My horror recommend would be House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. A wonderful piece of ergodic literature where you the reader become a part of the story. Brief blurb: Johnny Truant finds a book written about a documentary that doesn't exist, this is that book but with additional notes and writings in the margins by Johnny showing the effect this book is having on him as he works his way through it.
I came here from Tiktok and you got me back into reading again. I picked up Project Hail Mary and Piranesi and as you know they are great. Thanks for the book recommendations and getting me back into reading!
If you haven’t yet, Nick Cutter is the guy to read for scares. He doesn’t have a ton out but The Troop and The Deep are genuinely great and terrifying.
I LOVE Misery. Its one of the King books that I recommend to anyone wanting to get into his books. And I love that you brought up The Lottery - definitely my favorite short story. In an English class in college, we had to go over it, and write out theories and thoughts on it. I pretty sure i had SEVERAL pages haha.
I just ordered the shining from library. Haven’t read it yet Misery sounds great too. Also ordered green mile. Love the movie and read long ago. Time to reread. Thanks for great recs👍
LOVE the scary feeling as well! Nice list! I've read them all except Misery so I'll have to bump that up on the TBR. And I'm with ya with the putting movie on LOL I'm the same way with Alien, people think I'm weird but love it.
Great recommendations! I loved "The Yellow Wallpaper". Another excellent read would "Johnny Got His Gun," by Dalton Trumbo. Extremely troubling and claustrophobic.
I love books with a scary vibe even tho nothing scary is actually happening. But I’m just tense for some reason! ‘I’m thinking of ending things (audio!)’ and ‘the house at the bottom of a lake’ are always on that list. lol. And both are short books
The Exorcist is one of my favorite books. So good! And I recently read Misery - also so good! I didn’t care as much for The Haunting of Hill House though just because I didn’t find it scary. But I appreciate it for its place in the history of horror fiction.
I’m always looking for a book that could actually scare me. They’re hard to find. 😂 I loved Misery so much. It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. Annie was freaking terrifying! Loved The Yellow Wallpaper too. I have Tender is the Flesh on my shelf to read. Can’t wait to try the others you recommended!
Blindness by Jose Saramago is one that will stay with you for a while. It is about an epidemic of blindness, but not everyone is susceptible, and I won't say any more than that. Not traditionally horror by any means, but definitely a disturbing "what if?"
The scariest book I've ever read is It, by far. A great horror book you may not be aware of is Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons. That chess scene will stay with me forever. Another great one by Simmons is Summer of Night. I rarely give 5 stars to a book, and another great 5 star horror read for me is The Girl with All the Gifts by M R Carey. If you can go into that one blind the opening will hit you so much harder. I'd seen the film a few times and still absolutely loved it. And it goes without saying, you need some Robert McCammon in your life, especially since you love The King. Boy's Life is one of the best books around.
Bird Box got me. That’s a must read. Just finished ‘Grey Dog’ by Elliott Gish - fellow Canadian. A solid B+. It wasn’t just the chills that made it stand out; the characters in this one could have been small-town stereotypes, but Gish manages to bring them to life, give them real personality and plausible motivation. It’s a true-blue horror, though, so don’t expect a soft landing.
I've read Haunting of Hill House and thought it more psychological horror than gory, and very good. I have The Yellow Wallpaper in a Google Play Books omnibus called 60 Gothic Classics. Did you ever read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein? It's considered the quintessential gothic horror novel. She wrote it at age 18 after she and some friends sat around swapping ghost stories.
With you being such a big fan of The Exorcist, i'd recommend A Head Full Of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay. I read that one for the first time last year, & i still find myself thinking about it, especially the ending. I'd also recommend reading both The Ritual, & No One Gets Out Alive by Adam Nevill.
Tender is the Flesh is one my favorite books now and I try to recommend it whenever I can. Since I cannot do that here, I would recommend anything written by Clive Barker. Great vid.!
