Hello all,
A while ago, my husband and I wanted to try a "one book two readers" thing, taking a time in the evening to read the same book together, and you all gave super advice as we were searching for a funny book to try it. We finished the said book and enjoyed the concept of reading together. So we go for a second book.
I have a long TBR but I am not into horror or real mystery, and he now wants to "shiver". That's okay with me, I'd discover a genre and have a good excuse to have a scared pot of glue with me. But I have nothing in mind (I plan on reading We used to live here but it has not been translated in french and he is not really open to the idea of trying to read a whole book in English, but it seems it is more or less the kind of book we are searching for).
What book made you shiver ? Frightened you ? Kept you awake for some time once in bed trying to hear if there was someone/something in your house ? We are not searching for gore or real "horror", more like "what was this weird sound in the house" or "why is there nobody in this town?" or even "all the neighbors are soooo nice here (so why does it feel so weird when they smile at me?)" kind of thing. The "weirdest", the best.
Thank you in advance for your recs !
by FrenchieMatt
2 Comments
Just thinking about stuff that’s readily available in French, Guy de Maupassant has some very creepy short stories you could try.
I’ve got some classic gothic horror recommendations for you!
If you are up for 1800s-written gothic horror, (eg an English governess goes to a haunted estate in the country to take care of two children with an absent rich father) Turn of the Screw is really good. Have fun trying to decide if the narrator is unreliable, reliable or hallucinating!
Frankenstein and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are both short and classics for a reason!
Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier–young woman gets married to this charming rich man and after the honeymoon comes home to his remote big house that’s full of secrets
On the modern thriller side of things:
Shutter Island is worth the read if you haven’t seen the movie–US Marshall, recently widowed, investigates the disappearance of an asylum inpatient.
Another modern thriller I personally really enjoyed was City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong–female Canadian police detective Casey Duncan needs to disappear, and is tipped off to the existence of a secret blackout town (no mail, computers, cell phones, limited electricity)in the Yukon wilderness that might wind up being just as fraught and dangerous as the life she’s trying to leave behind.