Quick Look Books: Supernatural Horror for Adults (October 2018)

Welcome to Part 2 of this month’s Quick Look Books!

I posted recommendations of supernatural horror stories for the YA audience earlier this week, and now it’s time to feature some titles for the grown-ups. I’m a connoisseur of spooky stories, and after many years of reading about the paranormal, it’s rare that I find books that truly unsettle me.

You already know how much I loved (and was terrified by) Ania Ahlborn’s The Bird Eater. Here are five additional books that scared the buhjeezus outta me.

1. Come Closer by Sara Gran. I have to lead with this book. Is there anything more terrifying than watching everything you love slip away while you’re completely powerless to stop it? Maybe demonic possession. Funny how the two often go hand in hand. This is one of the most terrifying books I’ve ever read, though not in a traditional sense. Gran puts a fascinating and highly original twist on the usual possession story — it’s told from the viewpoint of the possessed person. She does an amazing job of depicting what the victim would go through — the weird, unexplained acts; the confusion; the denial; and, finally, the possession. While the beginning of the book does invoke the usual scary story tropes like stange noises and occurences to set the scene, it quickly moves into the bone-chilling loss of control that overtakes the victim’s life and free will. And, the ending? It shattered me.

This book is short; I read the entire thing in about 2-3 hours. The writing is strong, intoxicating, and visceral, perfectly mirroring the demon it presents. If you’re a fan of the supernatural, you have to read this unique and haunting tale told from the other side of the story.

2. A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay. You’ll soon be seeing my review of Tremblay’s most recent literary accomplishment, The Cabin at the End of the World, up on the blog, but A Head Full of Ghosts was the first novel I read by this author. It was skin-crawlingly creepy throughout and downright horrifying in certain parts. Although it draws on many classic techniques from popular horror films, Tremblay brings a new, wicked creativity to the “usual” scenes, making them anything but. If you’re well-versed in supernatural media, you’ll feel pulled to this book, and you’ll appreciate the criticism that is peppered throughout the story. I also really enjoyed the “demonic vs mental illness” confusion/debate that runs throughout the novel. The end of this book, however, is what’s truly terrifying. You can only read this once, people.

3. The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon. “You know nothing of the madness of the dead.” If that quote doesn’t unsettle you completely, I don’t know what will. I’ve read quite a few Jennifer McMahon titles, and this one is my favorite. A woman raises her daughter from the dead. I mean, literally raises her from the dead. Said dead kid then skulks around corners of the house, peering out at you and trying to interact, but still staying well enough in the shadows that you never really get a good look at her. She’s kinda herself, but she’s also kinda…not. Ghosts are unsettling enough, but ghost children are always much creepier, as you’ll soon find out. There’s also a modern-day mystery that delves into the past (with the ghost child), and the heart-pounding suspense of that should get your adrenaline pumping if the little dead girl doesn’t.

4. The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James. This author writes great suspense and historical fiction, as is proven with The Broken Girls, but lemme tell ya — she writes one heck of a ghost story. Maddy Clare is quite the unhappy lingering spirit, and it’s up to a motley crew of ghost hunters to get her on her way to the next realm. The ghostly occurrences are intense in this, particularly if you’re not used to reading this genre. Also included is a woman discovering her psychic abilities, a murder mystery, and a decadently delicious romance between two ghost hunters. I didn’t realize this book was actually filed under “Romance” when I first started reading it. However, about halfway through, the “romance” label becomes abundantly clear as you come across some graphic passages. Good. But graphic. Don’t leave this one lying around for the kiddos.

5. The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb. I’ll read pretty much anything by this author. Her books are reliably ghostly and entertaining. Halcyon Crane was her first novel, and it fully embraces the supernatural — there are no psychological or “rational” explanations, etc, for the events that occur. There’s just straight up ghosts and then some, as it delves fully into the realm of the seemingly impossible. As with all Webb’s books, it’s cozy yet creepy at the same time, though the creep factor on this one is especially good, particularly near the end, due to three little ghost children. (Yes, again with the creepy ghost children.) This spooky read delivers just the right amount of mystery, romance, cozy charm, and suspense.

Fun Fact: Halycon Crane contains some parallels to one of Webb’s later novels, The End of Temperance Dare (also excellent), and I think the author drew upon ideas from this book to create the other.

BONUS TITLES:

Although I love supernatural fiction, nothing is better than a true ghost story. I love picking up books about local ghost lore while I’m on vacation, and my bookshelves are overflowing with accounts of weird creatures terrorizing rural highways or spectres sitting on neighborhood tombstones at night.

In all my travels, though, I’ve found that the best scary stories come out of New England. Here are my two favorite collections:

The New England Ghost Files by Charles Turek Robinson

I Never Believed in Ghosts Until… by USA Weekend

The stories in these two books are told from an eyewitness point of view, and they range from slightly disturbing to scary as hell. And, the illustrations in Ghost Files rival the creep factor of those in the classic Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark by Alvin Schwartz.

What are your favorite supernatural horror stories? Share in the comments below!