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The Latest and Greatest in Christian Fiction Newsletter/ October 2025 (part 2)
You may have noticed that this is the second October newsletter. After receiving such a thoughtful response about the question of Christian horror, I had to follow up.
According to Sara G., it is not a legitimate genre since it’s about fear rather than hope. I tend to agree, though to confirm this I did pick up a novel classified as Christian horror, written by Christy-Award-winning author Jaime Jo Wright called The Souls of Lost Lake. According to Book Page Reviews it has just enough spookiness. No demons, no ghosts, just a lot of mysterious occurrences and blood and carnage. The beginning, a campfire story about a crazy woman in the woods, is compelling, however. The mystery keeps you reading, and the theme of forgiveness is definitely Christian, but I found a book in my research that I liked a lot more.
I found a title that sounded downright weird: The Last Sin Eater, by Francine Rivers. Most fans of Christian fiction would tend to rate Redeeming Love as her masterpiece, but I would put The Last Sin Eater right on up there. The main character is a ten-year-old girl with a weight of guilt that almost drives her to throw herself over a waterfall. Her family emigrated from Wales to Appalachia in the 1800’s along with an entire clan and has isolated themselves for reasons that become clear as the story unfolds.
Though the story includes tragedy and horrible death, the violence doesn’t feel gratuitous. In fact, I have never read a novel that expounds the gospel so completely and intentionally as this one. It is not new. In fact, it may be out of print. But if you can get your hands on a copy, you will not be disappointed.
As to the question of horror, a professor of mine once defined horror as a reversal of expectation, an inversion of hope. True horror does not have a happy ending. Think Carrie by Seven King.
I would love to hear an alternate opinion. I know they are out there. Emai me directly: pmooneysweet@gmail.com
To all of my wonderful subscribers,
Have a beautiful and blessed fall!
Pat Sweet
