Halloween has come and passed. If you feel like it didn’t last long enough, here are five books to continue spreading the scares. All under 250 pages.
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez
This short-story collection by the Argentinian writer is really insidious as it presents horror infiltrating normal people’s lives. It’s got witches, ghosts, body horror, and people losing their minds. The stories really push the limits of what’s creepy and leave you uneasy.
The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins
Although more mystery in the style of an Hercule Poirot novel than horror, this book surely creates a dreadful atmosphere. A rich lord breaks off his engagement to marry a countess. They live in a decaying Venetian palace where the lord dies, and paranormal activity starts occurring. The lord’s death and the fortune he leaves behind are the central mystery of the novel as the line between sanity and madness begins to blur. It’s disturbing and has a little side of drama.
Nefando by Monica Ojeda
A short and very creepy novel about a trio of siblings that develop an unsettling video game that goes viral in dark corners of the internet. The siblings then disappear, without explaining what the game is about or why they created it. The book mostly explores the isolation of living in another country and surviving years-long abuse. It’s bound to make you feel a little nihilistic, but it’s an intriguing read. This one has stayed with me for several months after reading it.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
A classic for a reason. A paranormal investigator brings together a group of people to help him investigate Hill House. Some ghost hijinks occur, and the house starts to alter its inhabitants personalities and mental states. Despite the TV show turning the story into one about loss and mourning, the book’s original intent was to be as creepy and mind-bending as possible.
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
Usually announced as inspired by or a response to H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Horror at Red Hook,” LaValle’s novella takes a different turn, but keeps the cosmic horror vibes in place. Tommy Tester is a black man in New York during the 1920s, hustling just to get by. He gets involved in transporting an occult book that may or may not be linked to a cult led by white people. The horror comes from racism and power imbalance that marginalizes anyone who isn’t white. Hopelessness becomes a little more real, a little less alien than in Lovecraft’s story. This is also a great place to start if you want to pick up more cosmic horror that isn’t Lovecraft’s.
Adriana Acevedo is an editor, writer, and sleep paralysis demon. She's been published in magazines like samfiftyfour and Impostor. She's bilingual and living in the monstruos Mexico City. Whenever she's not reading horror stories or watching horror movies, she's baking sourdough bread. Read more of her writing here.