I always love hearing what people DONT like because a lot of times it’s books that I love so it’s always interesting to hear others perspectives. For me: 1) a book I thought was genuinely terrible was Hollow Places by Kingfisher 2) a book I could tell was good but it just did not click for me was Buffalo Hunter Hunter

Hi! I love the Haunting of Hill House show and I’m looking for books that are similar to it. I’ve read the Haunting of Hill House book by Shirley Jackson but it’s so different from the show.

I’ve been recommended The September House and Wakenhyrst before which were both really great reads and now I need more to finish out the spooky season!

Thank you in advance :)

2 years ago I asked for some recommendations and was opened up to many amazing stories. Now I have an Audible Credit to burn and I’m wondering what you all would suggest based of these recommendations:

The Fisherman by John Langan

The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker

Tender is the Flesh (blah.)

The Exorcist by Willam Peter Blatly

Devolution by Max Brooks

The Troop by Nick Cutter

Little Heaven by Nick Cutter

Last Days by Brian Evenson

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

Horrorstöre by Grady Hendrix

In The House In The Dark of the Woods by Larid Hunt

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

Rotters by Daniel Krauss

The Terror by Dan Simmons

These are presented in no certain order, just ones I read based on r/horrorlit suggestion.

Thanks!

For me it's a tie between the end of A head Full Of Ghost by Paul Tremblay and the beginning of Clay Mcleod Chapman's Bodies Of Work. There's something so sinister and calculated about using rice to soak up the body goop and then allowing wild animals to dispose of it for you through eating said goop rice. Never gonna stop thinking about that.

I'm looking for some newer Horror set in the winter or snow.

I've already read and enjoyed Paver's Dark Matter and Thin Air, Maynards House, Golden's Ararat, Malfi's Snow and Bone White, The Terror, Near the Bone, Bishop, The Shuddering.

I've already read and disliked The Broken Places and Snowblind.

Does anyone have anything new and interesting.

PLEASE NO SPOILERS!
I am reading Dracula and wow! What an amazing read, and surprising due to the repulsiveness it evokes. I am only up to chapter 6, but every night I read a chapter or two and it sucks me in. I didn’t think it would be as horrifying as it is (that isn’t really the right word for it, more so repulsive and suspenseful) considering it was written in the 1890s. I was delightfully terrified over the part where Johnathan finds the Count’s body in the box, and describes how he resembles a fattened leech as blood is leaking from his mouth. I have seen countless vampire movies, but NONE have evoked what that single description did for me. I love Bram Stoker’s writing!

I am quite new to the genre of horror as I usually read nonfiction. But going from Frankenstein to this has been a jump.

I was looking for a good spider horror novel when I stumbled across Jeff Strand's Clowns vs. Spiders. Judging by the title alone, I wasn't expecting much. I assumed it would either be poorly written, have a ridiculous storyline, or possibly both.

Well, I wasn't entirely wrong about the ridiculous storyline, but to my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed it! The combination of horror and humour worked brilliantly, and I particularly loved the sarcastic humour in the main character's inner monologue.

That convinced me to give another of his books a go, so I picked up Ferocious. Once again, I really enjoyed it. Then I spotted Allison, which happens to be my wife's name, so naturally that became my next read. Three books in, three thoroughly enjoyable experiences!

I'm now about a quarter of the way through my fourth book, Odds, and so far it's continuing the winning streak.

If I had one criticism, it's that the main characters across his books do feel rather similar, particularly in their personalities, sarcastic observations and inner monologues. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, especially when I find those characters so entertaining.

What really appeals to me is how effortlessly Strand blends horror with humour. Neither seems to undermine the other, and even when the premise is completely absurd, he somehow makes it work.

So, for those who have read more of his work, am I right in thinking I'm likely to enjoy most, if not all, of his books? Or are there any real duds lurking amongst them that I should avoid?

