#horror book recs

[robocatfan]

I won’t be the only person in this hellsite who is obsessed over horror killer mermaid stories and then constantly die inside when not only there is a severe lack of that sub genre, but also when amongst those few these two mfs are one of the few ones that actually have good compelling stories, and I’ll make sure of that!

[crowclubkaz]

💚👁️🕸️ In honour of The Magnus Protocol releasing today, here are some book recommendations based on The Magnus Archives Fears!! 🕸️👁️💚

Detailed list of books below the cut!

For more book recommendations, especially queer horror, check out my Bookstagram @hauntedstacks

The Buried ⚰️ - Into the Sublime by Kate A. Boorman - Stuck by Ben Young - The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling - The Deep by Nick Cutter

The Corruption 🦠 - What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher - Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris - The Honeys by Ryan La Sala - She Is A Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

The Dark 🌑 - Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes - Nightfall by Jake Halpern & Peter Kujawinski - No Power by Todd Kirby - The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

The Desolation 🔥 - Firestarter by Stephen King - Burner by Robert Ford - Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta - Burn the House Down by Kenna Jenkins

The End 💀 - Funeral Girl by Emma K. Ohland - Pet Sematary by Stephen King - Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune - This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno

The Extinction 🦴 - Lost Signals by Max Booth III - Bride of the Tornado by James Kennedy - No Safety in Numbers by Dayna Lorentz - The Rules of the Road by C.B. Jones

The Eye 👁️ - Video Palace by Maynard Wills - Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie - A History of Fear by Luke Dumas - The Watchers by A.M. Shine

The Flesh 🦷 - You’ve Lost A Lot of Blood by Eric LaRocca - Carnivore by Justin Boote - A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers - Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

The Hunt 🏹 - Hunt by Alexandra Nisneru - The Woods Are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins - Survive the Night by Danielle Vega - The Hunger by Alma Katsu

The Lonely ☁️ - Red River Seven by A.J. Ryan - Solitude by Michael Penning - Dark Matter by Michelle Paver - We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

The Slaughter 🥩 - Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin - Your Shadow Half Remains by Sunny Moraine - American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis - The Summer I Died by Ryan C. Thomas

The Spiral 🌀 - That Darkened Doorstep by Catherine Jordan - Mind the Mirrors by Amanda Leanne - Grey Noise by Marcus Hawke - Last to Leave the Room by Caitlin Starling

The Stranger🕴️ - It Looks Like Us by Alison Ames - My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix - The Deep by Alma Katsu - The Outside by Stephen King

The Vast 🪂 - From Below by Darcy Coates - Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant - Floating Staircase by Ronald Mafi - Nightmare Sky by Red Lagoe

The Web 🕸️ - The Taking of Jake Livingston - The Fervor by Alma Katsu - The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig - Come Closer by Sarah Gran

If You Like The Magnus Archives 💚 - Thirteen Stories by Jonathan Sims - Family Business by Jonathan Sims - Gas Station by Jack Townsend - Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

[vampiremacncheese]

Looking for some fresh new sapphic reads👀🌈?

Here's a roundup of everything from heart-melting romance 💕 to spine-chilling horror stories that'll linger long after the last page 👻.

[abalonetea]

Are you looking for...

tragic romance

ghost stories

the moment grief becomes a ghost

southern settings

gay main characters

light horror

...then I Drowned In The Summer of 85 is the book for you! It's available right now on Amazon and it would be so amazing if you checked out this labor of love!

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

hey does anybody have any aro horror book recs, by chance?? novels and novellas preferred, but i'll take ANYthing aro/horror

[taylortuthorror]

5 Star Horror Book of the Day:

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy

incredibly complicated postpartum disabled MC with a difficult family life and even more difficult relationship with her body moves into a horror apartment complex. Perfect for fans of Rosemary's Baby. I loved the way they handled the subject of disability--guilt and shame and rage--without making her seem like a bitter "tortured cripple" stereotype. I loved this book. Highly recommend!

[artofhitjim]

I started redesigning horror book covers into picture books. Here’s Lapvona by Otessa Moshfegh. I also do reviews of them on my Instagram and (regrettably) Tik Tok. Suffice to say I was not a fan of this book, just too much poo.

[silverskye13]

Hi again! Unrelated to cat pics, I do have a book-related question. (Sorry for sending two asks in one night. I only thought of this after sending the fuzz goblin orz). I just finished The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher after seeing it in a list of books you recommended. Given that it's the first non-audio book I've finished in a while, it's safe to say I really liked it! I remember you'd mentioned in the post that you were real into horror, so I was curious if you had any other spooky recommendations you wanted to share. No pressure to respond, of course! Just curious :>

Don't worry about sending multiple asks! If I feel like I can't answer them I will save them for later ^_^

And! Ah!! Let me do some digging. Horror/thriller books fun. Spook books rec list under the cut!

