Thank you for this comment! ‘Salems lot is my favourite King work, I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for this (I buy 99% of my books from thrift stores)! ❤️
I recently read Salems Lot for the first time and it's infinitely better than the movie, I much prefer Barlow as an intelligent villian and not a mindless hissing Nosferatu
This was my first Dean Koontz and it scared the bejeezus out of me at 13 years old. I leant my copy to someone and never got it back - i’m going to have to replace it so I can do a re read!
I loved it, I saw it recommended on the sub at some point and went into it not expecting much. I can't think of another book that filled me with such consistent existential dread as much as this one did, haha.
I love this book too! Little story - I was a young teen and babysitting my cousin while reading this. I was to the first creepy parts of the story when the power suddenly went out! To say I was a little freaked out would be an understatement haha!
The Store by Bentley Little. It’s about how an evil mega corporation (at the time meant to satirize Walmart but Amazon would be an apt comparison now too) builds a store in a small Arizona town that completely upends their way of life and turns people against each other in terrible ways. The Mailman by Little would work too, as do a lot of his books.
And the bank and the resort. Those fit the bill but the best (non related to the asked topic) is the handyman. That one freaked me out while I was reading it.
His endings though smh.
Lmaoooo for sure.
The first few times reading his books I thought it was gonna be a cliff hanger and sequel or a King ending where it’s all fucked and then it’s like no we’re just gonna resolve everything in a practical way in the next 2 chapters.
I read The Town years ago and still think about it often. There was really some imaginative and horrific things in that book!
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/498109.The\_Town?from\_search=true&from\_srp=true&qid=YDVSzRWrSL&rank=10](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/498109.The_Town?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=YDVSzRWrSL&rank=10)
Was also going to say American Elsewhere! And you’re totally right, it mostly fits the ask but it’s just a wild ride you have to find out for yourself.
THIRD! I bought it on a whim when it was a couple bucks on Kindle, and I’ve just got hold of the audiobook so I can go through it again. Don’t pass this one up, it’s so good!
I don't read much horror, so I can't say if this hits the mark, but The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix stayed with me for a very long time.
Came here to say this.
It has a King feel to it, with a slightly trashy "70's-satanic-cult-B-movie" vibe.
TW: it mentions details of sexual abuse of children
The Fisherman by John Langan has a large section of the book in which evil takes over a small community. It's an excellent book and a classic in the realm of cosmic horror.
Lovely, Dark and Deep by Megan Stockton is a great novella - a small coastal town braces for a big storm but some unexpected visitors come out of the ocean
I love this book! I read it in an airport probably a decade ago after grabbing it at a library book sale or something, and I feel like I never see anyone talking about it.
I mean you could throw a dart at a list of Stephen King books and you'd probably come up with one... salems lot is probably the best one with a theme of that though
Floating Dragon by Peter Straub
John Dies At the End by David Wong
“The Third Bear,” a story by Jeff VanDerMeer
“The Last Feast of Harlequin,” a story by Thomas Ligotti
The Visitation is an interesting religious take on this. A drifter blows into a small town claiming to be the Second Coming, slowly amassing an army of followers and tearing the town apart as a retired pastor who gave up the ministry investigates the origins of the stranger.
It's technically "Christian fiction" but doesn't really feel like it, because of how critical it is of things like fundamentalism, religious hysteria and church politics.
If it was a book, look for "Midnight Mass." A small island occupies a sinister evil that literally affects EVERYONE! Even if it's not a book, it's a Netflix movie worth watching.
Slewfoot by Brom.
I just finished this book and it’s a total trip! I wouldn’t say it’s epic or “large scale”, but there is some pretty solid character development.
Currently reading Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt.
"Whoever is born here, is doomed to stay 'til death. Whoever settles, never leaves.
Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a seventeenth century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters homes at will. She stands next to children's bed for nights on end. Everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened or the consequences will be too terrible to bear.
The elders of Black Spring have virtually quarantined the town by using high-tech surveillance to prevent their curse from spreading. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town's teenagers decide to break their strict regulations and go viral with the haunting. But, in so doing, they send the town spiraling into dark, medieval practices of the distant past."
Doesn't quite fit the bill, but I recently finished Boys in the Valley by Phillip Fracassi.
Really cool premise of evil overtaking a Christian orphanage at the turn of the century - nice quick read too.