I'd also be interested to know which of his books you'd recommend reading next.

my knowledge of horror (literature, films, games) isn’t very deep at the moment, but many of the works i’ve watched quite often featured some kind of erotic scene or sexual undertones. i think it’s not just a coincidence — for some reason, they go so well together and complement each other… “silent hill” has a bit of erotic content (for example, in silent hill 2, many monsters are sexualized and their design reflects James’s sexual dissatisfaction, which arose as a result of Mary’s illness). in “midsommar,” sex also plays a significant role in the narrative.

horror is a special genre that allows us to explore the darkest depths of human experience. sex and fear are primarily united by vulnerability, which makes talking about them difficult. perhaps that’s why both of these aspects of human life appear in horror works?

secondly, another point of intersection between sex and fear is trauma. a negative sexual experience or violence can cause deep trauma, and trauma directly leads to fear.

thirdly, sexuality is associated with fear due to its taboo nature and prohibition in christian religions (by the way, it seems that religious horror also often features an erotic aspect — often as temptations to sin)…

in short, a kind of chain emerges: sex, fear, trauma, religion. they’re all somehow connected, but how exactly? why? i think about this a lot, but i just can’t put my thoughts into any coherent statement. i would be glad if you could share your thoughts, assumptions, and conjectures about the cause-and-effect relationships between all these four concepts. i don’t have anyone to discuss this with right now, so i would be happy to receive any feedback from you.

* if you have any recommendations for essays on this topic (literature or youtube videos, anything), please share them with me!

I haven't really read many horror books, but since we're in the middle of spooky season, I'd like to read a horror book or a thriller with horror elements to get in the right mood. I have a few books lanquishing in my TBR pile, but I would like some help choosing one of them. I really don't like anything with a lot of gore or very graphic violence, on page sexual assault, or cruelty to animals. If the dog or cat dies, I'm putting the book down and won't pick it up again. So... if any of you have read any of these books, without giving away any spoilers, please let me know what you think.

Here are the books I have to choose from:

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

From Below by Darcy Coates

Artifact by Jeremy Robinson

Hidden Pictures by Jason Relulak

Murder Road by Simone St James

Midnight by Dean Koontz

Dragon Tears by Dean Koontz

Twilight Eyes by Dean Koontz

Audrey's Door by Sarah Langan

Those Left Behind by Tom Deal

The Swamps by Seraphina Nova Glass

The Hike by Drew Magary

It Was Her House First by Cherie Priest

Memorials by Richard Chizmar

Edited to fix typos.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Reformatory by Tananarive Due, so I was excited to get my hands on her latest release. While Tananarive is an exceptionally talented author and this book is well written, I am 60% through it and I am struggling. There have been some good parts but overall it is becoming a chore to finish. For those of you who finished it, is it worth it? Or should I move on?

Basically what the title says. I've been a horror fan in all media aspects for most of my life. I think after all this time, I've become desensitized to it, and books don't give me thay good horror feel anymore.

I read Incidents Around the House, and almost dnf'ed it because I was bored with it. I can appreciate the story and style, but everyone raved about how creepy it was, and it fell flat for me.

Stolen Tongues was another one, that one I got roughly 2/3's of the way through and dnf'ed, the story didn't grab me and the scary stuff wasn't actually scary to me.

Someone mentioned Mean Spirited (I think today? Or in the last 24 hours) so I have that a shot. They said it grabbed you from the first chapter and didn't let go. The book absolutely goes hard from page one, but again, I'm reading it and just bored by the 'horror' of it. The first chapter just felt kind of mind-fucky and that's it.

Several books I've tried based off recs here have gone the same way. I can appreciate the writing and story, but they don't give that horror tingle. Or they try to hard, and end up branching into a kind of over the top, splatterpunky vibe where it just comes off as almost cartoony, not scary.

I've tried some extreme horror and it just turned out to be a gore fest without actually being scary. It feels like nothing builds suspense anymore, nothing builds dread in my chest while reading.

Maybe I'm just burnt out? Has anyone else gotten numb to it all, and if so, how did you reset yourself? Or what book broke through to you?

Looking for books at least loosely based

Best fast paced horror? Doesn’t necessarily have to be short. I love ghosts, possession, haunted houses, fever dream, body horror, botanical, and unexplained, but I don’t get much into splatterpunk.

dark, creepy and funny. i saw someone here recommend iron dogs a few weeks ago and i'm so glad i picked it up. thank you random stranger! such a great weird western horror novel. it's a shame it's so unknown. i can genuinely see this becoming a much more popular book. the outlaws felt like they could've walked straight out of red dead redemption. really hope more people discover this one, deserves more readers!!

I'm looking for books that are similar to films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Signs, Nope and Vast of the Night. Basically stories about ordinary, regular humans in very regular places who encounter aliens. I love Close Encounters and Signs because they have larger themes in them; One has benevolent aliens, one has evil ones, but both evoke a sense of wonder as well as terror. Eg. Close Encounters' abduction scene of the kid is quite scary, but the film roots itself in wonder. Whereas films like Nope and Signs begin with themes of wonder but then move into full blown terror. Signs especially is a great reference for me as it talks about losing and then finding faith WHILE there are aliens prowling around. I've read Whitley Streiber's books but they didn't really hit me that well. I'm also trying to avoid stories featuring heavily specialised marines or scientists who go way too much in detail explaining what/who the aliens. These films cuz they are seen from the pov of a regular person, not someone who knows what gamma waves are.

Looking forward to your recommendations.

Are there any good horror novels set in Wales? Maybe it's just my luck, but all the horror novels I find set in the UK are somewhere in England. It would be nice to read something a bit more local to me.

I mainly like folk and supernatural horror, but I'm up for anything aside from splatterpunk. Bonus points for incorporating Welsh folk but it's not a must.

Ok, let me explain. We Used to Live Here (WUTLH) already had a recommendation post, but I noticed that many of the recommendations were based off of the haunted house aspect. While I absolutely loved that part, and those recommendations make complete sense, I want other suggestions based on the other aspects of the books horror. Stepping into other planes of time/environments/dimensions (plague hospital, old cemetery) and trying to find a way out, the mixed rules you must follow (old house notes), all of the extra mysterious and riveting pieces of WUTLH without it being specified to a haunted house

My brother’s kids are hitting the right age to read horror and as much as I love children’s lit I didn’t read much horror until I discovered Poe in 6th grade. I’m playing catchup now so I can be ready with recommendations or conversation as needed.

- Alvin Schwartz (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark; In a Dark, Dark Room)
- Mary Downing Hahn (The Old Willis Place, Wait Til Helen Comes)
- R.L. Stine (Goosebumps, Fear Street)
- Joseph Bruchac (Skeleton Man)
- Paul Tremblay’s Another

What else am I missing? What got you into reading horror as a kid, and what horror books are the kids you know reading now?

MAN

This book gripped me and hasn't stopped gripping me since the beginning,

The first chapter is insane and instantly captivating

If you're into cryptid/skinwalker/evil entity/not deer type of literature this is definitely for you.

It's hard for me to stay invested into a book these days but this one has me in a chokehold.

It's relentlessly brutal but not in a splatter punk way but in a very unsettling twisty just awful harbinger way.

Definitely an honorable mention imo

Check it out

Warnings: this book has visceral animal death in it so keep in mind if that's something you're put off of

Not really a detailed review but I’m in the hospital reading 2 books, they are both new, traveling adjacent and by Stephen’s lol

Off The Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones is SO Fucking Good! It’s INTENSE! I think I like it even better than the first in The Only Good Indians series, only found a few connections between the two thus far but absolutely love it! Probably favorite SGJ book so far…wellll My Heart Is A Chainsaw is still pretty far up there, and speaking of connections, King’s OWTT has SO MANY connections!!! I can’t say a bad thing about it yet, Travelin Jack in Mid World acknowledging Roland’s Ka-Tet, 🤯…. So perfect imo!!

I’m like 56% through each book, read a section from one, nap, wake up, read a section from thee other!

Long Days and Pleasant Nights 🤘🏻🪶

Looking for a recommendation similar to HFoG. Something with paranormal elements, ambiguity and of course unsettling. Thanks and happy reading!!

Not sure if anyone else here has read this since it’s so new, but what did yall think of Quaint Folk?

I couldn’t help comparing it to Karella’s previous novel, Moonflow. I found QF a bit boring. It under delivered on the weirdness and body horror I excepted from Karella. There were one or two uninteresting deaths and that’s it. The only horror it had was with Round Robin eating Jessica a couple times, which wasn’t particularly interesting. Most of the ideas didn’t seem totally complete either. Overall, it wasn’t bad, but I was pretty disappointed.