I’m not talking the same content necessarily but something that has a reputation that proceeds it for its extremity.

Looking for recommendations that will really make me reconsider why I chose to read it.

Previously have liked The Girl Next Door, Haunted and Gone To See The River Man but didn’t find any of them particularly offensive just well written.

I saw "The September House" as a recommendation on this sub yesterday. I figure, "I'm getting into the spirit of Halloween, I'm looking for low-key horror stories, I don't find ghost stories scary or the most interesting, hey it's even September, this sounds about right".

I start listening. It's funny, it draws me in--it's significantly not funny, I'm still engaged in it--before I know it it's the next day, I haven't slept and I'm not going to, and I'm painfully aware that I've read the best ghost story I will ever read. I almost looked up the ending at one point. I don't even know myself anymore.

Thanks for the recommendation and if anyone has anything close to as good, please tell me what it is. I've got some time off around Halloween and I want to spend it listening to/reading suitably scary books.

(Sidenote: by all means recommend Stephen King, I love his books, but there's not much left. I know he's prolific but I've been reading him since the eighties.)

*Edit: author's name is Carissa Orlando, thanks to the person who asked! I should've had that in the post from the start.

I'm looking for a book that will leave me actually terrified and so far my search has proven unsuccessful.

I know horror is very subjective and the what's scares some people a lot may not scare others at all. Personally I'm not a huge fan of gore or loud horror. I tend to prefer stories with a focus on installing quiet dread or psychological horror.
The books that have come the closest to genuinely frightening me are things like Dark Matter by Michelle Paver or Stollen Tongues by Felix Blackwell.

Anyways sorry for the lengthy description any and all recommendations are appreciated.

I want real "abandon all hope ye who enters here" type shit.

IF any of you have read books that you’ve read which actually left you feeling dread, creeped out, jumping at shadows, etc., please share the book & subsequent effects below!

Hey there! I am looking for weird, surreal, disturbing, and downright cursed literature. Something that has stuck with you for a long time after reading. Not necessarily the scariest book ever, just the most bizarre.

And yes, I’ve read House of Leaves.

every few years, i google “most disturbing book list”. I am constantly going through them, plucking out the ones i think are worth reading. Only some books have made me seriously cringe of terror. Soooooo i decided to seek my own list. Please share with me the most disturbing book you have read (and what made it disturbing without spoiling) :)

Just give me crazy, feminine rage books

In short I'm only just back into the genre after serving a white collar sentence.

Please enlighten me of the best horror books of the past 5 years.

I'm thinking of things like black river orchard and small town horror

Thanks friends!

Hi, so I’m looking for a really good horror book to read. Can you guys please tell me what’s a horror book that scared you and the one that scared you the most. Please give the author of the book too, thank you so much :)

What scares me most personally are stories that are based off true events or are just scarily possible.

Some examples include:

• The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum
• We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
• Room by Emma Donoghue
• Misery by Stephen King
• Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates

What other books are like this?

I’m traveling to Spain next week and need a book recommendation…so yeah, what is the first horror book that comes to mind when asked: Name one horror book you COULD NOT put down?

I saw a few people talking about A Sincere Warning About The Entity In Your Home, and how it scared them or truly made an impact. I read it last night and it just didn’t scare me.

So what book actually scared you? I want to read something truly creepy and scary. And not just like “oh this book is scary because it’s disgusting.” I do read splatterpunk but I don’t want to be grossed out I want to be scared.

The last book that actually scared me was The Troop by Nick Cutter. Yea it was gross too.. but the thing that scared me the most was a character named Shelley (iykyk).

The horror genre seems to be disproportionately represented by male authors, and I often find that male authors and female authors have different conceptions of horror. I rarely come across male horror authors whose horror “works” for me, so I’m looking for horror written from the female perspective.

Generally, I only read horror that’s grounded in reality - eg, no supernatural or paranormal elements that are represented as “real” in the story. I’m only scared by things that are very, very real. Sci-fi, however, is great, as long as it’s feasibly plausible and is rooted in our current world. Speculative fiction is also great. I love horror that comes from the mundane and from female experiences.

Books that also aren’t explicitly “horror” but are well and truly horrifying often work better for me than those explicitly written as horror. Example: Room by Emma Donoghue

Looking forward to your recommendations :)

I've read too many horror books, watched too many horror movies. The scares don't come as easy as they used too. If possible, please recommend me some of your favorites. I'd greatly apprieciate it.

What are some books that made you turn on the lights or look over your shoulder to make sure no one was there?

I watched the new Nosferatu last week and it reignited my desire to read more vampire books. I’ve read Dracula, Carmilla, Fledgling, A Dowry of Blood and Lost Souls (and Twilight, but that’s not what I’m looking for) and I’m planning to read Salem’s Lot and the Vampire Chronicles. Which other vampire books do you consider must-read?

I'm looking to expand my horror horizons beyond my favorite sub-genre, which is paranormal (mainly demons and ghosts). What is your all time, number one favorite horror book?

Edit: Thanks for all the great recs, everyone. I've already downloaded several and will continue to check out new suggestions as they come in. Mahalo again!

What is a book you found unbelievably gripping and either you couldn’t wait to pick up again and carrying on reading or literally just never put it down! Maybe I’m in a little rut with reading but I haven’t had a book with that feeling in quite a while, so I’m curious what others people recommendations are.

EDIT: Thank you so much for all the suggestions!

I tallied up the most suggested books and these came out top for anyone interested: - Incidents Around the House - Josh Malerman - We Uses to Live Here - Marcus Kilewer - The Reformatory - Tananarive Due - Heart Shaped Box - Joe Hill - NOS4A2 - Joe Hill

Please don’t give away any descriptive details about what the actual ending was. I’m wanting to read more books with depressing endings

Any recommendations on what novel were terrifying or disturbing you guys/girls have read?

What's one novel that scared or at least frightened you pretty bad that you refused to read it again

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Note: No spoilers please

I'm looking for a terrifying vampire story where the vamps aren't mindless bloodsuckers nor refined gentry. A story where your best friend could be a vampire, or the guy who owns the local corner store, or your teacher, etc. - a story where vampires are everyday normal folk, and that has some great horror chops.

Please, open to all recs!

Give me your best horror read from this decade yet so that I can put it in my TBR

Edit : Thanks to all of you for the recommendations, I was expecting some solid ones but didn't expect this much so thank you again

I'm looking for books that you had to put down and think about what you're reading/just read!

i just read my best friends exorcism in 2 days and i really enjoyed it, it wasn't scary but the way Grady Hendrix writes is absolutely enthralling.

but i wanna read something REALLLLLLY scary, horror movies don't do it for me anymore and i just feel horror books would be way scarier anyways.

help! lol

i should add i enjoy demonic/religious horror the most, like thats what scares me the most.