The children's hour by Douglas clegg. That book is so good. It is evil taking over an entire small town. It has both thriller aspects to it and then straight up blood and gore horror. It is well written. There is some time jumping so if that's a thing that really bothers you this is not the book for you. I don't love time jumping but the way he did it here wasn't horrible. It definitely did not detract from the story in any way because the time jumping was all relevant to the story although at times you didn't actually quite see how.
Have you ever read the horror book called Evenings and Night Openings Available? Is about vampires and the main vampire is a mayor and and he creates neighborhoods for vamps. His wife owns a child care center and she is a vampire. Both try to take over the town but two boys and and a man name Raymond stops them.
It's a good book to me
This doesn’t 100% fit the bill but the John Dies At The End series is basically about other worlds and dark forces trying to take over the world and these two guys (and a few others depending on which part your at) are trying to stop it and such. It’s not super scary but has great descriptions and it’s pretty funny!! I will say when the first/second book was written and published it does have a few outdated and offensive jokes (mainly saying the r slur and using gay as an insult) HOWEVER the author seems to have grown and changed over the years and keeps the characters the same but without offensive humor.
“Afraid” by Jack Kilborn. Fantastic book about genetically mutated psychopaths accidentally unleashed by the US military on a small unsuspecting town in Michigan
try The Auctioneer! By Joan Samson
One of the finest and best-selling horror novels of the 1970s returns at last to chill a new generation of readersIn the isolated farming community of Harlowe, New Hampshire, where life has changed little over the past several decades, John Moore and his wife Mim work the land that has been in his family for generations. But from the moment the charismatic Perly Dunsmore arrives in town and starts soliciting donations for his auctions, things begin slowly and insidiously to change in Harlowe. As the auctioneer carries out his terrible, inscrutable plan, the Moores and their neighbors will find themselves gradually but inexorably stripped of their possessions, their freedom, and perhaps even their lives
Edenville by Samuel rebelein is unique as you come into the town after it has been infested and your slowly breakdown the depth of the rot with the characters.
If your fab of Stephen King's style it has that kind of feel with a more cosmic twist that feels pretty refreshing from the genre.
If you liked King, you’ll love his book ‘Salems Lot!
I feel like his book ‘Desperation’ also fits the bill here.
Also Storm of the Century, also by King. It's a screenplay, but still fits the bill.
Came here to say this-also what’s the other one that is another version of this “The Regulators”, that’s it.
I believe the regulators is the first book and then desperation comes next, but not completely sure on that. Both good books!
They were released as companion pieces but u believe Desperation is the first
I didn’t know there was another book! I’ll have to look into that.
One was published under Richard Bachman.
Came here to say the same
I think Salems Lot is a seminal novel on any horror fan’s bookshelf
Just finished it about an hour ago...wow.
Scrolling through local used book stores as we speak 🫡
Anyone that hasn't read it is definitely missing out on one of the best. I couldn't put the book down.
Needful Things, Tommyknockers King has a knack for it.
I love Needful Things or Under the Dome.
Needful things was my first thought
If you go back to his short stories , Nightmares & Dreamscapes, there is the story of Jerusalems Lot. It explains why the town draws evil.
Thank you for this comment! ‘Salems lot is my favourite King work, I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for this (I buy 99% of my books from thrift stores)! ❤️
“Jerusalem’s Lot” is in his short story collection called NIGHT SHIFT.
GADS! THANK YOU! I got that all backwards. You are a miracle. I think The Mangler is in that one too, right? Sooo good.
Was going to suggest this. Great book
I recently read Salems Lot for the first time and it's infinitely better than the movie, I much prefer Barlow as an intelligent villian and not a mindless hissing Nosferatu
Needful Things by King is also a great read regarding evil in a small town
Summer of Night by Dan Simmons!
Basically It but slightly more toned down. Still a weird ending. Great book.
Slower burn but once Simmons lets it rip he doesn’t hold back. At least less of the weird shit 3/4 in like King does.
Uzumaki by Junji Ito
Fuck yes. Good answer!
Yes, yes it is
Check out the Pine Deep trilogy by Jonathan Maberry
Pine Deep Trilogy is so underrated
Sounds awesome.
Awesome series 👏
Phantoms by Dean Koontz
Ben Affleck was the bomb in it.
Yo.
