It is October. It is the time of skeletons, Jack-o-Lanterns, and animated scarecrows. It is the time of haunted DMVs, and jars full of teeth, and vampire driving slowly in the left lane. It is the time of zombie preschoolers with snot-slick hands running toward you at top speed, and the ghost of your disappointed father, and Miley Cyrus hosting Saturday Night Live.
IT IS THE SCARIEST MONTH, OOOOOOOOOOO.
Ahem.
Whatever.
Your job:
Recommend a scary book. Just one. And not your own.
Tell us why it scared you.
Here, let me recommend one: LIBRARY AT MOUNT CHAR. Scott Hawkins. I don’t even know what the fuck this book is. It’s like if Hogwarts was in America, and instead of it being a school it was actually a weirdo spirit cult, so basically it’s nothing like Harry Potter (though maybe it’s Harry Potter by way of Clive Barker?) but whatever. It has some of the trappings of urban fantasy, but it tells the story as if it’s horror — so, while it still sometimes feels like urban fantasy, it rejects some of the silliness of that subgenre and goes right for the jugular. It’s a terrifying, weird, funny, disgusting book. It features a fascinating cast of inhumans. I adored it.
YOUR TURN, GHOULFRIENDS
JT Lawrence says:
Scariest book I ever read was Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road’.
October 5, 2015 — 7:51 AM
jason b says:
Man, I loved that book. Gripping.
October 5, 2015 — 8:34 AM
JenM says:
Totally agree! Most brilliant book I wish I never read because it scared the hell out of me.
October 5, 2015 — 12:45 PM
cchrisman says:
thanks for reminding me of this book, I just bought it and am mesmerized by his writing, underlining so MANY awesome sentences!
October 6, 2015 — 12:30 PM
decayingorbits says:
I’m glad I read all the comments before posting mine — because I was going to write exactly what you did. That book is terrifying.
October 10, 2015 — 8:58 PM
murgatroid98 says:
I agree with you about Library at Mount Char. It’s great. You’ve probably read this one, but Swan Song by Robert McCammon is excellent.
October 5, 2015 — 7:54 AM
terribleminds says:
SWAN SONG is easily one of my top 10 favorite books of all fucking time.
October 5, 2015 — 9:06 AM
Tony B (@imagineaberrant) says:
+1. And McCammon’s finally come back to that type of book with a new one called The Border. I may or may not have peed myself a little in anticipation of reading it.
October 5, 2015 — 9:14 AM
Bridgesong says:
ME TOO!
October 5, 2015 — 1:28 PM
wordsavant says:
Swan Song is amaze-balls!
October 5, 2015 — 10:36 AM
Lili Nemo says:
Wow! Good call! Robert McCammon is a classic.
October 5, 2015 — 8:26 PM
DD says:
SWAN SONG IS SO DAMN GOOD. Good call. Now I need to go back and reread it. Again.
I just bought Library at Mount Char. Can’t wait.
October 7, 2015 — 8:31 PM
Patrick says:
Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix. It’s definitely horror, but funny as well. Set in the equivalent of an Ikea store, employees basically find out by way of a seance (after weird things happen in store) that the store is built on the site of a 19th century prison with a very, very evil warden. Equal parts horror and comedy, the book is actually designed like an Ikea Catalog. Excellent read.
October 5, 2015 — 7:55 AM
Hannah says:
love this one! scary as well as funny
October 5, 2015 — 3:33 PM
glenavailable says:
Gonna buy this one tomorrow.
October 5, 2015 — 4:36 PM
romanowrites says:
Flannery O’Connor’s “The Lottery”.
October 5, 2015 — 7:57 AM
Bridgesong says:
Yeesssssss
October 5, 2015 — 1:29 PM
Rory Ni Coileain says:
“The Terror” by Dan Simmons — his version of the fate of the Franklin Expedition to find the Northwest Passage. Read it only in high summer and when wrapped in blankets.
