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Genre Fiction (Crime, Horror, More)

Spooky Books | Crime/Mystery | Sci-fi/Fantasy

Spooky Books

Ray Bradbury

An excellent short story writer, Bradbury mostly writes science fiction but is included here because of his spooky classic books Something Wicked This Way Comes and The Halloween Tree. A good collection of his short stories is The Vintage Bradbury which contains such stories as "The Veldt."

Robert Bloch

In addition to writing the novel that Psycho was based on, Robert Bloch was a prolific short story writer. Outstanding collections include Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper and The Best of Robert Bloch.

Sara Gran

Come Closer - Interesting first-person tale of demonic possession, as experienced by a married, loft-living, 34-year-old architect. Written with clean, plain prose that suits the story perfectly. Quite chilling, really.

Shirley Jackson

The Haunting of Hill House � Probably the best haunted house story ever. Also an excellent movie, (the 1963 version, not the horrible 1999 remake).

We Have Always Lived in the Castle � Merricat, her sister and her uncle live in fairly cheerful isolation far from suspicious neighbors and townsfolk. Why? Read it and find out. Deliciously creepy.

Just an Ordinary Day - This short story collection varies between chilling horror tales and regular, domestic fiction. Frequently, you don't know which type the story is until the end. A hint of menace clouds the whole book. In a very good way.

Come Along With Me � Short stories including a few excellent essays on writing and a fascinating essay on the public's response to The Lottery.

The Lottery and Other Stories � Includes the classic, must-read title story and a heap of other excellent tales.

The Road Through the Wall - The cover of this novel pretty much gives away the climax of the book by showing a young blonde girl with a large, bloody head gash and a bloody rock lying on the ground next to her. Nonetheless, Jackson does a beautiful job of keeping a creepy, suspenseful tone through the whole book.

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Greg Kihn

The Horror Show - Yes, that Greg Kihn. Good horror novel about an Ed Wood-like filmmaker and his memories of the old days. Add a little demon-raising and you've got one heck of a novel.

Stephen King

It - Though nearly all of King's horror novels are scary, fast-paced, well-told stories, It is truly the best of the bunch. Particularly if you have a deep and abiding fear of clowns. And who doesn't?

The Stand - Incredibly long, but incredibly absorbing tale of a virus wiping out most of the world. I think of The Stand every time I'm in close quarters with a stranger with a hacking cough.

Night Shift This classic collection of horror stories contains the fabulously weird "The Mangler" and the never-leave-your-closet-door-even-slightly-ajar tale of "The Boogeyman."

Skeleton Crew - King's second short story collection includes the wonderful novella "The Mist," as well as standout stories such as "The Monkey," "The Jaunt" and "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut."

The Green Mile - Not so much spooky as his other books, but genuinely good. Incredibly suspenseful, absorbing and touching.

Joe R. Lansdale

The Bottoms - A boyhood reminiscence of a mysterious murder in East Texas during the Great Depression. Lansdale's writing is suspenseful and spare, and he creates an unflinching portrayal of Southern racism at its worst. An eerie, atmospheric read.

A Fine, Dark Line - An intriguing reinterpretation of the 50s coming of age novel. It's about a boy whose family owns a small town drive-in who tries to solve a mystery of a murder, but the true draw here is the richly drawn characters.

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~New!~ William March

The Bad Seed - Mrs. Penmark, left alone while her husband is away on business, begins to notice that her daughter Rhoda is not like other girls. Best know for its campy movie adaptation, this well-crafted psychological horror novel is a worthy companion to Shirley Jackson's The House on Haunted Hill.

Richard Matheson

A prolific contributor to the Twilight Zone tv series, Matheson writes stories that are part horror, part fantasy and completely compelling. Outstanding collections of Matheson's work include Third From the Sun and the Shock series.

Duel - Wonderful collection of short stories including the title story, a fabulous tale of road rage and craziness that is genuinely frightening. Makes you wonder how anybody makes it home alive after being out on the roads.

Lew McCreary

The Minus Man - Quiet, meditative story of a most unusual serial killer. Also a great movie starring Owen Wilson.

Stewart O'Nan

The Night Country - Interesting, imaginative ghost story that focuses on the survivors (and the victims) of a tragic car accident. Haunting.

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Cabinet of Curiosities - A building excavation in New York City has revealed a late 19th century serial killer's stash of bodies, and now, the murders are beginning again. Much of the action takes place in the New York Museum of Natural History and the authors have wonderful, practically cinematic powers of description. Very entertaining read.

The Relic - A mysterious creature is loose in the New York Museum of Natural History. Quite the page-turner.

The Reliquary - Sequel to The Relic that is even more page-turning and suspenseful than the original. Should be turned into a movie at once.

Anne Rivers Siddons

The House Next Door - Although Siddons is better known for genteel women's fiction, this excellent haunted house story (told my the not entirely sympathetic next-door neighbor) proves that houses don't have to be old to be haunted.

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Crime/Mystery

Thomas H. Cook

Places in the Dark - Excellent mystery about a man searching for a woman involved in the death of his brother. Beautifully told, poetically described and almost cinematic in its dreamy, Sixth Sensian tone.

Breakheart Hill - Another excellent mystery by Cook, this one about a country doctor haunted by the death of his childhood crush. Very evocative, unfolds slowly, but quite compelling.

James Ellroy

L.A. Confidential � Unbelievably complicated and involving tale of corruption in the LAPD in the 50s. Also skillfully adapted into an excellent movie.

Big Nowhere � Prequel (sort of) to L.A. Confidential. Excellent story. Evocative portrait of L.A. in the 50s.

Black Dahlia � Chilling fictionalized version of a true story. Quite compelling reading.

Janet Evanovich

One For the Money � This mystery and five of its sequels are hilarious, kooky novels with quirky characters. Unfortunately runs out of steam by number seven. (Made a nice recovery on number nine, though.)

Elmore Leonard

Out of Sight � Great crime novel featuring one of the coolest ex-con characters in crime novel history. Also a great movie.

Get Shorty � Another great caper novel. Elmore rocks.

Maximum Bob - Elmore is always great. Great characters, great twisty plots, doesn't use any more words than are necessary. A pleasure to read. What else is there to say?

Sharyn McCrumb

The Rosewood Casket - Excellent mystery novel. The story unfolds quietly, the characters are extremely well-drawn, and you get the sense of the story really continuing before and after the events captured in the book.

She Walks These Hills - Wonderful tale set in the Appalachian mountains. Beautifully written and quite haunting.

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Sci-fi/Fantasy

~New!~ Michael Crichton

Timeline - Incredibly cinematic and action-packed, Crichton makes the science parts easy to understand (and not skim). Practically a time travel romance novel, I read this book and thought how on earth could they possibly screw up the movie adaptation? But they so did.

Jack Finney

Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Though this classic sci-fi novel was written almost fifty years ago, it's still suspenseful and quite thought-provoking.

Tanya Huff

Summon the Keeper - Very charming story of people whose jobs are to keep the balance of good and evil in the world, with memorable and vivid characters. Followed by two sequels.

Anne Logston

Guardian's Key - A young woman searches the mysterious Crystal Keep for the secret to her magic and true love. A wonderful combination of fantasy and romance.

Exile - Sequel to Guardian's Key. Also charming.

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Updated 2/26/06

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Email me at schka46[at]hotmail.com.

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