Let Us Tell You a Scary Story ~ Horrific Book Reviews Linked Up

It’s always great to have someone tell you a story.  Especially if it’s a zombie librarian during the Halloween season.

However, we are not zombies or librarians, but would love to share anyway. So here are our stories – the scary ones at least. Those that we have read in the past several years that we are dying to re-share.  (Titles link to our reviews for each book here on Layers of Thought.)

Literary and Classics

The Metamorphosis ~ by Franz Kafka (audio):  As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. ~ Franz Kafka

Wuthering Heights ~ by Emily Bronte (audio):  A classic masterpiece that is an incredible work of horrific and tragic fiction. It is a shocking “page turner” that I could not put down.

Dracula ~ by Bram Stoker (audio):  An enduring classic with an extremely charming, truly evil, yet almost human monster. I suggest leaving the lights on.

Frankenstein ~ by Mary Shelley (audio): A classic literary horror novel which is more angst than gore.

Willy ~ by Robert Dunbar: A disturbing and poignant coming of age story with elements of suspense and psychological terror which on the paranormal.

The Afflicted Girls ~ by Suzy Witten:  When two young friends, both orphans, arrive in Salem MA in 1692, the litigious and imbalanced nature of a community sets in motion a horrific series of events. The author uses a unique perspective around why she thinks this may have occurred.

Award Nominated & Winners

Haunted Legends ~ edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas: A diverse collection of ghost stories based on actual legends, making it all the more interesting, fun, and just plain scary.

One Bloody Thing After Another ~ by Joey Comeau:  A very dark and hilarious horror story with an ending that will gross you out, blow you away, and leave you smirking.

Cursed ~ by Jeremy Shipp:  Bizarro - which is defined, as it’s name suggests, as just a bit weird and entirely funny. The main character tells his story and thinks in lists - he just may be cursed. I think he’s right.

Tender Morsels ~ by Margo Lanagan: A very dark fairytale re-telling for older teens and adults.

Serena ~ by Ron Rash:  One of my favorite books, it is realistic fiction set in turn of the century Appalachia. It has an environmental thread and a main character that is so very dark and intriguing I was amazed.

The Road ~ by Cormac McCarthy: Post-apocalypse at its best. It doesn’t get more terrifying than this.

Young Adult

Neverland ~ by Douglas Clegg:  What happens when the horrors of family relationships cause innocent boys to seek refuge in a dark, dank place which has its own secrets and a terrible past? A nice creepy southern gothic tale of innocence lost.

Warm Bodies ~ by Isaac Marion: A darkly funny yet introspective and mildly gory novel about a zombie who becomes emotionally human and falls in love. And it has a great cover!

Moon Series ~ by Susan Beth Pfeffer: A page turning apocalyptic series which is heart wrenching and realistic.

Werewolves, Zombies and Vamps

Changeling Moon ~ by Dani Harper:  A well written, intelligent paranormal novel with a very sexy thread. All set within a modern world, including a special kind of “werewolf” - a changeling.

Outpost ~ by Adam Baker:  An apocalyptic “zombiesque” thriller for lovers of B-movie horror.

The Passage ~ by Justin Cronin: Tired of vampires? Well not so fast. This is a different kind of vampire. Definitely not fluffy, these are termed “Virals” and they are very scary.

RELEASE ~ by Nicole Hadaway: Historical horror is the genre for this complex novel set during WWII by an indie author and small publisher.

Alone ~ by Marissa Farrar:  A romantic and emotional journey of an abused woman and her path towards healing - all within a vampire urban fantasy.

Scary Interviews

Interview with Robert Dunbar ~ author of  Willy;  Interview with Jeremy C. Shipp ~ author of Cursed;  Guest post with Nicole Hadaway ~ author of RELEASE; Interview and excerpt with Sandy Deluca ~ author of DESCENT.

Chilling Posts

• Scary Shorts and Movies – a combo of recommended scary movies and short stories.
• Happy Halloween to all our ghoulish fiends and readers –  in 2009 we “zombie-afied” ourselves. This is actually how we really look - darn scary!!!!

Take your pick since we have some great reads and more here. Other wise have a thrilling and chilling day!

Not sure what happened to this post it’s like the html went wild and replicated – all fixed now!