October 5, 2015 — 7:59 AM
Anna says:
Seconded. I loved it, especially the homage to Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death.”
October 5, 2015 — 10:03 AM
Bridgesong says:
I wondered about this when I saw it. I’m going to go ahead and add it to the October reading list! Thanks!
October 5, 2015 — 1:30 PM
cavalaxis says:
“Song of Kali” also by Dan Simmons. True psychological horror. Read at your own risk.
October 5, 2015 — 3:50 PM
Christopher says:
Oh man! Loved this book!
October 7, 2015 — 12:51 AM
sonja says:
“Carrion Comfort” by Dan Simmons – mind control, gory and horrifying scenes, like nothing I have read before or since.
October 5, 2015 — 8:04 AM
curleyqueue says:
Gore so well-written it’s actually gratifying- great read!
October 6, 2015 — 8:23 AM
Nikki Vogel says:
“Bird Box” by Josh Malerman. This one left a lasting impression.
October 5, 2015 — 8:08 AM
Madeline Mora-Summonte says:
I was going to recommend this one. Absolutely terrifying, and I totally loved it – now I want to go back and read it again. 🙂
October 5, 2015 — 9:31 AM
Jack says:
It’s old and it’s probably out of print, but if you can find a copy of ‘A Faerie Tale’ by Raymond Feist, you’ll never clap for Tinker Bell again.
A excellent read.
October 5, 2015 — 8:11 AM
steamtroll says:
Yes! This is a great and unsettling story! Gave me chills more than once.
October 5, 2015 — 8:16 AM
mannixk says:
Oooo, this sounds good.
October 5, 2015 — 10:51 AM
Sarah W says:
You can get it as an ebook on Amazon.
October 5, 2015 — 11:35 AM
Charlotte Copper says:
I just finished Catacombs by Jeremy Bates. I’ve crossed them off my bucket list
October 5, 2015 — 8:19 AM
steamtroll says:
The Matrix by Jonathan Aycliffe. It’s not a Stephen King novel, or body horror. I’d say it more closely resembles Lovecraft’s style of cosmic horror. It’s a first person perspective, and the author takes full advantage of it to describe the mounting unease and fear that the lead character feels. It has a tome of ancient evil, a cult of scary dedicants, a charismatic antagonist, and a main character who is in way over his head. One I’d the very few books to give me actual chills.
October 5, 2015 — 8:37 AM
Justin Gustainis says:
“Hell House,” by Richard Matheson. He takes (deliberately, I believe) the subtle horror of Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House” and turns it into explicit (for the time), in-your-face terror — although the ending is a cop-out, IMHO.
October 5, 2015 — 8:41 AM
Andrew says:
The Cabinet of Curiosities by Emma Trevayne, Claire Legrand, Steffan Bachman, and Katherine Catmull
A children’s anthology of short horror storie, and minus the lack of pants-shittingly horrible illustrations it is right up there with Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Not every story will get to you, but many of them left me chilled and unable to start the next story immediately. This thing outright induces dread.
Especially Legrand’s “The Garden Full of Bad Things.” Read it. Love it. Possibly get an upset stomach from it.
October 5, 2015 — 8:45 AM
KJ says:
I know I’ll probably be mocked for this, but one of the scariest books I’ve ever read was one of Mary Higgins Clark’s early novels: A Cry in the Night. Maybe it’s the picture in my mind of some of the scenes in the book, but it really freaks me out & I still read it every so often.
The Road was also pretty freaky… haven’t been able to bring myself to re-read that one. Or maybe I haven’t because I loaned it to someone & they never gave it back.
October 5, 2015 — 9:03 AM
gloriousmonsters says:
The most recent horror that I’ve actually enjoyed (I’m quite picky) that comes to mind are two short stories; ‘My Father’s Mask’ by Joe Hill, in 20th Century Ghosts, and ‘Stone Animals’ by Kelly Link, in Magic For Beginners.
