Welcome, Tartlets, to my living, breathing, ever-updating list of Scary Books You Need to Read.
This book list is compiled by yours truly. Unlike a lot of book lists on the internet, the spooky books I've recommended below are all books I’ve actually read.
Table of Contents for The Best Scary Books to Read List Horror consists of so many subgenres these days, so I've divided my list into separate categories. You can scroll through the...
Tartlets, I literally jumped at the chance to receive an ARC of Wilderness Reform by authors (and brothers) Matt Query and Harrison Query. Their first novel, Old Country, is one of my favorite horror novels ever. I will read anything this duo writes.
While I didn’t love Wilderness Reform quite as much, I really enjoyed the story, especially toward the end. Let’s get into it.
Before you start reading, you should know that Wilderness...
Grady Hendrix is so fucking brilliant. The Final Girl Support Group blew me away with its originality, its wit, and its non-stop, heart-pounding, guess-again action.
What’s a “final girl”?
“Final Girl” is the term coined for the last girl left standing in a horror story.
You know, there’s a close-knit group of a few teens, and the killer picks them off one by one until, finally, there’s only one person – usually a girl –...
The Hacienda is one of those books that’s received a lot of buzz – and I’m happy to report that it lived up to the hype.
I’ve seen a lot of bloggers/reviews comparing The Hacienda to Mexican Gothic, which was a DNF for me. So, it took me awhile to gather the courage to attempt The Hacienda.
I’m not sure why people keep comparing these two novels. Maybe -- disappointingly -- it’s because they’re both set in Mexico?? Sigh. It's a...
How do I even begin to review the confounding and enchanting reading experience that is Gad’s Hall and The Haunting of Gad’s Hall?
First, let me reassure you that despite the book cover promising “two novels of the supernatural,” Gad’s Hall/The Haunting of Gad's Hall is the most benign ghost story I’ve ever read.
Like, if you blink, you miss the scary parts. Which aren’t even that scary to begin with.
Shockingly, I was okay with...
Old Country is one of the best horror stories I’ve read in a very long time.
Tartlets, this supernatural horror novel by Matt Query and Harrison Query is AWESOME. There’s no other word for it. Old Country blew me away with its originality, insidiously creepy reveals, and excellent writing. I’ve read a lot of haunted house stories, but this tale about a young married couple living on haunted land stands out as a rare treat in the horror...
Christ on a cracker. The Hollow Places is one of the most mind-bending, horrifying books I've ever read. I actually let out a low, guttural groan at one point -- that's how disturbed I was by one passage.
It was wonderful.
The Hollow Places isn't my first T. Kingfisher novel, nor will it be my last. I read The Twisted Ones by her last year and I loved it. The Twisted Ones was fantastically creepy, a stomach-clenching, supernatural,...
The Drowning Kind has made me SO happy that I didn't buy a house with a pond. Or, a lake. Hell, even a pool. Because I am legit now a little creeped out by all bodies of water and what may be lurking beneath the surface.
What's The Drowning Kind about?
This supernatural horror story is a mix of contemporary and historical fiction. It follows two main characters. There's present-day Jax, who returns to her Vermont family home after...
Ghoster isn't a book I'd normally gravitate toward, but I’m glad I picked it up.
A fellow Bookstagrammer who rarely steers me wrong when it comes to thriller recommendations put this Jason Arnopp novel on my radar. Sure enough, Arnopp's clever writing sucked me into the story right away.
What's Ghoster about?
The premise of Ghoster is intriguing: main character Kate is suddenly “ghosted” (translation: abandoned) by her boyfriend...
The Lost Village is an excellent example of why I really, really dislike organized religion. Of course, I fully understand and acknowledge that not every religion turns into a cult. But the framework is there, and The Lost Village makes you realize just how easily the tide can turn with the right (or wrong) person to lead it. Despite that, I love a good cult story and an atmospheric creepy thriller. This debut novel by Camilla Sten delivers...
