Monster-of-the-week Horror Novel

The Case of the Giant Carnivorous Worm

Thomas E. Staples

The Case of the Giant Carnivorous Worm is a comedy-horror novel, with both crime and fantasy elements in a "monster-of-the-week" structure. It is loud, bombastic, and ultra-violent.

The target audience would be young adults and upwards, appealing to anyone that finds horror and fantasy novels interesting.

I am looking for a cover that can not only fit into the horror genre (fantasy horror), but also portray a sense of fun without being either silly or goofy. By having a more simplified design, the two main characters -- women both in their mid-20s, one of which is considerably shorter than the other -- can appear without much detail, perhaps appearing as silhouettes encompassed by the more detailed giant worm that the title is derived from; the more alien-like/disgusting the worm looks, the better.
It would ideally have the appearance of a more retro, hammer horror-esque cover; I have included some examples of what I am referring to within the attached files. Although, I would be interested in covers that can provide a more modern take on a similar design brief. I would also like it if key elements of the cover appeared more centralised. Do not oversexualise the cover.
I am open to a range of colours.
The dimensions for the book are that of a standard novel size, 6" x 9", and the spine is 10mm without accounting for bleed, which would make it 13mm.
Also, due to the book coming first in the series, I would like a cover that could have it's style carried forward into forthcoming works; something that I would love to work with the designer on in the future.

Avoid the use of stock images where possible, or the use of photorealistic visuals.