The Creepiest Reads For Halloween

Article contributed by Rosie Smith

Rather than definitively ranking the colossal amount of awesome horror literature out there, a job I can’t do as I love it all, we are going to delve into each horror sub-genre and take a closer look at a range of creepy, terrifying, gory and chilling novels. There will be something for every horror fan from the detectives of true crime enthusiasts to the doomsday preparers. Grab your vampire hunting stakes and Ouija boards and prepare to strap yourself in for a rollercoaster ride through exorcisms, alien possession, cannibalism, monsters, and haunted houses. This journey is not for the faint hearted… you have been warned!

Serial Killer Shockers

Silence Of The Lambs by Thomas Harris

Pure unadulterated horror in its rawest form, the Hannibal Lecter books are not for the faint hearted. Incorporating murder, violence, cannibalism, sexual violence, and abuse, this book should come with a trigger warning in capital letters. The novels tell the story, not in chronological order, of psychologist turned cannibalistic serial-killer Hannibal Lecter’s twisted childhood, crimes and consultancy to homicide detectives. If you want to understand a serial killer, ask a serial killer right?

Harris cleverly creates a force of sinister manipulation in Lecter keeping us wondering who’s side he is on and waiting for his seemingly inevitable escape. The graphic descriptions of terrible and violent crimes leave the reader feeling slightly queasy. Meanwhile Harris opens up the door to harrowing pasts and darkest secrets of the other characters using Lecter’s heightened perceptive skills, manipulation and persuasion creating a multi-layered, three dimensional cast. It’s not for everyone, but if you think you can stomach it, buckle up for a crazy, crime filled ride!

Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi

Have you always wanted to know what motivates a serial killer? Why people join cults? How people are brainwashed? Well this is the book for you! Vincent Bugliosi, a prosecution attorney on the case, provides an inside look at the bone-chilling Tate–LaBianca murders instigated by the infamous Charles Manson and his indoctrinated followers.

Following an initial, gruesome murder scene, Bugliosi takes us systematically, through the following investigations, trials, and backstory of the Spahn Ranch cult headed by the enigmatic, influential and cold-blooded Charles Manson. Bugliosi leaves out no detail, using actual court transcripts and often repeating information to ensure the reader can follow the complicated proceedings with more ease. It’s a long one so set aside plenty of reading time as you’ll quickly find that the devil is in the detail, painting an all-encompassing picture, transporting you back in time to Mason’s childhood, cult-life, the murders and the subsequent trails. You almost forget when reading that this isn’t a work of creative fiction, it really did happen, inviting you to question: are any of us really safe?

Science Fiction Madness

Dreamcatcher by Stephen King

King talks about writing Dreamcatcher under the influence of powerful painkillers after an accident and it’s a mind-bending, journey incorporating psychic powers, aliens, government cover-ups, and possession. The sort of thing that surely can only been dreamt up under the influence!

When school-friends Henry, Beaver, Jonsey, and Pete noticed ‘Duddits’, a disabled child being bullied, the boys intervened, intertwining their lives and showing them ‘the line’, Duddits’ telepathic power. The line is a compass guiding the group through life, drawing them away from danger and towards lost things. Present day, the boys still meet up every year to go hunting in the snowy forest, cut off from civilisation… Cue the cabin in the woods style gore-fest! A UFO has crashed in the forest and the military are racing against time to contain the incident, but they don’t have the full story. It’s up to the group of friends to save the world, an action inexplicably linked to Duddits and his special powers.

For those of you fascinated by the recent Area 51 raid pranks, this is a must-read! What have the authorities been hiding? Peel back the proverbial curtain and find out what extra-terrestrial horror awaits!

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

Written as a collection of interviews, news articles, personal accounts, and scientific data collated by a journalist, Brooks convinces the reader that World War Z was a real-life global catastrophe. Written in the post-apocalyptic wake, World War Z examines the effects of a worldwide pandemic and response from global leaders, health organisations and pharmaceutical companies cashing in on the chaos.

The corruption revealed throughout governments, world leaders and at times the medical profession provides a commentary on contemporary issues surrounding conflict, peace, safety and ethical practise which is extremely thought provoking and before you can check yourself leads you to wonder: could a corrupt government lead to a zombie war?

Brooks cleverly weaves personal accounts showing war as a microcosm, devastating families juxtaposed against the worldwide effects using government press releases and interviews. This makes for a read which at times tugs on your heart strings, terrifies you to your core and causes you to scratch your head and strategise with the world leaders about what to do next!

Creepy Classics

Dracula by Bram Stoker

A gothic setting, a tyrannical villain and damsels in distress, Dracula is the epitome of classic horror. Drawing the reader in with detailed panoramic descriptions of beautiful scenery, we are taken into Dracula’s foreboding castle and into the world of the vampire.

When Jonathan Harker sets out to Transylvania to close a real estate deal with Count Dracula, he is warned by villagers along the way to turn back. Despite this, Jonathan chooses to continue on and finds himself embroiled in wolf attacks, vampire assaults, murder, monster hunts, and blood. Meanwhile, Harker’s wife Mina and her friend Lucy are caught up in vampire dealings of their own leading to further macabre events.

Stoker paints a picture of how unprepared England is for Dracula’s attacks due to its propensity for modern science which doesn’t allow for believing in vampires. Warning readers not to overlook supernatural occurrences science can’t explain. Like Van Helsing, we must take into account both superstition and science. If you like eerie, spooky, otherworldly horror then Dracula is the one for you!

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

When Robert Walton set out on his voyage to the North Pole, little did he expect to come across Victor Frankenstein, a near frozen man with an incredible story. Once nursed back to health, Frankenstein tells his secret, scary, and shameful story. Following a happy childhood, Frankenstein studies anatomy and chemistry discovering his ability of animation and embarking on his biggest project yet, to create a human being. Frankenstein makes the monster from a collection of human body parts before bringing it to life and running in fear. What follows is a twisted tale of murder, shame, betrayal, guilt and ethical questions.

