Halloween is a holiday when people scare each other with tales of horror and the supernatural — from wandering spirits to soul-eating devils and everything in between, practically every culture has a fear-inducing story. The spookiest season is upon us, so now is the perfect moment to pick up a book that will frighten the living daylights out of you after a year that has undoubtedly been scarier than any horror fiction.
Here are some of the best horror stories to read during November while you’re away from work or school!
1. The Shining by Stephen King
Stephen King, one of the modern masters of horror, kicks off this list with an unnerving offering. ‘The Shining’, based on Stephen King’s 1977 novel, is a classic, made even more so by Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film adaptation. When the Torrance family moves to the Overlook Hotel, a place teeming with malevolent spirits, chaos and rash axe-wielding ensue.
Danny Torrance, a young boy with psychic abilities known as the “shining,” has a ghostly companion named Tony, and is plagued by visions of the word “redrum” (murder spelled backwards). Jack Torrance, the Overlook Hotel’s new custodian, is gradually driven insane by otherworldly forces that haunt the hotel’s walls. Wendy Torrance is just trying to stay on top of things.
King’s storytelling has a deliciously evil quality to it, and ‘The Shining’ is a superb example. The reader is immediately lured into the strange and unpleasant world of the Overlook Hotel, and each new horror introduced only adds to the creep factor.
2. ‘Uzumaki’ by Junji Ito
Junji Ito, a manga artist from Japan, is a master of the macabre and bizarre. His vast body of work frequently falls into the horror category, and ‘Uzumaki’, his best book, fits right there. It takes place in Kurouzu-cho, a small, foggy village on Japan’s coast that is afflicted by patterns rather than the supernatural or epidemics. The spiral, with its swirl, can be found in a variety of places, from water ripples to the shapes of people’s spines. This gorgeously painted manga is nasty, frightening, and absolutely terrifying after the village slips into lunacy. This is not a story for the faint of heart.
3. ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ by Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde’s sole novel was so hedonistic that it enraged moralistic Victorians and was even used as “proof” in his public obscenity trial in 1895. ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ is a novel about a man infatuated with his own photograph who sells his soul in exchange for eternal youth and beauty. Only his image reveals the genuine evil that lies beneath Dorian’s faultless exterior after a corrupt double life in which he indulges in every emotion (immoral or not). The novel, a gothic horror classic, depicts the dreadful consequences of greed and vanity.
4. ‘Coraline’ by Neil Gaiman
Some of the most frightening stories are those we tell our children, and Neil Gaiman’s ‘Coraline’ is one of them. Coraline is a young girl who discovers that there is another world hidden behind a small door in her house, where “Other Mother” and “Other Father” reside. Coraline is their daughter in this fanciful world, and they have buttons stitched on her eyes. She quickly realizes she is in great danger and must use all of her wits to flee. After seeing a shortage of gothic stories for young girls, Gaiman came up with the idea for this children’s novel. The elements of horror are all present: spooky mansions with dark secrets, missing children, and terrifying monsters who steal and eat souls. It’s a creepy story, and the 2009 Hollywood film adaption is as creepy.
5. ‘Ghost’, edited by Louise Welsh
This anthology of 100 ghost stories, hand-picked by award-winning author Louise Welsh, spans millennia, from ancient tales through Victorian greats to more contemporary works. This is a large book with more than 800 pages, so you won’t be able to read it on the go. It’s more of a read-in-the-dark-under-the-covers kind of novel.
It’s also worth noting the diversity of authors represented in this anthology, which includes everyone from Charles Dickens to Margaret Atwood. JG Ballard, Ray Bradbury, and Kazuo Ishiguro are among the surprising names on the list.
6. ‘The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories’ by Angela Carter
Fairy tales (including the ones you were taught as a child) are full of terrifying images, and they’re much better when they’re given a feminist makeover. ‘The Bloody Chamber’ by Angela Carter reimagines ancient tales including “Bluebeard,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Little Red Riding Hood” as tales that capture feminine wrath, sexuality, and violence. These stories are frequently gory, and the female protagonists are usually the ones who save themselves.
7. ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’ by Shirley Jackson
Since the publication of her short tale The Lottery in 1948, Shirley Jackson has been regarded as a key figure in the genre. “We Have Always Lived in the Castle”, her final novel, is arguably her finest. Merricat and Constance Blackwood, sisters who were acquitted of murdering the rest of the family with arsenic, live as recluses at the Blackwood family house. Both are social misfits, with Constance suffering from agoraphobia, which has prevented her from leaving the house for the past six years.
8. ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’ by Ray Bradbury
‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’ by Ray Bradbury is a timeless and scary classic if there ever was a defining supernatural horror book. Malevolent persons and unusual things occur when Cooger and Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show arrives in town. The two young protagonists, Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade must combat Mr. Dark and his carnival of mirrored mazes and time-twisting carousels after being tempted in by the aromas of popcorn and promises of adventure. This is a fantastically frightening tale that is ideal for the autumn season.
9. ‘Cursed: An Anthology’ edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane
Who doesn’t enjoy a good curse in a story? Curses are the bread and butter of horror, whether it’s Shakespeare’s “plague on both your houses” or an ancient malediction rearing its ugly head. Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane compiled this intriguing anthology of short stories, which explores them in all their forms. Both authors have assembled a diverse group of contemporary authors, including Neil Gaiman, Christina Henry, and Charlie Jane Anders.
Source: https://stephenking.com/works/novel/shining.html, https://www.amazon.com/Uzumaki-3-1-Deluxe-vols/dp/1421561328, https://www.amazon.com/Picture-Dorian-Gray-Oscar-Wilde/, https://www.amazon.com/Coraline-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0380807343, https://headofzeus.com/books/9781784080167, https://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Chamber-Other-Stories-Vintage/dp/1784871435, https://www.amazon.com/Always-Castle-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0143039970, https://www.amazon.com/Something-Wicked-This-Way-Comes/dp/0380729407, https://www.amazon.com/Cursed-Anthology-Dark-Fairy-Tales/dp/1789091500
