# Can anyone recommend genuinely scary horror novels? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2020, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685 "2020-01-20T00:28:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/21 "2020-01-20T16:59:14Z")
I’d suggest **Daryl Gregory** ’s _[We Are All Completely Fine](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/daryl-gregory/we-are-all-completely-fine.htm)_ from 2014. He’s written other novels I like a lot which could be considered horror but this is the one! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/22 "2020-01-20T17:31:07Z")
I recommend [Richard Laymon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Laymon). ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/23 "2020-01-20T19:27:28Z")
> [@Labdad](#): > > Peter Straub’s “Ghost Story” scared the bejesus out of me when I read it back in 1980. Reading it at the beach on a sunny day, and I got cold shivers! I entered the thread to post the same book. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/24 "2020-01-20T21:01:45Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I found Stephen King’s _'Salem’s Lot_, about vampires overwhelming a small Maine town with a lot of unpleasant secrets, pretty damn scary when I first read it back in the Eighties, and when I re-read it recently it held up very well. I kept a cross made from toothpicks next to my bed for a few weeks after I read it. Granted, I was only in middle school, but it still remains the scariest book I’ve read. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/25 "2020-01-20T22:39:57Z")
> [@Meurglys](#): > > I’d suggest **Daryl Gregory** ’s _[We Are All Completely Fine](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/daryl-gregory/we-are-all-completely-fine.htm)_ from 2014. > He’s written other novels I like a lot which could be considered horror but this is the one! Huh. I remember quite enjoying this one. I even thought it would have made a great movie or TV show… Anything else good by Gregory? > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I recommend [Richard Laymon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Laymon). I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/26 "2020-01-21T00:07:24Z")
[quote=“Mahaloth, post:1, topic:846685”] [URL=“[SDMB Book Recommendation Thread Compendium - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=599130)”] - \*\*The Sorcerer’s House \*\*by Gene Wolfe - a book that immediately demands you go back and re-read it to see if you…well, I won’t go further. Probably the best horror book I’ve read in the past few years, though I am not a huge reader of this genre. - \*\*Bones of the Moon \*\*by Jonathan Carroll (no audiobook, sorry) - D **octor Sleep** by Stephen King(a surprisingly good folllow-up to the Shining) - **Lockwood and Co.** - a young adult horror series that is actually quite good. I’ve read 3 of 5 of them and love them I _love_ Jonathan Carroll. One that’s just creepy as hell is _The Land of Laughs_. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/27 "2020-01-21T00:08:19Z")
I recommend checking out some of Graham Masterton’s books, if you don’t mind a lot of gore to go with your scary stuff. A few of my favorites include: - _Mirror_ - \*Ritual \*(very gory, with cannibalism) - _The Doorkeepers_ - _The Devil in Gray_ - _Edgewise_ - _The Manitou_ (there are several books in the Manitou series) I don’t think Masterton gets the respect in the U.S. horror market that he should, and I’m not sure why. He writes good stuff. **Edit to add** : I do not recommend _Unspeakable_. It has a throw-the-book-across-the room ending that I hated. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/28 "2020-01-21T00:14:07Z")
> [@Meurglys](#): > > I’d suggest **Daryl Gregory** ’s _[We Are All Completely Fine](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/daryl-gregory/we-are-all-completely-fine.htm)_ from 2014. > He’s written other novels I like a lot which could be considered horror but this is the one! Ooo, I have this one in my to-be-read pile. I’ll have to dig it out. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/29 "2020-01-21T02:20:57Z")
I am surprised that no one has mentioned Charles Stross. His “Laundry” series can attain Lovecraftian peaks: From Wiki: ``` The Atrocity Archives (2004) The Jennifer Morgue (2006) Down on the Farm (2008 novelette) Overtime (2009 novelette) The Fuller Memorandum (2010) The Apocalypse Codex (2012) Equoid (2013 novelette) The Rhesus Chart (2014) The Annihilation Score (2015) The Nightmare Stacks (2016) The Delirium Brief (2017) The Labyrinth Index (2018) Dead Lies Dreaming (forthcoming 2020-10-27, start of a new series in the Laundry universe) ``` ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/30 "2020-01-21T13:50:56Z")
I read a lot of horror, not a lot gets to me any more but I’ll see what I can recommend. Song of Kali by Dan Simmons was really good. The Troop by Nick Cutter. I’ve head some of his other works are good but I’ve not read them. His real name is Craig Davidson. Final Girls by Riley Sager was ok. The Keep by F Paul Wilson. Not sure how many of those are on audio books or not though. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/31 "2020-01-21T14:21:59Z")
> [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > Huh. I remember quite enjoying this one. I even thought it would have made a great movie or TV show… > Anything else good by Gregory? _Harrison Squared_ is a fun, almost YA Lovecraftian novel, _Afterparty_ is a great Phil Dick-ian take on 3D-printed designer drugs, _Raising Stoney Mayhal_l is a weird take on zombies and _Spoonbenders_ is a convoluted book about a retired family of Carnival acts and performers who may or may not have special talents. Very good, but it takes it’s time. And for completeness sake, _The Devil’s Alphabet_ is set in a small, quarantined town some years after a chemical spill has resulted in a series of weird mutations - strange but good, as a refugee returns for a funeral. I’ve not read his first novel, _Pandemonium_, but it got good reviews when it first appeared and it’s on my list! He’s on my order on sight list and I’ve not been disappointed yet. I nearly didn’t persevere with _We Are All Completely Fine_ as it was pretty intense, but I’m glad i did. Spoonbenders picked up a fair mount of attention iirc, even in the UK where it was a book of the month choice by some bookclub/shop? I don’t recall. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/32 "2020-01-21T14:26:32Z")
