M.R. James is my go to for the spooky season as well as Christmas. No matter how many times I read him, he never fails to scare me! The Boys from Brazil (my personal favourite) and Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin are good as well to send a chill up your spine.
I read Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson last October, and she really made you feel like you were inside the head of a young girl that was slowly losing her mind. Strange, surreal, funny, unnerving, deeply moving, and beautifully written.
Perfume is one of my favorite books. I'm working on House of Leaves this month, but it's difficult because the book itself is physically unwieldy! I have the paperback and think I should have gotten the hardback.
Great list! Just ordered several to add to my shelf. I read Annihilation recently and loved it! So imaginative and fascinating. I’d also recommend Dan Simmons’ The Terror… while it does have an element of the supernatural, I feel it was more about the psychological aspects of survival in a brutal, almost hopeless situation. Really enjoy your videos by the way!
Loved this video! And very good description of the monk (i can’t imagine it’s an easy one to explain , I tried when asked and well didn’t do as well as yourself!) perfume has been on my list for a long time - so I think I’ll go get that immediately.. and I have noted the rest I haven’t read too. I have managed to finally get my hands on house of leaves but I’ll think I’ll leave it for a while 😬 also picked up a copy of “something wicked this way comes” . I completely get what you said about Bunny - there were parts in that one I said to myself , what did I just read 👀 !! 😂 what to add to the list 🤔 the yellow wallpaper is a short and sweet unhinged one. Finger Bone -hiroki takahashi wasn’t scary but some parts of it were just like - gross 😂
@@cafeaulivre it’s about a young man that goes to war and when a person dies they cut off the finger to send back to the loved ones of that person - it’s not a horror at all but just one I read through a recommendation on another channel and at parts had me thinking well this is kind of a strange book, I like it !😂
I have been wanting to read The Monk. Glad you discussed it. I’m about halfway through The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell and it has such great spookiness and gothic vibes. Perfect for the season.
Both Perfume and The Road are books that really sat with me for such a long time after having finished them. I’ve been really curious about The Library at Mount Char and think I’ll pick it up next year ☺️ If you haven’t read it, I’d recommend Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield. It’s not necessarily scary but there’s something very uncomfortable and unsettling about it, and Armfield’s writing is brilliant. Also Monstrilio is a really strange literary horror that you might enjoy. I recently listened to The Turn of the Screw, too, and found it wonderfully creepy.
Great list! I feel less hinged just watching this video. All titles I’ve enjoyed or want to read. Here are some titles that I think fit the bill: The Magus by John Fowles Shadowland by Peter Straub (inspired by The Magus) All’s Well by Mona Awad (along w/ Bunny and Rouge, her dark fairy tale novels) 2666 by Roberto Bolaño Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy Piranesi by Susanna Clarke Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro White Tears by Hari Kunzru This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno …and 3 graphic novels by Charles Burns: Black Hole, Last Look, and Final Cut. Throw in some Junji Ito (Shiver: Selected Stories) and those hinges will never work again.
It was my first Monica Awad book and I’ve had my eye on Rouge for a while now, but I also feel it is an author you have to be in the mood for. Love the recommendations, especially the graphic novel ones. I don’t get many of those!
Love this list. A book that I read this year and goes with your theme is « Monstrillio » by Gerardo Samano Cordova. It will be in my top books of the year.
I don't know if you would call it horror, but 'House of Leaves' could drive you mad. Going forward and backward in pages, mirror reading, footnotes within footnotes, upside down reading. I couldn't get through that.
I first read House of Leaves coming down off LSD and it was a transformative experience. It's still one of my favorite books. You just can't get lost in its labyrinth.
@@driverjayne looking at wallpaper is a transformative experience when you are coming down off of LSD. I didn’t even know that shit was still around. Ah, the memories. I wonder what all the brain cells I lost are doing right now.
I’ve only read Tender is the Flesh from this group, and it was very ugly and disturbing. You can tell the writer did a lot of research on factory farming. Just give me a good ghost story, though those are so hard to find these days. I might just dig out some of my old anthologies, the best ghost stories are the older ones, Victorian times, early 20th century.
Which is your favorite Halloween read? Let me know down below and we'll talk spooky season reads some more!
M.R. James is my go to for the spooky season as well as Christmas. No matter how many times I read him, he never fails to scare me! The Boys from Brazil (my personal favourite) and Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin are good as well to send a chill up your spine.
Rosemary’s Baby, now there’s a blast from the past 🤩
I read Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson last October, and she really made you feel like you were inside the head of a young girl that was slowly losing her mind. Strange, surreal, funny, unnerving, deeply moving, and beautifully written.
Love it! 😊
Perfume is one of my favorite books. I'm working on House of Leaves this month, but it's difficult because the book itself is physically unwieldy! I have the paperback and think I should have gotten the hardback.
At one point I stopped reading House of Leaves in bed…it was simply too difficult 😋
Great list! Just ordered several to add to my shelf. I read Annihilation recently and loved it! So imaginative and fascinating. I’d also recommend Dan Simmons’ The Terror… while it does have an element of the supernatural, I feel it was more about the psychological aspects of survival in a brutal, almost hopeless situation. Really enjoy your videos by the way!
Thank you! 🤩 I havn’t read The Terror yet, so I’ll definitely check it out. Thanks for the recommendation!
