The Art of Fear: Scary Reads For All Ages

What makes a story scary? Is it the ghosts that haunt the old rickety house, or the woods where the wind seems to bring the forest to life? Is it the vampire that thirsts for your blood? The serial killer that refuses to die? Is it the true story of a haunted place, or perhaps the fear of the unknown…. Since Halloween is around the corner, I’m going to give a list of scary reads appropriate for all ages.

Children 

Goosebumps Series by RL Stine This popular book series has been around since the 90s and it became a popular tv series on Fox kids, then two movies and then Disney for whatever reason, decided to do their own Goosebump series. Each book has a scary tale. Some of them have sequels. These popular books are great for kids, its not violent and they’re kid friendly. Some of my favorite Goosebumps books (as well as 90s episodes) is The Haunted Mask I & II where kids put on these very realistic masks and have a very hard time getting them off. Another is Welcome To Deadhouse where a family moves into a town where the residents are not quite right.

 Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark by Alvin Schwartz is a series of short scary stories for children to read. I remember reading these books in elementary school. Two stories stick out to me. The girl with the ribbon around her neck. There’s a reason it never comes off…. Another is the story of a man who brings a boy back home in the middle of the night. The next morning, he finds out something shocking from the boy’s mother…

Preteens & Teens

Fear Street Series by R.L. Stine If you’ve finished reading all of the Goosebump series & you’re in your teens, you’ve graduated to R.L. Stine’s other series Fear Street. I remember spending the summer before I began Middle School devouring my Aunt’s Fear Street novels. Some of my personal favorites are The Wrong Number Deena Martinson and her friend Jade Smith do prank calls to the boys from school. Deena’s half-brother Chuck joins in on the party or else he’d blab to their parents. Chuck unfortunately calls the wrong number… The calls turn deadly, and the killer knows where they live…. The Prom Queen is another where prom queen candidates are being murdered. The Overnight almost reminds you of I Know What You Did Last Summer. Della O’ Conner and her friends camp out in the woods. After getting lost, she had no choice but to use self defense on a dangerous man. The friends agree to keep this secret. But someone had seen what happened that night. Can they find out who this person is before time runs out? There’s no specific order to read most of these books and some characters from these books cross over which is cool.

Adults

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill is about fifty-four-year-old rock star Judas Coyne spends his time collecting macabre objects which include but not limited to, a cookbook for cannibals, a used hangman’s noose, a snuff film and a witch’s confession before she was hanged. Though the next object that will come into Judas’s possession will be the worst one yet, Judas purchases a haunted object which is a suit that is haunted by the previous owner who wants Judas to join him on the other side… The book is a little on the slower side, but I enjoyed it. I’m a sucker for ghost stories. Fun fact is Joe is one of Stephen King’s sons. I actually think he’s a better writer than his dad! Another fun fact about Joe Hill is he wrote the short story The Black Phone and the story NOS4ATU.

 The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager is a horror mystery novel. To say that actress Casey Fletcher is going through a rough time is an understatement. Casey has been recently widowed and drinking too much bourbon. To flee the bad press, Casey retreats to her family’s lake house in Vermont. Casey uses her time away to use her binoculars to spy on the neighbors and drink more bourbon. The neighbors she spies on are Katherine and Tom Royce. Katherine is a former supermodel, and Tom is a tech innovator. One day on the lake Casey saves Katherine from drowning and they strike up a fast friendship. Katherine also finds out that their marriage isn’t as perfect as it seems. When Katherine vanishes one day, of course Casey suspects Tom. Though what Casey doesn’t know is there are more secrets than meets the eye especially beneath the lake…..  Other than it being a mystery there’s a paranormal element. If you enjoy the movie What Lies Beneath, this book is a darker version of that movie but way better.

 The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong is the first novel I’ve ever read by Armstrong. I know she’s very popular with mysteries, historical mysteries and horror. I finished reading it today. Samantha Payne’s grandfather passed away and doesn’t expect her name to show up in the will after not seeing him in 14 years. Surprisingly, Samantha will inherit a lakefront property along with some money. The catch is; in order to inherit it, Sam must stay at the property for a month. It’s something she doesn’t want to do considering she witnessed her father burying a teenage boy’s body and the murdered boy’s brother, Ben is the caretaker. Sam’s grandfather believes she’ll realize her father was innocent of the boy’s murder. While staying there, Sam is plagued by nightmares that meld into repressed memories, cries of the forests, hooves of a horse, and figures coming from beneath the lake…. I won’t spoil too much but dead animals show up on the porch, so if you are sensitive to that, it’s your decision of whether you want to read that.

 Gothictown by Emily Carpenter is the first horror mystery novel I read from her & I was so delighted to do a Q&A with her. For $100.00, Billie Hope can purchase a Victorian Home in the town of Juliana Georgia. The offer seems almost too good to be true. Billie can start over opening a new restaurant in Georgia after the one in New York City shut down during covid. So Billie, her husband Peter and their daughter Meredith move to Juliana. The community welcomes them and everything seems great at first… Theres something off about the town and the elders. Theres secrets and a history that’s darker than the night sky filled with nightmares, sacrifices and spirits crying out for justice. If you enjoy history, mystery mixed with spirits, you will enjoy this spooky read!