And for the sake of having an actual book, I recommend-with-reservations ‘NOS4A2’ by Joe Hill (I’ve been going through his entire works so far). The book was a very love-hate affair for me, but some parts were delightfully creepy and others just awesome.
October 5, 2015 — 9:05 AM
terribleminds says:
I’m curious as to your reservations. I loved that book pretty much through and through — though I suppose I could make a case that it kind of moves somewhat dramatically from horror to something more “dark fantasy” flavored (true too of LOCKE & KEY, which is amazing), and for some that might be jarring.
October 5, 2015 — 9:08 AM
todddillard says:
Just posted a rec for Locke & Key down below–didn’t know Joe Hill wrote outside of graphic novels!
October 5, 2015 — 9:11 AM
Aaron Jeffries says:
NOS4A2 has been my least favorite of his novels. I think a lot of it was the lead character more than the story and the world he created. I found Vic abrasive and it didn’t work the best for me. I’m not saying all lead characters have to be creams of the crop (I found adult Danny Torrence in Doctor Sleep more than abrasive), but something about Vic rubbed me the wrong way. I know she tried, and that partly redeems her at the end, but there it is.
October 5, 2015 — 9:15 AM
lkeke35 says:
Just asking, but could it have been because the abrasive character was a woman? I read it and had no problem with it. In fact, I loved the character. None of the women I spoke to about the book had any deep problems with her.
Idk, sometimes abrasive behavior we accept in a male character is much less acceptable in a woman.
Or maybe the book just wasn’t the right fit for you. It happens.
October 5, 2015 — 10:03 AM
Aaron Jeffries says:
The fact that she was a woman didn’t have a bearing on it. I think it was just her character.
October 5, 2015 — 11:26 AM
gloriousmonsters says:
Actually, I really like the blend of horror and dark fantasy Hill does – it’s one of the reasons I’m impatiently waiting for his next book and hoping it’s going to be the same genre blend. 😛
The main issues I had were: Bing, the entirety of his character and his viewpoint. I found him gross and unnecessary and his sections were always the places where I put down the book to go do something else. Also, I felt that some parts would have worked better if they were less blood-and-guts-and-corpses horror and had opted for something more subtly disturbing. Lastly, as someone with eating and body image issues, I really disliked the focus in Lou’s storyline on how fat he is and how it’s all pinned on ‘he eats too much’.
Clearly most of these are matters of personal taste, but I y’know. *shrug* All I can really say is how I feel about it.
October 14, 2015 — 12:22 PM
Anna says:
I disliked NOS4A2 enough that I deleted it from my kindle. For me, it was just the subject matter. I don’t like serial killer books, and the child abductions got to me. I prefer my horror on the supernatural side, and I didn’t know what I was getting into. I loved the Heart-shaped Box, though.
October 5, 2015 — 10:13 AM
Meg says:
Kate Mulgrew narrates the audio version of NOS4A2, and as far as I’m concerned, she should narrate EVERYTHING. I haven’t read the book-book, but I suspect the audio version is probably a better experience–I listened to it during my walk to/from work over the winter, and sometimes had to turn it off because I couldn’t handle listening to it in the dark.
October 6, 2015 — 9:53 AM
Laura Lam says:
Lost Souls by Adam Nevill. Legit had to read with the lights on. Plus creepy cult stuff!
October 5, 2015 — 9:07 AM
caszbrewster says:
I second this. Also, really anything by Nevill scares the bejebus out of me.
October 5, 2015 — 12:01 PM
henscher says:
DON’T READ THAT BOOK was quite scary at times. That, or Rich Dansky’s Shadows in Green.
October 5, 2015 — 9:09 AM
todddillard says:
Locke & Key by by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez gave me nightmares. They take the “old, mysterious” house trope and toss in serial killers and interdimensional demons. Also is a graphic novel that does a great job of juggling multiple protagonist story lines coupled with generational flashbacks. Complex, tight, compelling, scary.
