This week's theme is Top Ten Books to Get You in the Halloween Spirit. I haven't done a TTT in a while, and I don't read a lot of scary/creepy books as a rule, but then I read this short piece in The Guardian last night, about one of my favourite short stories, The Landlady, by Roald Dahl. This particular story has made The Guardian's list of 'Scary Stories for Halloween', so using that as my jumping off point, here are a few more I think would be worthy of a Halloween re-read!
1. Kiss Kiss, Roald Dahl
The collection that The Landlady appears in. Not all the stories are as creepy as this one, but they're all very black, rather unsettling and a little bit macabre! The real horror isn't monsters, it's other people.
2. The Stepford Wives, Ira Levin
A bright young woman moves to the suburbs with her family. Unfortunately, this suburb has more secrets than most. Incredibly creepy - I read this all in one go as I couldn't put it down!
3. Rosemary's Baby, Ira Levin
Another Levin book, this time about a young couple who are befriended by their neighbours, only for the neighbours to concoct a fiendish plot with the husband to hijack Rosemary's pregnancy.
4. The Little Stranger, Sarah Waters
I definitely tend towards creepy, slow-burning horror, rather than jump-out-of-your-seat-scary, it seems. A village doctor gets sucked into the dramas of a woman and her two daughters who live in a large - and, it seems - haunted house. a psychological ghost story that leaves you wondering even when it's finished!
5. The Turn of the Screw, Henry James
Classic ghost story, in which a governess begins to see ghosts... maybe.
6. Twins, Caroline B. Cooney
And now for some classic horror from my teen years! This is the book I would hide in the wardrobe because it creeped me out so much (especially the cover). I'm sure by adult-reading standards, it's not that scary, but at the time I was terrified by the whole thing.
7. Flowers in the Attic, Virginia Andrews
Not technically a horror story, although there are plenty of horrific things going on here. Mostly remembered for being dubious and incestuous, but for all that I still remember it being genuinely unsettling (and not just because of That Scene).
8. The Silent Scream, Diane Hoh
Another Point Horror, like Twins, and another one that I remember being on my shelf. I remember being marginally scared of this at the time - girl moves into dorm room where another girl once hanged herself, and starts to hear her screaming through the walls. I remember that this book had some classic suspect-the-janitor action going on...
Have you read any of these? Thanks for stopping by!
I never realized that The Stepford Wives was by Levin as well! I should pick that one up. Great list!
ReplyDeleteHey Lori, I'd definitely check it out, I really enjoyed it. Still creeps me out a little bit when I think about it... Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteLove that you looked at some older "classics" - and they were oh so creepy too. Awesome list.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tanya! I didn't think I'd be able to come up with many, but once I started thinking about it the classics were the ones that stood out the most!
DeleteThe Stepford Wives sounds like my kind of book, I'll have to check it out. Great list! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Anna! It's a really good book, and quite a fast read - worth picking up. :)
DeleteI didn't know the Stepford Wives was a book. The movie was creepy enough, I should give the book a try too.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever seen the film, but I should probably check it out at some point! Thanks for stopping by. :)
DeleteGreat list! Don't think I've read any of those. I'll have to check them out! :D
ReplyDeleteMy TTT. Happy Tuesday! ;D
Thanks Liesel, and thanks for stopping by! Your list reminded me that I really need to get around to re-reading HP. :)
DeleteNew follower here! Great list I totally agree with you about Flowers in the Attic...very stranger things going on. Feel free to stop by and check out my list...
ReplyDeletehttp://asoutherngirlsbookshelf.blogspot.com/2012/10/top-ten-tuesdayhalloween-spirit.html
Hi Monica! Thanks for stopping by. Flowers in the Attic was definitely a strange one... I read a blogger's recap of it quite recently, and it brought back just how weird it all was!
DeleteThe Stepford Wives sounds really creepy, so I'll have to check that out! Great list.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
Hey Hollie, it's quite an unsettling read! Thanks for visiting :)
DeleteCool list! I missed out on all the classic teen horror -- I was too busy reading Sweet Valley Twins. :) I really should read some Ira Levin.
ReplyDeleteHaha, Sweet Valley Twins was one of my favourite series, along with Sweet Valley High. I gave all mine away when I got older, although it'd be nice to be able to look back at them now! Thanks for stopping by. :)
DeleteI haven't read any of these, though I watched a little bit of the movie for The Stepford Wives a couple of years ago and it was creeeepppyyy! Surprisingly so, I found! Great list! I've heard Roald Dalh can get quite spooky.
ReplyDeleteI think I should probably watch the film! I love Roald Dahl, and his adult stories are brilliant and often unnerving.
DeleteWell going by actors I would recommend it, even if it looked unusual- Nicole Kidman and Matthew Broderick, Glen Close, Christopher Walken, acting wise it looks very interesting!
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