Creepy/Disturbing books where by the end I still don’t know what’s going on.

I originally wanted to create a “Recommend some H. P. Lovecraft like books” but no doubt that’s been asked many times so I googled it and found lots of Reddit recommendations. The problem is in those threads the suggested books are nothing like H. P. Lovecraft. Stephen King? Yeah Misery is great but he’s nothing like H. P. Lovecraft.

So I figured, what is it specifically about H. P. Lovecraft that I love and ask for that.

Well it’s the sense of mystery and unknown that persists from beginning to end which creates intrigue and creepiness. I guess it’s that fear of the unknown as people sometimes say. Often the characters in his stories seem to be people who witness something and have doubts about what they saw. These characters don’t go on to stop an alien invasion, end a haunting or stop a cult, they are just observers with a glimpse of something and a lot of unanswered questions and I love that. Usually mystery and intrigue are great ways to get people interested. That desire to know why is the reason that keeps people watching the next episode or turning to the next page. The issue is that by the end of most stories by other people, when all mysteries are answered things tend to become generic.

I feel a great film example of what I am looking for would be The Blair Witch project but I really like The Color of Space and The Shadow Over Innsmouth. I don’t want everything spoon fed, reading something like a detailed account about a shuffling zombie is not freaky but the unknown, when I am left wondering “What was that?” well that’s when I keep thinking about what I just read for days.