October 5, 2015 — 9:10 AM
Lauren Roy says:
It takes a lot for a book to freak me out. The last time that happened was with HOUSE OF LEAVES by Mark Z. Danielewski. I read it years after it came out and somehow managed not to get spoiled on it (if it’s even possible to spoil someone on that book.) The first scene where the family discovers something… odd… about the house made me put the book down until the goosebumps went away.
October 5, 2015 — 9:10 AM
Courtney Cantrell says:
I love that book so much. I don’t know what that says about me, but there you have it. 😉
October 5, 2015 — 9:51 AM
mercyjm says:
Yes! That was the book I would vote for. For some reason it is the use of dimension and space that scares me. I re-read every 5 years or so.
October 5, 2015 — 12:28 PM
Gareth Skarka says:
This was going to be my recommendation as well, so instead I’ll just put a “me, too” here.
I am a massive fan of horror, and have been my entire life… and HOUSE OF LEAVES is the *only* novel I’ve ever read that made me physically uncomfortable while reading it.
October 5, 2015 — 12:36 PM
semolinah says:
I’m actually reading this at the moment and I have to say… meh. The story of the family is great and creepy, but then the detours and the style feel like I’m reading a sociology text (speaking of horror…). Then there is the guy in the footnotes who is losing his mind in a completely different way, can’t stand him. I’m struggling to decide whether those gimmicks are worth the core story.
October 5, 2015 — 8:56 PM
WAILing GHOULish (@whirlingnerdish) says:
Honestly, I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER by Dan Wells was one of the scariest I’ve read in a bit. It’s about a sociopathic boy that’s obsessed with serial killers. However, he’s afraid of becoming one, so he has rules in place to prevent that from happening. When a real serial killer starts terrorizing the town, however, he’ll need to violate his rules and think like a killer to track down the villain.
Not only was the book really well written, but I found myself sometimes the most disturbed living in the mind of the main character. It’s told from first person point of view, and that level of intimacy with someone that views people more as a means to an end than actual people is pretty creepy.
October 5, 2015 — 9:12 AM
Pat says:
I enjoyed this one specially for the POV.
October 5, 2015 — 6:17 PM
POLY mari ZOMBIE IUM (@POLYCHROMANTIUM) says:
It’s an oldie, but it still scares me to death. IT, by Stephen King.
Fuck clowns, and double fuck sewers.
October 5, 2015 — 9:13 AM
Bridgesong says:
Yes and double yes.
October 5, 2015 — 1:34 PM
wildbilbo says:
Happily recommend Blood Sushi anthology of short stories out recently from Dirge Publishing.
October 5, 2015 — 9:15 AM
Mmmm, tasty (@HitEm20) says:
Currently reading “A Head Full of Ghosts” by Paul Tremblay and I am enthralled with it. Its a modern psychological take on the over used “possession” story that leaves you wondering is it real or not?
October 5, 2015 — 9:16 AM
terribleminds says:
Fucking amazing book.
October 5, 2015 — 9:18 AM
Aaron Jeffries says:
Thoroughly enjoyed this one!
October 5, 2015 — 9:19 AM
DD says:
LOVED it.
October 7, 2015 — 8:28 PM
Oporst says:
Scowler by Daniel Kraus a terrifying book involving an abusive father, a crashed meteor, and a really creepy doll. Kraus is a fantastic writer and cranks the tension up incredibly high in this one.
October 5, 2015 — 9:17 AM
Aaron Jeffries says:
My most recent scary book was A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay. There were scenes in it that were just eerie! Marjorie’s wandering a through the house at night sent chills through me. I also like how we have to decide what’s what.
October 5, 2015 — 9:18 AM
Josh Krach says:
Peter Watts’s BLINDSIGHT is a hard science fiction novel that somehow also pulls off being the bleakest of cosmic horror stories. So convincing and unsettling it kind of made me hope we never have a real-life first contact scenario.
