Horror lovers are a different breed of readers. You have to be able to handle gut-wrenching scenes and be patient for the ending when — hopefully — all of your questions are answered. The biggest question is, what to read after you’ve devoured the horror section and your local bookstore? Luckily, we’ve hand-picked these books that aren’t horror but sure feel like it to fill that void in your TBR.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Dr. Montague, Theodora, Eleanor, and Luke, the future heir, arrive at Hill House with the notion to capture evidence of hauntings. What starts out as a mere spooky encounter soon turns into something more sinister as their stay goes on. While this is technically labeled as a horror read, it leans more into the paranormal thriller side of it. Despite that, it’s still a bone-chilling read that will leave you second guessing every bump in the night you hear.
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
As a child, I’ve always found Coraline to be especially creepy and haunting despite it being a fantasy children’s read. Coraline leans into its horror side when Coraline’s family moves into their newest home that has twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. One of the doors doesn’t open until Coraline unlocks it to find a passage into another home just like hers. Things are going well in the other home at first until the mother and father want Coraline to stay with them and never leave. Trapped with other lost souls of children, Coraline must fight her way out of the house and save the lost children. This might be more of a me problem, but this book has always been terrifying for me.
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
This Victorian, classic gothic read will have you biting your nails till the very end. Walter’s encounter on a London road has left him spooked and engaged in sinister activities of Sir Percival Glyde and Count Fosco. Count Fosco has an irregular taste for mice, vanilla bonbons, and, you can’t forget, poison. As Walter navigates his identity and insanity in the English country houses and the madhouse, this psychological thriller doubles as a horror read.
The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan
As Anais Hendricks sits in the back of a cop car, school uniform bloodied, a police officer is in a coma across town. Anais is headed for the Panopticon, a home for young offenders. Anais makes friends with the other residents of the Panopticon and soon realizes that she’s just a pawn in an experiment. It’s a haunting read that will leave you questioning if it’s a horror read or a regular thriller.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
The “dear and unfortunate successor” introduced in this novel will be plunged into a dark labyrinth of secrets and fate that all connect to an evil buried in history. Letters will lead the reader to the vampiric powers of iconic figures like Vlad and even Dracula. But, beware, underneath all of that is a dark, time-defying pact that may turn towards you next.
A Simple Plan by Scott Smith
Two brothers and a friend come across the site of a plane crash. The pilot is dead, and a duffle bag is stuffed with an ungodly amount of cash. All three men agree to a simple plan to keep and share the fortune. It should be easy, right? Wrong. Horror falls as so do the dominoes in their simple plan as it spirals desperately out of control.
The Institution by Helen Fields
A personal favorite, the first two bloody, gory chapters will leave you reeling at the thriller tag. A newborn baby is stolen from a mother’s womb in a high-security prison, and the clock is ticking for forensic profiler Dr. Connie Woolwine. In order to beat the clock and save the baby’s life, Connie has to go undercover and get up close and personal with the suspects, who also happen to be the most dangerous men. Can she last long enough to get the answers she needs?
When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole
Alyssa’s neighbors keep disappearing faster than the for sale signs can appear on their homes. In order to crack the case, Sydney enlists the help from her newest neighbor, Theo, and the pair quickly fall down into a rabbit hole of paranoia and fear. And the answers to all their questions turn into one of the most sinister. Though it’s also labeled as a mystery thriller, the ending of the book will guarantee to leave you categorizing it as a horror.
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
This dystopian fiction is lighter on the horror, but as a young woman is kept hidden underground, guarded by men who’ve never spoken, it will leave you with a sense of dread and fear of the unknown. This woman must now reinvent herself in a new place and face the most challenging and terrifying of the unknowns. While it may be light on the gore side, psychological horrors can be just as terrifying.
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
The best kinds of horror are stories that can be similar to lived experiences. This non-fiction thriller is a chronicle of events by researchers to contain deadly viruses in high-containment labs. It highlights the catastrophic potential of these diseases and human characteristics of these viruses that leave the reader in horror. It’s also a close-hit to home as you’ll find many similarities to the COVID-19 pandemic and the terrifying reality of dangerous viruses.
It’s safe to say almost any book could be a horror if it’s got enough guts and gore, but don’t forget about the psychologically damaging ones as well — the ones that hit close to home or are so out of pocket it makes you queasy. Regardless, these ten reads that aren’t horrors sure as well could be and need to be added to your TBR this spooky season.
Learn more about our favorite horror writers in this article on five female horror authors.
Check out our spine-chilling horror recommendations bookshelf on Bookshop for more recommendations.