I probably don't need to recommend it, since you've already read one, but T. Kingfisher makes really fun horror. Creepy and suspenseful. I also liked The Hollow Places by her, and her Sworn Soldier books are also horror! For body horror and language, I would rate her horror book somewhere above PG-13 but below R.

I'm also going to blanket recommend Darcey Coates. I have read around 6? Of her books? And there was only one I didn't like. Darcey Coates has an amazing way with specifically haunted house themed horror. She transforms the standard tropes really, really well. And she's not afraid! To let there actually be ghosts!! It's very cool. The Haunting of Rookward House was the first one I read, and stands out still in my memory. One of the scares in particular made me drop the book. I don't know how she manages to write jump scares but,,, oof. The Carrow Haunt is another I really liked the premise of. My favorite by far was Craven Manor. I could probably write a thesis on why I like her horror books so much. To keep it brief: Darcey Coates understands that horror means something (ie the monster is also a theme) and that you have to actually like the characters to be scared for them, and I love her for that.

Her books are rated PG-13. To my knowledge they're all pretty tame.

The Fisherman by John Langan.

Rated E for Explicit, body horror, general gruesomeness.

A more mature read, and two stories in one. A lovecraftian-style horror about two men who are mourning their wives and going fishing -- and the monstrous land they fish on. I go back and forth on how much I like this book. On the worst days it's still a solid 3 out of 5. On the best days, 10/10. I found myself way more invested in the legend of the place than the characters the story was following, but I still got emotion out of the ending.

The Croning by Laird Baron

Rated E for Explicit. Body horror. Slow burn horror.

So, this one has me a bit at a disadvantage because it's been awhile. I remember liking it a lot, but I can't wholly remember the plot. I do remember it's like, lovecraftian horror -- but the monster is the main character's wife. And you, the reader, know it's his wife. But he doesn't. And watching him try to defend the wife he loves so much, while she's obviously some quietly lurking evil, is just, really interesting. They have a family together. They're genuinely happy. But it's like watching someone fall in love with a known serial killer. There's just something... Wrong here.

Good vibes! More of a slower read.

The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in a Castle, by Shirley Jackson

Rated PG-13, slow burn horror

The horror of being alone. Shirley Jackson writes it well. They're older books, and slower and more subtle than a lot of modern horror, but there is something scary about how relatable the characters are. How twisted up it makes you, empathizing with them, watching them descend to their doom. Hill House still makes me cry sometimes, thinking about Eleanor. These books are a bit situational, I feel like. If you know what it's like to be alone, know how existentially scary it is to feel unimportant to the people around you, these books will sink hooks in. If you don't find that concept scary, mostly these books will make you think these people should get out more.

Cold Storage by David Koepp

Rated PG-13 to R, language, fungi based body horror, viscera, violence

I recommended this on my other book recs list, but Cold Storage is just. Fun. It's scary too! When the "monster" gets going it Gets Going. But the main characters are awesome. It reads a bit more like an action book than straight horror, and I so desperately wanted the good guys to win. I was scared for them the whole final act of the book.

Anyway -- mutant mold spores compel people to climb up to high places and explode, spreading their spores around more. Thank God the only outbreak of that got carpet bombed to hell, and the one sample remaining was safely contained in a government facility where it could only be used to research a cure, right? :) Right? :(

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Rated PG-13, violence, language, adult themes

So this leans a lot harder on conventional fantasy, but there are so many horror themes in this book I'm adding it to the list. A girl is taken from her village every [number I can't remember] years and given to the local dragon [wizard] to keep the villages safe from The Wood. But the Wood is old, cunning, and vindictive, and what once only infected the land has now begun to seed itself within the heart of men.

This book made me feel truly hopeless at times. The characters really are fighting a ruthless enemy, one that should kill them over and over, and yet somehow, they scrape by. The horror of The Wood cannot be understated, and even it's explanation doesn't take away it's strength, in my opinion. It has a happy ending, but man, it's a fight getting there.

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman

Rated R for everything. Body horror, blood and gore, sexual assault, rape, language, everything

Another one that I waffle back and forth on whether I like it or not. I feel like if I met Buehlman in real life, I would fist fight him over this book. There are some choices I definitely don't like [I thought the last 3 chapters could've been cut]. But. It's fucking scary.

