.
February 12, 2018
I love Joe Hill. The more I read of his books, the more I love his stuff. This was a short story, and it was quite fantastic. It’s creepy, with some skeezy characters, and I love the way Hill has both a real world element interspersed with both the Button Boy story and other aspects of come to life Horror. I must get hands on more of his books.
August 12, 2017
BEST NEW HORROR just pinned my ears back, and what told me I needed to pay attention to Joe Hill. The layers of frame story and well developed characters really showcase Joe's skill as a writer. That it's also a love letter to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre is just icing on the cake.
May 21, 2014
It gave me nightmares, not many stories are able to do that to me! Really loved this one!
May 22, 2015
Very short but title very apt. I agree that button boy is the book that should have been written.
October 9, 2025
it didn’t scare me at all feel like not much happened i get it’s a short story but still :) did like the him ending up in a horror story type situation though it was a nice cycle of that happening !
May 15, 2017
This story does everything that a quality horror story should. Eddie Carroll proves to be a protagonist that anyone with any experience in the publishing field can relate to. He's disenchanted and jaded, understandably so.
In publishing, editors are constantly looking for that one gem, the story which will set the literary world on fire. It's not easy, since every submission claims to be exactly that. Every writer claims to be Hemingway, every book is boasted as the next coming of Les Miserables. What makes this story so impacting is that Joe Hill understands that, and characterizes it perfectly. When Eddie Carroll finds such a story, he's desperate to have it. That desperation is captured in the pages of this tale, through his unrelenting search for the story's author.
Through his odyssey, Eddie fights through many trials, from annoying agents to unhelpful city workers, even self-involved bloggers. When the story ends, the reader is filled with the soul-sucking realization that the story hasn't ended, never will end, possibly hasn't even begun yet, and yet, it's over. It's the frustrating "so, what happened next?" feeling that the legends of horror (Lovecraft, Poe, Hitchcock) mastered, and Joe Hill captures perfectly here.
Joe Hill is quickly becoming the new face in horror, horror for the next generation. If this story is any evidence of what he's capable of, the genre is in good hands.
In publishing, editors are constantly looking for that one gem, the story which will set the literary world on fire. It's not easy, since every submission claims to be exactly that. Every writer claims to be Hemingway, every book is boasted as the next coming of Les Miserables. What makes this story so impacting is that Joe Hill understands that, and characterizes it perfectly. When Eddie Carroll finds such a story, he's desperate to have it. That desperation is captured in the pages of this tale, through his unrelenting search for the story's author.
Through his odyssey, Eddie fights through many trials, from annoying agents to unhelpful city workers, even self-involved bloggers. When the story ends, the reader is filled with the soul-sucking realization that the story hasn't ended, never will end, possibly hasn't even begun yet, and yet, it's over. It's the frustrating "so, what happened next?" feeling that the legends of horror (Lovecraft, Poe, Hitchcock) mastered, and Joe Hill captures perfectly here.
Joe Hill is quickly becoming the new face in horror, horror for the next generation. If this story is any evidence of what he's capable of, the genre is in good hands.
March 24, 2016
A great, chilling story that combines so many aspects of a good, American horror story.
Eddie Carroll is an editor of an annual compilation of horror stories called "America's Best New Horror". After reciving an incredibly disturbing short story, Eddie sets out to find it's author. The search appears to be tricky at first, and horrifying at the end!
This is a story from "20th Century Ghosts", I never read the whole book yet, but after sampling "Best New Horror" I can't wait to give it a go. Joe Hill just never dissapoints!
Eddie Carroll is an editor of an annual compilation of horror stories called "America's Best New Horror". After reciving an incredibly disturbing short story, Eddie sets out to find it's author. The search appears to be tricky at first, and horrifying at the end!
This is a story from "20th Century Ghosts", I never read the whole book yet, but after sampling "Best New Horror" I can't wait to give it a go. Joe Hill just never dissapoints!
May 16, 2017
A jaded anthologist stumbles upon a new story, disturbing yet irresistable. Tracking down the mysterious author, he bites off more than he can chew, in this clever, well-ladled horror by the son of Stephen King. Good start to the man's collection. Best I have read of Hill so far. In fact, the only thing I have actually enjoyed so far from start to finish by him.
September 14, 2016
This short story encompasses everything I love in horror fiction: sympathetic characters, immersive storyline, pop culture references, quality writing and a believably freaky element of the grotesque.
July 20, 2013
This story haunts my dreams...infinitely creepy.
July 14, 2014
An amazingly creepy story that also reminds me of the horror comics of my youth. Really creepy.
