Favorite Scary Books

[Lisa, the usurper]

Halloween is right around the corner and it got me thinking about the scariest/creepiest books that I have read. What are some of your favorite scary books? I know that the scope of the group is classics, but let's branch out and include more current selections as well. So, happy Halloween and may your To-Read lists grow, consider that a treat!

[Zuzana]

The creepiest book I have ever read has to be Cujo by Stephen King. I found parts of that book so repulsive, mind you, not scary just repulsive and creepy, that I haven't read anything by King since then.

[Shadow Jubilee]

I don't like scary stuff but I had to read some of the Sherlock Holmes stories in grade school. There was one about a snake. I also had to read the Tell-Tale Heart by Poe. Those two stories freaked me out.

[ian]

Hi! I'm new here :)

Early this year, I read Shirley Jackson's "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" and found it really creepy, though not in the supernatural way. It would make a nice Halloween read, I think :)

[☯Emily]

ian wrote: "Hi! I'm new here :)

Early this year, I read Shirley Jackson's "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" and found it really creepy, though not in the supernatural way. It would make a nice Halloween ..."

I read it last year for an October read. It is a horrifying book in many ways.

[Kayla]

ian wrote: "Hi! I'm new here :)

Early this year, I read Shirley Jackson's "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" and found it really creepy, though not in the supernatural way. It would make a nice Halloween ..."

I love that book. It's definitely one of the creepier books I've read. The scene when the townspeople are all chanting the rhyme (Merricat, said Connie, would you like a cup of tea . . .) was a really haunting moment for me.

The short story "Viy" by Gogol (from The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol) is the scariest story I've ever read by far, though.

[Julie]

So excited to hear about these. I was going to recommend Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House". In my younger years, I didn't find it that frightening, but something about it took hold of me later in life and I found it riveting.