Lucifer has released all the horrors of hell on the medieval world. Plagues. Demons. Tortures. Pillages. Everything. And God... Doesn't answer.

The rest of the book follows a disgraced knight, a gay priest, and a little girl as they trek across medieval Europe, trying to do something about it. The demons are scary and terrible. The people are even more so. If you want a truly bleak and terror filled read, this is a good one. But it's also really, really intense. I had to put it down a few times. This is a scary read. Not a fun read. And mind the tags.

Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Rated PG-13 for blood and violence

Ten teenagers go to an island to have a party. One of them is a murderer. A night of terror ensues.

This is YA horror, so a little more mild than some of the others on this list! But! I loved it! Had some awesome planting, and it really felt like, if I'd just paid a little more attention, I could've figured out who the killer was. There is some masterful weaving of tropes in this book too. The smokescreen of stereotypical characters. I can't talk about it too much or I'll get excited and spoil it. Just. McNeil was smart about this one I think.

The Girl from the Well by Ten Chupeco

Rated PG-13 for blood, violence, and attempted violence against minors by adults

The movie The Ring but from the ghost's perspective -- oh and also there's another even scarier ghost stirring shit up in the background. Another one I can't talk too much about without getting excited and spoiling things. I remember being a bit confused about who the main character was in the beginning. Be ye warned, one of the main characters is, in fact, a vengeful spirit, and she does murder people she doesn't like in terrible ways. It's her toxic trait.

This list is getting super long and I'm getting tired so! I'm going to end it here!

[evodevo-geekmonkey]

👻🍂🎃Spookie Season Book Recs 👻🍂🎃

In the spirit of Halloween, here are my top spooky book recs of the year to get cozy with 🍵... if you dare 🦇

1. Alice Isn't Dead by Joseph Fink

Creepy American road trip with some pretty scary monsters and a lot of heart. I absolutely loved the writing in this one. The author does strange and off-putting very well. I also love how human all the characters are and how to true to life their stories are despite the supernatural elements.

2. Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk

A short but sweet and spooky story with romance and demons and spells and selling of souls. It's old timey detective story meets the occult. I also found this story beautifully written and the vibes were spot on. I really enjoyed being immersed in this world of magic and mystery and was kept in suspense right to the end. I wanted the main character to get the happy ending she was fighting for so badly!

3. Withered by A.G.A. Wilmot

A haunted house story about community, life, and death and letting go. I really liked how the main character's story wove into the story of the house, which wove into the story of the town and its people. And I felt that the way the house was haunted was really compelling. Spooky and sad this is a great one for Halloween.

[lowhorrors]

Hello, hello!

Sorry if this has been asked before, but who is your absolute favourite horror author?

Likewise, do you have any other authors you'd recommend?

Hi! What a great question. Thank you for asking!

The first name that jumps to mind is Stephen Graham Jones. All of his books and short stories stick in my head and I find myself thinking about them months later. I reread Mongrels at least once a year.

Okay, all of my favorites have books that I reread often.

Mira Grant, specifically Into the Drowning Deep. I love ocean horror and she stocks this one with so many interesting characters. I am obsessed with it.

T. Kingfisher (Hollow Places), Cherie Priest (The Toll), and James Brogden (Hekla's Children) are a few more that I jump at their books, devour everything of theirs I get my hands on. The books in parenthesis are just my favorites that I am always screaming about.

This was such a cool ask! Thank you!

What about you? Favorite horror authors? Or favorite horror book?

[lexaprolexicon]

Finally finished this today. Such a good read. Also, it was a very easy read, in my opinion. Some of the stuff I'm reading is written in a way that requires a lot of brain power, but this book is written in a way that lets me get lost in the story. It feels very down to earth and conversational but in a very good way. Highly suggest it for anyone thinking about reading it!

[neatotito]

My TBR list

I liek my spooky stories

[htylmg]

i neeeeeed more cannibalism/body horror book recs, can y’all recommend your faves???? please and thank you and god bless 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

[castielsbees]

Does anyone have any good scary/creepy horror book recs about cannibalism.. asking for a friend

[spaceyraccoon]

Anybody wanna recommend any sci fi horror books to me? Adult is my preference over YA, please! :3

[taylortuthorror]

Four "Bad Neighbors" books!

Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan: dark, tense neighborhood drama comes to a head when a sinkhole swallows a child in the middle of the park.

A Better World by Sarah Langan: a family tries to fit in in their new gated community: but something's not quite right.

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena: a baby goes missing and everyone has a dark secret to hide.

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer: a family drops by in the middle of a storm asking if they can come tour the house where their father grew up. she should have said "no."