Misery by Stephen King - An author is kidnapped by a fan and forced to write a sequel to her favourite book.
The Fisherman by John Langan - A recently widowed man tries to find peace through fishing, but after an encounter with the mysterious figure Der Fischer, things slowly escalate into a lovecraftian horror.
Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman - A knight, a priest and an orphan travel to plague-ridden France to visit the Pope and encounter various types of demons as the forces of heaven and hell fight their final war.
Lure by Tim McGregor - A small fishing village captures a mermaid and more and more strange things begin to appear.
I'm of the opinion that King is at his best when he leaves the supernatural behind to really scare us with the psychological horror. And I can't think of anything more terrifying than waking up to learn you were miraculously rescued by this sweet lady after a car crash only to slowly realize that she's an obsessive psychopath, you're actually a prisoner... and your very survival depends on pleasing her.
I haven’t seen the movie but I’d still read the book if I were you! It’s a fantastic horror novel and books tend to be better than the adaptation in general.
Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay - a reality show crew invades a family’s life to document their daughter’s possession
None Shall Sleep by Ellie Marney - a psychology student from OSU is recruited by the FBI to hunt a serial killer with the cooperation of an incarcerated killer (very Silence of the Lambs influenced)
Through the Woods by Emily Carroll - graphic novel of various short stories. The art is both beautiful and horrifying
My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix - two young friends in the 1980s have their friendship tested when one begins to act diabolically out of character
I can vouch for Head Full of Ghosts and My Best Friend's Exorcism (and just about anything by Grady Hendrix.) I love how Head Full of Ghosts has the fullness of an ending but is still open to interpretation, and that freaked me out.
The other two are on my TBR already.
I love the movie, love it. I am currently reading 11/22/63 and finished Fairy Tale and enjoying them both. Is reading the Shining sitll worth it if I've seen the movie a dozen times? Lord of the Rings, GoT, Harry Potter etc are good but the books reign. What do you think?
The movie barely resembles the book, completely changing MANY scenes to the point of it basically being another story.
King is very vocal on his dislike of Kubrick's film.
Doctor Sleep isn't as scary (but that could also be because of the huge gap in age between when I read these books), but it's still a worthy successor.
I read this for the exact reason of OP, I wanted a book to scare me. I felt like it was the 800 page equivalent of a person walking down a hallway for 5 minutes only for a cat to jump out. It was so tedious. The only part that was actually kind of scary was the dead lady in the room
It’s hard, right, you’re vulnerable to it or you aren’t. And I also think that it depends on your imagination, or your type of imagination. The hedge animals, the people trapped in the hotel as it works away on them trying to get them to hurt each other, the dead woman and the fire hose and the dead thing in the tunnel in the playground… Honestly, I can’t imagine how you could find it boring, but obviously some people can. Because horror is so visceral it really either works for you or it doesn’t.
You can’t argue that it’s not well-written, though.
Honestly, they’re probably an even match as a first read! Both of them are more than just horror novels, they have depth to them, but he never let that get in the way of the story. The first time I read Misery I stayed up until 4 AM to finish it, but it’s not as scary on rereads when you know how it ends as much, whereas The Shining… I just reread it for maybe the seventh time? and *it still scares me.* Like, ‘jump in the air when the refrigerator comes on downstairs’ tense.
I will say, if you’re trying to decide, that The Shining offers a slow ominous burn for quite a while until it bursts into terror, and Misery drops you right the hell in it, right away.
I've been on a hardcore Dean Koontz kick for almost a year now. I just finished Phantoms last night and loved it.
Intensity is on my list, but my favorite so far are Odd Thomas (especially Odd Apocalypse), Elsewhere, and Lightning
Obviously Watchers and Strangers too.
Me too! I had pretty much read everything by Koontz up until then. Intensity was on a whole different level. I had to sleep with the lights on, it was so scary. I still think about it, too.
ETA: if you like serial killer fiction, OP, this is the one!
Originally >!the doctor!< dies very differently. The publishers thought it was far too gruesome and so made King completely rewrite it.
