Monthly Archives: October 2022

Reading has been a significant component of all of our lives ever since learning how to read. More often than not, scary book readers satisfy their desires to do new things by immersing themselves in fictitious universes. It is like an essential escape mechanism when life becomes overwhelming.

While some readers claim to have sought solace in romantic comedies and cheerful novels, for scary books fans, it is the complete opposite. They usually find peace in scary, frightening, gruesome, and spine-chilling scary books. It is their preferred form of diversion.

On days when we can’t conceive of anything worse than our reality, we could turn to fictitious characters enduring much worse circumstances. Since March 2020, a major chunk of the scary books-loving community started reading entire scary books in a single day as an alternative to “doom scrolling” on social media or endlessly monitoring the news.

Horror fiction has always played a significant role in our lives, but its significance has recently increased. It is a tremendous honor to present this list of terrifying scary books that have left a lasting impression on a horror-loving audience.

Blood Meridian By Cormac Mccarthy

Though not normally promoted as horror, but horror nonetheless. During the 1800s, a runaway teen joins a band of “Indian hunters.” This book describes their immorality. Never in my life will you ever read a more depraved and completely deranged novel. From beginning to end, pitch-black and desolate. Judge Holden is a horror figure. Truly, a human monster.

Brother By Ania Ahlborn

A family in rural Appalachia is responsible for the disappearance of many girls each year. Except for Michael, the entire family is very interested in their traditions. His relatives have asked him to perform tasks he does not appreciate. This book can be read in one sitting, with your heart thumping and eyes darting over Ahlborn’s words. Genuinely frightening and heartbreaking.

The Only Good Indians By Stephen Graham Jones

A visually frightening story of loss, vengeance, remorse, and belonging. There are passages in this book that will never leave your head, like neon signs that never go out. Often, readers recall closing the book to go to sleep but being disturbed by the term that Stephen Graham Jones implanted in their minds. Never, ever will you forget how this book made you feel.

A Head Full Of Ghosts By Paul Tremblay

The concept is that a wholly wicked entity controls a person’s body and psyche. Based on her conduct, a young woman in A Head Full of Ghosts appears to be possessed, but is she? This novel would keep you up too late at night and have you constantly check on your loved ones to make sure they aren’t climbing the walls or levitating out of their bed.

Still looking for more scary books? Read “A Casino Cursed” for a truly frightening experience!

Are you a teenager with a thing for horror novels? Congratulations, you’ve just hit the jackpot!

After a long, extensive review, we have compiled a list of the 5 best horror books for teens!

So, without further ado, let’s dive right into it!

Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett

Ash joins her mother in the picturesque village of Quivira, Kansas, a modest settlement surrounded by cornfields in flyover country. And dark secrets. Ash succumbs to the lingering influence of her ancestor Katia, who is connected to Quivira’s bloody past and falls in love with Dane, a troubled yet swoon-worthy youth. As killings reverberate across Quivira, Ash and Dane look to their town’s soon-to-be-reactivated ghostly past in order to build a future that will keep them together and alive. Blood and Salt is the first perplexing novel in a young adult horror trilogy.

Bad Witch Burning by Jessica Lewis

In this horror novel, Katrell utilizes her abilities to communicate with the dead to earn extra money on the side. Katrell attempts to leave the game because the money is insufficient to sustain herself, her mother, and her mother’s most recent bad boyfriend. Instead, she brings a corpse back to life. The situation becomes much more difficult as Katrell attempts to evade evil forces pursuing her.

As I Descended by Robin Talley

As I Descended by Robin Talley is a reworking of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are a power couple at the elite prep school Acheron Academy in this queer adaptation. Maria and Lily would do anything to prevent the popular Delilah Dufrey from receiving the prestigious Cawdor Kingsley Prize, even conjuring and plotting with the spirits that still haunt the former plantation site of Archeron.

Asylum by Madeline Roux

This frightening young adult horror novel is the first of a trilogy. As with the infamous and groundbreaking picture novel Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, another superb young adult horror novel, Asylum, uses actual pictures of closed mental facilities. Dan, sixteen, is looking forward to his summer camp, New Hampshire College Prep. Dan quickly finds two new friends, Abby and Jordan, who are similarly captivated by the campus’s history as an asylum for the incurably criminally ill. But the farther they delve into the history of their new home, the more obvious it becomes that they were destined to be there. This intriguing story is the first of a young adult horror series that you’ll want to add to your TBR list.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Anna Dressed in Blood, unquestionably one of the best YA horror novels of all time, concludes this list of the best horror books for teens. In this spine-chilling thriller, the first of a two-part series, Cas Lowood inherited his father’s ability to slay the dead. After his father was killed by a ghost that turned on him, Cas, his witch mother, and their supernaturally-powered cat tour the country exterminating ghosts. But he is unprepared for Anna, a ghost still wearing the white dress she was wearing when she was murdered as a teenager. Only now, blood has dyed her clothes red. Anna tests Cas’ moral compass while romantically engaging his heart.

Looking for more horror books for teens? You don’t want to miss out on A Casino Cursed by Behr, Frank!

The Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark movie hit TV screens a few years back, but its diehard fans still sing praises of the original book series — Alvin Schwartz’s iconic short horror stories for children.

For the majority, they were a childhood staple: The stories, powered by Stephen Gammell, are still engraved into everyone’s minds and, perhaps, instilled a passion for all things spooky.

But how well-written were these original tales? The series was published between the late 1980s and early 1990s and consists of three books: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones.

However, only a few of the 82 stories were selected for the film. Nonetheless, there were numerous duds. In celebration of the film’s premiere, we reread all three books to evaluate which of the 82 stories has maintained their scariness and relevance over the years.

This proved challenging, given that each book concludes with a “funny” segment containing mediocre jokes. Still, there were numerous timeless themes of abuse and self-hatred that sent shivers down our spines, as well as some traditional scares. So, here it is – perhaps avoids reading this list late at night.

#3. “The Viper,” Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Let’s get to the humorous sections of these books. Not saying there is no place for humor in horror, but most of these are either instantly forgotten or painfully stupid.

Without revealing too much, let’s just say that all of this could have been averted if the protagonist had checked the peephole before opening the door and letting in a well-intentioned, albeit slightly off-kilter, window washer.

#2. “The Dead Man’s Brains,” Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Some of the poorest aspects of the series occur when the stories are tailored around a gimmick rather than a narrative. Here, we are informed that this is a game similar to how one of your more unpleasant acquaintances might mislead you into an endless night playing Monopoly or similar games.

You’re probably familiar with this game, which uses food as a substitute for a decaying corpse and relies on a dimly lit room to conceal it as such. The eyes are confirmed to be grapes. The ears are cleverly made of dried apricots.

And so it continues, with each body part matching to a different delicious until we reach the hands. They are rubber gloves, but instead of being filled with something like popcorn, they are filled with dirt or ice, as if that’s not a big blunder.

Because both items are a little inconvenient and have nothing in common with a human hand in terms of consistency, furthermore, reading this guide is not intended to frighten you but rather to inspire you.

#1. “The Big Toe,” Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Unpopular opinion: the film adaptation of the first book in the trilogy is a terrible disaster. After the book’s brief explanation introduction, “Strange and Scary Things,” this narrative is intended to capture the reader’s attention. It is about a filthy little boy who finds and harvests a huge toe from the ground to add to his family’s soup. However, the owner of the toe appears to be seeking its appendage, but how? Only the makers could answer.