horror-books
Google Image

This horror genre is even scarier than the movies, as by reading word to word and imagining the details to creepy images crawling to you is enough to send chills down your spine. For you the horror genre lovers these twelve books is a must have, with it’s diverse plot of stories and vivid descriptions a thrill to read and considered the best of the genre.

12Dracula by Bram Stoker

First Published: 1897

Plot Summary:
This legendary book is the original of Victorian gothic horror, equipped with vivid characters, memorable narration, the sweetly evil experience that has been considered as the origins of the vampire story. The story focuses on the Count Dracula the undead bloodsucker with his dark power and charm attempt to move from Transylvania to England to spread the curse, his battle against a band of men and women lead by professor Abraham Van Helsing to stop his evil plan, and story of love and lust with dark yet beautiful background of Victorian era.

Reason you should read this:
This classic horror has been known around the world and loved for it’s victorian gothic quality and dark yet mysteriously alluring characters and plot. A simple fight between dark and light at it’s heart decorated with the beauty and seducing mystery of Count Dracula. If you have never read it, this book is the first you have to get for the genre warm up but for anybody have ever read or watched the movie will agree this book is a treat to read over and over again.

Best Quote:
“Once again… welcome to my house. Come freely. Go safely and leave something of the happiness you bring.”

 

11Lord of the Flies by William Golding

First Published: 1954

Plot Summary:
The story start with a plane crash that leaves a small group of schoolboys as the sole survivors, as they discover they are stranded on a remote island each of the boy’s trie to set up control as the brutal reality of their survival start to sets in. They have to accept their situation of unable to leave the island and exist in the community with no fixed boundaries in social, political, and moral system leads them to their decent to primitive state.

Reason you should read this:
This novel shows us how the unexistence of community system will reveal the real human character, the need for survival that leads to savagery, ruthless nature of our uncivilized ancestors. Yet at the end the novel will show you the differences of bullies and their thinking nature and the importance of civilization and social organization. Though the scenes are so dreadfully honest and unpleasant as it occurs at such young age securing the novel position as one of the top horror genre book.

Best Quote:
“Maybe there is a beast… maybe it’s only us.”

 

10Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen

First Published: 1934

Plot Summary:
This is a compilation of seven early twentieth-century gothic fiction, each are unique from it’s aspect of story, narration, setting, scenes and characters. The stories mixes psychological insight with haunting mystery, spooky atmosphere, suspense, intrigue, and drama revolving an eccentric woman.

Reason you should read this:
This horror book is for the feminist, strong heart, and courageous as you fill in of the vivid descriptions, horror, and enclosing labyrinth. For the horror lovers this book is a real treat, coming straight from the gothic nineteenth century with twists and turn not for the faint hearted. Especially when the plot makes you feel like you’re in a maze searching for the way out through the confusing, spiraling, and full of dead end.

Best Quote:
“For really, dreaming is the well-mannered people’s way of committing suicide.”

 

9The Exorcist: 40th Anniversary Edition by William Peter Blatty

First Published: 1971

Plot Summary:
This novel is the first of the series and considered as the masterwork of faith and demonic possession, with it’s shocking and horrifying raw of satanic scene and how only the strongest of faith can prevail. It tells the story of twelve-year-old Regan MacNeil as the daughter of an atheist famous actress, and how she is possessed by demonic entity lead to the exorcism attempts by two priests.

Reason you should read this:
This novel has become the pioneer of the exorcism theme movies genre, gain it’s place in the world and shook them with such power for it’s content of faith, religious, fears, horror. The ultimate line between good and evil with intense scare it possesses to such basic battle in the ordinary life. It even has been made to multiple movie franchise with the first adaptation from the book is the most intense. If you have watch the movie, this book is will radiate a more palpable fear and terror. For you the big fans of horror genre this book is a must have.

Best Quote:
“Perhaps evil is the crucible of goodness… and perhaps even Satan – Satan, in spite of himself – somehow serves to work out the will of God.”

