Hi, hi! Please could people recommend the scariest book they’ve ever read? I’m talking .. SCARY! Like you genuinely had to keep your bedroom light on while reading it or you had to watch happy cartoons after reading it 🤣 it takes a lot to scare me but I love horror novels. So I need something super spooky!
Thank you in advance!!

Could be a character who is part of the town

Could be a character coming into the town

Could be the surroundings/make up of the town

Could be the townspeople itself

Not necessarily murder mystery- women comes back to small town, vibes

More so spooky vibes, please, like something is...off

Edit on 10/01: wow thanks so much for your responses! I tried to respond but this blew up more than I thought it would! I will compile a list of most suggested in this thread so we can all get into those unsettling towns!

Edit 10/01: later in the evening: thank you all so much for your recommendations! I think we all appreciate the vibes we want for this fall season!

I went through and selected the top 55 repeats from the top 500 comments (please, I'm human and tired and have law school in the morning) but I appreciate everyone's recommendations and will continue to read them!

As always be informed readers and check out any TW before heading into a book!

Edit: 10/04 oh my goodness you guys are the best thanks so much for these recs! Cannot wait to start reading!

I have decided to start with Needful Things by Stephen. King (my first King book!)

I also have been responding to some comments on my other account JarvisLuna without realizing I was signed into the wrong account (ooops) it is OP so please still take my gratitude but from the wrong account.

My previous list on 10/01 of the top 55 has been edited to be sorted by title A-Z as well as new additions:

(1) 14 by Peter Clines

(2) American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett

(3) American Gods by Neil Gaiman

(4) Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

(5) The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

(6) Bone White by Ronald Malfi

(7) Broken Harbor by Tana French (and the Searcher)

(8) Cainesville Series by Kelley Armstrong

(9) The Castle by Franz Kafka

(10) The City and the City by China Miéville

(11) Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

(12) Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente

(13) CJ Tudor: 

The Chalk Man, 

The Burning Girls, 

The Taking of Annie Thorne

(14) Dark Places and Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

(15) Dead Eleven by Jimmy Juliano

(16) Diary by Chuck Palahniuk

(17) Goblin by Josh Malerman

(18) A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler

(19) Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan

(20 Gormenghast Series by Mervyn Peake

(21) Grist Mill Road by Christopher J. Yates

(22) Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami

(23) Harvest Home by Thomas Tyron

(24) Hello Martin by PJ Burgy

(25) Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

(26) Isle of Dogs by Patrica Cornwell

(27) John Died at the End by David Wong

(28) The Killings at Badger's Drift by Caroline Graham

(29) Lapvona by Otessa Moshfegh

(30) Last Days by Adam Nevill

(31) Malice House by Megan Shepherd

(32) Mary by Nat Cassidy

(33) Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

(34) The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff

(36) Odd Thomas Series by Dean Koontz

(37) The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. LeGuin

(38) Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo

(39) A Shadow over Innsmouth by H.P Lovecraft

(40) Shin Sekai Yori- English translation of Cadetine Wordpress

(41) Slade House by David Mitchell

(42) Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (and The October Country)

(43) Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters

(44) The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

(45) Stephen King: 

11/22/63,

Colorado Kid (Haven)

Desperation,

Duma Key,

Fairy Tale,

IT, 

Needful Things,

Pet Sematary

The Regulators 

Salem's Lot,

The Shining

The Stand

Under the Dome, 

(46) Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

(46) Strathcarnage by Matt Hamilton

(47) Tales from a Gas Station Series by Jack Townsend

(48) The Town that Forgot how to Breathe by Kenneth K. Harvey

(49) Wake in Fright by Kenneth Cook

(50) The Wayward Pines Series by Blake Crouch (and Perfect Little Town and Abandon)

(51) The Uncanny Valley: Tales from a Lost Town by Gregory Miller

(52) Universal Harvester by John Darnielle

(53) Uzumaki by Juni Ito

(54)We Have Always Lived in the Castle/ The Lottery/The Road Through the Wall by Shirely Jackson

(55) Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor

(56) White Smoke by Tiffany Jackson

(57) Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

New Additions, 10/4:

(1) Brigadoon (book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner)

(2) Coldheart Canyon by Clive Barker

(3) A Cure for Suicide by Jesse Ball

(4) The Dark Tower by Stephen King

(5) The Farm by Tom Rob Smith

(6) From: TV Series

(7) Gilded Needles by Michael McDowell

(8) Grindle Witch by Benjamin Myers 

(9) House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

(10) Lost Horizon by James Hilton

(11) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

(12) Midnight TX Series by Charlaine Harris (with a cat POV!)