I’ll second Song of Kali (and maybe The Hollow Man) as genuinely horrifying novels by Dan Simmons. I haven’t read them for over 10 years, though, but I remember finding them about as scary as books get. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/33 "2020-01-21T15:10:37Z")
If you haven’t read it already, let me recommend [The Haunting of Hill House](https://www.amazon.com/Haunting-Hill-House-Penguin-Classics/dp/0143039989/ref=sr_1_2?crid=24A0IMXNQCCV0&keywords=the+haunting+of+hill+house+shirley+jackson&qid=1579619385&sprefix=the+haunt%2Caps%2C148&sr=8-2) by Shirley Jackson. For me, it’s the scariest book of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/34 "2020-01-21T15:15:29Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > You read Pet Semetary? And this would be the second scariest! The realistic parts are bad enough, but the supernatural stuff really doesn’t bear thinking about after lights out! ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/35 "2020-01-21T16:30:00Z")
Since you’ve specifically asked for novels, my favorite horror novel I’ve read is [The Last Days of Jack Sparks](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28765598-the-last-days-of-jack-sparks?from_search=true&qid=7KWgU4lEyh&rank=1) by Jason Arnopp. It’s bizarre, genre-bending, and scary enough that I wanted my dog snuggling on the couch with me while I read it. I’ve found that the horror genre is often better suited to short stories rather than novels; since the endings are often the crucial part, short stories have tighter plots and less filler. Some short story writers who write good horror are Karen Russell, John Connolly, and Thomas Ligotti. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/36 "2020-01-21T16:40:49Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > …The Keep by F Paul Wilson… Oh, definitely. Thanks for the reminder. German troops vs. a supernatural threat in a mysterious Romanian castle during WWII. \*Very \*good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/37 "2020-01-21T19:40:24Z")
I was freaked out by _The Shining_ even though I’d already seen the movie. Probably shouldn’t have gotten deeply into it late at night and then had to ascend the stairs to our mildly spooky upper floor when everyone else was asleep.\* \*for real fun I should’ve tried going up into the attic, which was an unsettling place even in broad daylight. You never knew what might emerge from those hanging garment bags…:eek: \*\*going down to our dimly lit basement after seeing a 10 p.m. showing of _Psycho_ wasn’t a good idea either. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/38 "2020-01-21T21:14:42Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I am surprised that no one has mentioned Charles Stross. His “Laundry” series can attain Lovecraftian peaks: I read one or two of the laundry books, and while they had horror tropes in them, I don’t remember anything in the ones I read being remotely scary or unsettling. They were, if I’m remembering correctly, fairly light in style. Wikipedia describes the series as mixing “the genres of Lovecraftian horror, spy thriller, science fiction, and workplace humour,” which matches my memory. OOH! OOH! OOH! If we can move out of pure genre horror but stick with scary stuff, there’s the amazing [Southern Reach trilogy](https://www.audible.com/pd/Annihilation-Audiobook/B00HYG9KMC) by Jeff Vandermeer, starting with **Annihilation**. He works in the “New Weird” subgenre, sort of horror, sort of fantasy, sort of science fiction, sort of surrealism. The Old Weird was Lovecraft and Burroughs and Machen. Anyway, Vandermeer’s works, and especially this series, are obliquely and profoundly unsettling and disturbing. If King splatters blood across your face, Vandermeer gives you a diagnosis of parasite infection while you’re having a bad reaction to an anesthetic. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/39 "2020-01-21T21:56:18Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I read one or two of the laundry books, and while they had horror tropes in them, I don’t remember anything in the ones I read being remotely scary or unsettling. They were, if I’m remembering correctly, fairly light in style. Wikipedia describes the series as mixing “the genres of Lovecraftian horror, spy thriller, science fiction, and workplace humour,” which matches my memory. > > OOH! OOH! OOH! If we can move out of pure genre horror but stick with scary stuff, there’s the amazing [Southern Reach trilogy](https://www.audible.com/pd/Annihilation-Audiobook/B00HYG9KMC) by Jeff Vandermeer, starting with **Annihilation**. He works in the “New Weird” subgenre, sort of horror, sort of fantasy, sort of science fiction, sort of surrealism. The Old Weird was Lovecraft and Burroughs and Machen. > > Anyway, Vandermeer’s works, and especially this series, are obliquely and profoundly unsettling and disturbing. If King splatters blood across your face, Vandermeer gives you a diagnosis of parasite infection while you’re having a bad reaction to an anesthetic. I was going to bring up Vandermeer as well. The first two books of the Southern Reach really scared me. The third book went off in a different direction, and his other books that I’ve read (Borne and Veniss Underground) didn’t really do it for me. But those first two books of Southern Reach are very worth it. I’d go so far as to say they scared me more than any Stephen King that I’ve ever read. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685/40 "2020-01-22T01:11:38Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > This was kind of a creepy one - > > Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon > > It’s one of VERY few books I’ve read more than once. I will second this. Really really good. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-genuinely-scary-horror-novels/846685.md?page=3)