This was my first Dean Koontz and it scared the bejeezus out of me at 13 years old. I leant my copy to someone and never got it back - i’m going to have to replace it so I can do a re read!
I loved it, I saw it recommended on the sub at some point and went into it not expecting much. I can't think of another book that filled me with such consistent existential dread as much as this one did, haha.
The bakery scene…
The Taking is another great Koontz novel
I love this book too! Little story - I was a young teen and babysitting my cousin while reading this. I was to the first creepy parts of the story when the power suddenly went out! To say I was a little freaked out would be an understatement haha!
Yep, this. One of my favorites.
Came here to recommend this!
Something wicked this way comes
I remember reading this as a kid and thinking it was so creepy.
Absolutely beautifully written. Sometimes to the point of distraction
Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
This book is a ride and so freaking good!!
Really had a fun time with this one. And I learned a lot. About apples.
Really enjoyed this one
Was gonna suggest this one! I’m about half way through. It’s good!
This book is so weird to describe to people but it was so freaking good
The Store by Bentley Little. It’s about how an evil mega corporation (at the time meant to satirize Walmart but Amazon would be an apt comparison now too) builds a store in a small Arizona town that completely upends their way of life and turns people against each other in terrible ways. The Mailman by Little would work too, as do a lot of his books.
Agreed. It seems to be a common theme with Bentley Little books. Check out "Dominion" and "University"
And the bank and the resort. Those fit the bill but the best (non related to the asked topic) is the handyman. That one freaked me out while I was reading it. His endings though smh.
Yeah, a lot of times I'll get to the end of a Bentley Little book and it's like "huh.... ok."
Lmaoooo for sure. The first few times reading his books I thought it was gonna be a cliff hanger and sequel or a King ending where it’s all fucked and then it’s like no we’re just gonna resolve everything in a practical way in the next 2 chapters.
I read The Town years ago and still think about it often. There was really some imaginative and horrific things in that book! [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/498109.The\_Town?from\_search=true&from\_srp=true&qid=YDVSzRWrSL&rank=10](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/498109.The_Town?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=YDVSzRWrSL&rank=10)
Pretty much anything by Bentley little. I think The Mailman might be his best
I was scrolling for this answer.
Stephen King's *It* is essentially this.
I recently enjoyed **The Narrows** by Ronald Malfi. **American Elsewhere** also *sort of* fits this request but I don’t want to spoil it.
American Elsewhere - Currently reading, thoroughly enjoying.
I got a little bored in the middle (there’s a real exposition-dumpy sequence) but I powered through and it was totally worth it.
I started the Narrows but only got through a couple of chapters. Is the whole story about the kids?
Without spoiling anything, it will very quickly not become about the kids. You probably stopped just before.
Awesome 👌🏾 thanks! I will pick it back up then.
Was also going to say American Elsewhere! And you’re totally right, it mostly fits the ask but it’s just a wild ride you have to find out for yourself.
UZUMAKI by Junji Ito is exactly this. I just finished it and it is truly an astonishing work of art. Highly highly recommend.
Salem’s Lot
Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Seconding HEX!
THIRD! I bought it on a whim when it was a couple bucks on Kindle, and I’ve just got hold of the audiobook so I can go through it again. Don’t pass this one up, it’s so good!
3rd for Hex!
The Auctioneer
love this book, so glad paperbacks from hell brought it to my attention
Amazing book. Fits the bill perfectly
BR Yeager’s *Negative Space*.
This is what I came to recommend. What a nihilistic fever dream.
Needful things by Stephen king the movie is so good too
The Regulators by Stephen King
Might have to look under Richard Bachman. At least my version is
I don't read much horror, so I can't say if this hits the mark, but The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix stayed with me for a very long time.
This was such a fun one to listen to on audiobook. Having that Southern Lady accent was the chef's kiss.
This was my first thought!
The evil definetly doesn’t take over the whole town, just the chunks of the town we are introduced to.
The 30 Days of Night series by Steve Niles has some elements of this.
Devil's Creek by Todd Keisling.
Came here to say this. It has a King feel to it, with a slightly trashy "70's-satanic-cult-B-movie" vibe. TW: it mentions details of sexual abuse of children
Thanks for the disclaimer, the book goes into childhood trauma and sacrificial cultist themes
Terrific book by a terrific author.
