Spooky suggestions

[Bearcub101]

Can anyone recommend some really spooky books to read? I remember loving point horror as a teen (wish I’d never got rid of my collection when I thought I’d grown up!). Is there something similar for adults? I love being scared so the spookier the better!

Thanks

Under the Skin
Let the Right One In

The Little Friend by Sarah Waters
La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

Try Into the Uncanny by Danny Robins - linked to the Uncanny podcast and upcoming TV show.

The Ritual, Adam Neville
The Woman in Black

Dark Matter - Michele Paver. She builds the tension very very well.

Wakenhyrst - Michele Paver. Gothic story of demons and witchcraft

You let me in - Camilla Bruce. Dark Nordic tale of love and revenge. More unsettling than frightening, but still good

It's a good time to reach for the classic horrors stories of Dracula and Frankenstein.

"The Horla" by Maupassant. It's a short story - I found it in one of the Penguin collections of Maupassant's stories.

Any of the MR James short stories.

"The Magician" by Somerset Maugham - turn-of-the-century occult horror.

"The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson - probably the best recent(ish) haunted house novel. Probably be recommended by others.

Oh, and all Lovecraft's stories are online or in cheap editions - try "The Shadow Over Innsmouth", or "The Colour out of Space".

Uncanny podcast, as PP recommended is great! Gives me the heebie jeebies listening to that.

Wow thank you was not expecting so many suggestions. Will also
try the uncanny podcast- I have a regional role so spend a lot of time driving around!

If you like Uncanny, then Danny Robins has also done:

The Battersea Poltergeist
The Witch Farm
Haunted

MR James stories are terrifying and so memorable.

Yes, Wakenhyrst is a good read, I now love magpies!

Agree with the Michelle Paver suggestions. She is one my new favourites.

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell.

And another vote for Dark Matter by Michelle Paver!

Two people have already mentioned M. R. James, so I will add my vote. James is still the master. I really don't think he's been bettered. Also, I urge you to watch Mark Gatiss' superb documentary on him. You can still find it on Youtube.

Dennis Wheatley, they have not aged well. He wrote, I think, in 1920s & 30s and was a bit Right Wing when communism was perceived as the great threat.

They are old fashioned 'rollicking good yarns'. One is based on Hell-fire Club with demons. Another is early in Spanish Civil War. They have good endings.

I'd forgotten Dennis Wheatley! The Devil Rides Out was a good read - but I was about fifteen when I read it.