The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The greatest haunted house story ever told. Eleanor Vance’s journey into Hill House which is ‘not sane’ resonates through every horror novel that came after it.
Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates
With a main protagonist based on Jeffrey Dahmer, this is a feat in writing the unwritable. A horrific psychological study, as well as incisive social commentary – the story of an American serial killer who literally consumes young black men.
Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
A work of genius. It’s American Psycho, except that the main character is a Victorian governess. The brilliance of Feito’s novel is that even when the psychopathic Winifred is pulling fingernails out of her pocket, we can’t help feeling everything she feels, and we are, rightly or wrongly, on her side. Also, weirdly, it’s a Christmas-themed book.
Read more:
- Top 5 books inspired by folklore, chosen by Scottish novelist LA MacRae
- Top 5 books about portal adventures for under-12s, chosen by Ben Miller
- Top 5 atmospheric thrillers, chosen by journalist, critic and novelist Thrity Umrigar
The Death House by Sarah Pinborough
She is rightly well known for the likes of Behind her Eyes and Insomnia, but this is my personal favourite of Pinborough’s works. A zombie apocalypse that never mentions the word zombie, a love story, a tragedy, a tale of blighted youth. Horror laps uneasily at the edges of this strange community of teenagers in an institution on an island, apart from the world.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
This is hard to handle. The humanity of this book, and the slow burn of the revelation of what is happening to these innocent, loving characters who are raised from birth for a specific, terrible aim, will break your heart.
