I read quite a few books this year, but only two made this list, and Tim Lebbon's The Silence is one of them. Following a family as they try to reach safety from flying creatures that hunt on sound, this is a book that I've thought about off and on since I reviewed it back in August.

If you dig apocalyptic books chock full of tension, drama, monsters and danger, this is a must read.

I have to be honest, I had mixed feelings about Adam Green's work prior to seeing Digging up the Marrow. Both Hatchet and its sequel are mediocre at best, with the former being substantially overrated (and it unfairly overshadowed the far superior Behind the Mask when they came out in 2006). On the other hand, I completely dug Frozen, and his Youtube show Adam Green's Scary Sleepover episodes are tons of fun. Plus he just seems like a helluva guy, so much so, I almost feel guilty for not liking the Hatchet movies more.

I had heard a lot of good about Digging up the Marrow, so when I was able to snag it at a Go Hastings sale for a mere $3 and change, I plopped it in upon arrival. Boy, I was not disappointed. A pseudo-documentary with Green playing a version of himself, the film follows him on an adventure as he listens to the wild tales of William Dekker (Ray Wise) claiming the discovery of cave (the Marrow) where monsters live.

Digging up the Marrow is funny, scary, and at times brutally sad and well worth a watch. It surprised the hell out of me because while I had some expectation of enjoyment after the reviews I'd read and the recommendations from trusted friends, I did not expect to love it as much as I did.

Starring Nick Damici (an actor who's been constantly impressive since I first saw him in Mulberry Street), Late Phases: Night of the Lone Wolf is a werewolf film that does not disappoint. Damici plays Ambrose McKinley, a blind veteran who moves into a retirement community only to find there is some strange shit going on.

The beauty of Late Phases is not just the fact that it's a werewolf film (which are few and far between), but it's one of those gems that concentrates more on the characters than the beast. You really like McKinley and you root from him from the beginning. It also plays at the heart strings in a very believable way. This is more than a simple man vs beast movie.

The second werewolf film on this list, WolfCop is the tonal opposite of Late Phases. Taking the tongue-in-cheek route, the movie follows Lou Garou, an alcoholic police officer, as he deals with the changes he's going through after being bitten by a lycanthrope.

Bloody, hilarious, and at times surprisingly heartwarming, WolfCop lived up to every one of my expectations that I had after first seeing the trailer.

While Late Phases and WolfCop might not be on many other 2015 lists, they made mine not just because they are great films and not just because I'm very partial to werewolf movies, but also because I'm so goddamn tired of lame zombie movies that just won't die (PUN!), and it was nice to see directors finally telling a different story. Here's to hoping the man-beast is the next in line for Hollywood to start pumping out.

The last movie on this list, and my biggest surprise this year, is The Final Girls. I had a vague interest in it after watching its trailer, but after more than a few friends raved about it, I decided to give it a shot, and I absolutely loved every minute.

Karin summed it up best in her review, so I'm going to straight copy and paste that here:

Max (Taissa Farmiga) lost her actress mother Amanda (Malin Akerman) three years ago in a car accident that tore her life apart. Now a senior in high school and anxious to face the adult world on her own, her friends convince her to attend a film festival showing her mother's most popular film, Camp Bloodbath, when a fire breaks out. Believing she and her friends can escape via an exit behind the screen, she cuts open the curtain...to end up inside the movie itself. Max is finally reunited with the mother she lost, but now there's a bigger problem: serial killer Billy Murphy is due to come kill all the counselors at camp over the next 92 minutes of 1980s celluloid – and there can only be one Final Girl.

I'm not going to lie, I expected a big block of cheese when I popped this one into the player, but there are times I love being wrong, and this was one of those times. Not only is the film clever and original, it successfully avoids stereotypical character tropes and does a wonderful job of being funny, bloody and sweet all at once.

Back in the summer I hit up the Scares That Care convention for a weekend of splurging money on movies, collectables, and autographs. At that con was Eclectic Goods selling custom painted shoes that I immediately fell in love with. I love a lot of things, and two of them include Chuck Taylors and horror. This was a match made in heaven.

Click image to enlarge.

I placed my order for the Pennywise kicks and I almost wept when they hit my door. These are absolutely gorgeous and worth every single penny. I plan on getting yet another pair in 2016 because the quality is outstanding. Nicole and Jack, the couple behind Eclectic Goods, hand paint the shoes, so every pair is unique. Go check them out and get yourself a pair.

Links: Twitter

I was turned on to The Black Tapes Podcast when I read the description of it as "Serial meets The X-Files" and that's about as accurate as it gets.

The site gives it a better description than I can, so here you go:

The Black Tapes is a weekly podcast from Pacific Northwest Stories and Minnow Beats Whale, and is hosted by Alex Reagan. The Black Tapes Podcast is a serialized docudrama about one journalist's search for truth, her enigmatic subject's mysterious past, and the literal and figurative ghosts that haunt them both.

I'm not a huge fan of radio dramas, but this one hits all the right marks. The acting is a tiny bit questionable at times, but overall it's got a great story and production value to match. Season 2 is starting up soon, so go binge listen to Season 1 so you're ready.

Links: Official Site | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

I put these three podcasts in one lump because they all fall under the Project iRadio umbrella, but I like each for different reasons.

On The Horror Show with Brian Keene, author Brian Keene and his co-host Dave "Meteornotes" Thomas discuss a variety of topics in the literary horror field (as well as the occasional discussion of politics, games, pop culture, and should corn be in soup). But what makes this podcast stand out is the interviews. The show has had guests such as Jeff Strand, F. Paul Wilson, Tom Monteleone, Weston Ochse, Yvonne Navarro, Mary SanGiovanni, Kellie Owen and many more, and each is worth a listen. And, if you are a Brian Keene fan, there are also episodes that concentrate on individual books and he goes into great detail on them, such as the stories behind them.

Buttercup of Doom is author Kelli Owen's podcast and with the exception of one episode (I believe), she goes solo. Her topics range through rants about social media, gypsy wisdom, stories from her childhood, and advice for authors. She even does readings from her own work time to time.

Authors Christopher Golden, Jonathan Maberry and James A. Moore are the hosts of Three Guys with Beards, and the trio discuss among other things pop culture, film and books. What's interesting about this podcast is while the three do have guests on the show more often than not, it's not so much an interview, but that person just coming in and hanging out.

Each of these three shows brings something different to the table each week and all are enjoyable and well worth subscribing to. I haven't listened to any other show in Project iRadio yet, but I plan on fixing that in 2016 because the company clearly knows how to pick winners if the podcasts above are any indication.

It was incredibly tough to pick any sort of favorite, and originally I had no intention of doing so, but Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts is not just the best book I read in 2015, but also the horror-related thing that has stuck with me the longest. While I read it a couple months ago, it still creeps into my skin about once a week.

Before I finally read it, I was hearing about this book everywhere. Keene and Thomas raved about it on The Horror Show with Brian Keene, Three Guys with Beards talked about how great it was on their show, every friend that I knew who had read it spoke very highly of it. It's weird hearing so much about the same book from so many people.

I finally bought it to see what the hubbub was all about and holy shit did this one get to me. The tale is told from the point of view of young adult Merry, an unreliable narrator, telling the story of her possessed sister when Merry was eight years old. Or was she possessed?

Tremblay does a job that is nothing short of amazing with A Head Full of Ghosts both terrifying the reader and making them question what is real or not without feeling cheated. He gives you all the info you need to come to your own conclusion, and that conclusion can be different for different people. It's one of those rare treats that is not just a terrific read, but one that actually becomes even better the more you talk about it.