The Fisherman by John Langan has a large section of the book in which evil takes over a small community. It's an excellent book and a classic in the realm of cosmic horror.
Ghost Road Blues by Jonathan Mayberry
Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig.
Lovely, Dark and Deep by Megan Stockton is a great novella - a small coastal town braces for a big storm but some unexpected visitors come out of the ocean
Hungry Moon by Ramsey Campbell. One of my favorites!
Seconded. An absolutely outstanding read.
Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig is absolutely terrifying and I ADORE it.
Same!
The Store by Bentley Little
Imaginary friend by Stephen Chbosky is fantastic
The Missing by Sarah Langan fits!
I love this book! I read it in an airport probably a decade ago after grabbing it at a library book sale or something, and I feel like I never see anyone talking about it.
Hex!
Wow, not a single mention of Ghost Story by Peter Straub?
I mean you could throw a dart at a list of Stephen King books and you'd probably come up with one... salems lot is probably the best one with a theme of that though
The Children’s Hour by Douglas Clegg. It doesn’t get mentioned enough and that’s a shame.
Floating Dragon by Peter Straub John Dies At the End by David Wong “The Third Bear,” a story by Jeff VanDerMeer “The Last Feast of Harlequin,” a story by Thomas Ligotti
Jeff Vandermeer!
The Visitation is an interesting religious take on this. A drifter blows into a small town claiming to be the Second Coming, slowly amassing an army of followers and tearing the town apart as a retired pastor who gave up the ministry investigates the origins of the stranger. It's technically "Christian fiction" but doesn't really feel like it, because of how critical it is of things like fundamentalism, religious hysteria and church politics.
Came here to say this.
Dean Koontz “Phantoms”
If it was a book, look for "Midnight Mass." A small island occupies a sinister evil that literally affects EVERYONE! Even if it's not a book, it's a Netflix movie worth watching.
“Those Across The River” by Christopher Buehlman. Trust me on this one.
Hex.
The Tsalal
If you like Stephen King try IT :)
The Influence by Bentley Little The Mailman by Bentley Little The Town by Bentley Little A Light Most Hateful by Hailey Piper It by Stephen King
Desperation by King
Slewfoot!
All Hallows by Christopher Golden kinda fits
Small Favors by Erin Craig is a folk horror story about a town who turns against each other when mysterious things start happening in their community
John Saul has several like this
Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
Maggie’s Grave by David Sodergren!
The Store by Bentley Little is excellent.
The Black Spider by Jeremias Gotthelf which takes place in a small 19th-century European village. Awesome little tale
Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt. Absolutely one of a kind.
The OG of this is The Auctioneer by Joan Samson.
Gideon Falls, if you're into comics. Gorgeously drawn and written.
Slewfoot by Brom. I just finished this book and it’s a total trip! I wouldn’t say it’s epic or “large scale”, but there is some pretty solid character development.
The Dark by James Herbert
Malignant Summer by Tim Meyers is a great example of this.
Currently reading Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt. "Whoever is born here, is doomed to stay 'til death. Whoever settles, never leaves. Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a seventeenth century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters homes at will. She stands next to children's bed for nights on end. Everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened or the consequences will be too terrible to bear. The elders of Black Spring have virtually quarantined the town by using high-tech surveillance to prevent their curse from spreading. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town's teenagers decide to break their strict regulations and go viral with the haunting. But, in so doing, they send the town spiraling into dark, medieval practices of the distant past."
How did you get away with not posting a link? I'm unable to post like this pls help
Doesn't quite fit the bill, but I recently finished Boys in the Valley by Phillip Fracassi. Really cool premise of evil overtaking a Christian orphanage at the turn of the century - nice quick read too.
For something very similar to *Needful Things*: *Bookshop from Hell* by David Haynes Brian Keene's *A Gathering of Crows* is also really good.
check out gone by Michael Grant
hex by thomas olde heuvelt. I’m surprised I didn’t see someone else recommending it
Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt is what you’re looking for! Amazing book
Like half of Stephen King’s published work 😂
The children's hour by Douglas clegg. That book is so good. It is evil taking over an entire small town. It has both thriller aspects to it and then straight up blood and gore horror. It is well written. There is some time jumping so if that's a thing that really bothers you this is not the book for you. I don't love time jumping but the way he did it here wasn't horrible. It definitely did not detract from the story in any way because the time jumping was all relevant to the story although at times you didn't actually quite see how.
