Jordan Peele isn’t just known for his comedy but also for his unique blend of horror, social commentary, and dark humor. Renowned for his masterful use of tension and suspense in his films, Peele has a way of employing a gradual build-up that allows audiences to feel the growing unease as the story progresses. In his debut movie, Get Out, the main character’s discomfort as a Black man at his white girlfriend’s family estate slowly ramps up as he uncovers a number of supernaturally sinister reasons to feel that way. In his storytelling, Jordan Peele always keeps his audience on edge with subtly planted clues that add to the sense of impending doom that lies ahead. And let’s not forget his uncanny ability to hit us with unexpected twists and turns to keep viewers guessing.
If you love the unique blend of horror, social commentary, and a build-up of psychological thrills found in Jordan Peele’s movies, then you’re in for a mind-bending literary treat. Here are five books that deliver that same spine-chilling and intellectually stimulating experience — guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat and leave you obsessing long after you’ve read the last page.
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror Edited by Jordan Peele
A Collection of Creepy Stories Carefully Curated and Edited by the Man Himself!
The worlds found in Out There Screaming explore the supernatural and scariest parts of reality equally. Jordan Peele expertly collected a spectacular roster of new and famous Black writers to present a true masterclass in horror, including his own introduction. Just like his hair-raising movies these short stories prey on what we think we know about the world and take us by surprise. Trust this visionary storyteller to recommend new ways to make readers feel afraid!
Replica by Lauren Oliver
A Flip Book for Young Adults!
Exploring themes of identity and what it means to be human, this story is told through the perspectives of two girls with very different lives. Lyra is a clone, stuck in an experimentation lab on an island since birth. Then there is Gemma, who has always been unwell, checking in and out of hospitals all her life. Oh, and her father heads up some research project on an island somewhere, which really makes one wonder what he’s cooking up! One day, an attack against her father’s facility leaves an opportunity for two of the clones to break free. On the mainland, Gemma barely escapes an abduction during a strange encounter, setting her on a path to investigate her family’s past and uncover her father’s dangerous secrets.
While the stories of Lyra and Gemma are clearly connected to each other, both contain shocking revelations that are crucial to the other’s story. Most unique of all, you turn the book one way to read Lyra’s story, then turn the book over and upside down to read Gemma’s story. Or you can choose to read them as alternating chapters of one big epic tale. The girls form two parts of one whole story that come together for an unforgettable experience for these young heroines — and the reader!
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Suffer the Cost of Breaking from Tradition!
For readers who enjoy a dose of cutting social commentary on identity politics with their psychological horror, this is the book for you! The story follows four American Indian men and their families who are all being haunted by a terrible event from their past. It’s now several years later, and they are being hunted by something intent on revenge. The culture and traditions they thought were left behind have caught up to them — in a violent way.
The Changeling by Victor LaValle
A Fatherly Mythopoeic Adventure!
When Apollo Kagwa’s father disappears, he is left with a box of books and strange recurring dreams that he doesn’t understand. Nowadays, Apollo is a new father himself. He and Emma, his wife, suffer what all households with new babies suffer — anxiety and total exhaustion. For Apollo, the old, terrible dreams return, just as Emma starts acting weird. Before he knows it, Emma does something staggeringly horrific and then pulls a Houdini! Apollo finds himself on an epic quest to find his wife and child, both of whom turn out to be nothing like he envisioned. His journey leads him through a forgotten island, secret-keeping graveyards, a forest with legends still living within it, and back to a place he thought he’d never see again.
The Dark Half by Stephen King
A Writer’s Pseudonym Takes on a Murderous Life of Its Own!
After more than a decade of bestselling violent crime fiction, Thad Beamont is tired of writing under his famed pseudonym, George Stark. So, he stages the “murder” of Stark publicly, even going as far as to arrange a symbolic burial for his alter ego. The tombstone reads: “Not a Very Nice Guy.” And like that, Thad is now free of Stark, and he can concentrate on his own novels again, right? Tragically, no. You’d think the vicious, out-of-control nightmares plaguing him would be the worst of it, but now all the people involved with George Stark’s “demise” are being brutally killed one by one. And somehow, Thad’s fingerprints (he has a solid alibi, I swear!) are found at every blood-soaked crime scene!
These were only a handful of books that deliver suspenseful horror, social critique, and mind-altering thrills that are guaranteed to have you binge-reading until the end. To the fans of Jordan Peele’s cinematic genius, we especially hope you enjoy them!
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