Endings

My endings divide opinion. I know that because I read the reviews on this site. My personal take is that anyone who reads a book all the way through has a valid opinion concerning its failings and merits. That's why I read the reviews - as well as to try to gauge the type of readers interested in the sort of fiction I write.
Some of the best paranormal thrillers I've read are those with the bleakest conclusions. Somehow a tragic or bitter ending stays in the mind in a way that a happy outcome does not.
But I don't think this sort of fiction should always end in a mood of gloomy desperation. Characters who endure fearful experiences stoically sometimes deserve their reward, at least in my view.
And there's the element of tension to consider. If you as a reader know it's all going to end in a grim and ghoulish bloodbath, what's the point of continuing to turn the pages?
The challenge is to make the ending plausible without being drearily predictable. But that is precisely the sort of challenge that makes the crafting of the tale worthwhile