September 7, 2014
absolutely chilling - couldn't sleep after reading it.
January 24, 2016
creepy
December 15, 2017
This story is terrifying.
July 13, 2016
I really liked this, and I not a horror person.
December 16, 2016
Тук дори брилянтният замисъл и перфектното изпълнение не може да компенсира простотията на финала. Съжалявам, повече от три звезди няма как да дам.
August 22, 2017
Did someone at Best New Horror irritate Joe Hill? I found this darkly amusing. But then, I'm twisted.
July 3, 2018
Well this was really really creepy
July 30, 2025
Joe Hill tem uma escrita tão envolvente que faz a gente se sentir na história. Vários contos que eu li esses dias foram assim e Best new horror conta exatamente essa situação. Eddie Carroll é editor de uma revista especializada em histórias de terror e ele está cansado da situação do seu campo, com histórias inspiradas até demais em autores consagrados e clichês superutilizados. Até encontrar o conto Buttonboy de Peter Kilrue. O que segue é uma obsessão em encontrar esse autor para publicar a história na Best New Horror, revista que ele edita e quer histórias diferentes do que ele publicou até o momento. Eddie quer muito encontrar Peter e a gente quer muito que Eddie encontre Peter pra gente também conhecer e entender quem é Peter e ver se ele é tudo isso que a gente imagina... e parece que ele é, em algumas questões mais do que outras, mas ele é. A euforia de finalmente encontrar Peter rapidamente é substituída por um medo a princípio sem motivos, mas os motivos aparecem a cada parágrafo e o desespero de Eddie vai virando nosso. Quando li a última reflexão de Eddie -- de que se tem alguém que consegue se livrar desse medo é ele -- eu torci muito pra que ele conseguisse, porque eu fiquei com medo muito tempo depois de terminar o conto.
August 7, 2020
So I was tentative to pick up this collection because I’ve seen Joe Hill frequently compared to King and, frankly, dad doesn’t really do it for me. But this was pretty good! Honestly I can’t tell how much of this is intentionally funny, but...I don’t really care, hehe. As someone who reads primarily literary fiction, I found myself “mmmm...mm-hm”-ing A LOT whenever the narrator disparaged the literary “cognoscenti” (yes). Even though the ending contradicted what the story seemed to be going for (story poking fun at clichés itself becomes cliché? okay..), it’s so well-paced and tight that I couldn’t get away from the page. Unpretentious, exciting, and genuinely creepy, this is a 1 for Joe Hill and a 0 for my snooty ass.
July 5, 2025
This is the first story in Joe Hills short story collection 20th century ghost. And my second taste of Joe Hill after reading his black phone so I could watch the movie based on the short story.Button body is the best new horror story that Eddie Carol runs across as he is looking for new horror as an editor of the collection best new horror. After reading Eddie goes looking for the author of the short story. Both story within are creepy af. I give this one four stars because I wanted more of the story within. My next adventure of his will be the another short story My Father's Mask...
February 24, 2022
This is a tough one to rate because it is excellent for most of the way. It relates the story of a horror editor who comes across a truly disturbing and terrifying short story that is also undeniably original and brilliant. When seeking this author, he abruptly finds himself in a harrowing situation. It is this abruptness and lack of resolution that I felt knocked the story down a peg, though for all but the ending I was thoroughly hooked.
June 18, 2022
The only thing I loved more than eerily drawing the connection between the fat man & Buttonboy and the Kilrue brothers was how unspoken it was. There was no explained twist, we weren't told Carroll's thought process or if the connection is even true. We're only left to assume. The idea of someone writing true accounts of their own stalking and murdering, only to pass it off as fiction is absolutely chilling.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2024
I loved this one. It's a good mix of being creepy, having a mystery element to it and going back the main character's life as he tries to track down the author of this one short story. I probably would read "Buttonboy" if it were a real story since I'm just into creepy horror. I also loved how the ending was left ambiguous so the reader could decide the fate of the horror editor.
Here's hoping the rest of these short stories keep me engaged like this one.
Here's hoping the rest of these short stories keep me engaged like this one.
May 11, 2025
You'll learn a lot of how horror anthologies are made and how difficult it is to get in contact with some of their authors. Here it's about a story named "Buttonboy" and a very strange author and his brother. What is the secret of his home? Will the editor survive this visit? Even a short story the tale evolves a bit winded in a typical Joe Hill way. This is paced, slow burning horror no crash and burn wildfire. If you like his style I can really recommend this intriguing piece of fiction.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews