15 Horror-ish Books
Spooky stories for scaredy-cats
I enjoy living and reading seasonally, so since it’s October, my mind has been on spooky stories. I like books with tension, moody settings, dark themes, and a strong sense of the unknown. I don’t always like surprises in real life, but I enjoy them in books. Despite liking spooky books, I’m sensitive to gore, violence, and jump scares. I’m not interested in being scared by the media I consume, but I enjoy stories with the abovementioned elements.
A while back, I was at work helping a student find a book to read, and I recommended something to her, saying it was horror-ish, a term I hadn’t used before. I liked that idea, so I filed it away as a subgenre that I, too, enjoyed. I was excited about putting together a book list for readers like me who like spooky stories that aren’t too spooky. Some books on my list are often labeled as horror on sites like Goodreads, while others fall into the horror-ish or gothic category. I ended up with a mix of classic and contemporary titles. Some of the books won’t be a surprise, but I hope others are just that.
Before we get to the books, I want to explore what horror fiction is. Here’s the definition of the genre from NoveList:
Horror aims to scare, haunt, or repulse the reader. The genre ranges from stories that evoke a slowly building psychological dread to gruesome gore that drips from the page. The variance in tone and technique can leave readers deeply unnerved or shocked and disturbed. Unlike most other genres, the emotional response it evokes defines horror rather than its specific content or structure.
That last sentence is important. I love the idea of horror being subjective and emotional, defined differently by each reader. The books on my list are more in the psychological dread camp; I’ll leave the gruesome gore to someone else. No matter what horror means to you, there’s definitely a title on my list that you’ll enjoy.
Let’s jump in!
Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe: I first read Edgar Allan Poe in middle school. I was assigned his poem “The Raven,” which I loved. Soon after that, I read one of his most famous stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” another winner for me. As I’ve explored Poe’s work over time, the more I’ve come to like his offbeat worlds and sinister stories. This book constantly gets checked out at one of the high schools where I work, and I like seeing kids discover Poe’s work for the first time.
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn: Libby Day is the lone survivor of a massacre in which her mother and sisters were killed. Her brother was arrested and convicted of the crime, and she hasn’t spoken to him since. Years later, when Libby is in her 20s, she’s approached by a group of people obsessed with crimes who call themselves the Kill Club. They offer her money to attend their events, and Libby has to take them up on their offer since she’s nearly broke. Life begins to unravel for Libby as she’s faced with her past and forced to confront things she thought she’d buried.
As always, Gillian Flynn’s writing is gripping from the first sentence. Dark Places is indeed dark, creepy, and a total pageturner. Flynn is a master of horror-ish mysteries.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: I was unexcited when I was assigned Frankenstein in college. Nothing about the book sounded like something I’d like. But because I am a rule follower to the max, not reading the book wasn’t an option. To my surprise, I genuinely enjoyed this classic tale of identity, loneliness, and revenge. Though I dreaded this book based on the monster and sci-fi aspects, the story's heart is about basic human emotion and desire. Frankenstein was first published in 1818, yet its themes are as timely as ever. If you’re skeptical of this book like I was, try it. I bet it will surprise you. There’s more to the story than the glimpses of it in pop culture.
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager: Maggie is the daughter of Ewan Holt, the author of the bestselling book House of Horrors, in which he tells what he claims is the true story of the few days his family spent living in Baneberry Hall. Ewan’s book recounts the strange and spooky events that led his family to leave the house behind in the middle of the night without possessions or looking back. Maggie feels this book has defined her life, and she hates it.
When Ewan dies, Maggie realizes he never sold Baneberry Hall. She has a business where she restores old homes, so Maggie heads to the property to fix it up and maybe even get some answers for what she knows are her father’s lies. When strange things start happening, Maggie wonders if House of Horrors contains more truth than she thought.
Riley Sager is one of my go-to spooky writers. His thrillers are often addictive, and Home Before Dark is no different. With this novel, readers get a book within a book; chapters alternate between Maggie’s point of view and passages from House of Horrors. I almost had to put this book in the freezer, so I think this novel creeps closer to horror than any of Sager’s previous work (except for maybe Final Girls). If you’re a Sager fan or just need a good thriller to keep you occupied, this is a good one.
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam: White New Yorkers Amanda and Clay book a house in a remote part of Long Island, ready for a family vacation with their two teenage kids. Soon into their trip comes a knock at the door. It’s the owners of the house, who are Black, saying there’s been a blackout in the city. They didn’t know where else to go, so they returned to the vacation house. The cable is out, and there’s no wi-fi, so both parties are unsure what’s happening and if they’re safe.
Leave the World Behind is relatively short, yet Rumaan Alam takes the time to explore class, race, and connection. The story slowly gets eerier and eerier, which I liked. The ending of this novel let me down a bit, yet I’ve kept thinking about the book and the haunting situation Alam created.
The Monk by Matthew Lewis: This super weird gothic novel is difficult to summarize. There’s a monk, of course, named Ambrosio. There’s a woman and/or demon who tempts him. Eventually, Ambrosio sells his soul to the Devil, which is never a good move, in my opinion. In the NoveList description of this book, they call it “an extravagant blend of sex, death, politics, Satanism, and poetry.”
If that’s not enough to get you reading, I don’t know what more I can say.
My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix: Gretchen and Abby have been best friends since fifth grade. When they start high school, a rift begins to form between them. Abby senses that something is off with Gretchen and, as one does, becomes convinced a demon has possessed her bestie. She does what any good friend would and tries to stage an exorcism.
Although this book is marketed as a horror novel, My Best Friend's Exorcism delighted me with its playful humor and 1980s nostalgia. I skimmed a couple of scary scenes, but throughout, I cheered on Abby as she worked to save her friend. This book has a lot going on, but I took away a simple, sweet message about the power of female friendship. (Also, what a great cover!)
Night Film by Marisha Pessl: Saying that Night Film is a suspense novel feels like saying the Beatles were a rock band. It’s true, but so much more needs to be said.
Ashley Cordova is the 24-year-old daughter of reclusive Stanislaus Cordova, a director known for his cult classic horror films. One night, Ashley turns up dead in an apparent suicide. Scott McGrath, a journalist, doesn’t believe Ashley killed herself. He knows the Cordova family has a lot of secrets, and he recruits a couple of scrappy strangers in his quest to get answers.
Night Film is one of my favorite novels of all time. I’ve never read anything like it. The prose itself creates such a spooky atmosphere, but Pessl includes images in the book depicting websites and photos pertinent to Scott’s investigation, which add even more interest. This book got a bit of buzz when it was released in 2014, but I feel like it never got enough praise for its originality.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde: Because I sometimes judge books by their covers, I bought the pictured edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray due to its beauty, not because I was desperate to read it. (Which I now realize fits nicely with this book’s plot.) I don’t remember what made me finally move from staring at the book to finally reading it, but I’m grateful for whatever inspired me.
Dorian Gray is an evil man who believes giving up his soul in exchange for eternal youth and beauty is worthwhile. He remains in fine physical condition, but his portrait on the wall begins to tell the true story of who he is underneath his appearance. This story of a man’s self-obsession and longing for self-preservation is fascinating, disturbing, and maybe a little too relatable in my selfish moments. Wilde tells a haunting story of destruction from the inside out.
Providence by Caroline Kepnes: Jon and Chloe were best friends in middle school. Chloe was beautiful and attracted the popular kids' attention, but Jon was the target of their scorn. As he walked to school one day, Jon was kidnapped. Four years later, he wakes up alone and reads a note from his abductor saying he’s been in an induced coma. When Jon reenters his life, he realizes he has an unwanted power: he can give people heart attacks and kill them. Until he’s cured, he can’t be around his parents or Chloe, whom he loves.
Kepnes tells this story in alternating chapters between Jon, Chloe, and a detective nicknamed Eggs, who wants to know why healthy people are dying of heart attacks. Providence is as much of a love story as a detective novel. It’s as much of a science fiction tale as a work of suspense. It reveals the horror of someone who would abduct and manipulate a teenage boy, just as it shows the horror of loving someone you can’t have.
The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin: The Stepford Wives is another book I read in college, thanks to my Theories and Fictions of the Women’s Movement class (which was as fantastic as you’d expect from the name). Along with reading pieces by Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, and Audre Lord, we read a few novels, including this one.
This book is about perfect wives and mothers and the cost of that perfection. Most classics are classics because they have timeless themes, and this book could spark a conversation right now that’s as relevant as ever, especially in light of the trad-wife trend on social media. The Stepford Wives is a great example of an unsettling narrative.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson: This classic story follows two sisters, Merricat and Constance, who live in a gothic house with their eccentric uncle on the outskirts of their town. Constance always stays inside the house, and when Merricat ventures into town, she's mocked, talked about, and stared at. The sisters are ostracized because Constance has been accused of killing their parents and other family members.
This fantastic novel is weird and gets creepier as it goes along, which makes it a perfect fall read. I loved the bond between the sisters and how Jackson portrayed the damage of gossip and greed.
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”: The Authorized Graphic Adaptation by Miles Hyman: I don’t usually include two books from the same author on a book list, but I wanted to make an exception for the graphic novel adaptation of “The Lottery.” I love Jackson’s famous short story and thoroughly enjoyed the graphic version, done by her grandson.
Honorable Mentions
I’m putting these two books in the honorable mentions section because I haven’t finished reading them. I’m reading and enjoying Bunny right now, and it feels very horror-ish. Max of WellDoneBooks (a reviewer I’ve trusted for years) used the term in his Goodreads review, so I wanted to go ahead and share this one with you.
The second book here, In These Hallowed Halls, is a book I heard about thanks to YouTuber Kayla, one of my recent favorites. She mentioned the book in her latest book haul video, and I ordered a copy immediately.
These two titles seem perfect for spooky season.
From Goodreads:
“Samantha Heather Mackey couldn't be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at New England's Warren University. A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort--a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other Bunny, and seem to move and speak as one.
But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies' fabled Smut Salon, and finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door--ditching her only friend, Ava, in the process. As Samantha plunges deeper and deeper into the Bunnies' sinister yet saccharine world, beginning to take part in the ritualistic off-campus Workshop where they conjure their monstrous creations, the edges of reality begin to blur. Soon, her friendships with Ava and the Bunnies will be brought into deadly collision.
The spellbinding new novel from one of our most fearless chroniclers of the female experience, Bunny is a down-the-rabbit-hole tale of loneliness and belonging, friendship and desire, and the fantastic and terrible power of the imagination.”
In These Hallowed Halls: A Dark Academia Anthology edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane:
From Goodreads:
“In these stories, dear student, retribution visits a lothario lecturer; the sinister truth is revealed about a missing professor; a forsaken lover uses a séance for revenge; an obsession blooms about a possible illicit affair; two graduates exhume the secrets of a reclusive scholar; horrors are uncovered in an obscure academic department; five hopeful initiates must complete a murderous task and much more!”
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What books would you add to my list? What other horror-ish books should I pick up? I’d love to hear your suggestions! Like and share this post if you’re excited to read any of these titles.
Saving this to pick my next spooky read from 👻 Thanks for sharing!!
My favorite genre! Love this list.
I just have to ask, if I were possessed by a demon would you perform an exorcism on me?😂🤣😂