October 5, 2015 — 9:19 AM
Anna says:
Ooh! I’ve got this on my kindle. I’ll have to get reading. Have you read Watts’ Rifters stories, Starfish and Maelstrom? They weren’t feel-good books, but they really made an impression.
October 5, 2015 — 10:25 AM
Josh Krach says:
Boy, they really do, don’t they? I love his books, but I have to take awhile between reading them.
October 5, 2015 — 2:40 PM
Tony B (@imagineaberrant) says:
I’m gonna go with a classic and say The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty and, to a lesser extent, the follow-up Legion.
October 5, 2015 — 9:20 AM
Brad Bourbina (@bbbourb) says:
I think The Relic by Doug Preston and Lincoln Child is one of the “scariest” books I’ve read. I’m honestly not sure why, either. The premise wasn’t unfamiliar, and it was actually somewhat predictable plot-wise. I read it after the movie came out, so I knew what to expect anyway. Still, it gave me the chills, and despite the uncomfortable dreams, I just couldn’t put it down.
October 5, 2015 — 9:22 AM
thelizwithzombies says:
DON’T READ THIS BOOK, a collection of short stories with awesome people like Harry Connolly, Stephan Blackmoore, and Laura Anne Gilman, and edited by Chuck here. People who don’t sleep get transported to this awful dream world, and it’s basically horrible, all the time. I loved that book even though it scared me pantless. Which is, of course, what I want horror to do to me.
Anything by John Hornor Jacobs. THIS DARK EARTH, SOUTHERN GODS, I’ll read anything he writes. His newest series, THE INCORRUPTIBLES, is dark fantasy set in a fantasy world with Roman Empire trappings, and a Western flavor. FOREIGN DEVILS, the next book in the series just came out and it’s just as good as the first.
October 5, 2015 — 9:22 AM
lkeke35 says:
Yep! I will read anything Jacobs writes. Currently The Incorruptibles is in my TBR pile.
October 5, 2015 — 9:59 AM
Mozette says:
‘The Amityville Horror’ by Jay Anson… I tried reading it, got up to page 10 and couldn’t have the book inside my house. I ended up putting it out in my garden shed until I could take it to out during my next shopping day… yep, I literally did not want it inside the house with me.
October 5, 2015 — 9:28 AM
Andy says:
Same here! I had an old yellowing paperback that smelled funny. When I finished reading it the literal book scared me so much I took it out back and threw it in a trashcan in the alley. When I was little we also had a hardback of The Exorcist on a bookshelf in a dark corner of the basement so that scared the crap out of me too.
October 5, 2015 — 11:56 AM
Mozette says:
Isn’t it strange how books can do that to us? And my copy of ‘The Amityville Horror’ was also an old, smelly paperback too… wonder if yours somehow made its way to my place?
We’ll never know…
October 5, 2015 — 8:27 PM
Nick says:
Stinger by Robert McCammon. Scared me silly in my teens.
Also, Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis. Really scared me in my thirties.
October 5, 2015 — 9:28 AM
David Wilson says:
I tried reading the Library at Mount Char and couldn’t. It was like nails on a chalkboard for me. I don’t really do “scary” books but here is my pick.
Revival by Steven King, it tracks the relationship between the main character and a minister that comes in and out of his life over 60-some years. Most of the scary stuff comes in the penultimate chapter.
October 5, 2015 — 9:28 AM
DD says:
I loved REVIVAL. One of his darkest books ever. Good call.
October 7, 2015 — 8:34 PM
. says:
Jeff Vandermeer’s ‘Area X’ trilogy makes me incredibly uncertain about life, filled with anxiety and a dreadful fear for reality itself. To me those books are some of the best horror I’ve read. It’s scary even when “nothing” happens.
October 5, 2015 — 9:33 AM
Beth says:
I was just going to suggest the same thing. I’m not much of a horror fan, but I do love New Weird, and Vandermeer is fantastic.