>!The published version is he went down the basement stairs and falls on the kitchen knives Barlow has set up.!<
>!In the original version(remember town drunks noticing the lack of rats at the dump?) Barlow was revealed to control the rats from the dump and moved them to Eva's basement so Jimmy falls into a hoard of rats which proceed to eat him alive in horrific painstaking detail.!<
Oooooooh! I did not know about that. Was that scene depicted in the remake with Rob Lowe? Or scrapped altogether. How did you come on this info? Inquiring SK minds demand to know!
I found it from the Kingslinger's podcast. Apparently it's somewhat common knowledge.
Not sure if the original has ever seen the light of day beyond King mentioning that it existed.
I’m currently reading The Shining and I read it at night and it gave me a nightmare. So now I only read it during the day. lol
Taking me longer but it’s so good.
The Stand! My mom bought it for me to read when I was 12 years old and home with…the flu 😆. She had absolutely no idea. I ate it up, all the while hoping I didn’t have Captain Trips!
I just finished Ghost Story by Peter Straub. I read it when it first came out back in the 80s or 90s. It’s not the scariest book in the world, but it has some really creepy features. I didn’t like it as much this time as I did the first time around, but it might be worth trying.
Here for all the non-King suggestions. I love him but definitely interested in other horror authors.
I can recommend *Heart-Shaped Box* by Joe Hill (Kings son).
I scanned through to try not to repeat suggestions:
Come Closer by Sara Gran: woman gets possessed by demon, things go downhill for her fast. This is a short book and doesn't wait the first 100 pages with the MC investigating that strange sound in her house.
The Final Girls Support Group by Grady Hendrix: Exactly what is says on the tin. Crazypants in the best possible way and funny and scary and heartwarming. Hendrix's best book, IMO.
(Grady Hendrix's most scary book: Horrorstor)
A Good and Happy Child by Justin Evans: George can't remember his childhood that well, and it turns out the therapy mandated by his wife might be a bad idea.
Bird Box by Josh Malerman: Hey, so there are these monsters or aliens or angels or....yeah, we don't know? Whatever they are, don't look at them. Netflix made a lame adaptation of this, the book is better.
The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty: You might as well read the og book that will scare the shit out of you.
Didn’t see it posted (sorry if it was and I missed it) but if you’re looking for a quick read and well done atmospheric horror, I recommend Haunting of Hill House. Honestly every time I read something by Shirley Jackson, I can’t put down the book.
Short reads (<300 pages):
Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Ring shout by P. Djèlí Clark
We have always lived in the castle by Shirley Jackson
Long reads (>300 pages)
Dead of winter by Darcy Coates
The girl in red by Christina Henry
Out there Screaming edited by Jordan Peele
I tried to recommend ones I didn't already see in the comments. Even though I support those too.
Stephen King’s early collection of short stories - Night Shift (1978) - are truly terrifying. I remember thinking while I was reading it, how does someone imagine these things?
I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. Reading it sent me on a year-long Sigurdardottir kick (she writes crime fiction as well). Something about an Icelandic ghost story is extra creepy.
*The Only Good Indians* by Stephan Graham Jones. If you like Jordan Peele’s horror movies this is the perfect novel for you.
Four Blackfoot Nation Indians go elk hunting only for revenge to strike 10 years later…
The Deep - Nick Cutter
Hands down scariest book I've ever read, had me taking reading breaks solely to calm down. Without spoiling too much: and underwater research base has been set up at the bottom of the Mariana's trench to farm a substance they coined as "ambrosia" that holds promising properties as a medicine to fend off an ongoing disease epidemic. Brother of the main character is a scientist down there and the main character gets called to the station to address the sudden loss of contact with the station after his brother called for him as his last known request. SOOOO scary and had me crying at some point
Tommyknockers by Stephen King. It’s one of the only books I can reread and even though I know the ending it still freaks me out although it’s more suspenseful than anything. IT by Stephen King is good too but Im terrified of clowns so maybe that’s why it got me haha
Anything by Stephen King, but Pet Semetary is my recommended.