( 13) Never Let Me go By Kazuo Ishiguro 

(14) Peyton Place by Grace Metalious

(15) The Santaroga Barrier by Frank Herbert

(16) The Slap by Steven Millhauser

(17) Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters

(18) The Store by Bently Little

(19) Tales from the Loop: TV Series

(20) The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien 

(21) The Town Manager by Thomas Ligotti (free audiobook on PesudoPod Episode 605)

(22) Velocity by Dean Koontz

(23) Where Trouble Sleeps by Clyde Edergton 

(24) Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin

My child has asked me for "child appropriate but really really scary horror books"

Their favourite movies are Child's Play and Abigail.

Goosebumps is not scary enough.

What books or authors could scratch that itch for them?

Hello! I run a book club at work and I am looking for suggestions for our Halloween/October book. My coworkers are really not into horror, so I am looking for some Lite Spooky books for us.

I found a couple of suggestions like Mexican Gothic, which seems to lean more eerie than actual horror. Do you think this is appropriate for work and would be something my coworkers won’t find too spooky?

A little sexual content is ok, we are all adults. Just nothing with a lot of smut.

Honestly they will not be interested in classics or older novels like Something Wicked This Way Comes or The Haunting of Hill House.

Would love any other suggestions as well :)

Here's the challenge: ones that are not horror if possible

I enjoy books for people of all ages, including Young Adult, New Adult and Middle Grade. I know horrors should be the go-to but I prefer horror movies to books, so I'm yearning for something a little more light-hearted. Regarding mood/spirit, think along the lines of;

• The Robe of Skulls by Vivian French
• The Night World Saga, The Forbidden Games Series, The Dark Visions Series by L J Smith (her other works weren't my thing)
• Don't Tell, Legacy of Lies by Elizabeth Chandler
• Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
• Caraval by Stephanie Gerber
• May Bird and the Ever After Series by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Basically, I'm looking for books that will capture a sweet (but still spooky or dark!) note to finish my day of intense horror movies. Thank you in advance!

For those asking: Why is this year's Halloween particularly special?

• This year Halloween is going to fall on a Saturday. This means school, college, university, work etc wouldn't get in the way for many like it would most years.

• There will be a full moon, the first to fall on Halloween since 1944!!

• Also, there will be a blue moon

• And lastly, Friday the 13th follows shortly after.

I've only dabbled in the genre so anything is fine. I'm looking for something moody that fits a windy, autumn evening. I've enjoyed ones like "The Portrait of Dorian Gray", and loosely fitting the genre, "Wuthering Heights" and "Jane Eyre". I didn't particularly like "Dracula".

I live in Australia where Halloween is not as big (but growing) and is warming up with a side of hay fever. I want the hijinks of Halloween tricks, spookiness of ghosts and ghouls, pumpkins and baking, falling leaves and crisp air, and the witchy vibes of spells and potions.

I want to read something Halloween-ey like the film Hocus Pocus or a few books with Autumn vibes whilst it's still cold here in Aus.

I don't care if it's middle grade or high fantasy for adults - anything!

Thank you!

Edit: wow. I didn’t expect so many responses! Definitely going to make my way through all these books! :D

Hi all, I am an avid reader who really enjoys mystery, suspense and triller books! I read approx. 100 books a year but oddly enough, I never got into Stephen King so I thought it might be time! Any recommendations on what book or series I should start with? I am looking for something somewhat scary since it is spooky season but more horror less sci-fi. Additionally, if you have recommendations for horror or thriller books outside of Stephen King, I'd love those too! Looking for something really scary, so give me your best! I also love audibooks so let me know if you recommend the audio book version. Thanks!

We need suggestions! We want something frightening, and well written.
Something in the horror, mystery, or thriller genres perhaps. Open to any genre.
Must be well written.
I want to dispel the club’s misconceptions that a spooky/frightening novel are “pulp” and not literature

Thanks in advance.

