Book List: Must-Read Radar: Five Chilling Horror Fiction Reads

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Horror-lovers appreciate the appeal of a chilling read all year round, but the darkness and cold of late fall feels like an especially perfect time to indulge. Here are five of my favorites.

Five Chilling Horror Fiction Reads:

• A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J. Cooke: Once I understood the premise of this novel, I found it so appalling and nightmarish, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to continue. I’m glad I did, as this novel is spectacular, and one unbelievably horrific final scene still haunts me. This ranks supreme on the chill-factor scale (and also happens to be set in the Arctic, so bonus points there, as well!).

• Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman: This is the most terrifying horror novel I’ve read to date. My heart was pounding the entire time, my nervous system was overactivated, all of my senses were engaged, and one particular scene felt like an actual jumpscare. I still feel sick and jumpy just thinking about it!

• Cold Moon Over Babylon by Michael McDowell: The opening pages of this novel are so brutal and harrowing, they chilled me to my core, as did the calculated cruelty throughout. I felt anxious, unsettled, and utterly at its mercy the entire time, and my brain now automatically associates blueberries with this book (Every. Single. Time!).

• Psycho by Robert Bloch: Having unfiltered access to Norman Bates’s demented thoughts, deranged feelings, and twisted realizations is an absolutely hair-raising experience. The delusional prison of his mind is beyond frightening and left me riddled with dread. An awe-inspiring work of psychological horror and a prime example of a book far outshining its [excellent] movie adaptation.

• How to Fake a Haunting by Christa Carmen: This unique take on the haunted house pulses with fear, rage, and bitterness so intense, they’re palpable. One particular scene was so deliciously terrifying, it actually sent a chill up my spine, and I still feel unnerved anytime I think about it.

How about you? What are some of your favorite chilling reads?

🖤Amanda

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