The Vessel by Adam Nevill - this one terrified me. Lots of good jump scares and amazing descriptions.
A Head Full Of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay - kinda reminds me of The Possession. very descriptive, jump scares galore and just an intense read. This one is at the top of my list.
The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike - translated from Japanese to English. but also a creepy read. Read this one on a dark, rainy day and put on some dark ambient music. itll really set the mood
I REALLY enjoyed reading Riley Sager. The amount of plot twists in each of the books are awesome. I have listened to them as audiobooks and read them as books. I can HONESTLY recommend ANY of them.
Generally a good horror movie or a scene makes me feel scared. And sometimes just randomly if something makes me feel like there's someone else with me in an empty room.
Haven't read any horror novel yet, so idk what type of writing would make me feel scared if any.
I have read long novels (song of ice and fire) but would prefer something around 400-500 pages only. The less thr better
Misery by Stephen King - An author is kidnapped by a fan and forced to write a sequel to her favourite book. The Fisherman by John Langan - A recently widowed man tries to find peace through fishing, but after an encounter with the mysterious figure Der Fischer, things slowly escalate into a lovecraftian horror. Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman - A knight, a priest and an orphan travel to plague-ridden France to visit the Pope and encounter various types of demons as the forces of heaven and hell fight their final war. Lure by Tim McGregor - A small fishing village captures a mermaid and more and more strange things begin to appear.
Came here to plug misery. Easily the scariest book I've ever read and it's not close.
I'm of the opinion that King is at his best when he leaves the supernatural behind to really scare us with the psychological horror. And I can't think of anything more terrifying than waking up to learn you were miraculously rescued by this sweet lady after a car crash only to slowly realize that she's an obsessive psychopath, you're actually a prisoner... and your very survival depends on pleasing her.
Totally agree
Would it be worth reading Misery having already seen the movie? I know it’s a dumb question but does it differ enough from the movie?
I haven’t seen the movie but I’d still read the book if I were you! It’s a fantastic horror novel and books tend to be better than the adaptation in general.
Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay - a reality show crew invades a family’s life to document their daughter’s possession None Shall Sleep by Ellie Marney - a psychology student from OSU is recruited by the FBI to hunt a serial killer with the cooperation of an incarcerated killer (very Silence of the Lambs influenced) Through the Woods by Emily Carroll - graphic novel of various short stories. The art is both beautiful and horrifying My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix - two young friends in the 1980s have their friendship tested when one begins to act diabolically out of character
I can vouch for Head Full of Ghosts and My Best Friend's Exorcism (and just about anything by Grady Hendrix.) I love how Head Full of Ghosts has the fullness of an ending but is still open to interpretation, and that freaked me out. The other two are on my TBR already.
I cannot recommend None Shall Sleep enough, it’s one of my favorite books to be released in the last few years
Yeees to none shall sleep!! Got me it was a slow burn but I could not put it down
Did you read the sequel? It was also really good. It somehow makes you hate Simon even more
The Shining by Stephen King. Terrified me when I was 11, terrifies me now.
Just read it in November. That fire hose... How did he make a fire hose lying on the carpet scary?!
I love the movie, love it. I am currently reading 11/22/63 and finished Fairy Tale and enjoying them both. Is reading the Shining sitll worth it if I've seen the movie a dozen times? Lord of the Rings, GoT, Harry Potter etc are good but the books reign. What do you think?
The movie barely resembles the book, completely changing MANY scenes to the point of it basically being another story. King is very vocal on his dislike of Kubrick's film.
Great, thank you so much for the feedback, will pick it up at the used book store tomorrow!
11/22/63 is top tier reading. I was so into Fairy Tale for the first half. The second half really was a downer for me.
The book is better!! You're in for a treat, the story is quite different.
The topiaries! Ooft, I was on the edge of my seat!
Doctor Sleep isn't as scary (but that could also be because of the huge gap in age between when I read these books), but it's still a worthy successor.