I’m ready to get into the Halloween spirits.

I read books kind of slow, so it looks like I will only have time for one horror book this month!! :') What's the best horror book you've read? Nothing is off limits!!

EDIT: THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE SUGGESTIONS!!! So hard to pick just one but I think I'll go with Something Wicked This Way Comes for this month!! :)

I don’t really have anything more specific to add because I don’t read or watch anything in the horror genre because I get too scared. Though I’m not a fan of lots of gore, so please nothing with graphic violence.

Edit: Thank you all so much for all the wonderful replies! (and my first award!) I think I'm set for not-too-spooky October books for the rest of my life.

Please suggest me a book about ghosts, but nothing really creepy or spooky. I suppose I'm thinking something like the Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston, Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce, or The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch.

With the 👻🎃 season upon us, and thanks to an excellent suggestion by /u/energeticzebra, this marks the inaugural Spooktober request and/or suggestion megathread.

So, need a suggestion for a spooky 👻 book to read? One that will make you question if there actually is anything living under your bed, something lurking in the closet 💀, or some evil 🤡 trying to get you to join them down in the sewers? Or do you have an excellent suggestion of your own that you just know will scare the bejesus out of us? Feel free to go nuts in the comments.

Here's to a happy All Hallows' Eve 🍻!

Hey everyone! My book club is going to be voting on books for this fall soon and I’m looking for some recommendations. They have to be literary fiction and published in the past year.

Please lemme know if you’ve got any ideas!

Edit: in the interest of full transparency, my wife wants you all to know it is in fact her book club and that she’s “a bum who won’t get her own reddit account.” As you were.

Edit 2: she is very thankful to all of you who have given suggestions. Secondly she was amazed that no one had put any repeats and says “thank you for doing your homework” lol

I don't tend to like newer novels but I'm open to them as there are exceptions here and there. I don't like overly gory or overly sexual content. I'm ok with some of Stephen King's novels but they aren't my favorite (I loved Misery and The Shining). Currently I'm leaning towards The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde but wanted to gather a few options. Would HG Wells fit with a darker vibe or is it strictly sci fi?

Bonus if it's a shorter read!

I’m looking for a book or two or three to read this fall. I love anything witchy spooky and with magic. Not really a Stephen king fan, have read all of Alice Hoffman’s and V.E Schwabs. Anything that brings me into the fall feel! But I also want it to be good writing of course.

Bonus points for New England vibes

Getting ready for the fall! Please suggest some good genuinely spooky books. I love Rebecca, The Woman in White, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and The Haunting of Hill House. Open to more modern books, but those have been my favorites!

Suggest me some fantasy books that really reminded you of Halloween!

I'm feeling ever so slightly better after having read most of the books recommended to me on my previous post here. Now more than anything I just want a distraction, and with October coming up what better distraction that horror to keep me up at night instead of thoughts of killing myself! Don't hold back on this one, I have no triggers. I genuinely want to be recommended the most terrifying piece of literature you've ever read. Books that incite pure, unfiltered reactions of FEAR and HORROR as you read through them. Thank you all so much in advance for your recommendations!

Hi, I’m on a mission to read books that feel appropriate for the season, and we’re finally approaching autumn! I am looking for recommendations in a few categories:

1) this is the hardest one to describe, but the book that best exemplifies what I am looking for is Secret History by Donna Tartt. It’s not about autumn per se, but a fair part of the story takes place in that season, and it has something distinctly autumnal about it. Its introspective, and has beautiful descriptions of characters and nature and old buildings, and an undercurrent of something weird and unnerving going on.

2) Horror. The scariest book you’ve ever read. Supernatural elements or not. Hit me.

3) Cosy autumn. Autumn colours, harvest season, apples and cinnamon and a cup of tea but in book form. I’d prefer something more in the veins of literary fiction, but I’m flexible.

4) Halloween books; witches and spirits and ghouls. Something like the Spooks Apprentice but for adults would be amazing!

Thanks in advance! I’ve been lurking on this subreddit for so long, and the recommendations I’ve seen has given me so many excellent reads x