By Jessica Dukes
Grab some headphones and hold on to your spines, because these books are pure horror. Imagine voices dripping with terror, desperate screams, and every creepy whisper right at your ears. Ready to be scared senseless?
In the wake of a tragedy, a father and son seek out a fresh start in a new town. Unfortunately, that town is haunted by a dark and violent history — and the ghosts of the past have returned to strike again. British actor Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who, The Leftovers) lends his massive talent to the twisting psychological thrills of Alex North’s The Whisper Man. Dying for more chills after listening to this very scary audiobook? North has crafted two more spine-tingling narratives: The Shadows, which tells the creepy story of a man drawn back into a decades-old murder case from his childhood, and The Angel Maker, a propulsive thriller that centers on a traumatized family, a future-seeing serial killer, and the detective who must figure out how all the pieces fit together.
The tranquility of a coastal Maine town is shattered when the body of a murdered teen is found at a nearby archeological site. Alex, the town’s sole detective, and Isabel, an employee at the site, start digging into the case — but unearth more than they expected. Someone is on a murder spree in Granite Harbor, and the town itself holds secrets deep in its bones. Alex and Isabel must do whatever it takes to keep their children safe and unmask the killer in this gripping small-town thriller.
Famous painter Alicia Berenson upends her seemingly perfect life when she shoots her photographer husband five times in the face. It’s a baffling and grisly crime — made doubly mystifying by the fact that Alicia has gone quiet and refuses to say a word. Criminal psychotherapist Theo Faber is determined to break through her silence and understand what happened. But is he ready for what he’s about to find out? If you’re looking for a captivating listen packed with twists and turns, Alex Michaelides’s The Silent Patient delivers the suspenseful goods. When you’re finished, be sure to check out Michaelides’s equally gripping psychological thrillers The Maidens and The Fury.
Victoria is a special kid who can seemingly go anywhere on her Raleigh bike. Then one day, she gets into the car of a man named Charlie Manx. The license plate reads NOS4A2. Charlie’s taken plenty of kids on his special and terrifying trips to an otherworld he likes to call Christmasland — but Victoria is the only one who got away. Years later, Victoria’s all grown up, and Charlie’s never gotten over her escape. He’s coming back for her. But this time, Victoria’s ready, and she’ll take him down for good, even if it kills her.
A young solicitor makes his way to the Eel Marsh house after its sole reclusive resident dies. At the funeral, he sees an unnerving woman dressed all in black, and his unease only grows when no one wants to tell him about who she is. He has to stay in the house while he takes care of the papers, but the longer he’s there, the more unsettled he feels. And out here, isolated by the tides and the neighboring graveyard, he’s feeling quite alone in the house that holds secrets he has yet to uncover. Listen to this scary audiobooks on a dreary evening to really embrace its creeping gothic atmosphere.
Available at Audible.
Angela hasn’t been back to her grandmother’s old mansion since her young son died there two years ago. Now she’s home again, and some wicked power is here, too. Decades ago, her grandmother battled against evil forces — and it seems Angela is next in line in her family’s otherworldly fight. Tananarive Due elevates the haunted house premise to terrifying new heights in this chilling tale.
Orla and Shaw Bennet are ready for change, so they leave the city behind and move with their two kids to an isolated farmhouse in the Adirondacks of New York. They’re at least a mile from any neighbor — but they’re not alone. In the dark woods, something calls to them. Orla knows she has to protect her family from whatever’s out there, but she must do so before she loses her grip on reality.
Four Native American men are haunted by their history in The Only Good Indians. They’ve grown up and tried to leave that horrible day behind them, but they can’t run from their past, and now they’re being hunted by something violent that’s out for their blood. Stephen Graham Jones interweaves a chilling dose of horror with rich social commentary in this acclaimed supernatural thriller.
Helen and Nate ditch their suburban life and move to Vermont to build their dream home on 44 acres. But when the couple learn about the land’s dark lore, Helen becomes captivated by the tale of a woman who lived and died on the property a century ago. As their house comes together — built with historic materials and artifacts found on the property — it becomes home to more than just Helen and Nate, though…and the otherworldly inhabitants are far from friendly.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia delivers a sumptuous gothic chiller in this beguiling horror tale set in 1950s Mexico. Answering the desperate pleas of her cousin, Noemí Taboada travels to High Place, a far-off mansion set in the Mexican countryside. The estate is the home of her cousin’s new husband and his wealthy family. Noemí’s still not sure what had her cousin so scared, but something isn’t right here — the family has dark secrets, and the house is keeping them. With High Place and its residents closing in, Noemí may never leave.
The Barrett family has it rough. The breadwinner has lost his job, and now 14-year-old Marjorie has been diagnosed with schizophrenia … or maybe possession. As they near the end of their savings, the family agrees to star in a reality show that documents her exorcism. Will their well-intentioned plans drive evil away, or have they just invited it in?
Saul Laski survives a Nazi concentration camp only to be thrown into battle with evils much older than Hitler. Mankind, he discovers, has been weaponized by a secret society, and in this way have been responsible for the worst atrocities of the century. Can Saul change the course of humanity, or is the next century doomed to repeat the past? Stephen King considers this “one of the three greatest horror novels of the 20th century,” so you know it has to be scary.
The town of Black Springs is cursed by the Black Rock Witch, a haunting that dates back to the 1600s. Her eyes and mouth are sewn shut, and long-held myths swirl around what would happen if they ever opened. Town elders have shut Black Springs off from the rest of the world, but that’s all about to change thanks to a few fed-up teenagers determined to find out if the witch’s hex is real.
You may know McDowell for his screenplays (Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas), but this haunted house story is every bit as classic. A dilapidated Victorian beach house is almost buried in sand, but its secrets are still leaking out, threatening to ruin the lives of everyone in the sleepy shore town. And by “ruin” we mean “murder.”
Available at Audible.
Civilization has collapsed, and something evil is to blame. One glimpse of it, and your most violent impulses are released before you either die or kill others. In this new world, a mother and two children must travel by river, blindfolded for their safety, to a place that they hope has better resources. Listen to this one with your eyes closed, if you dare.
There’s a cemetery in the woods where children bury their beloved pets. Sounds innocent enough, but this is Stephen King’s world where evil is real and “sometimes dead is better.” Movies are great, but in this case, the book is so much more atmospheric. Plus, this edition is narrated by Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Six Feet Under), who absolutely nails the horror and the subtlety of a small-town mystery.
LaValle plucks a minor character from H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Horror at Red Hook” and makes him a hero. Charles Thomas Tester is a hard-working street musician, taking any work he can to support his family. What starts as a routine delivery in Queens pulls Tom into a hidden world of magic and a battle with the Great Old Ones (Lovecraft’s ancient gods who once ruled Earth).
Academically, the heroine of the story is intrigued by the information that Vlad the Impaler — Dracula by lore — may still be exerting his influence in modern times. Personally, tracking him down will explain a lot about her father’s obsession and her mother’s mysterious death. Her journey across centuries and continents takes its toll, especially when the undead are in tow.
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