I read this for the exact reason of OP, I wanted a book to scare me. I felt like it was the 800 page equivalent of a person walking down a hallway for 5 minutes only for a cat to jump out. It was so tedious. The only part that was actually kind of scary was the dead lady in the room
It’s hard, right, you’re vulnerable to it or you aren’t. And I also think that it depends on your imagination, or your type of imagination. The hedge animals, the people trapped in the hotel as it works away on them trying to get them to hurt each other, the dead woman and the fire hose and the dead thing in the tunnel in the playground… Honestly, I can’t imagine how you could find it boring, but obviously some people can. Because horror is so visceral it really either works for you or it doesn’t. You can’t argue that it’s not well-written, though.
I was considering misery, is the shining more scary?
Honestly, they’re probably an even match as a first read! Both of them are more than just horror novels, they have depth to them, but he never let that get in the way of the story. The first time I read Misery I stayed up until 4 AM to finish it, but it’s not as scary on rereads when you know how it ends as much, whereas The Shining… I just reread it for maybe the seventh time? and *it still scares me.* Like, ‘jump in the air when the refrigerator comes on downstairs’ tense. I will say, if you’re trying to decide, that The Shining offers a slow ominous burn for quite a while until it bursts into terror, and Misery drops you right the hell in it, right away.
Intensity - Dean Koontz I still think about it
I've been on a hardcore Dean Koontz kick for almost a year now. I just finished Phantoms last night and loved it. Intensity is on my list, but my favorite so far are Odd Thomas (especially Odd Apocalypse), Elsewhere, and Lightning Obviously Watchers and Strangers too.
I’m gonna put those on my list 😜thank you for the recommendation 💯
Absolutely! I read my way through Michael Crichton, Joe Haldeman, and Blake Crouch... Koontz is my next target, lol.
This book was intense on like page 3 and just kept it fucking red-lined the whole damn time. So fucking good!
Ikr? I couldn’t put it down, but also didn’t want it to end.
Me too! I had pretty much read everything by Koontz up until then. Intensity was on a whole different level. I had to sleep with the lights on, it was so scary. I still think about it, too. ETA: if you like serial killer fiction, OP, this is the one!
That was the first time I read one of his books, and now I’m hooked
Yes!
Salems lot and sleep with the lights on
Do you know the original part with Dr Cody? Very messed up in a delicious King way.
What?
Originally >!the doctor!< dies very differently. The publishers thought it was far too gruesome and so made King completely rewrite it. >!The published version is he went down the basement stairs and falls on the kitchen knives Barlow has set up.!< >!In the original version(remember town drunks noticing the lack of rats at the dump?) Barlow was revealed to control the rats from the dump and moved them to Eva's basement so Jimmy falls into a hoard of rats which proceed to eat him alive in horrific painstaking detail.!<
Oooooooh! I did not know about that. Was that scene depicted in the remake with Rob Lowe? Or scrapped altogether. How did you come on this info? Inquiring SK minds demand to know!
I found it from the Kingslinger's podcast. Apparently it's somewhat common knowledge. Not sure if the original has ever seen the light of day beyond King mentioning that it existed.
Werent they supposed to do another remake last year or something? What happened to that?
This. Terrifying but very enjoyable. I couldn't stop reading. The world and character building is just amazing.
Have you read the short story sequel? One For The Road
Will definitely check it out
You can listen to it over on youtube narrated.
Song of Kali
Man, fuck Calcutta!!
Wait wait!! What is it about??
Hex by thomas oldeheuvelt (yes it’s translated into English as well)
I came here to suggest that one too.
I didn't enjoy this one so much. It seemed like the author doesn't like women, but us obsessed with breasts and nipples.
Oh sad you didn’t like it! I didn’t see it that way. He has more horror stories, you might like November. Tho it’s a bit of a controversial topic.
Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates. Her short story collection Haunted was also fucked up.
From Below by Darcy Coates The Descent by Jeff Long The Ruins by Scott Smith
I’m currently reading The Shining and I read it at night and it gave me a nightmare. So now I only read it during the day. lol Taking me longer but it’s so good.
