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Recommend a good horror (or horrifying / disturbing) book

82 replies

makingitupaswegoon · 13/03/2021 19:47

Any type of horror or horrifying fiction welcomed. Supranational horror (haunted houses, vampires, zombies etc), psychological horror, fantasy / sci-fi horror, crime / real life horror - you know the sort of thing.

Have read loads of Stephen King but think ‘The Long Walk’ is one of his best (maybe not horror but definitely disturbing). House of Leaves creeped me out too.I’ve read some horrifying dystopian fiction too (e.g. The Road). Loved ‘Let the Right One In’ (vampires). So I’ve got broad tastes ...

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KevinTheGoat · 07/06/2021 15:54

Roald Dahl's adult stories as well. The Landlady scared the pants off me as a kid and that was even before I knew the twist at the end.

Other dark/horror stories he's written that I like:
The Way Up to Heaven
Genesis and Catastrophe
Skin
Neck
William and Mary
Rummins
Royal Jelly
Pig
Beware of the Dog
Lamb to the Slaughter

TheTurn0fTheScrew · 07/06/2021 15:42

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin. Or anything else of his (Boys from Brazil, Stepford Wives, A Kiss before Dying). Fantastic writer.

KevinTheGoat · 07/06/2021 15:35

Gone Girl and We Need To Talk about Kevin are two of the darkest books I've ever read. Also, The Other Part of the Wood by Beryl Bainbridge isn't horror per se, but there's a real sense of creeping dread throughout.

ClosedAuraOpenMind · 07/06/2021 13:49

Can't remember who wrote it but Fantasticland is brilliant - cross between the Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies

Cocogreen · 07/06/2021 12:35

Oh just remembered Soon by Lois Murphy.
Absolutely terrified me.

Cocogreen · 07/06/2021 12:32

We have always lived in the castle by Shirley Jackson gave me nightmares though not a conventional horror story.
And as others have mentioned - Dark Matter, Slade House and also The Woman in Black.

Mytiredeyeshaveseenenough · 07/06/2021 11:58

Mike Carey's Felix Castor series isn't overly horrifying but it's a really good read. The Girl with all the gifts is a novel take on the zombie mythos.

James Herbert, especially his earlier stuff is always worth a read.

Shaun Hutson - his earlier stuff again, Relics is cracking with a proper good ending.

American Psycho. It's hard work but I love it. Far far more brutal than the film version.

Boosterfeat · 06/06/2021 22:44

I read Dark Matter, and also didn’t really find it scary, although very atmospheric and a good story.
The Shining totally shit me up.
The Last days of Jack sparks saw me having to get DH to come to the loo with me.
The Croning is also a terrifying read, properly disturbing.
Adam Nevills stuff is very good too.

Hyperion100 · 06/06/2021 22:31

Clive Barkers books of blood, damnation game, hellbound heart.

hagsrus0 · 06/06/2021 22:26

Incarnate by Ramsey Campbell

nomorehiccups · 06/06/2021 22:01

I became a bit obsessed with Shirley Jackson after reading The Haunting of Hill House - the book is much better than the TV show and quite different. Her short stories are so good - the Lottery could easily have been inspiration for the Hunger Games.

I've just read The Nothing Man and enjoyed it - it's a thriller really, but very good.
Have recently enjoyed Follow You Home by Mark Edwards.

Silvercatowner · 06/06/2021 10:49

I've just finished 'Last one at the party' by Bethany Clift. Terrifying but I couldn't put it down.

littlepeas · 31/05/2021 20:08

I found The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter very disturbing, even though it’s probably thought of as quite mild on the spooky scale - something about it really got to me.

littlepeas · 31/05/2021 20:05

I love spooky stuff but I’m always worried that I’m going to scare myself too much. I have Dark Matter on my shelf - dh has read it and said it wasn’t too bad, but it’s always held up as particularly scary on here!

I found The Silent Companions scary, but I think mainly because we were staying in quite a spooky hotel when I read it, rather than at home - and then I saw flipping wooden cutout children on a balcony in Monterey on the same trip Shock.

LunaNorth · 31/05/2021 17:57

Dark Tales is a book of really unsettling short stories by Shirley Jackson.

I enjoyed Fellside by MR Carey, and A Headfull Of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay.

Joe Hill’s Heart Shaped Box and NosFerR2 were excellent - he writes very much in the style of his dad (SK) but is better at endings Wink

Wegobshite · 31/05/2021 17:50

Richard laymon
Endless night
Terrifying book I went around checking my doors were locked 😂

SJaneS49 · 17/03/2021 21:50

Slade House (and The Bone Clocks) are bloody good books! I get the a bit creepy bit but neither was a book that sprung to mind when I read this post.

blue25 · 17/03/2021 21:25

Have you read any Shirley Jackson?
Slade House by David Mitchell is creepy
I also love Edgar Allen Poe

Robieuni · 17/03/2021 21:24

Dark matter- thought it was a really good book. Found it a bit creepy, but not scary at all. It’s probably a good intro to horror.
The two books I’ve read that terrified me are
The Croning, sort of a cosmic horror.
The last days of jack sparks. Starts off hilarious, quickly turns into the stuff of nightmares.

namechangeforadvicepls · 17/03/2021 21:21

James Herbert - The Fog

The only book to have ever really scared me. I had nightmares about it for ages after reading it.

Lansonmaid · 17/03/2021 21:19

Sorry- Echos of the macabre by Daphne du Maurier.

Lansonmaid · 17/03/2021 21:16

A series of short stories called Tales of the macabre by Daphne du Maurier. The Apple tree in particular is seriously creepy

GoofyIsACow · 17/03/2021 21:09

Mark Edwards is a great one I discovered during lockdown, I have read all of his now, all great.

Theaspidistraiswilting · 17/03/2021 21:08

I really really wanted to enjoy the institute but it was awful! The audiobook of Dark Matter is great.

tsmainsqueeze · 17/03/2021 18:41

Dark matter for me too , in my top 10, have also read Thin air and Wakenhurst by her all excellent but Dark matter the best for me.

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