Here’s another with rich subtle psychological unease: Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay. The premise is a magic metaphor for ethnic cleansing: the son of the king of an invading army is killed in battle, and in his rage the king casts a spell that the name of the subjugated state cannot be spoken or remembered. The only people immune to the spell are those born before the battle in that country, and when that generation dies, the memory of it will be wiped from the earth forever. The… uncanny bafflement of the magic working in the mind, the desperate isolation of the refugees who can’t speak the name of their homeland and be understood by others, the all-encompassing sense of loss is just a phenomenon. One of the most disturbing books I’ve ever read, even (especially) on re-read.
October 5, 2015 — 2:40 PM
Courtney Cantrell says:
This might not be my top scary book, but it’s consistently one of the most memorable: WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE by Shirley Jackson. A gripping look at the innocence in evil. Or maybe just the plain ol’ crazies. Or both. Whats the case, Jackson gets to me every time. 😉
October 5, 2015 — 9:47 AM
Courtney Cantrell says:
*Whatever the case
Autocorrect. *SIGH*
October 5, 2015 — 9:48 AM
Anna says:
Summer of Night by Dan Simmons. (And the sequel, A Winter Haunting). It just hits all those childhood fears perfectly. I didn’t get a good night’s sleep for a week when I read these, but I just couldn’t stop reading, because they were so addictive.
October 5, 2015 — 9:59 AM
Charlotte Noyen says:
I accidentally read Stephen King’s Misery when I was 13. I haven’t slept the same since.
October 5, 2015 — 10:01 AM
SamKD says:
That was the one book of his I deemed “too creepy” and ditched a few chapters in.
October 5, 2015 — 3:00 PM
Charlotte Noyen says:
It soured me on horror for close to two decades. Not because it was bad, but because it was too good. Way too effective. I needed to know how it ended and I resented every page. I decided I never wanted to feel that way again. Never picked up horror novels, movies or shows again. I couldn’t even understand why people would do that to themselves. I’m 30 now and I’m just now dipping my toe into the horror pool again. (Thanks Hannibal!)
Powerful stuff.
October 5, 2015 — 7:58 PM
Trevor Curtis says:
The Rising by Brian Keene horrified me for days, and is the only book to literally cause me to lose sleep. Stark, gruesome and incredibly filled with despair, I read it right after having my first child. It gave me nightmares.
October 5, 2015 — 10:11 AM
Heather says:
The Bird Box by Josh Malerman was pretty scary, and not much scares me.
October 5, 2015 — 10:13 AM
Bill Bridges says:
“The Art of the Deal” by Donald Trump. Oh, too scary? Okay, for realz, try “Uzumaki”, a manga by Junji Ito. After reading it, you will shiver every time you see a spiral. A glance at the google image search for Uzumaki is enough: https://www.google.com/search?q=uzumaki&espv=2&biw=1548&bih=912&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIh4KQusSryAIVy4sNCh07NgrA&dpr=1
October 5, 2015 — 10:26 AM
mark matthews says:
Loved and read many of the books above.
A not very well known book, mostly out of print, and it scared me as a young lad, is called
“Watseka: America’s Most Extraordinary Case of Exorcism and Possession”
One of the best written horror books ever, and something I view as a ‘how-to’ when writing horror:
“KIN” by Kealan Patrick Burke
A book written with a masterful POV, and one that will remind you that humans are always the most dangers and savage animal in any zoo:
“The Girl Next Door” by Jack Ketchum (based on a true story, but watered down, since we can’t handle the truth)
October 5, 2015 — 10:31 AM
Joseph. says:
The Girl Next Door was the hardest book I ever read – or read half of… I was originally going to give it 1 start, but I realized that given the fact that it is “Horror” it was easily 5 stars. Great writing. But this book completely horrified me. I had so much stress and anxiety reading it and I can’t remember ever being more than just mildly haunted by a book before. So great book, but beware!
