I’m looking for what feels like a sub genre of horror. I’m good with alien critters, fantasy creatures, even serial killers as long as it at least seems supernatural. The supernatural bit can be broken down by the end and explained away. I like if it’s an impossible location, space, deep underwater, caves, or other places I won’t find myself. Haunted houses I’m okay with if it’s a group of people not just a single person. I like for the whole group to “see” things. Not interested in anything school centered (boarding school, high schools, college) and prefer adult main characters.
I’m looking for being creeped out but not terrified. I like plausible science, but accept hand wavey science (FTL travel, extended underwater air tanks, etc.) and such to keep a story going. I’m fine with single survivor, with everyone picked off one by one, or everyone surviving. I do like someone surviving, books where everyone dies at the end I find depressing.
Gore isn’t too big a deal, but not super interested in it being drawn out. If there’s a dog or cat I’d prefer it survive, also not interested in explicit sexual violence. Prefer it isn’t a dystopian book, I like back to normal life at the end if they survive/escape.
I can’t stand “dumb” characters unless they die fast. They can make an uninformed decision early but if they keep surviving with clearly bad decision making I’m done.
Any recommendations?
Books I’ve liked that mostly match the goal
- S. A. Barnes – Cold Eternity
- S. A. Barnes – Dead Silence
- S. A. Barnes – Ghost Station
- Darcy Coates – Where He Can’t Find You
- Darcy Coates – From Below
- Darcy Coates – How Bad Things Can Get
- Darcy Coates – Parasite
- Darcy Coates – Hunted
- Dean Koontz – Phantoms
- Darcy Coates – Dead of Winter
- Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child – The Relic
- T. Kingfisher – Sworn Soldier series
- Algernon Blackwood – The Wendigo
- Algernon Blackwood – The Willows
Creepy books that I liked but don’t quite match
- Darcy Coates – Dead Lake
- Darcy Coates – Voices in the Snow
- Darcy Coates – Gallows Hill
- Darcy Coates – The Carrow Haunt
- Grady Hendrix – Horrorstor
- T. Kingfisher – The Hollow Places
- T. Kingfisher – The Twisted Ones
- T. Kingfisher – A House with Good Bones
Books I’ve tried that seemed to be a match but I DNF or didn’t really like
- Nick Dupont – Wichita Pass
- Chandler Baker – Sharp Teeth
- Grady Hendrix – The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires
- Grady Hendrix – My Best Friend’s Exorcism
- Greig Beck – Europa
- Caitlin Starling – The Luminous Dead
- Scott Smith – The Ruins
- A. M. Shine – The Watchers
- Darcy Coates – Secrets in the Dark
- Nick Cutter – The Deep
- Ania Ahlborn – The Shuddering
- Mira Grant – Feed
by Valuable_Asparagus19