I don’t want to read about children being murdered/killed or SA. I don’t want pages of straight up gore. I just want something unsettling for the Halloween season.
Coraline by Neil Gaiman! And watch the film too; they’re both stellar.
CarnibusCareo on
There is always the loving embrace of Lovecraft and Poe.
I just take a short story of Lovecraft a day, either something new or something I want to read again.
I‘m not a fan of gore and disgusting stuff myself.
Ivan_Van_Veen on
“I am thinking of ending things” by Lian Reid
jengypsy128 on
We Have Always Lived In the Castle by Shirley Jackson
dmmeurpotatoes on
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpmen.
Terrifying, but not violent for the most part.
HistoryTcherCreature on
“Mexican Gothic” Silvia Moreno-Garcia
fosterbanana on
There are a lot of classic horror authors who live in that “unsettling but not violent” territory. Shirley Jackson, Daphne DuMaurier, Robert Aickman, Ray Bradbury. Or you can go really old timey with Henry James, Ambrose Bierce, or Nathaniel Hawthorne.
KillsOnTop on
*Something Wicked This Way Comes* and *The Halloween Tree*, both by Ray Bradbury
WildMoonWitch on
Unsettling for me was Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell, The Watchers by A.M. Shine, The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher & How to sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix.
mamawheels36 on
When you find me… oh man, I loved this one. I walk my dog at night and I had to switch books for night walking a few times because certain parts are just so good and chilling!!
Giggle_Mortis on
house of leaves definitely creeped me out and there is no gore at all
Saltymymy on
Sin eater
Giggle_Mortis on
the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson!
imo one of the best opening paragraphs of all time:
>No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone…
tiktacpaddywack on
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
trishyco on
The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon
Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand
lushsweet on
Skin by Roald Dahl. Turns out he didn’t just write stories for kids and his stories for adults are definitely for adults and they’re good!
piejam on
this Reminds me of why I stopped listening to the nosleep podcast. A lot of stories are just terrible things happening to people. There must be a difference between that and horror.
Theopholus on
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
brother_hurston on
Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer.
The film Annihilation by Alex Garland is based on one of the books.
ModernNancyDrew on
The Turn of the Key
Rebecca
The Little Stranger
The Pallbearer’s Club
Joyland
dminnie3 on
Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente was weird and had unsettling elements. The Grownup by Gillian Flynn is a good one, too.
I haven’t read The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell yet but I’ve heard good things.
RadioactiveBarbie on
So this has kids but no murder or gore: Mister Magic by Kiersten White. I felt just a sinking feeling in my gut the whole time. It is a newer release, I think it came out in August of this year. Spectacular.
I will also second the person who said Mexican Gothic.
potzak on
not that scary, but it freaked me out
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
HypermobilePhysicist on
Mexican Gothic, And then there were none
MasterpieceActual176 on
Ruth Ware writes wonderland suspenseful books with some psychological drama, plot twists, etc.
KagomeChan on
I’m re-embracing my love for Christopher Pike. Always thrillers but sometimes with Twilight Zone-esque.
Seems to fit this bill.
(My favorites in youth were Remember Me, Witch, Bury Me Deep, and the sci-fi strange Starlight Crystal)
catiquette1 on
House of leaves
The Master and Margarita
ashleighagate on
Ghost Story by Peter Straub
BirdButt88 on
Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
MikeyMGM on
Heat Shaped Box by Joe Hill
Cornflower_Bumblebee on
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher and The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean.
31 Comments
Coraline by Neil Gaiman! And watch the film too; they’re both stellar.
There is always the loving embrace of Lovecraft and Poe.
I just take a short story of Lovecraft a day, either something new or something I want to read again.
I‘m not a fan of gore and disgusting stuff myself.
“I am thinking of ending things” by Lian Reid
We Have Always Lived In the Castle by Shirley Jackson
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpmen.
Terrifying, but not violent for the most part.
“Mexican Gothic” Silvia Moreno-Garcia
There are a lot of classic horror authors who live in that “unsettling but not violent” territory. Shirley Jackson, Daphne DuMaurier, Robert Aickman, Ray Bradbury. Or you can go really old timey with Henry James, Ambrose Bierce, or Nathaniel Hawthorne.
*Something Wicked This Way Comes* and *The Halloween Tree*, both by Ray Bradbury
Unsettling for me was Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell, The Watchers by A.M. Shine, The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher & How to sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix.
When you find me… oh man, I loved this one. I walk my dog at night and I had to switch books for night walking a few times because certain parts are just so good and chilling!!
house of leaves definitely creeped me out and there is no gore at all
Sin eater
the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson!
imo one of the best opening paragraphs of all time:
>No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone…
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon
Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand
Skin by Roald Dahl. Turns out he didn’t just write stories for kids and his stories for adults are definitely for adults and they’re good!
this Reminds me of why I stopped listening to the nosleep podcast. A lot of stories are just terrible things happening to people. There must be a difference between that and horror.
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer.
The film Annihilation by Alex Garland is based on one of the books.
The Turn of the Key
Rebecca
The Little Stranger
The Pallbearer’s Club
Joyland
Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente was weird and had unsettling elements. The Grownup by Gillian Flynn is a good one, too.
I haven’t read The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell yet but I’ve heard good things.
So this has kids but no murder or gore: Mister Magic by Kiersten White. I felt just a sinking feeling in my gut the whole time. It is a newer release, I think it came out in August of this year. Spectacular.
I will also second the person who said Mexican Gothic.
not that scary, but it freaked me out
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Mexican Gothic, And then there were none
Ruth Ware writes wonderland suspenseful books with some psychological drama, plot twists, etc.
I’m re-embracing my love for Christopher Pike. Always thrillers but sometimes with Twilight Zone-esque.
Seems to fit this bill.
(My favorites in youth were Remember Me, Witch, Bury Me Deep, and the sci-fi strange Starlight Crystal)
House of leaves
The Master and Margarita
Ghost Story by Peter Straub
Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
Heat Shaped Box by Joe Hill
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher and The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean.