Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a 17th century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters homes at will.
#9. Song of Kali by Dan Simmons
Robert Luczak has been hired to find a noted Indian poet who has reappeared, under strange circumstances, years after he was thought dead.
#8. The Family Plot by Cherie Priest
The property is in unusually great shape for a condemned building. It’s empty, but it isn’t abandoned. Something in the Withrow mansion is angry and lost.
#7. The Lesser Dead by Christopher Buehlman
New York City in 1978 is a dirty, dangerous place to live. And die. Joey Peacock knows this as well as anybody—he has spent the last forty years as an adolescent vampire, perfecting the routine he now enjoys:..
#6. Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones
For ten years, they have lived a life of late-night exits and close calls—always on the move to stay one step ahead of the law. But the time is drawing near when they will know if their nephew is like them or not.
#5. The Between by Tananarive Due
When Hilton was a boy, his grandmother saved him from drowning by pulling him out of a treacherous current, sacrificing her life for his. 30 years later, Hilton begins to think his borrowed time is running out.
#4. Penpal by Nathan Auerbach
A man investigates the seemingly unrelated bizarre, tragic, and horrific occurrences of his childhood in an attempt to finally understand them.
#3. The Troop by Nick Cutter
When an unexpected intruder – shockingly thin, disturbingly pale, and voraciously hungry – stumbles upon their campsite, scoutmaster Tim and the boys are exposed to something far more frightening than any tale of terror.
#2. The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford
Events have added a shadowy cast to the boys’ night games: disappearances, deaths, and spectral sightings capped off by the arrival of a sinister man in a long white car trawling the neighborhood after dark.
#1. Misery by Stephen King
Paul Sheldon. He’s a bestselling novelist who has finally met his biggest fan.
And which books make YOUR Horror Top 10?
“Weird Al” Yankovic has a song, “Nature Trail To Hell”. Your description of “The Troop” sounds like that.
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From your list I’ve only read “Misery”. It’s the only book that freaked me out so much I had to stop reading it for a bit so I could calm down. I haven’t read much horror other than Stephen King. “It” is my favourite of his. Such a huge book with a slow burn, increasing in tension, until the totally incomprehensible and stupid ending.
A great list! I’ve met Stephen Graham Jones, Tananarive Due and Jeffrey Ford at the World Fantasy Conventions. Haven’t met Thomas Olde Heuvelt, but it’s always good to see a Dutch name on the list as Mom is from Holland.
Misery and Pet Sematary by Stephen King, for sure. As for authors, add Dean Koontz. Those are my go to writers for something scary. I’ll read anything written by them.