Is it Halloween yet?

Created on April 27, 2021, 8:49 am

Last Updated October 20, 2021, 9:32 am

If you're counting the days until Halloween, then these recommendations are for you! Get in the Halloween mood with a terrifying tale, or two!
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"You thought Jonathan Demme’s Oscar-winning adaptation was scary? Prepare for the real deal. Sociopath Dr Hannibal Lecter is even more terrifying on page – his torturous, playful and gripping mind games with FBI trainee Clarice Starling are a master class in suspense and drama. The serial killer Buffalo Bill is no less menacing and it takes a sturdy disposition to emerge from the book unscathed. You have been warned" -ShortList
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"Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse, an ordinary young couple, settle into a New York City apartment, unaware that the elderly neighbors and their bizarre group of friends have taken a disturbing interest in them. But by the time Rosemary discovers the horrifying truth, it may be far too late!" -GoodReads
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"There's been renewed interest in this novel thanks to a Netflix adaptation last year. But Shirley Jackson's classic gothic horror novel is a fantastic read in its own right. It's a twisting and turning ghost story that plays on psychological terror just as much as horror. It's one of those books you'll think about for days (or even years!) after your first read. What's more, famous modern writers including Neil Gaiman and Stephen King credit Jackson with inspiration for their horror and fantasy writing" -GoodReads
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"Written by playwright and filmmaker Zoje Stage, this is one *** of a tense novel. There's psychological suspense and horror in a tale about the bonds between a mother and her daughter" - GoodReads
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"Even now, generations removed from the publication of Daphne du Maurier’s gothic classic, the name Rebecca conjures up untold chilling imagery. The scariest aspects of Rebecca are those things that are left unsaid – from the lack of a name for the narrator to the mystery behind the titular character’s gloomy death. And the questions posed in the novel and the lies that prop up a supposedly perfect marriage keep on haunting the reader to the bitter end. As for the housekeeper, the evil Mrs Danvers… well, let’s not go there"-ShortLIst
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"Based on the true (and very grisly) story of The Donner Party, The Hunger is a deeply unsettling exploration of human nature – and the horrifying consequences when people are pushed to their breaking point"-ShortLIst
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"Patrick Bateman’s descent into madness, his graphic retelling of the gory murders he seems to revel in and his glorification of vapid consumerist culture all go hand-in-hand. As well as being hideously disturbing, Ellis’ book is very, very funny, packed with 80s music references and hilarious streams of consciousness" -ShortList
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"The finest example of Victorian gothic horror. The characters that Stoker brings to life are vivid, memorable, unsettling… not least Count Dracula and his nemesis Abraham Van Helsing. Although Stoker wasn’t the first to pen vampire literature, his rich and powerful novel about bloodsuckers came to define modern perceptions of the folkloric undead" -GoodReads
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"Inspired by real events, Blatty’s story of demonic possession and exorcism cuts right to the quick. When 12-year-old girl Regan MacNeil starts to behave irrationally her mother soon realises that she has been possessed by evil spirits and turns to the church for help. The manner in which the priests Father Merrin and Karras fight to rid Regan of the demon is unforgettable" -ShortList
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"A marvellous and thoroughly intelligent suspense thriller, *** House concerns just that – a house that corrupts and destroys all that enter it. Four people try to rid the house of its evil potency with violent consequences. No less an authority than Stephen King declared *** House to be the scariest haunted house novel ever written" -ShortList
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"If you relish catching a dose of the heebie-jeebies while reading, then this is the book for you. Stephen King himself has declared this his most frightening work, and who are we to argue? Death, insanity and bizarre burial rituals are just a few of the gory themes that pervade this majestic work of horror writing. Those of a fragile bent are advised to steer well clear" - GoodReads
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