Shelley writes a dark and ominous text exploring the implications of too much knowledge. Text and language also play a huge role in the novel with the story told through letters with nods to notebooks, inscriptions and journals. The monster even learns to speak and read from the villagers allowing Frankenstein and thus the reader to understand the complex emotions felt by the creature adding another layer to the story. If you like chewing over problems of ethics and philosophy with a side order of grisly horror, then this is the novel for you!

Psychological Frights

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

Schizophrenia or supernatural possession? This was the question plaguing the Barrett family when 15-year-old Marjorie began acting erratically and medicine wasn’t helping. Merry, Marjorie’s sister, chronicles the horrific events that took place in the Bennett house when the family decided an exorcism was the only way to help Marjorie. To ease their financial strain, the family agreed to have a reality TV show enter their home and film the events leading Merry to question is Marjorie really possessed?

The book explores the dark theme of reality TV exploitation while raising the age old question of science versus religion. Full of harrowing scenes and creepy imagery, the book has an overall feeling of paranoia and madness, making for a sinister and terrifying read. Open if you dare and travel down the psychological rabbit-hole into the ghost filled head of Marjorie Barrett.

Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Would you go for a summer holiday in a haunted house? That is exactly what Eleanor, Theodora, and Luke do following an invitation from Dr Montague who is investigating the supernatural occurrences at Hill House. The group are tasked with living in the house for the summer, noting unearthly experiences.

Although dark and foreboding with a chequered past, Hill House is uninviting but apparently not haunted. However, malevolent events begin slowly unfolding leaving us to wonder what is the work of spirits and what may be the work of the group of ragtag inhabitants. The house comes to life, ensnaring its victims, particularly drawing in fragile, vulnerable Eleanor who is infatuated with the house. Will Hill House ever let her go?

For those that have watched the hit Netflix series, you’ll find that the show takes a lot of creative licence, further developing key themes from the book to stretch over a whole series. The novel is more compact with traditional haunted house tropes but still packs a frightening punch, made even more impactful by the shock ending. Come inside Hill House if you dare!

Supernatural Scares

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

When a malevolent child abductor and a psychic teenager cross paths, both of their lives are changed forever. Charles Manx, a famed child abductor has been kidnapping children in his Rolls-Royce Wraith, which can traverse worlds and taking them to the supernatural vampire amusement park of Christmasland. When psychic Vic takes the ‘Shorter Way bridge’, her telepathic link, to Manx’s house following an argument with her mother, she had no idea what horrors awaited there.

Fast forward to Vic’s adult life, where she lives as the only known escapee of Manx, but he is not finished with Vic yet. Although imprisoned, after Vic’s almost abduction, Manx has escaped using paranormal means, convincing everyone he is dead and when he takes Vic’s son, no one believes it. It is up to Vic to rescue Wayne and destroy Christmasland for good.

Hill cleverly incorporates the real-life threat of child abduction which send a shiver down the spine of most along with supernatural elements such as psychics and vampires. This makes for a bone-chilling scare you won’t be able to shake long after the last page.

The Hunger by Alma Katsu

Alma Katsu showcases her amazing ability to make horrific historical tragedies even more terrifying by introducing supernatural entities within her take on the Donner Party disaster, The Hunger. In 1846, the 90 members of the pioneer Donner Party setting out on the Oregon trail from Missouri to California, could not have foreseen the horror that lay in wait.

Katsu’s writing builds suspense from the outset, having the reader believe something is stalking the party, causing disappearances and deaths. Although a true story of conflict, betrayal, illness, exposure and starvation, Katsu explores the events under a supernatural lens adding another layer of horror to the already tragic accounts. Did the Donner Party succumb to exposure or is there another sinister explanation for their bad luck?

This novel seamlessly marries history and horror incorporating barbaric tribes, ghosts, demons, and witchcraft without a second of disconnection from the gripping politics and relationships of the group. The variation of traditional storytelling and the use of correspondence, to inform the reader of the character and setting backgrounds, reveals the twine that links all party members to one another and the dread, death and destruction awaiting them all.

Heinous Horror Adaptations

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

Turned into a hit Netflix movie, Bird Box will leave you on the edge of your seat, both the book and movie. Malorie and her two children live in an abandoned house in a post-apocalyptic ruin. Most people are dead, and something is out there. Something that wants to get them and if they look at it directly, it will turn them into homicidal, suicidal maniacs. Malorie and her children need to escape and run to safety but a perilous journey lies ahead and you’re on it with them!

Written with a sense of urgency that will keep you turning pages, Bird Box will have you looking over your shoulder with paranoia and panic, thinking am I being followed too? Due to the fact the protagonist spends much of the time blindfolded or trying to avoid seeing the malevolent forces, you will become maddeningly frustrated at your own consequent blindness. keeping you reading desperately in the hope you will get to see the monster. But can you handle it? Or will it send you mad too?

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

You’ve probably heard of the cult movie The Exorcist, but did you know it was based on a bestselling book? Noted as one of the most controversial books of the time, The Exorcist tells the story of 11 year old Regan’s experience with demonic possession and her subsequent exorcism. It’s hard not to compare the novel to the film due to its notoriety but where the book far excels is in the stomach-churning; repulsive descriptions of acts carried out by the possessed Regan and the shocking and horrifying dialogue from the demon inside. Making those infamous scenes from the movie (I won’t give it away!) even more disturbing and unsettling.

Inspired by real life events, if you don’t value a good night’s sleep all that much then this is the book for you. It will have you up long into the night jumping at shadows and cowering under the duvet.

Do you have any horror recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!