John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) completely changed the game for slasher stories! With many sequels and soft reboots taking the big screen, we here at Bookstr are listing seven novels that resonate the same amount of terror from the 1978 debut.
1. Survive the Night
We start the list off with a group of girls taking the night by siege. Casey and her girls go to an all-night rave entitled ‘Survive the Night,’ which is located in an abandoned subway tunnel. However, Casey is just returning from rehab, so being surrounded by drugs and strangers may not be the best. Things only get worse when Casey comes across one of her best friend’s bodies mutilated in one of the black tunnels. Casey and the rest of her surviving crew must find a way to survive the night!
2. The Final Girl Support Group
What if our girl Laurie Strode met other final girls in different horror franchises? In this story, we get a glimpse of that! Lynnette Tarkington is our final girl in this story, and she meets five other girls in a support group. They must work together to bring back the life that they once had. One day though, one of the girls misses a meeting. In this chilling tale of trauma and death, someone is bound to break these girls’ spirits.
3. Tastes Like Candy
Care for a scavenger hunt? At Pritchett High, everyone wants to participate in the Senior Scavenge. Eight girls plan to break into the Poison Apple Carnival after hours to join in on the scavenger hunt to celebrate their final year of high school! Things take a turn, though, when the ladies come face to face with a madman in a rubber mask who begins killing the group one by one…
4. There’s Someone in Your House
Brace yourselves in Makani Young’s new life in rural Nebraska. She’s running away from her past mistakes. Sadly, she can’t run far enough because her new high school has a killer on the loose. Want to watch Netflix’s adaptation? Click here if you dare.
5. Dead Girl Blues
A young woman dies in Willow Zulawkski’s arms. Everything begins to fall apart, along with her psyche. Her only clue is a mysterious video, but as Willow dives deeper into her investigation, she’s lost in a world of snuff films. One by one, the people close to her begin to die. Will she succumb to the same fate, or will she solve the case?
6. The Slasher Experience
After a disagreement with her parents, Casi and her brother Tom decide to blow off some steam, and the two siblings join the Slasher Experience. It’s a game where the player must solve who did it, and it’s based on a low-budget smash slasher horror movie inside the book. Tom brings two of his best friends on the trip in hopes of giving Casi a good time, but that doesn’t matter when their little game becomes a game of survival.
7. Halloween Novelization
Did you know Halloween has a novelization? I had to search long and hard for this one! In the 1980’s it ran out of print, so any remaining hard copies can range up to cost over 600 dollars. Lucky for you, I found a free link, and I was able to download it without worry. Within the book, you’ll get the nitty-gritty of the infamous duo– Michael Meyers and Laurie Strode. Forget everything you know about Halloween!
Slasher films and novels are a treat because they stem from genuine fear. These killers are very real in this world. There’s no second-guessing if it’s a ghost or just your imagination. Could you survive in it?
Want more horror recommendations? Click here to get spooked!