I think you would enjoy This Is Where We Live by Kate Hardie. I read this last year and was blown away by it. It's basically a reflection on motherhood, womanhood, mental illness, trauma, all through the lens of horror and magical realism. If you've read any Mona Awad, that's kind of the vibe it has, but much darker imo. It's a short one too (192p), so easy to finish in a day or a few days.
Dark Matter by Michelle Paver is really creepy. Set in Norway in the Arctic Circle where a scientist is left to over winter alone....but not alone. It's a good one. I re-read it every Christmas and each time it brings something different 😱
Come Closer by Sara Gran scared the hell out of me. It covers similar themes of The Exorcist, but told from the view of the person who is being possessed. I think you might really dig it.
You're one of the reasons why I love and appreciate horror fiction now. I always look forward to your book recos🎈 I recently read Where I End by Sophie White. I hope you'd give it a try!
I read my first Stephen King book last October - Fairytale and I loved it! I REALLY want to read Misery and get more into Stephen King. The movie is crazy so I’m sure I’ll love the original story. I just bought Tender in the Flesh yesterday from my local bookstore! It was not right up front haha We had to dig but so excited to read it!
Forgive me if I've recommended the book on another video and have forgotten, but have you read Hell House by Richard Matheson? That is a scary haunted house book right there. It is one of my favorite haunted house stories of all time. I like Haunting of Hill House more but Hell House is more scary, intense, and malevolent. Richard Matheson is an amazing writer, too, his prose is great so I recommend him as an author in general if you haven't read much or any by him. I also recently read Where He Can't Find You by Darcy Coates, my first read of hers, on Storygraph it's tagged young adult which I'm not sure if I agree, but don't let that make you think it's any less gruesome. That one was effectively creepy and had such gruesome, gory detail here and there, that's another good scary book in my opinion. There isn't really much that can scare me, as I've read and watched horror media since I was in like elementary school. Other than those two books I mentioned, Stephen King is pretty much the only author so far that has been able to creep me out so effectively and even then there are only so many of his books that I have felt sketched out, usually he's a comfort read to me (don't know what that says about me lol). Some Edgar Allan Poe stories can make me feel claustrophobic, but none of them creep me out much no matter how much I enjoy them. I need to read Tender Is the Flesh. I would go more into the world of "extreme horror" but most of it just sounds gross for shock value and not actually scary or even good lol. Even the two books I mentioned above I can't say scared me personally but Where He Can't Find You is creepy enough and Hell House is intense enough that I think others would be scared.
Have you ever read the sequel to the exprcist? Its....bizarre. its rather like the sequel to rosemarys baby, in the sense that the tone is wildly off the wall compared to the original book, but well worth a read!
Johnathan janz has some great horror books, my favorite is children of the dark. Also, September House by Carissa Orlando, one of my top favorite books last year
I’d heard that the audiobook for the Exorcist is amazing, so I bought the Kindle version with Audible included. I haven’t read/listened yet but it is on my TBR for this year.
Gilman's book was required reading in a communications class I took, the professor taught from a feminist perspective, with an emphasis on the very beginnings of the movement. I really don't remember the details and will be looking for this one. I totally agree with you on the Exorcist, I read it in one sitting, stayed up all night (like I had a choice) and fininshed it on my porch as the sun was coming up because I was too scared to be in my room. At that time I lived in Scranton where the younger priest (jason patrick?) was from. Random useless fact.
i read misery last time when i was 16 , and some scenes are so burned into my mind i will never forget them . But regardless it is on my reread list for 24 and i`m really curious how scary it will be now after so many years .
Omg Misery doesn’t sound like the book for me lol claustrophobic? Forget it I’ll probably die. I’m not a Stephen king horror reader but I do want to read his historical story. The 11/62 one
Tender is the Flesh was underwhelming for me. Pretty much every review i read/watched before i read it made it out to be a shock value gore fest, and while it did have it's gruesome moments, it was not nearly as intense and gory as everyone makes it out to be. That aside, it was a fun fast paced read, but mediocre overall, definitely not the most gruesome book ive read this year.
