READING CORNER: Happy Halloween!

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I hope y’all had a safe and spooky Halloween.  Before I post my book reviews, I wanted to post my top 10 Scary Reads Lists. So Part 1 is my list and Part 2 will be 3  reviews for tomorrow 🙂 Without any further, rambling….

Top 10 HORROR Novels that had Me Spooked:

(in NO particular order)

1. CARRIE – Stephen King – I was 13, and had a knee injury that was keeping me home, but in books.  There are certain scenes in this book – between Carrie and her mother – that had me spooked. 20 plus years later I can still see the images in my mind, and makes me shudder.
2. DIFFERENT SEASONS (Novellas) – Stephen King – This enology has the 4 best novellas I have read.  There is the “The Body” (movie Stand By Me was based on this one), “Apt Pupil” (movie by the same name), “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” (movie The Shawshank Redemption) and “The Breathing Method”.  It took me a week or so to read these stories as each one were intense.  I am not sure I could reread “Apt Pupil” even though it was a brilliant piece of writing.  The intensity of the story and evilness of the characters I just…it’s too real.  It is the monsters that exist and give my anxiety anxiety.
3. FRANKENSTEIN – Mary Shelley – To be honest, I don’t think I would have read this book if it hadn’t been assigned reading for my first year English course.  I was expecting it to be “science fiction” and not so rich in Gothic suspense.  It really gave me insight to what the “horror” genre from that era was like and I really enjoyed Shelley’s writing. It really made me frightened of men like Frankenstein, and see compassion for the creature I didn’t get from the movie adaptions.
4. THE WOMAN IN BLACK – Susan Hill – This is the classic ghost story that I have loved since I was a kid.  Ghost stories have been apart of my life since I was a kid.  My cousins and I would tell each other scary stories and urban legends.  We love the horror genre and started watching horror movies before we should have.  This book reads like an elaborate campfire story.
5. REBECCA – Daphne Du Maurier – One of my favourite books, that is everything a gothic novel should be.  Mrs, Danvers – in book and the Hitchcock movie – was so terrifying, I had a bad dream where she was just lurking about.  It is one I recommend to anyone that enjoys a well-written story!
6. WAIT TILL HELEN COMES and THE DOLL IN THE GARDEN – Mary Downing Hahn – I read these two novels several times as a child and LOVED them among a few more of Hahn’s novels.  I am hoping to reread these to see if the spooky factor is still there as an adult reader.  Highly recommend Hahn for your kiddies.
7. THIS HOUSE IS HAUNTED – John Boyne – I read this one for a group read and really enjoyed the story and writing.  It is like the Woman in Black in that it gives a spooky story
8. GEMMA DOYLE series and THE DIVINERS series – These two series are labeled as young adult, but are so well-written, I believe they work for any age.  These novels are more “supernatural” than horror but have a very Gothic feeling and the good ole, good versus evil.
9. MACBETH – William Shakespeare – This is my favourite Shakespeare play, and when I read it I get so absorbed into the story and atmosphere.
10. THE WITCHES – Roald Dahl – This novel uncovers how to spot a witch when they blend in so well with humans, and what is scarier than that as a kid?

Top 10 SUSPENSE THRILLER Novels that had Me Creeped Out:

(in NO particular order)

1. RED DRAGON and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS – Thomas Harris – I would not recommend these novels unless you love gritty dark intense suspense thrillers.  The books are even more gruesome, but so interesting.  I read these in my early 20s, and while I didn’t get nightmares, I did find them intruding in my mind for months.  It’s the realism that makes them so terrifying.
2. INTENSITY – Dean Koontz – I read this book when I was in high school.  We were going visit family a few towns over, and so my parents let me buy a book to read on the car ride over.  One page in, and I was hooked.  I sat in the corner of the sofa and just read.  This book TERRIFIED me as I read it and for days afterwards.  This book read like my worst nightmare.  (Sensing a theme so far?)
3. A TIME TO KILL – John Grisham – This book had me questioning law and justice, while keeping me on the edge of seat, and well-written characters.  The intensity is not for everyone, but a very interesting novel.
4. STILL MISSING – This novel had me hooked from the first chapter and Stevens has been on my favourites list ever since.  Before all the “girls” and “kidnapped but found” books came out, this one had me freaked out.
5. THE LOVELY BONES – This book is the worst nightmare come true, but there is so much pain, intensity, suspense and emotions, it’s a book that takes you on a ride that you need two days of rest after finishing it.
6. THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY – Patricia Highsmith – This novel leaves me feeling uncomfortable and a bit creeped out.  Love this book!
7. Karin Slaughter‘s novels are gritty, realistic and pack an emotional intensity.  I would recommend any novel!
8. SHADOW MAN – Cody McFadyen – A great mix of Thomas Harris and Karin Slaughter!
9. STRANGERS ON A TRAIN – Patricia Highsmith – Two people trade murders so they don’t have “motive” and I am not sure if I am rooting for anyone….it’s so complex, the game of murder.
10. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? – Henry Farrell – the movie had me enthralled and the book (which I listened to on audio) was so crazy!  Twisted Sisters is an underestimation!

This list will change over time, the more I read, but this is it for October 2018.  Any you want to add?  I could use more TBR books…honest! I love lists!