Now That’s Scary!

Hello, Adult Readers and Scary Story Aficionados!

Withered leaves rattle in the chilly wind before their death-drop. October shuffles to its end. Darkness descends sooner now, encouraging owls and bats to fly about the countryside in search of earlier feasts. Jack-o’-lanterns glow and burn to ward off evil spirits. Some trick-or-treaters venture forth while others decide to huddle indoors with a bowl of popcorn, some candy, and a book or movie to elude banshees on the loose . . . out there.

All these signal that Spooky Season is upon us, culminating in Halloween!

What better time of year than now to share with you the THIRTEEN MOST TERRIFYING BOOKS AND SHORT STORIES OF ALL TIME?

Below is the frightful list according to Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library in Nassau County, New York. To read the books’ or stories’ synopses, please click HERE.

Pet Sematary , by Stephen King The Island of Dr. Moreau , by H.G. WellsThe Cask of Amontillado, by Edgar Allan Poe (Yay, Poe!) The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , by Robert Louis StevensonThe Turn of the Screw, by Henry James Frankenstein , by Mary Shelley The Exorcist , by William Peter Blatty Something Wicked This Way Comes , by Ray Bradbury Silence of the Lambs , by Thomas Harris Hell House , by Richard Matheson Rosemary’s Baby , by Ira Levin Dracula , by Bram Stoker House of Leaves , by Mark Z. Danielewski

What?! No Agatha Christie? Sheridan Le Fanu? Shirley Jackson? Robert Bloch? Ann Radcliffe?

So, get a clue, Readers. Were your favorites listed? If not, maybe they’re on BUZZFEED’S list. Or check at BOOKRIOT. Or try THEUNCORKEDLIBRARIAN. Whatever deliciously terrifying horror fiction you dare to open this spooky season, please remember: First, make sure all the doors and windows are locked. Happy, haunted reading!

(Photo Credits: Dracula–E.A. Holloway; Turn of the Screw–Eric Pape in Collier’s Weekly; Frankenstein–Karoly Grosz; The Cask of Amontillado–Harry Clarke. All images are Public Domain from commons.wikimedia.org.)