My horror recommend would be House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. A wonderful piece of ergodic literature where you the reader become a part of the story.
Brief blurb: Johnny Truant finds a book written about a documentary that doesn't exist, this is that book but with additional notes and writings in the margins by Johnny showing the effect this book is having on him as he works his way through it.
The real horror of 'Tender is the Flesh' is the human ability to devalue and use others for their own good.
I came here from Tiktok and you got me back into reading again. I picked up Project Hail Mary and Piranesi and as you know they are great. Thanks for the book recommendations and getting me back into reading!
If you haven’t yet, Nick Cutter is the guy to read for scares. He doesn’t have a ton out but The Troop and The Deep are genuinely great and terrifying.
The Deep is the creepiest thing I've read in years.
I LOVE Misery. Its one of the King books that I recommend to anyone wanting to get into his books. And I love that you brought up The Lottery - definitely my favorite short story. In an English class in college, we had to go over it, and write out theories and thoughts on it. I pretty sure i had SEVERAL pages haha.
I just ordered the shining from library. Haven’t read it yet Misery sounds great too. Also ordered green mile. Love the movie and read long ago. Time to reread. Thanks for great recs👍
Highly recommend Mary: An awakening of terror by Nat Cassidy- blew me away. Such a great new voice in horror
LOVE the scary feeling as well! Nice list! I've read them all except Misery so I'll have to bump that up on the TBR. And I'm with ya with the putting movie on LOL I'm the same way with Alien, people think I'm weird but love it.
The Other by Thomas Tryon is an older book and very scary. Another one by the same author is Harvest Home.
Great recommendations! I loved "The Yellow Wallpaper". Another excellent read would "Johnny Got His Gun," by Dalton Trumbo. Extremely troubling and claustrophobic.
That's the edition of Misery I read as a kid and I love seeing the cover again! My favorite book and I remember staying up all night to finish it.
I love books with a scary vibe even tho nothing scary is actually happening. But I’m just tense for some reason! ‘I’m thinking of ending things (audio!)’ and ‘the house at the bottom of a lake’ are always on that list. lol. And both are short books
I'm glad you make videos! Thank you! I thought about trying to make these types of videos but I'm too scared!
You should!
The Exorcist is one of my favorite books. So good! And I recently read Misery - also so good! I didn’t care as much for The Haunting of Hill House though just because I didn’t find it scary. But I appreciate it for its place in the history of horror fiction.
I’m always looking for a book that could actually scare me. They’re hard to find. 😂 I loved Misery so much. It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. Annie was freaking terrifying! Loved The Yellow Wallpaper too. I have Tender is the Flesh on my shelf to read. Can’t wait to try the others you recommended!
Blindness by Jose Saramago is one that will stay with you for a while. It is about an epidemic of blindness, but not everyone is susceptible, and I won't say any more than that. Not traditionally horror by any means, but definitely a disturbing "what if?"
The scariest book I've ever read is It, by far.
A great horror book you may not be aware of is Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons. That chess scene will stay with me forever. Another great one by Simmons is Summer of Night.
I rarely give 5 stars to a book, and another great 5 star horror read for me is The Girl with All the Gifts by M R Carey. If you can go into that one blind the opening will hit you so much harder. I'd seen the film a few times and still absolutely loved it.
And it goes without saying, you need some Robert McCammon in your life, especially since you love The King. Boy's Life is one of the best books around.
Bird Box got me. That’s a must read. Just finished ‘Grey Dog’ by Elliott Gish - fellow Canadian. A solid B+. It wasn’t just the chills that made it stand out; the characters in this one could have been small-town stereotypes, but Gish manages to bring them to life, give them real personality and plausible motivation. It’s a true-blue horror, though, so don’t expect a soft landing.
