Horror novels are a treat to the human psyche, usually jarring the sense of security we feel in our everyday lives. Horrifically entertained, readers can be safely satisfied to be only a reader rather than an active participant in these characters’ unfortunate circumstances.
Listed in no particular order, regardless of length and genre-specific struggle (zombies? haunting discoveries? a brush with pure evil?), this list’s novels are trophies to the horror genre and are horribly difficult to put down.
1) I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
This list’s first must-read, I Am Legend, is a ground-breaking and influential novel in the horror sci-fi genre that has been brought to life on three separate occasions with on-screen adaptations.
In a post-apocalyptic world where the global spread of a deadly virus has created vampiric creatures living in the shadows and hunting nightly, Robert Neville struggles on as the pandemic’s lone survivor. As Robert scavenges to make a living, he does what he can to capture the horrific creatures to research the true nature of the worldwide sickness, discovering what is really behind the world’s end.
2) The Stand by Stephen King
A page-turner written in no less than 1153 pages, The Stand remains one of the most engaging sci-fi horror novels of this time and is a highly recommended read.
Generally recognized as the master of horror, Stephen King draws a gripping tale of a world gone wrong by a damaging mistake committed by the US Department of Defense who accidently releases a deadly flu virus that kills 99% of the world population. Surviving in a harsh time where the division between good and evil is unbalanced and evil is at large, the story’s characters are trapped between kind 108-year-old Mother Abigail and the haunting “dark man,” Randall Flagg.
3) House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
An astonishing novel with a horrific motif: a new home that is much smaller on the outside than it is on the inside… and is continuously growing larger. Such a unique novel has captured, and warped, readers minds since 2000.
Johnny Truant, the novel’s unreliable narrator, has moved into the home of deceased academic, Zampanò, who has written the most intriguing of manuscripts about an unfortunate family, the Navidsons. After discovering that their new home is oddly larger than it should be, Will Navidson begins to explore and document the newly appearing doors, hallways, and passages with his family and friends—only to be haunted, on the cusp of driven mad, by the house’s constant and menacing growl.
4) The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
A story that most everyone knows, this must-read crafts a fascinating tale of an individual’s goodness and its frightening battle with a separate inner evil.
After hearing gossip about a crazed man named Hyde, Mr. Utterson, a common lawyer, becomes unintentionally entangled in Hyde’s life. Utterson visits an old friend, Dr. Jekyll, who has signed his fortune away to this same Mr. Hyde. This causes Utterson to develop a brooding curiosity over the situation. Digging up more information than he was at first involved in places Utterson in a frightening position: caught in the middle of a man’s decline into dangerous impulses and insanity.
5) The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
The Silence of the Lambs is the type of story people can’t stop talking about – an intense horror suspense novel surrounding an FBI trainee’s continuing interviews with former psychiatrist and notorious serial-killing machine and cannibal, Hannibal Lecter.
Clarice Starling unknowingly performs her supervisor’s secret aim to build a psychological profile on the at-large serial killer, Buffalo Bill, as she interacts continually with Hannibal Lecter. Against her better judgment, Clarice allows Hannibal to learn a considerable amount about her personal life, as well. With Hannibal’s serial-killer expertise, the homicide division strives to solve the sickening Buffalo Bill murders.
We’ve reached the end of this list of horror must-reads. Having read it, are you ready to curl up with your next horrifying adventure?
Give your bravery a run for its money.
