Horror Suggestions > Likes and Comments

So my month of horror is coming up soon, in which I read exclusively horror books and comics and watch a bunch of horror movies and play some horror video games for the month of October. I'm having a hard time coming up with some good horror books to read as it doesn't seem like a particularly huge genre. Could you guys give me some recommendations for good horror books to be reading/listening to? I made a shelf of most of the horror books I've read so you guys have an idea of what I've already read and haven't read if this helps.

I always liked Weaveworld by Clive Barker...

Perhaps some horror lite from Ray Bradbury: Something Wicked This Way Comes, or the collection of shorts Long After Midnight.

I see you have a couple of Joe Hill books on your shelf. I'd recommend his graphic novel series "Locke and Key" if you haven't read it.

Edgar Allan Poe is always a good go to for horror stories, and you can pick them up for nothing.

There was a recent thread like this.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

It's good that you have a horror shelf, so we can see that you *shockingly* haven't read any Clive Barker.

I just checked your horror shelf and mine. I didn't see the following on yours:

The Girl with All the Gifts

The Good House

Dracula (The Audible Studios edition is amazing.)

The Omen

Rosemary's Baby

Night Film

You don't have any H P Lovecraft on there.

House of Leaves

Sandi wrote: "I just checked your horror shelf and mine. I didn't see the following on yours:

The Girl with All the Gifts

The Good House

Dracula (The Audible Studios ..."

The Girl With All The Gifts is one that I had thought of reading for my month, it's been getting a lot of hype.

AndrewP wrote: "You don't have any H P Lovecraft on there."

I have read a bunch of his stuff though, it's just a pain to add because it's a bunch of short stories. I love much of his stuff though.

Tassie Dave wrote: "I see you have a couple of Joe Hill books on your shelf. I'd recommend his graphic novel series "Locke and Key" if you haven't read it.

Edgar Allan Poe is always a good go to for horror stories, a..."

I've actually read through Locke and Key. I blasted right through it, it was great.

nickytwothumbs wrote: "I always liked Weaveworld by Clive Barker..."

I do have that one, may have to give that a try.


Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. Keep them coming! There's always room for more horror.

Maplecroft & Chapelwood by Cherie Priest.

The Laundry Files series by Charles Stross (first book-The Atrocity Archives)

I recently did a horror themed episode of my Reading Envy Podcast so there are good recommendations there.

My favorite horror writer will probably always be Nathan Ballingrud, can't recommend his short story collection enough:
North American Lake Monsters: Stories - it just went for a third printing!

I've enjoyed reading some of the horror classics like Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It is very interesting to see how the books compare to pop culture's take on them. Also, I have enjoyed trying to read them without all of the expectations that have been built around the topics, especially vampires and Dracula.

^That's one of the best parts of reading Frankenstein. The Frankenstein Monster of later pop culture has little in common with the lightning and head bolt creature of the films. Rather, the book explores what we would later call the Uncanny Valley. The monster is close to life but is not life, and creeps people out.

I didn't see many of the classics. Bram Stoker's Lair of the White Worm is a great read. William Hope Hodgson wrote many great horror tales. The House on the Borderland is one of his best known but many of the others are just as good. Edgar Allen Poe has already been mentioned. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote some great horror short stories. Ray Bradbury has also already been mentioned, I'll second that suggestion.

As for comics, Rachael Rising by Terry Moore has just been published in a collected edition. Excellent.

Getting Stoker's Dracula out of the way as it is one of the top 5 books ever written, and An Unattractive Vampire which is required reading, I think Scott Sigler's Ancestor is the best I have come across lately. A tech. and monster mash-up which is his thing. Over on Podiobooks.com (free serialized audio books, but you can tip authors) there was one called Hidden Things that was really fun fantasy/horror.
Lastly I recently listened to Closet Treats by Paul Cooley (because it was narrated by someone who's SF work I follow) but it went beyond what I was comfortable with (kids) and I rather wish I hadn't. It was very horrorcreepy if you are looking for pushing that boundry.

Tassie Dave wrote: "I see you have a couple of Joe Hill books on your shelf. I'd recommend his graphic novel series "Locke and Key" if you haven't read it."

ladymurmur wrote: "Maplecroft & Chapelwood by Cherie Priest."

I second these.

I finally got around to reading I Am Legend, which I would also recommend. It's quite short and really good.

In the graphic novel department I will heartily recommend the Manifest Destiny series, which is a mash-up of the Lewis & Clark expedition with Lovecraftian horrors. First one is Manifest Destiny, Vol. 1: Flora & Fauna. So good.

Similarly, I think Through the Woods is terrific. Also check out Ten Grand, Vol. 1, Absolution, Vol. 1 and Criminal Macabre.

For movies, my two favorites are Fallen (1998) with Denzel Washington, which is creepy and brilliant and has one of the all-time greatest (and scariest) chase scenes ever put on film. You'll know it when you see it. The other is Frailty (2001) directed by Bill Paxton, starring him and Matthew McConaughey.

I used to primarily read horror. I have branched out over the years, but these have stuck with me and all have their creepy moments:
Slade House
A Head Full of Ghosts
The Exorcist
Night Film (There is an app that goes with Night Film, it adds an extra element to the story.)
The Afraid series by Jack Kilborn, I made it through Afraid, Trapped, and Endurance, the audio books were pretty good.
Draculas, the audio book was pretty good for this one too. Watch for the clown. ;)
Lost Boy Lost Girl and the sequel In the Night Room
Black House, the sequel to The Talisman

Wow I can't believe I forgot there was a sequel to The Talisman. I need to read that for sure.

I loved Summer of Night by Dan Simmons, and for me it's the scariest book I've ever read.

Did you know that George RR Martin had a horror phase?Besides his shortstories he wrote Fevre Dream, a different take on the Vampire story, which will remind you of the Sookie Stackhouse stories plot, only it was written way back when.

I have read Fevre Dream. It was pretty good, a somewhat dark take on vampires.

I just read the novella We Are All Completely Fine and I'd recommend that one, too.

There is of course some good Robert McCammon books out there.

A Child's First Book of Trump

Haha nice!

If you like werewolves, you might enjoy The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan. And although it's not really horror as such, I love Anno Dracula by Kim Newman (I get it's not to everyone's tastes though).

http://halloweenpalooza.blogspot.com/ Is having their month long event. They are featuring a different author's horror short story every day, and giving away a bunch of books. It is a great way to find new horror authors.

(Full disclosure- they are featuring me on the 29th)

Brad wrote: "So my month of horror is coming up soon, in which I read exclusively horror books and comics and watch a bunch of horror movies and play some horror video games for the month of October. I'm having..."

That One Pretty Thing

(apologies for the shameless self-promotion... but it is a rather horroresque / dark-sci-fi short story, and based on your post in this thread, you might enjoy -- so I'm recommending it! :-) )