 

8American Psycho By Bret Easton Ellis

First Published: 1991

Plot Summary:
This novel is set in Manhattan and in the mode of first person narrative by Patrick Bateman, young, white, handsome, graduated from ivy league university, and wealthy Wall Street investment banker. But behind the protection of his privilege, wealth, and seemingly life of status quo among his community, he is the ultimate serial killer who roams freely and seem to be not getting any suspicion among others and authority. His impulse to kill are based on his materialism and envy toward others who is better than him. One day a colleague shows a business card which is better in quality than his own that starts to aggravate his blood thirst and fuel him to boost his murders to the frenzied pitch, but how many will he have to kill until he is discovered?

Reason you should read this:
This novel will allure you with it’s charm and bind you in the character descent to the darkest and self adjusted mind, decorated with gruesome murders fueled by his vapid consumerism and narcissism. Completed with a very vivid illustrative writing of it’s gory style of murder so disturbing that you have to prepare yourself before reading it and let yourself to heal with reminding yourself it is just a book to get on with your life. Yet the narrative is so alluring that you couldn’t help but keep reading and at the end find yourself couldn’t believe of the outcome, the kind of horror book that will meet to all your expectation and keep reading it over again. Also have been adapted to the major movie with Christian Bale playing Patrick and gain many awards.

Best Quote:
“…there is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there.”

 

First Published: 2013

Plot Summary:
This novel of epic horror tells the story of the Ancient Celts which believe on the border dividing the worlds of the living and the dead are the nearest during Halloween. It is said that during those time the dead could get through our world, and the other way around might have possible too. The story revolves on Sam McGrath has been crippled from childhood injury and become different since then and he have this strange gifts of spirits world with the help of the beautiful Latina, Lucia they find the world where the nightmares born.

Reason you should read this:
This book open the world filled with witches, skeletons, and vampires for you, beware of their very scary fright, and prepare to take a ride into the haunted world that we could only hear from stories.
It blends the modern world with folklore myth, like when we always heard that during Halloween the dead are coming in our world paying a visit so this book will give you the full scary adventure of it. Halloween and scary story lovers will definitely love this book.

Best Quote:
“The head made of dead leaves turned to face Bairen, holes for eyes flashing moonlight.”

 

6The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

First Published: 1972

Plot Summary:
Eight boys wearing their costume on Halloween night meeting their friend Pipkin at haunted house but stumble upon Mr. Moundshroud with it’s humongous skeleton like appearances and have to witness Pipkin being taken away by a black figure. The boys than have to go through time and space in the past to find the meaning of Halloween and saves Pipkin. They travel to ancient Egypt, witness the cavemen discovers fire, Druid rites, witches in Dark Ages, Notre Dame, and finally found their friend in Mexico to trade a year of their own lives to save him.

Reason you should read this:
If you’re looking for the creepy theme of halloween with a mixture of adventure, time travelling, and bits of the myth and history of the distant mysterious culture from around the world this book is the best choice. Completed with black and white illustration with wild vivid imagination, with a quirky taste yet refreshing plot that also suitable for young reader with it’s great imagination and creativity.

Best Quote:
“Suddenly the day was gone, night came out from under each tree and spread.”

 

First Published: 1959

Plot Summary:
This is the classic story of supernatural suspense with it’s unnerving terror, circles around four doctors and scientists who sets on the investigation of the notorious Hill House with it’s famous haunted house story. They initially took their stay just for brushing off the haunting rumor until the house gathering it’s powers and blow them with evil and not stop until claiming one of them as their own.

Reason you should read this:
This book will give you more than you expect, as the spooky powers arising and becoming clearer that the control are all belong to the house which is so smart and alluring. You will leave wondering whether the house will claim the poor victim or let them leave with broken soul. If you’re looking for the classic horror hunted house complete with melodrama, this book will be suitable for you.

Best Quote:
“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality.”

 

4The Shining by Stephen King

First Published: 1977

Plot Summary:
Jack Torrance, a writer recovering from alcoholic receive a job as Overlook Hotel off season caretaker with his wife and son Danny Torrance. Thinking to amend his relationship with his family and get inspiration for his writing, unknown to him that his son Danny have “the shining” abilities allows him to see the hotels “inhabitants”. When winter comes and blizzard causes blackout, it seems like the empty hotel has comes alive. The supernatural beings in the hotel then possess Jack and to kill his wife and son so it can claim the family soul.