Loved this video! And very good description of the monk (i can’t imagine it’s an easy one to explain , I tried when asked and well didn’t do as well as yourself!) perfume has been on my list for a long time - so I think I’ll go get that immediately.. and I have noted the rest I haven’t read too. I have managed to finally get my hands on house of leaves but I’ll think I’ll leave it for a while 😬 also picked up a copy of “something wicked this way comes” .
I completely get what you said about Bunny - there were parts in that one I said to myself , what did I just read 👀 !! 😂 what to add to the list 🤔
the yellow wallpaper is a short and sweet unhinged one. Finger Bone -hiroki takahashi wasn’t scary but some parts of it were just like - gross 😂
I love The Yellow Wallpaper, but I havn’t read Finger Bone yet…so on the list it goes 😋
@@cafeaulivre it’s about a young man that goes to war and when a person dies they cut off the finger to send back to the loved ones of that person - it’s not a horror at all but just one I read through a recommendation on another channel and at parts had me thinking well this is kind of a strange book, I like it !😂
I love the yellow wallpaper toooooo ❤️ it’s great !
Noted! 😋
It truly is, such a descent into madness!
I have been wanting to read The Monk. Glad you discussed it. I’m about halfway through The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell and it has such great spookiness and gothic vibes. Perfect for the season.
Havn’t read that one yet, I’ll check it out. Thanks for the recommendation!
The Castle of Otranto. It's mad stuff.
I’ll have to check that one out, can’t really say I know it. Thanks for the recommendation!
I know it is the start of the Gothic tradition but it's so overwrought, it's hysterically funny.
@@richardhoward7503Then read Northanger Abbey as a gentle piss take.
@@stargazerbird I have. It was brilliant. 🤣
I will read this month Dracula, finally. 🦇 Will see! 😊
Oh, to be able to read it for the first time again 🥰
Perfume is a masterpiece.
When I first read it, it hit me like lightning ⚡️
Both Perfume and The Road are books that really sat with me for such a long time after having finished them.
I’ve been really curious about The Library at Mount Char and think I’ll pick it up next year ☺️
If you haven’t read it, I’d recommend Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield. It’s not necessarily scary but there’s something very uncomfortable and unsettling about it, and Armfield’s writing is brilliant.
Also Monstrilio is a really strange literary horror that you might enjoy.
I recently listened to The Turn of the Screw, too, and found it wonderfully creepy.
You’re ruining my tbr here, you know that, right? 😋
@@cafeaulivre you’re welcome! 😇
Great list! I feel less hinged just watching this video. All titles I’ve enjoyed or want to read. Here are some titles that I think fit the bill:
The Magus by John Fowles
Shadowland by Peter Straub (inspired by The Magus)
All’s Well by Mona Awad (along w/ Bunny and Rouge, her dark fairy tale novels)
2666 by Roberto Bolaño
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
White Tears by Hari Kunzru
This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno
…and 3 graphic novels by Charles Burns: Black Hole, Last Look, and Final Cut. Throw in some Junji Ito (Shiver: Selected Stories) and those hinges will never work again.
It was my first Monica Awad book and I’ve had my eye on Rouge for a while now, but I also feel it is an author you have to be in the mood for. Love the recommendations, especially the graphic novel ones. I don’t get many of those!
I'd pick Ghost Story over Shadowlands for sheer terror.
Blood Meridian is horrifying.
My favourite horror is The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnott
I heard of it, but havn’t read it myself yet. I’ll check it out! 😊
Love this list. A book that I read this year and goes with your theme is « Monstrillio » by Gerardo Samano Cordova. It will be in my top books of the year.
I’ve heard about that one and it really intrigued me, I will definitely have to check it out. I think it might be right up my street 😋
I found The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe dark and disturbing, and also Spider by Patrick McGrath
On the TBR they go! 😊
I don't know if you would call it horror, but 'House of Leaves' could drive you mad. Going forward and backward in pages, mirror reading, footnotes within footnotes, upside down reading. I couldn't get through that.
Oh, totally! House of Leaves is a nightmare in itself!
I have picked it up and flipped through it a few times at Barnes & Noble, but never bought it. It just looks like a major headache to me.
I first read House of Leaves coming down off LSD and it was a transformative experience. It's still one of my favorite books. You just can't get lost in its labyrinth.
@@driverjayne looking at wallpaper is a transformative experience when you are coming down off of LSD. I didn’t even know that shit was still around. Ah, the memories. I wonder what all the brain cells I lost are doing right now.
I’ve only read Tender is the Flesh from this group, and it was very ugly and disturbing. You can tell the writer did a lot of research on factory farming. Just give me a good ghost story, though those are so hard to find these days. I might just dig out some of my old anthologies, the best ghost stories are the older ones, Victorian times, early 20th century.
There is a recent Victorian Penny dreadful anthology with lots of those kinds of ghost and ghoul stories…they are a bit hit or miss , but lots of fun
Slade House by David Mitchell.
Havn’t heard of that one, I’ll check it out. Thanks for the suggestion!
another slay recommendation wise tbh
What can I say: I have no shelf control 😋
Gulag Archipelago.
Bored Gay Werewolf 🐺
I mean…it does feel like that book is following me around ? 😬🤣