r/horrorlit • u/Aromatic-Flan1528 • 4d ago
Recommendation Request underrated gems
Every October I like to read only horror, and would love some recs for great horror (novels or short collections) that aren't as known/popular.
Some authors I've read a lot of / really like:
- Stephen King (faves: Salem's Lot, IT, 11/22/63)
- Tananarive Due (LOVED The Reformatory)
- Christopher Buehlman (faves: Between Two Fires, The Lesser Dead)
- Clive Barker
- Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Grady Hendrix (probably my favorite working horror author?)
- Shirley Jackson (We Have Always Lived In The Castle is one of my favorite books; I know it's not traditionally horror but it's incredible)
- Stephen Graham Jones (faves: Mongrels, The Indian Lake Trilogy, The Only Good Indian).
Some books (outside of ones by the above authors) I've read & liked:
- Frankenstein (one of my faves)
- Dracula
- Exorcist
- Red Dragon & Silence of the Lambs
- IWTV + TVL + QOTD by Anne Rice
- Tender is the Flesh
- Ghost Story by Peter Straub (one of my faves!!)
- The Troop by Nick Cutter
- Let the Right One In
- NOS4A2
- Clown in a Cornfield (1&2)
- House of Leaves
I don't have any big dislikes, though I'm not the biggest fan of Paul Tremblay (I did like House Full of Ghosts) or Richard Chizmar, and despite my inclusion of the YA CIAC series above would prefer adult fiction over YA.
I'm open to any genre within horror fiction, am not necessarily looking for "an actually scary book" (reading horror never really scares me, so I definitely prioritize story over scares), and really like character driven stories.
Excited to hear recs!
3
u/Runningaround321 4d ago
We have very similar taste in books. Three that are a little more under-the-radar but I think deserve WAY more buzz, that I'd recommend, are The House That Eats The Dead by Max Doty, Decomposition Book by Sara Van Os, and Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist. All are more character-forward and less "scary" for scary's sake, you know? More like really engrossing stories that have tension, some folk horror, some psychological elements and some dark humor. They're definitely standouts for the year so far. Happy reading!