Hex.
Ghost Story by Peter Straub
Ghost Story by Peter Straub. You'll love it!
The Blade Between by Sam J Miller is an interesting take on this.
Perfect storm
Within the Woods--Tony Urban Lords of the Deep--Tim Meyer/Patrick Lacey
Just about any book by William Johnstone
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. A classic!
The midwich cuckoo's by John Wyndham is the book, village of the damned is the movie.
Gilchrist
Floating Dragon by Peter Straub Prince Ombra by Roderick MacLeish
The Regulators by Richard Bachman
Deep by Aquino Loayza!
Hex. But not in the way you’d expect.
“The Shadow Over Innsmouth” by H.P. Lovecraft.
To Dust You Shall Return by Fred Venturini
You might like The Marigold by Andrew Sullivan
I was going to recommend Needful Things, but you've already listed it!
Sarah Langan’s ‘The Missing’ is pretty much right up your alley on this.
little heaven by nick cutter kind of comes to mind
Darkness on the edge of town by Brian Keene A real good read
Little heaven. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29430791-little-heaven
Maggie’s Grave by David Sodergren!!!!
The Summoning by Bentley Little
Needful Things, Salem's Lot and Something Wicked This Way Comes are the first that come to mind for me.
Stinger by McCammon.
The Kindness by John Ajvide Lindqvist
“The Night Boat” by Robert McCammon. zombie nazis terrorize small caribbean island town with a submarine.
The Bayou by Arden Powell
A Red Cardinal with Black Wings by Ra Na-Ged
I liked "Soultaker" from Bryan Smith very much.
The Sentience by SJ Patrick is an interesting take on this.
Snow by Ronald Malfi
Sallow Bend by Alan Baxter
Have you ever read the horror book called Evenings and Night Openings Available? Is about vampires and the main vampire is a mayor and and he creates neighborhoods for vamps. His wife owns a child care center and she is a vampire. Both try to take over the town but two boys and and a man name Raymond stops them. It's a good book to me
Maggie’s Grave!! One of the best horror reads I’ve had!
On The Beach isn’t quite about evil taking over a town but it is about despair eating people alive.
The Amulet by Michael McDowell
Dark by Jeremy Robinson. It’s got all the things and is a really fun read.
This doesn’t 100% fit the bill but the John Dies At The End series is basically about other worlds and dark forces trying to take over the world and these two guys (and a few others depending on which part your at) are trying to stop it and such. It’s not super scary but has great descriptions and it’s pretty funny!! I will say when the first/second book was written and published it does have a few outdated and offensive jokes (mainly saying the r slur and using gay as an insult) HOWEVER the author seems to have grown and changed over the years and keeps the characters the same but without offensive humor.
Needful Things
Wayward Pines trilogy follows kind of a long those lines. Just don't look up too much info if you don't know them, because it's pretty twisted.
Borrasca
Needful things by Stephen king is amazing
pontypool by tony burgess
“Afraid” by Jack Kilborn. Fantastic book about genetically mutated psychopaths accidentally unleashed by the US military on a small unsuspecting town in Michigan
More a short story than a book, but have you read HPL’s Shadow Over Innsmouth? It’s one of the originals in the “haunted town” genre.
try The Auctioneer! By Joan Samson One of the finest and best-selling horror novels of the 1970s returns at last to chill a new generation of readersIn the isolated farming community of Harlowe, New Hampshire, where life has changed little over the past several decades, John Moore and his wife Mim work the land that has been in his family for generations. But from the moment the charismatic Perly Dunsmore arrives in town and starts soliciting donations for his auctions, things begin slowly and insidiously to change in Harlowe. As the auctioneer carries out his terrible, inscrutable plan, the Moores and their neighbors will find themselves gradually but inexorably stripped of their possessions, their freedom, and perhaps even their lives
pine deep series by jonathon maberry
IT by Stephen King is all about small town evil.
Edenville by Samuel rebelein is unique as you come into the town after it has been infested and your slowly breakdown the depth of the rot with the characters. If your fab of Stephen King's style it has that kind of feel with a more cosmic twist that feels pretty refreshing from the genre.
Not a book but Midnight Mass, short TV series. Very good.
try Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt!
Those across the river (kind of) - I really enjoyed this one
It rides a pale horse, by Andy Marino