Contents
- 10 “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding
- 9. The Collector, John Fowles
- 8. “Ghost Story” by Peter Straub
- 7. “Labyrinth”, Franz Kafka
- 6. Rosemary’s Baby, Ira Levin
- 5. “Family of Ghouls”, Alexei Tolstoy
- 4. 1984 George Orwell
- 3. “Lullaby”, Chuck Palahniuk
- 2. “The Ridges of Madness” by Howard Lovecraft
- 1. The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe
Stephen King is unanimously recognized as the king of horror, but this does not mean that you need to focus only on this writer to tickle your own nerves.
We’ve compiled a list of 10 books you can’t stop reading! They have an amazing plot, and unexpected twists and deep characters.
The only nuance of the listed literature is that it should not be read at night, either nightmarish images or in-depth reflections that will seize you after reading will not let you sleep peacefully.
10 “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding
Golding considered the main idea of creating this book to be a refutation of the accepted expressions: “Man is beautiful by nature, but society spoils him” and “Children are holy, because the sin of the adult world is not familiar to them.”
You, too, will doubt the truth of these judgments when you read a book about children cut off from society, who turn out to be not so beautiful without society and not as innocent as people think.
In fact, the whole point of the novel is to show that people are no more than animals, if we are not constrained by the laws and norms of public morality. Release a person to freedom and give free rein to his actions – he will certainly succumb to human degradation and find a way out for aggression in murder and torture.
9. The Collector, John Fowles
One of the features of the novel is the change of narrators. First, the reader gets acquainted with the story on behalf of the main character – Frederick, who for a long time is obsessed with the idea of falling in love with the beautiful neighbor girl Miranda.
Fred sees nothing unnatural in the surveillance and planned kidnapping, and how truly Frederick is convinced of the humanity of his intentions horrifies the reader.
The second part of the book is narrated from the perspective of Miranda. She contemplates escaping, trying to befriend the kidnapper, become his mistress, be smarter and smarter than him in order to escape, but nothing helps.
Of course, we will not reveal the finale of the story, but it certainly will not leave any of the readers indifferent. Just like the work as a whole.
8. “Ghost Story” by Peter Straub
Straub’s book became a bestseller upon release and is about writer Don Wonderly who moves to a small town called Milburn. Thanks to a change of scenery, Don hopes to psychologically survive the death of his brother, as well as find the strength to write a new novel.
But it turns out that Milburn is a restless city. Farmers die due to bleeding, and then people begin to disappear altogether. Don decides to deal with the problems of the city himself, and the more the writer learns the truth, the more creepy the story becomes.
7. “Labyrinth”, Franz Kafka
Kafka’s books definitely cannot be categorized as light reading. And the point is not even the complexity of constructing sentences, but the gloom and philosophy that you think about through each paragraph, thereby distracting from the main plot.
In the “Labyrinth” the story is told from the perspective of an abstract character, whose appearance and appearance is revealed in separate sentences throughout the work.
It is not clear who Kafka specifically writes about – a man, a cockroach or a mole – each reader will introduce the main character himself and begin a journey through a labyrinth dug in damp earth.
6. Rosemary’s Baby, Ira Levin
You may have heard about the horror film of the same name, so it was based on this book. The plot develops around a married couple who moves to a new house. Their neighbors turn out to be elderly, nice-looking people, who, however, accompany them every night with ritual chants.
In general, this is a story about the birth of the Antichrist. And the genre of the book is not horror, but rather a thriller or psychological drama. It’s not scary because of the frightening pictures that are drawn in the head in the process of reading, it’s scary because of the emotions that the reader experiences with the characters.
5. “Family of Ghouls”, Alexei Tolstoy
The first work in our top, written by a Russian writer, however, it was originally published in French. This book is really capable of scaring the reader and keeping him in suspense until the very end.
The plot is built around the Marquis d’Urfe, who, on the way to Moldavia, stops for several nights in a small village. The father of the family, in which the marquis found lodging for the night, 10 days ago went to catch a local robber. Before leaving, the man ordered his sons to kill him if he returned later than the 10th day.
What happens next, we advise you to find out for yourself. Let’s just say that it will be creepy and scary, and also insanely interesting.
4. 1984 George Orwell
A dystopian novel, which is considered one of the most significant in the world of literature. The main question that is raised in the book is whether one person can change an ingrained system? And does it really need to be changed?
Most importantly, Orwell does not leave these questions unanswered. This is again a book not from the horror genre, but with its deep theses and relevance, it will cause you a furious storm of emotions and thoughts.
3. “Lullaby”, Chuck Palahniuk
The plot of “Lullaby” first tells about the investigation of mass mortality among infants and children, and then about the nature of the human essence. The book is deep, riddled with double meanings and frightening assumptions.
The human essence is revealed through the very lullaby, which, it turns out, has the magical power to kill anyone to whom it is dedicated. People who have learned about the power of a song that sleeps forever begin to use it to their advantage, and here the plot is fully revealed from its frightening side.
2. “The Ridges of Madness” by Howard Lovecraft
The book is saturated with an atmosphere of chilling fear, and it is not for nothing that we placed it in second place in our frightening top.
The story is told from the perspective of the protagonist, a scientist who is trying with all his might to convince the scientific community to stop sending expeditions to study Antarctica.
It turns out that he was a member of the last expedition and experienced such monstrous events that, upon returning home, he swore to no one and never tell about what he saw in the icy lands.
Only for the sake of stopping the second expedition, the hero decides on a terrifying retelling of his past.
1. The Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe
The main character of the book can be considered a narrator who tells a story, but Edgar Allan Poe does not name him.
The narrator arrives at the request of his friend, Roderick Asher, at his estate and finds Asher in a serious condition. He complains about his illness, says that he has become very sensitive to light, sounds and bright colors. Roderick’s sister suffers from a similar ailment, and feels even worse.
About halfway through the story, the girl dies. Roderick and the narrator bury her in the cold cellar of the house, as it turns out, they bury her alive.