October 5, 2015 — 2:33 PM
zeros83 says:
“Equoid” by Charles Stross: tt left me with a lingering sense of unease and alien-ness that lasted for months, it’s written beautifully and works like a precise clockwork mechanism.
October 5, 2015 — 10:31 AM
njmagas says:
Poppy Z. Brite’s Drawing Blood. To date it’s the only novel that has successfully given me nightmares. Twice. It’s a very visceral haunted house story, complete with murder, psychological trauma, possession and a ton of weird shit from cover to cover.
October 5, 2015 — 10:32 AM
Bridgesong says:
I love that book so very much.
October 5, 2015 — 1:46 PM
njmagas says:
Woohoo! I love meeting other Brite fans. *high five*
October 10, 2015 — 8:24 PM
Comic Noobs says:
14 by Peter Clines
October 5, 2015 — 10:34 AM
Comic Noobs says:
It starts out as a mystery story, but it gets nightmarishly scary after a while. It’s also so entertaining that I’ve re-read it regularly over the past few years.
October 5, 2015 — 10:37 AM
Annie Howland says:
One of my favorites! I like listening to it in audio version on long drives, as well.
October 6, 2015 — 9:18 AM
Scott Dyson says:
There is a true crime story called “14” by Bill O’Connell (a Chicago Tribune writer) that can double as a horror novel. Happened in Joliet Illinois in the late 1960’s.
October 12, 2015 — 4:48 PM
melissajoulwan says:
I loved being scared by “Down a Dark Hall” when I was a kid. It’s a YA novel from 1974 about an unusual boarding school for “gifted” children. It seems their gifts go beyond their visible talents of music, art, writing, and math. Spooky and fun. A quick Google search tells me the book has been re-released and could become a movie. YAY!
October 5, 2015 — 10:34 AM
wordsavant says:
I’m sure it’s been mentioned, but House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski.
October 5, 2015 — 10:37 AM
J. S. Collyer says:
Penpal by Dathan Auerbach. It scared me because it was so real, subtle and a little too believable. It doesn’t answer all the questions and we don’t know or understand all the rhyme or reason behind what happens to the protagonist. It’s scary because you can imagine if something like this were to happen to you, it would happen exactly this way
October 5, 2015 — 10:37 AM
mannixk says:
I dig a great short story so I tend to read a lot of anthologies. It’s a few years old, but I just read The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: 2012, edited by Paula Guran (I’ve read about 5 of these anthologies so far and have loved them all). Anyway, not every story in here is scary, but two that stuck with me for sure are “Near Zennor” by Elizabeth Hand (a scene in a “cave” as terrifying as many parts of House of Leaves) and also “Four Legs in the Morning” by Norman Prentiss. (Heebie-jeebies big time with this one.) It was the first I’ve read of either of these authors, but now I am keeping my eye out for more.
October 5, 2015 — 10:50 AM
Kim Thornton says:
The creepiest book I ever read was The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen. I still shiver when I think about it, which I try not to do very often.
October 5, 2015 — 10:54 AM
Michael Patrick Hicks says:
I know they’ve already been mentioned, but I have to second IT and HOUSE OF LEAVES.
I was in my early teens the first time I read IT and the house on Neiboldt Street will always leave a scar on my psyche. I listened to the audiobook a few months ago, and holy crap. Steven Weber gives one hell of a performance in his narration and gave me chills more than a few times. So good!
October 5, 2015 — 11:10 AM
Jason says:
I recently read A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay. It was scary in a much different way for me. Also I read The Troop by Nick Cutter. Super creepy.
October 5, 2015 — 11:26 AM
Yvonne Ventresca says:
Spillover: Animal Infections and the next Human Pandemic by David Quammen.
This is frightening because it’s nonfiction. It’s well-researched and each chapter devoted to a deadly contagious disease reads like a story. It’s a different kind of horror.
PS — Great to meet you at the NAIBA conference, Chuck.
October 5, 2015 — 11:39 AM