Loved Misery! I remember feeling so claustrophobic and having to keep checking that I could move my legs lol
I've read Haunting of Hill House and thought it more psychological horror than gory, and very good. I have The Yellow Wallpaper in a Google Play Books omnibus called 60 Gothic Classics. Did you ever read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein? It's considered the quintessential gothic horror novel. She wrote it at age 18 after she and some friends sat around swapping ghost stories.
With you being such a big fan of The Exorcist, i'd recommend A Head Full Of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay. I read that one for the first time last year, & i still find myself thinking about it, especially the ending. I'd also recommend reading both The Ritual, & No One Gets Out Alive by Adam Nevill.
Sorry for double comment but have you read Perfume by Patrick Suskind? It's another one of those truly unique and unforgettable read.
One of my favourite books, the descriptors alone just make it perfect
Tender is the Flesh is one my favorite books now and I try to recommend it whenever I can. Since I cannot do that here, I would recommend anything written by Clive Barker. Great vid.!
If you enjoyed The Exorcist then check out "Legion" by the same author.. it is a tougher read than The Exorcist but so creepy and well worth a read.
I think you would enjoy This Is Where We Live by Kate Hardie. I read this last year and was blown away by it. It's basically a reflection on motherhood, womanhood, mental illness, trauma, all through the lens of horror and magical realism. If you've read any Mona Awad, that's kind of the vibe it has, but much darker imo. It's a short one too (192p), so easy to finish in a day or a few days.
Dark Matter by Michelle Paver is really creepy. Set in Norway in the Arctic Circle where a scientist is left to over winter alone....but not alone. It's a good one. I re-read it every Christmas and each time it brings something different 😱
Come Closer by Sara Gran scared the hell out of me. It covers similar themes of The Exorcist, but told from the view of the person who is being possessed. I think you might really dig it.
You're one of the reasons why I love and appreciate horror fiction now. I always look forward to your book recos🎈
I recently read Where I End by Sophie White. I hope you'd give it a try!
I’m currently reading Jaws. And oh man what a book. Misery will be next!
I read my first Stephen King book last October - Fairytale and I loved it! I REALLY want to read Misery and get more into Stephen King. The movie is crazy so I’m sure I’ll love the original story. I just bought Tender in the Flesh yesterday from my local bookstore! It was not right up front haha We had to dig but so excited to read it!
I've read a handful of King novels so far and Desperation is my favorite, I definitely recommend it
The Exorcist was surprisingly still effective even though I've seen the movie so many times
Definitely read Intercepts by T.J. Payne… got me thinking about it for months
I second this. All 3 of his books are great.
I have any 50 pages left of Misery and it is superb! Just amazing, Annie is terrifying and so well written
Forgive me if I've recommended the book on another video and have forgotten, but have you read Hell House by Richard Matheson? That is a scary haunted house book right there. It is one of my favorite haunted house stories of all time. I like Haunting of Hill House more but Hell House is more scary, intense, and malevolent. Richard Matheson is an amazing writer, too, his prose is great so I recommend him as an author in general if you haven't read much or any by him.
I also recently read Where He Can't Find You by Darcy Coates, my first read of hers, on Storygraph it's tagged young adult which I'm not sure if I agree, but don't let that make you think it's any less gruesome. That one was effectively creepy and had such gruesome, gory detail here and there, that's another good scary book in my opinion.
There isn't really much that can scare me, as I've read and watched horror media since I was in like elementary school. Other than those two books I mentioned, Stephen King is pretty much the only author so far that has been able to creep me out so effectively and even then there are only so many of his books that I have felt sketched out, usually he's a comfort read to me (don't know what that says about me lol). Some Edgar Allan Poe stories can make me feel claustrophobic, but none of them creep me out much no matter how much I enjoy them. I need to read Tender Is the Flesh. I would go more into the world of "extreme horror" but most of it just sounds gross for shock value and not actually scary or even good lol. Even the two books I mentioned above I can't say scared me personally but Where He Can't Find You is creepy enough and Hell House is intense enough that I think others would be scared.
