Lots and lots of horror novels to freak you out this Halloween season…
Its October.
The leaves are turning brown and the nights are drawing in.
Its cold and its raining and its Halloween.
The perfect time, then, to curl up with a good book and give yourself the creeps.
Any of those would be perfectly good choices.
But not for pleasure.
This group of old men has a shared secret, and somethings haunting them.
Fevre Dream by George R.R.
Martin
Yeah yeah,Game Of Thrones, yadda yadda yadda.
Martins atmospheric (and self-contained) vampire novel is creepier.
Its probably a bit longer than it needs to be, but what else would you expect?
House Of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski
Starting to readHouse Of Leavesfeels like a massive undertaking.
The book is huge, for one thing.
Its also massively complicated.
It has footnotes, and those footnotes have footnotes.
Its tighter than Rices later sprawling tales; simpler, eerie, atmospheric and utterly compelling.
Lost Souls by Poppy Z Brite
Lost Soulsis another vampire story.
Theyre looking for their friends, family, identity, or just a party.
But Hill House isnt a good place for sensitives.
Jackson implies more than she shows, leaving your imagination to fill in the gaps.
The Ruins by Scott Smith
Four friends go on holiday to Mexico together.
And its really, really harrowing.
The Watcher by Charles MacLean
The horror genre thrives on unreliable narrators.
Its a dizzying read.
Its mundane, somehow.
Its stuffed full of sex and violence, drenched in Duncans typically lush prose.
Its intense, gory, and occasionally extremely upsetting.
If youre squeamish, maybe avoid this one.
Freeze Tag by Caroline B Cooney
Remember Point Horror?
The only one Ive still got, though, isFreeze Tag.
Anyone she touches freezes, literally, and if she doesnt unfreeze them, they die.
Its a little moralistic, but still creepy.
Atmosphere oozes from every page of du Mauriers gothic tale of murder and mystery.
The gore is shocking, the characters superbly drawn, and the horror deeply disturbing.
Affinity by Sarah Waters
Finally, a love story.
Well, kind of.
Does she really have supernatural powers?
Albie doesnt believe in any of it… until hes there.
And then he starts to wonder.
Hexby Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Black Rock has been haunted by a witch for centuries.
But then some teenagers decide to goad the witch, and everything goes spectacularly wrong.
Not just creepy its heart-stoppingly disturbing.
Cannonbridgeby Jonathan Barnes
You know who Matthew Cannonbridge is, of course.
Hes one of the most-loved authors of all time.
He was friends with Byron, helped out Conan Doyle, and was BFFs with Dickens.
All sorts of academic papers have been written about him.
The Girl With All The Giftsby MR Carey
Melanie loves her teacher, Miss Justineau.
One to read and reread… and reread, and reread.
Is digital gothic a thing?
Travelers Restby Keith Lee Morris
Nope, theres not an apostrophe missing from that title.
Morris uses language to disorient the reader as much as his characters, with startling effect.
Or maybe she was just faking it?
(It gets extra points for the pitch perfect depiction of a blogger reviewing the TV show.)
Whats the scariest book youve ever read?
Check out our list of new horror books, out this October.
Read the fullDen of GeekNYCC Special Edition Magazine right here!
