Need some recommendations

[Melanie]

Hi everyone, and happy spooky season! 🎃

I’m looking to add some new books to my spooky TBR. I’ve been an avid reader of horror and thrillers since childhood, so I guess you could say I’m pretty seasoned when it comes to the genre. I just finished You Like It Darker by Stephen King, and while I enjoyed the stories, they didn’t quite hit the eerie mark for me. Not sure if I’ve become a bit desensitized over time or if they just weren’t that scary! 😅

That said, I’d love some fresh recommendations! I’m into hauntings, creepy serial killers, the supernatural, or anything that brings a new twist to the genre. Looking forward to hearing your suggestions!

[WendyB]

I'd recommend anything by Jonathan Maberry, especially his Pine Deep series starting with Ghost Road Blues. I think it was his first book and isn't quite as polished as his later books but it's creepy and perfect for October. It's a lengthy 3 book series but it reads fast and is worth the effort.
Also by Maberry, his Dead of Night is an excellent twist on the zombie genre. It'll keep you awake at night wondering if something like that could really happen. It's also a series and also worth every word. Loved it.

For a really creepy coming of age story, Dan Simmons Summer of Night still has me afraid of the dark and what lurks underground.

[Christopher]

The great Ramsey Campbell may hit the mark for you. I especially recommend the brilliant Three Births of Daoloth trilogy (beginning with The Searching Dead) and the standalone The Grin of the Dark, which I count as one of the half-dozen finest horror novels I know. Some say it’s a book that can make you feel you’re going crazy as you read it…

[Seb]

If you're looking for something eerie and creepy, a different kind of horror than the mainstream, you could look into bizarro. It's usually not that scary (if at all) but probably something you wouldn't encounter if you stayed in horror per se.

Genocide on the Infinite Express is dark and weird for instance.

Eric LaRocca writes differently as well and is more in the horror genre than bizarro.

[Randy]

Christopher wrote: "The great Ramsey Campbell ... the standalone The Grin of the Dark, which I count as one of the half-dozen finest horror novels I know. Some say it’s a book that can make you feel you’re going crazy as you read it…"

Seconded. Campbell's Midnight Sun is also a good read.

If you can find it, I'd also suggest Finishing Touches by Thomas Tessier. For something more recent, maybe The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones.

[Alondra]

The Lesser Dead, it's vamps, but it is well written and great pacing.

Seed. This was just great.

Blackwater: The Complete Caskey Family Saga. You can also get this as 6 separate novels. Not too scary; but definitely atmospheric and eerie

[Joy]

I'll second The Lesser Dead. Christopher Buehlman writes twisty, adult vampire books. The Suicide Motor Club is set in the same vampiric world. Also, Between Two Fires - horror set in the Middle Ages during the Crusades and the Black Plague is a very different piece of horror.

In the Valley of the Sun is a vampire book with a serial killer.

[Jannelies (living between hope and fear)]

Everything by Bentley Little!

I like his horror because it's all about 'normal' people who encounter something very strange and scary.

The Ignored is my absolute favourite!

[Squire]

I'd like to put forth the name Ronald Kelly. I could mention his novels, but a collection of his short stories doesn't get enough attention:



creepy, scary, southern gothic terrors with my favorite horror story "Forever Angels" about a hidden cemetery where only children are buried--as complex as it is creepy.

[Christopher]

Jannelies wrote: "Everything by Bentley Little!

I like his horror because it's all about 'normal' people who encounter something very strange and scary.

The Ignored is my absolute favourite!
[bookc..."

Seconded!

[Jim]

The Lesser Dead was one of my favorite books this year, but if you want a creepier book concerning "kids," I *highly* recommend Suffer the Children by Craig DiLouie.