Have you ever read the sequel to the exprcist? Its....bizarre. its rather like the sequel to rosemarys baby, in the sense that the tone is wildly off the wall compared to the original book, but well worth a read!
I don’t know why but I would have never thought of reading the exorcist. The movie freaks me out a little too much but wow i need to read it !
Its well worth your time! I absolutely loved it.
@@booksaresick. I’ve never seen the movie, kinda makes me feel 🤢 even thinking of it. Is it as appalling as the movie trailer, or not as 🤢?
Johnathan janz has some great horror books, my favorite is children of the dark. Also, September House by Carissa Orlando, one of my top favorite books last year
House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski. It’s a wild way to read too.
I always pick this one up but end up putting it back after flipping through it. It looks absolutely insane.
Can I get the ISBN of your Yellow Wallpaper copy? I like the look and I’ve been getting burned by stock images showing inaccurate covers.
I like being scared
For whatever reason i’ve never seen The Exorcist movie, so i feel like i owe it to myself to read the book first, then watch the film.
I’d heard that the audiobook for the Exorcist is amazing, so I bought the Kindle version with Audible included. I haven’t read/listened yet but it is on my TBR for this year.
I've also heard excellent things about the audiobook! I'd love to give it a listen sometime.
This Thing Between Us is a great “horror” book. I don’t think it’s very scary but still a great paranormal book with themes of grief and loss
The last book i remember being really scared from was the Amityville horror.
Two books recs for you: House of leaves (it's kind of just a lot) and you've lost a lot of blood (or anything really by Larocca).
Tender is the Flesh is such an unforgettable read!
Gilman's book was required reading in a communications class I took, the professor taught from a feminist perspective, with an emphasis on the very beginnings of the movement. I really don't remember the details and will be looking for this one. I totally agree with you on the Exorcist, I read it in one sitting, stayed up all night (like I had a choice) and fininshed it on my porch as the sun was coming up because I was too scared to be in my room. At that time I lived in Scranton where the younger priest (jason patrick?) was from. Random useless fact.
The Willows was way scarier than I thought it would be.
Have you read, “I’m thinking of ending things” By Ian Reid? It was such a trippy book.
No! I keep hearing great things though.
El Exorcista, me sorprendió y se volvió de mis libros favoritos.
Stolen tongues by Felix Blackwell is the scariest for me so far.
Have you checked out Tobin Elliott? Great Canadian author! Check out his Aphotic World Series!
I haven't! Will check him out!
Hill House is amazing. It's my favorite horror book
Henry James, The Turn of the Screw.
i read misery last time when i was 16 , and some scenes are so burned into my mind i will never forget them . But regardless it is on my reread list for 24 and i`m really curious how scary it will be now after so many years .
There are definitely a few parts of that book that will be burned into my brain for the foreseeable future - haha!
I read A Short Stay In Hell by Steven L. Peck a few months back and it completely fucked me up. Would very much recommend.
Tender is the flesh….honestly sounds really interesting.
Omg
Misery doesn’t sound like the book for me lol claustrophobic? Forget it I’ll probably die. I’m not a Stephen king horror reader but I do want to read his historical story. The 11/62 one
The exorcist is super good
I JUST finished Misery and I think my expectations were just way too high cause I was slightly disappointed :( the rest of this list rips though
Ohhh thats too bad! Hype can be a killer for sure.
Ghost story by Peter straub is the best scary book I have ever read.
Tender is the Flesh was underwhelming for me. Pretty much every review i read/watched before i read it made it out to be a shock value gore fest, and while it did have it's gruesome moments, it was not nearly as intense and gory as everyone makes it out to be. That aside, it was a fun fast paced read, but mediocre overall, definitely not the most gruesome book ive read this year.