What better time to freak yourself out, then when you are stuck at home feeling a little claustrophobic? Okay maybe Horror isn’t the best genre to read when you’re locked up by yourself but hey to each their own and if you’re looking to get your heart racing these ten books can certainly do the job.
- The Shining: The movie may have become a permanent fixture in pop culture, but you should really do yourself a favor and read Stephen King’s original novel. The two differ enough that you’ll still be caught off guard by certain developments and honestly, the novel is less heavy-handed but more effective with its terror.
- Relic: The first book in the Agent Pendergast series. A museum is plagued by a series of mysterious gruesome murders. What could be the cause? This is creature feature horror at its best and there is a whole series if you get hooked.
- The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories- You’ve heard the name Lovecraft. You’ve seen the Cthulhu memes. Isn’t it time you read the stories that have served as inspiration for generations of horror writers? Dark, creepy, and disconcerting in a way that will stick with you. One of those must-read collections.
- Rebecca– Daphne du Maurier’s most famous novel that was creepy enough to be worthy of a Hitchcock adaptation. Some may object to defining this as horror, but I’ve always believed that its creepy, repeated attacks on the protagonist’s psychological state where enough to make it qualify. Besides, who cares? It’s a hell of a novel you should check out either way.
- We Have Always Lived in the Castle- Another entry from the psychological gothic horror subgenre. It is the isolation and sense of foreboding and claustrophobia that will have you jumping at random noises in the stillness of the night.
- Something Wicked This Way Comes– The often-overlooked Ray Bradbury classic. So many of its components have stayed in the zeitgeist but few people remember their origins and even fewer have read this acclaimed work. Mr. Dark and his traveling carnival are here to haunt your dreams when you’re ready.
- Lovecraft Country- An amazing piece of fiction that ties the fantastical horrors of H.P. Lovecraft’s works with the very real, everyday horror of racism in the Jim Crow era. Inventive and six different kinds of horrifying, this is a modern masterpiece.
- Feed- One of the more unique takes on the zombie apocalypse you’re likely to find. As per usual the really horrifying thing isn’t the zombies, its humanity. Not to be confused with The Feed which is also an apocalyptic horror novel but not nearly as good.
- The Ballad of Black Tom: Look H. P Lovecraft was a racist asshole but that doesn’t mean he didn’t leave an indelible mark on the horror genre. But also, he was a racist asshole. Which is probably why I enjoy so many books by black authors who take his ideas and reinvent them to show the evils of racism and the power of black voices. Victor LaVelle does that here and it’s not only a great read but a gratifying one.
- House of Leaves– A book that defies conventional explanation, all you really need to know is that it will freak the shit out of you.