Literary Horror reccomendations?

Shirley Jackson’s the Haunting of Hill House is a classic, any Stephen King books (pick something based on the storylines you think you’d enjoy!) also Adam Neville, Catriona Ward and Nick Cutter.

It depends on your preference in horror, there’s tons out there though you just have to find a few authors or sub genres you enjoy! I’d say to define what type of horror movies you most enjoy & pick books based off that. Also on r/horror there’s tons of recs!

Ooo yes, this is right up my alley! I also can’t stand Riley Sager and don’t understand the hype. Okay, here we go:

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The Changeling by Victor Lavelle- It’s about a man and his wife who just had their first baby but the wife is convinced that the baby isn’t real and is actually a changeling and does something terrible before vanishing. It’s got some great horror imagery and it’s like a really dark, twisted fairy tale. Also, they’re making a movie/TV show of it soon, which also looks very good.

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Devil House- by John Darnielle- This is definitely a book you should read if you like true crime. The premise is about a writer who’s writing about a murder that happened in a porn store a few decades before. The store has been converted into a house, so he decides to move in. To be clear, it’s NOT a haunted house book. It’s a little more abstract and taking a deep look into the nuances of true crime. Sounds boring but it’s not. It’s also formatted very uniquely, where it’s split into three parts and they go from being told in first person, second person, and third. It’s unique and a little weird but I loved it.

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Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez- I LOVED this book. It’s by a Argentinian author and it’s about a father and son who go on a road trip after the death of their wife/mother, who’s family was a part of this demonic cult. It’s told generationally, going back and forth between the father and son. Fair warning, there is some REALLY graphic descriptions of terrible abuse. I read a lot of horror and even I was like “Well, fuck.” The book is very long but reads quickly, and it would be a 10/10 except that the ending is a little rush. It’s insane though, highly recommend.

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Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield- This is a story about a woman who’s wife went on a submarine exploration that subsequently went missing. All passengers are presumed dead until they mysteriously show up after months of being gone, except, of course, now she’s different. It’s definitely light on plot but the prose is beautiful, and it’s got some great passages where it’s from the POV of the crew stuck in the submarine and realizing they’re not going to be saved. I think the best word to describe it is unsettling.

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House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski- I honestly have no idea how to describe this book except that it’s commonly known as the “Moby Dick” of Horror. It’s kinda like a book within a book within a book. Ostensibly, it’s about a young man who finds a manuscript in his neighbor’s house after he dies about a documentary of a door that randomly appears in this family’s house and their exploration of it. Except when the young man goes to look up the documentary it doesn’t exist, and he then becomes obsessed with if it’s real or not. It’s a very interactive book, where about half the story is told through footnotes and there are a lot of puzzles to figure out. It’s a little bit pretentious and there are some slow spots but if you want to be consumed by a book, this is for you.

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Rebecca- Daphne Du Maurier- So, this is a classic. It was written in the 30s and it’s the ultimate Gothic Horror. It’s about a young woman who marries a wealthy widower, and when she goes to live with him she starts thinking the house is haunted by his late wife’s ghost. It’s excellent. Definitely a classic for a reason. Hitchcock actually made a movie of it as well, which I love equally as much.

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Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson- Full disclosure, I love Shirley Jackson so I’m biased about most things she’s written but this one really is great. It’s another gothic horror and a pretty straight forward haunted house book. If you’ve seen the Netflix adaption, don’t fret. It’s nothing like the TV show.

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The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones- This is more psychological horror and is about four Indigenous men who had are trying to escape a tragic trauma that happened to them in the past but can’t escape an evil entity bent on revenge. It’s incredibly well told, and has a lot of good social commentary. Also, if you like this you should read “Heart Like a Chain Saw” and “Fear the Reaper.” They’re both less literary but they’re homages to slasher movies (they literally feel like you’re watching a slasher while reading) so if you like horror movies definitely read them.

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We Spread by Iain Red- This is VERY literary. It’s a psychological thriller about an elderly woman who is placed in a nursing home against her will. It’s a lot of inner-voice narrative and not a whole lot of plot/a little slow at times but it’s very well written and the concept alone gave me the heebie jeebies.

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Here a few that straddle the more literary/beach read line but are still good nonetheless:

Black River Orchard- Chuck Wendig (anything by Chuck Wendig actually but this and his book “Wanderers” are personal favs)

Horns- Joe Hill (Yes, I know he’s Stephen King’s son but I love this book. It’s so fucking weird. This and NOS4A2 are my favorites)

Mexican Gothic- Silvia Moreno-Garcia (also her newest book “Silver Nitrate” is great too. It’s got cults and horror movies and Nazis. It’s awesome)

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That’s all I can think off the top of my head but if you want any more suggestions I can do some further digging in what I’ve read in the past couple years for books I’ve forgotten about!

Currently reading The Shining by Stephen King and it’s really good

Perfume by Patrick Suskind