Reason you should read this:
For those Stephen King fan out there, this novel is not a stranger. And for those of horror genre lovers this is a book you must read, as it’s just thrilling to watch the hotel slowly seeps in and take over Jack sanity and the hotel in the eyes of Danny. You will fall under King’s word by word in this intense yet you can’t stop. The adapted movie of this book has also receive numerous positive critics and followed by many fans around the world.

Best Quote:
“Wendy? Darling? Light, of my life. I’m not gonna hurt ya. I’m just going to bash your brains in.”

 

3Neverland by Douglas Clegg

First Published: 1991

Plot Summary:
This novel focuses on the Jackson family who are having vacation at Rowena Wandigaux Lee’s old Victorian house on Gull Island, the place are surrounded with superstition and eerie myth. One day Beau and his cousin Sumter goes in the hidden shack by the woods and name it “Neverland”, little that they know Neverland is the place where a mysterious creature hides and they worship it even call is “Lucy”. They offer their sacrifice beginning with little games until it spiral out of control and call out a terrifying creature beyond the bluffs overlooking the sea threatened their secret place with destruction and endless terror.

Reason you should read this:
This is a novel pure of haunting terrifying supernatural literature, if you’re looking for just enough amount of terrifying entity with macabre adventure from children who might not know just yet what evil can bring and how evil are not to be play with as it’s impossible to control this book will have it all.

Best Quote:
“…and I knew that her soul had been released from the awful torment of its earthly cage.”

 

2The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson

First Published: 1977

Plot Summary:
This novel tells the claim of true story from Lutz family of five, it begins on 18 December 1975 as they move to their new home in Amityville, although George and Kathleen Lutz aware of the house mass murder past. They are excited and happy to live in their new house complete with basement, swimming pool and boathouse, with a great price and a perfect home for the whole family so they choose to not overthink it and purchase the house. On their move in day, they even invited a priest to bless the house though an unseen voice told him to get out and cause him to suffer some weird sickness afterward. But it is just the beginning, not long staying there they keep encountering weird paranormal activities such as loud banging, weird smell, their daughter imaginary friend “Jodie”, bite marks and welts, sighting of pig like demon with glowing red eyes, hoofprints of enormous pig, and much more. But not until mid-January when something too terrifying happen that forces them to move out of the house and never return.

Reason you should read this:
This book is one of the most famous supernatural horror stories, adapted to numerous film franchise, gain position as one of the supernatural myths for the belief of it’s true existence and it’s connection with the real murder mass case. The content is so terrifying and full of horror that not suitable for the faint-hearted, but for the horror lover this book is no stranger. Although the book gains such popularity, it also receive criticism and controversial for the claim that the real story is in fact a hoax which receives much attention from the media and press.

Best Quote:
“I wonder if I should have told you which house this was before or after you saw it, the broker mused.”

 

1The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

First Published: 1820

Plot Summary:
The novel set in 1970 of countryside Dutch Tarry Town, withing the secluded glen known as Sleepy Hollow. The town is popular for it’s haunting atmosphere and ghosts stories, in fact that is one of the aspects that attract visitors. Some residents claim the town was under the witchcraft on early days of Dutch settlement another claim it was old Native American chief. But the most prominent apparition is the Headless Horsemen, Hessian trooper ghost which head has been shot off by a stray cannonball of American Revolutionary War and rides every night to the scene of battle to find his head.

Reason you should read this:
If you’re looking for the more historical kind of horror with sites and stories you can find in the state of New York, this is the kind you need. The place is still standing in New York, and the creepy stories are just so real because of the historic content. Especially with the skill of Irving that will make you delved into every pages nonstop and have chills down your spine. The legend of this book has been the subject of discussion and adaptation film, the headless horsemen even have become the trademark and symbols of the town.

Best Quote:
“The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and seems to be commander in chief of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback, without a head.”

CONCLUSION
Scary stories are one of the most sought after and enjoyed by avid reader, for it’s adrenaline pumping content, vivid description of such dark worlds, you might not know but horror stories can boost your immune system, burn calories, ease your stress, and help you face and handle your fears. So these twelve books are the top of the genre that will guarantee help you induce your fears and pump your heart faster.

Get Notified of New Articles

Signup now and receive an email once I publish new content.

I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )

I will never give away, trade or sell your email address. You can unsubscribe at any time.