Stephen King is unanimously recognized as the king of horrors, but this does not mean that to tickle your own nerves you need to focus only on this writer.
We have compiled a list of 10 books that cannot be torn off from reading! They have an amazing story, and unexpected twists and deep characters.
The only nuance of the listed literature is that it is not worth reading at night, you will not be able to sleep peacefully either nightmare images or in-depth thoughts that will cover you after reading.
List
- 10. The Lord of the Flies, William Golding
- 9. The Collector, John Fowles
- 8. The Ghost Story, Peter Straub
- 7. The Labyrinth, Franz Kafka
- 6. “Rosemary's Baby,” Ira Levin
- 5. “The Ghoul Family”, Alexey Tolstoy
- 4. 1984, George Orwell
- 3. "Lullaby", Chuck Palahniuk
- 2. The Ridges of Madness, Howard Lovecraft
- 1. The Fall of the Asher House, Edgar Alan Poe
10. The Lord of the Flies, William Golding
Golding considered the main idea of creating this book to be a refutation of the accepted expressions: “Man is beautiful in nature, but society spoils him” and “Children are holy, because they don’t know the sin of the adult world.”
You also doubt the truth of these judgments when you read a book about children cut off from society who turn out to be not so beautiful without society and not as innocent as they usually think.
In fact, the whole point of the novel is to show that people are no more than animals, if we are not restrained by the laws and norms of public morality. Release a person to freedom and give free rein to his actions - he will certainly succumb to human degradation and will find a way out for aggression in murders and tortures.
9. The Collector, John Fowles
One of the features of the novel is the change of narrators. First, the reader gets acquainted with the story on behalf of the main character - Frederick, who has long been obsessed with the idea of falling in love with a beautiful neighbor girl Miranda.
Fred does not see anything unnatural in the surveillance and planned abduction, and the fact that Frederick is truly convinced of the humanity of his intentions horrifies the reader.
The narrative of the second part of the book is on behalf of Miranda. She reflects on the escape, tries to make friends with the kidnapper, become his mistress, be more cunning and smarter than him, if only to be saved, but nothing helps.
Of course, we will not disclose the final of the story, but he certainly will not leave anyone indifferent. As, in fact, the work as a whole.
8. The Ghost Story, Peter Straub
Straub’s book became a bestseller immediately after the release, and it tells of the writer Don Wunderley, who moves to a small town called Milburn. Thanks to a change of scenery, Don hopes to psychologically survive the death of his brother, as well as find the strength to write a new novel.
But it turns out that Milburn is a hectic city. Farmers livestock die due to bleeding, and after all people begin to disappear. Don decides to deal with the city problems that have arisen, and the more truth the writer learns, the more terrible the story becomes.
7. The Labyrinth, Franz Kafka
Kafka’s books cannot be categorized as easy to read. And the point is not even the complexity of constructing sentences, but the gloom and philosophy, which you reflect on through each paragraph, thereby distracting from the main plot.
In the "Labyrinth", the story is conducted on behalf of an abstract character whose appearance and appearance are revealed in separate sentences throughout the work.
About whom Kafka specifically writes - a man, a cockroach or a mole - it is not clear that each reader will introduce the main character himself and begin the journey through a maze dug in damp earth.
6. “Rosemary's Baby,” Ira Levin
You may have heard about the horror movie of the same name, and so it was shot on this book. The plot develops around a married couple who moves to a new home. Their neighbors are elderly, sweet-looking people who, however, accompany ritual chants every night.
In general, this is a story about the birth of the Antichrist. And the genre of the book is not horror, but rather a thriller or psychological drama. It’s not scary because of the frightening pictures that are drawn in the head during reading, it’s scary of the emotions that the reader experiences with the characters.
5. “The Ghoul Family”, Alexey Tolstoy
The first work in our top, written by a Russian writer, however, it was originally published in French. This book is really able to scare the reader and keep him in suspense until the very end.
The plot is built around the Marquis d’Urfe, who stops on his way to Moldova for a few nights in a small village. The father of the family, in which he found an overnight stay of the Marquis, 10 days ago went to catch the local robber. Before leaving his sons, the man ordered him to be killed if he returns later than the 10th day.
What happens next, we advise you to find out on your own. We will only say that it will be creepy and scary, and also insanely interesting.
4. 1984, George Orwell
Roman dystopia, which is considered one of the most significant in the world of literature. The main question that arises in the book is whether one person can change an inveterate system? And is it necessary to change it in principle?
Most importantly, Orwell does not leave these questions unanswered. This book again is not from the horror genre, but with its deep theses and relevance, it will cause you a frenzied storm of emotions and thoughts.
3. "Lullaby", Chuck Palahniuk
The plot of "Lullaby" first talks about the investigation of mass mortality among infants and children, and then about the nature of the human essence. The book is deep, riddled with double meaning and frightening assumptions.
The human essence is revealed by the very lullaby, which, it turns out, has the magical power to kill anyone to whom it is dedicated. People who learn about the power of a song that sleeps forever begin to use it in their interests, and here the plot is fully revealed from its frightening side.
2. The Ridges of Madness, Howard Lovecraft
The book is saturated with an atmosphere of chilling fear, not for nothing we placed it in second place in our frightening top.
The narration is conducted on behalf of the protagonist - a scientist who is doing his best to convince the scientific community to stop sending expeditions to study the Antarctic.
It turns out that he was a member of the last expedition and experienced such terrible events that upon returning home he vowed to no one and never tell what he saw in the icy lands.
Just for the sake of stopping the re-expedition, the hero decides on a terrifying retelling of his past.
1. The Fall of the Asher House, Edgar Alan Poe
The protagonist of the book can be considered a storyteller who tells the story, but does not name him by Edgar Alan Poe.
The narrator arrives at the request of his friend, Roderick Asher, at his estate and discovers Asher in serious condition. He complains about his illness, says that he has become very sensitive to light, sounds and bright colors. Sister Roderica suffers from a similar ailment, and feels even worse.
Around the middle of the story, the girl dies. Roderick and the narrator bury her in the cold cellar of the house, as it turned out, they bury her alive.