Clean macabre

[Christine]

I loved Something Wicked This Way Comes. Want something creepy/eerie without the sensational gore and sex.

[Abigail]

Shirley Jackson might fit what you're looking for, though I haven't read myself to be able to comment for sure on content.

Ditto Russell Kirk (Old House of Fear; Ancestral Shadows: An Anthology of Ghostly Tales, for example).

Many of the episodes of The Twilight Zone were adapted from short stories. Here is a collection of most of them: The Twilight Zone: The Original Stories. Also, many that were written specially for the series by Rod Serling were later put into story form and published: The Twilight Zone: Complete Stories. There are similar anthologies from the Alfred Hitchcock Presents tv show: https://www.goodreads.com/series/1459.... Looking up the various authors could provide further stories, I'm sure.

In a slightly different vein, some of Flannery O'Connor could also fit the bill.

[Christine]

Thank you!

[Scott]

I loved it too! It's one of my all-time favorites.

Peter Straub might work for you (especially his earlier stuff), although his work does have varying degrees of gore and sex. Most of that is "off camera" or passing references though. One of my favorites is Shadowland, which has a nice gothic feel.

Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy might be worth looking into. I've only read the first one so far (Annihilation), but only because my TBR pile is so high...

[Scott]

Charles L Grant was known as a master of "quiet horror". Dialing the Wind is a good choice, especially in the autumn. His Millennium Quartet (beginning with Symphony) is also very good.

[Deanne]

Along the lines of Peter Straub, Ghost Story is creepy and I don't remember much gore or explicit sex. Boy's Life has creepy/supernatural elements that is kind of like Dandelion Wine done as a Twilight Zone episode.

[Deanne]

A couple of other short collections:
The October Country and any collection by Richard Matheson. I will try to think of something more current. You are looking for the same thing I am, so I might have something on my shelf that I've forgotten.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

I can't remember the specifics, but I think The Stepford Wives might fit.

[Deanne]

I agree with Lobstergirl on the Stepford Wives. If I remember correctly, there was a bit of sly humor in that book, as well.
I took a look at my bookshelves this morning and it seems the only books I have that might fit this thread are all old. A Stir of Echoes, and maybe Magic. I know there has to be more. Maybe The Doll Who Ate His Mother - it's been years since I read it, but despite the name, I don't remember it being gory. Oh, and on another thread, there was a discussion about The House Next Door. Again, I read it years ago and don't remember anything explicit. Of course, in those days, I was all into the splatterpunks, so my judgment may have been skewed.
If anything else comes to mind, you know I'll post it!

[Deanne]

Oh, and I almost forgot, in case you haven't read it: The Dead Zone. I think that was pretty "clean". Really, all I remember is crying at the end!

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

The Other by Thomas Tryon

No sex (it's told from a 13 year old's POV).

[Christine]

Ty! Added!

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

You might look into Wilkie Collins. Victorian sensationalist novels, gothic. Women being taken advantage of (but not explicitly), secrets, etc.

[Christine]

Lobstergirl wrote: "You might look into Wilkie Collins. Victorian sensationalist novels, gothic. Women being taken advantage of (but not explicitly), secrets, etc."

Thank you!

[GracieKat]

H.R. Wakefield, H.P. Lovecraft, M.R. James, and William Hope Hodgson are good classic authors whose stories are very creepy with very little gore and barely any sex. Any that is mentioned is mostly innuendo, not graphic.

Sarah Rayne also has some very good books.

Wildfire Megapacks have a lot of ghost and horror megapacks. They have a lot of classic horror. Some are more well-known stories but they make an effort to find more little known stories.

Black Spirits and White - A Book of Ghost Stories.
If you like Sherlock Holmes there's a series that's pretty good: Gaslight Arcanum: Uncanny Tales of Sherlock Holmes, Gaslight Grotesque: Nightmare Tales of Sherlock Holmes, and Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes

The Mammoth Book series also has some very good ghost story books

[Christine]

Wow! Thank you Gracie! I added one from each to my To-Read list.

[GracieKat]

Christine wrote: "Wow! Thank you Gracie! I added one from each to my To-Read list."

You're welcome! If I come up with anymore I'll let you know.

[Rosa]

Coraline

[Heather]

Ted Dekker specializes in the creep factor, but as a Christian author, doesn't get into the gore. Some religious content, but not overwhelming or preachy.

[Christine]

Abigail wrote: "Shirley Jackson might fit what you're looking for, though I haven't read myself to be able to comment for sure on content.

Just read & loved Shirley Jackson! Thank you!

[Christine]

Lobstergirl wrote: "You might look into Wilkie Collins. Victorian sensationalist novels, gothic. Women being taken advantage of (but not explicitly), secrets, etc."

Oh my gosh! Thank you! Doomsday Book was great!

[Patricia]

Doctor to the Dead: Grotesque Legends and Folk Tales of Old Charleston by John Bennett is one you might be interested in. The title story in particular is very good, macabre but with no real gore or anything like that. There is a bizarre romance between a man and the ghost of a woman, but nothing explicit at all.

Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales and The Ribbajack: and Other Haunting Tales are Redwall author Brian Jacques' collections of short scary stories. They are suitable for all ages, and range from amusing to quite creepy.

[Gerd]

Deanne wrote: "Oh, and I almost forgot, in case you haven't read it: The Dead Zone. I think that was pretty "clean". Really, all I remember is crying at the end!"

I think The Dead Zone has at least a sexscene between Johnny and his former girlfriend, after he awakens from his coma, not sure though, it's been a while that I read it... oh, and there's the rape and murder of those little girls, I thought that to be pretty graphic and disturbing back when I read it.
Generally, I can't think of a King book that didn't have some sexscenes in it.

[Rosa]

I don't think there's any sex in Misery.

[Gerd]

Barbara Erskine, Midnight Is a Lonely Place I remember enjoying this one, more romantic mystery with a supernatural touch as I recall it.

James Herbert, Haunted was unexpected romantic for this author - non of his usual trademark gore here, instead a finely spun ghost story.

[CraftyChara]

Rosa wrote: "I don't think there's any sex in Misery."

There's not, just a clean, chaste, almost motherly kiss on the cheek.

[Rosa]

Heh...

[Pamela]

Sorrow's Knot by Erin Bow. Sorrow's Knot