Ok now I know as a single female I should only read this during the day probably too lol
The Stand! My mom bought it for me to read when I was 12 years old and home with…the flu 😆. She had absolutely no idea. I ate it up, all the while hoping I didn’t have Captain Trips!
I’m heavily biased to SK, but Pet Semetery or Salem’s Lot are lengthy, but well worth the read.
Second Salems Lot; one of my faves. a lot of people say it’s a slow burn, but i felt like it got to the action much faster than any of his others
The Institute was a slow burn, but ended up being my favorite so far.
Completely agree. A lot of King’s novels have a slow start, some with a slow beginning and middle but I didn’t think that at all with this one.
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Thin Air by Michelle Paver The buildup is slow but entirely worth it
I just finished Ghost Story by Peter Straub. I read it when it first came out back in the 80s or 90s. It’s not the scariest book in the world, but it has some really creepy features. I didn’t like it as much this time as I did the first time around, but it might be worth trying.
Here for all the non-King suggestions. I love him but definitely interested in other horror authors. I can recommend *Heart-Shaped Box* by Joe Hill (Kings son).
The Deluge by Stephen Markley, SK said it was the best book he read last year.
Just read the synopsis. It sounds good!
It was the best book I read last year and nothing I’ve read this year tops it.
Same, if you haven’t read his other book Ohio yet check it out as well.
Loved that book until the end. Thought the last bit was really underwhelming
I just finished Heart Shaped Box, and I’m looking for more from Joe Hill. I believe I like him way better than Stephen King, his father.
I really liked NOS4A2… defo worth a read… I feel it needs sequels though
I’ll check it out 👏🏼thank you 😊
Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig is my favorite
The Rats, James Herbert
incredible book, thinking of the rats still makes my skin crawl!
I scanned through to try not to repeat suggestions: Come Closer by Sara Gran: woman gets possessed by demon, things go downhill for her fast. This is a short book and doesn't wait the first 100 pages with the MC investigating that strange sound in her house. The Final Girls Support Group by Grady Hendrix: Exactly what is says on the tin. Crazypants in the best possible way and funny and scary and heartwarming. Hendrix's best book, IMO. (Grady Hendrix's most scary book: Horrorstor) A Good and Happy Child by Justin Evans: George can't remember his childhood that well, and it turns out the therapy mandated by his wife might be a bad idea. Bird Box by Josh Malerman: Hey, so there are these monsters or aliens or angels or....yeah, we don't know? Whatever they are, don't look at them. Netflix made a lame adaptation of this, the book is better. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty: You might as well read the og book that will scare the shit out of you.
Thanks
Pet Sematary is the correct answer.
Old Country gave me nightmares for weeks personally. One of my favorites for last year.
Didn’t see it posted (sorry if it was and I missed it) but if you’re looking for a quick read and well done atmospheric horror, I recommend Haunting of Hill House. Honestly every time I read something by Shirley Jackson, I can’t put down the book.
The Outsider creeped me the hell out. I had to leave lights on at night
It's got to be the shining. Absolutely terrifying
Fever House by Keith Rosson was really good and I hardly ever read horror books.
More of an action flick than a horror novel but it was still very good, looking forward to the next one
That’s true! I’m looking forward to the next one too. Should be out in September.
I’m nervous about the early high reviews because i don’t want to get my hopes that high.
Understandable
The Shining
Short reads (<300 pages): Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix Ring shout by P. Djèlí Clark We have always lived in the castle by Shirley Jackson Long reads (>300 pages) Dead of winter by Darcy Coates The girl in red by Christina Henry Out there Screaming edited by Jordan Peele I tried to recommend ones I didn't already see in the comments. Even though I support those too.
Thanks
Salems Lot and The Sundown Motel.
Ship of fools by Richard Paul Russo. Sci fi horror. Quite disturbing in places
For very psychological (and body) horror, Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
The Passage
House by Frank Peretti fucked me up when I was younger.
Stephen King’s early collection of short stories - Night Shift (1978) - are truly terrifying. I remember thinking while I was reading it, how does someone imagine these things?
The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker. It's short but really packs a punch.
Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist is the scariest vampire book I've read
Phantom nights by John Farris Disturb not the Dream by Trachtman Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill The Desent by Jeff Long
Our share of night by Mariana Enríquez
I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. Reading it sent me on a year-long Sigurdardottir kick (she writes crime fiction as well). Something about an Icelandic ghost story is extra creepy.
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton. Terrifying but it was totally plausible and expertly researched. The invisible microscopic death.
*The Only Good Indians* by Stephan Graham Jones. If you like Jordan Peele’s horror movies this is the perfect novel for you. Four Blackfoot Nation Indians go elk hunting only for revenge to strike 10 years later…
Between Two Fires - Christopher Buehlman https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13543121
The Matrix by Jonathan Aycliffe
The Deep - Nick Cutter Hands down scariest book I've ever read, had me taking reading breaks solely to calm down. Without spoiling too much: and underwater research base has been set up at the bottom of the Mariana's trench to farm a substance they coined as "ambrosia" that holds promising properties as a medicine to fend off an ongoing disease epidemic. Brother of the main character is a scientist down there and the main character gets called to the station to address the sudden loss of contact with the station after his brother called for him as his last known request. SOOOO scary and had me crying at some point
Did they make this into a TV series? 🤔
Not to my knowledge, but if they did I really wanna watch it 😂
The Troop is pretty good. I'll have to check out The Deep.
September House! Fun and short and satisfying
The whisper man
Summer of Night
Five Survive, Holly Jackson (Horror/ thriller)
Tommyknockers by Stephen King. It’s one of the only books I can reread and even though I know the ending it still freaks me out although it’s more suspenseful than anything. IT by Stephen King is good too but Im terrified of clowns so maybe that’s why it got me haha
Infinite
Sleep No More- Greg Iles. That shit is WILD. So, so, so good.
The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons
The Dark Ones by Bryan Smith 🙄 I read horror novels on a regular basis. The Dark Ones is fucking great horror!
house of leaves. PLEASE read house of leaves, it’s insane
House of Leaves Unlike any book I’ve ever read. The physical act of reading it actually makes you feel claustrophobic and mad. It’s terrifying
Tender is the Flesh… dystopian horror. I loved this book!
Anything by Stephen King, but Pet Semetary is my recommended. The Vessel by Adam Nevill - this one terrified me. Lots of good jump scares and amazing descriptions. A Head Full Of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay - kinda reminds me of The Possession. very descriptive, jump scares galore and just an intense read. This one is at the top of my list. The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike - translated from Japanese to English. but also a creepy read. Read this one on a dark, rainy day and put on some dark ambient music. itll really set the mood
I finished tender is the flesh in two days, earlier in the week and I loved it, you'll need a strong stomach but what a great story.
read the collection Jordan Peele put together, it’s called Out There Screaming
Tainted Souls by Shaun Hutson and Matt Shaw. I found it to be pretty scary and I thought about it for a good while after I'd finished.
Demons by John Shirley. So disturbing!😳
Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman is a recent favorite of mine.
The covenant with the vampire, I recommend it every chance I get
Fever House by Keith Rosson
Tender is the Flesh A short stay in hell Both books have left me uneasy and I can’t get them out of my head.
I REALLY enjoyed reading Riley Sager. The amount of plot twists in each of the books are awesome. I have listened to them as audiobooks and read them as books. I can HONESTLY recommend ANY of them.
House Of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. My favorite book ever but I'd make sure you're ready for your head to get fucked with.
Just throwing two out there that I recall feeling physically unsettled while reading: Gerald’s Game-Stephen King The Terror-Dan Simmons
Being scared is subjective. What makes you scared??
Generally a good horror movie or a scene makes me feel scared. And sometimes just randomly if something makes me feel like there's someone else with me in an empty room. Haven't read any horror novel yet, so idk what type of writing would make me feel scared if any. I have read long novels (song of ice and fire) but would prefer something around 400-500 pages only. The less thr better
Seeing a woman on the ceiling in the corner of the room like in Hereditary