I'm not a scary book person. Nope.
Scary books give me bad dreams. Ugh.
I don't like things that make my skin crawl. 'Fraid not.
But I've been talked into reading several scary, spooky, dark, bleak, depressing, and creepy books at times in my life.
Here are the scariest books I've ever read.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Night by Elie Wiesel
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Hiroshima Diary: The Journal of a Japanese Physician August 6-September 30, 1945 by Michihiko Hachiya
Nothing by Janne Teller
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett Graff
It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette by Hampton Sides
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.
OOh nice picks! I read the Handmaiden's Tale years ago in school, so I can't really remember it. But based on these titles I can see that these are definitely pretty terrifying in their own right. The Titanic one especially! Can't imagine what all those poor people were thinking and feeling as the ship went down. These are all essentially new to me reads but do look like they have some pretty terrifying elements to them!
ReplyDeleteHere's my Tuesday Post
Have a GREAT day!
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I wish I could read spooky, creepy and horror books but my mind just can't take it. I think I'd either end up having nightmares or my heart might give out haha! Great selection of books though :)
ReplyDeleteHere's my TTT post - https://justreadjessie.blog/2025/10/28/top-ten-tuesday-halloween-freebie-pumpkins/
Only Plane was superb. It's the definitive 9/11 history, I think.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how many of these I would attempt, but well done for reading them.
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to my TTT post
https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/2025/10/28/%f0%9f%93%9a-toptentuesday-halloween-special-10-chilling-tales-of-horror-from-author-john_f_leonard-tuesdaybookblog-booktwitter-bookx/
I’ve had nightmares about The Handmaid’s Tale. The Road is something I’ll only ever read once. So bleak.
ReplyDeleteThat's an extensive list. I still have Angela's Ashes on my TBR pile. It's been there for years and sometimes I wonder if it will ever get off the pile.
ReplyDeleteWonderful list. I do love a good horror story and agree that the books you've included here are quite terrifying in their own right. I've read several from your list and they stick with me (and visit my dreams) in a way that the likes of a Stephen King novel do not. Great share!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a horror reader but I do enjoy a creepy scary check the locks twice book now and then. I'm more scared of the deeply unsettling, bleak books like you have listed! Those are the ones that keep me up and give me nightmares. I did love Woman in White though. I'm hoping to read more Wilkie Collins next year.
ReplyDeleteFully agree with you about The Poppy War! I'm currently reading The Buffalo Hunter Hunter and I think it'd definitely up there on the this list of scaries! Great post :)
ReplyDeleteI recently read The Handmaid's Tale and I agree. Also, my daughter read The Glass Castle in high school and we often talked about it because I'd read it, too. It made her SO ANGRY at 16.
ReplyDeleteHere is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
I've read several of these, including the three at the top of your list. I confess I hadn't really thought of them as spooky, but dark, depressing, and bleak definitely.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember the ending of The Woman in White, though I do remember the mystery of who she is.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I don't really do horror books so my list is made up of pretty tame books.
I listed books I’ve read that involve Halloweenish creatures.
https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2025/10/ttt-books-with-halloweenish-creatures.html
ReplyDeleteYour blog told me it wouldn't accept my html link but Aymee above was able to do it. Any advice?
DeleteIt accepted it without the hyperlink. Sigh.
DeleteI had to read a different book about Hiroshima for 8th grade. It was quite the book, and one that's stayed with me all these years later.
ReplyDeletePam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/halloween-creatures-book-tag-2025-edition/
Sinclair Lewis.....so terrifying because......we are alive ..... today ...in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave
ReplyDeleteHello Deb, it's so cool 😎 that we are so close in age. Love ❤️ anything about the real Titanic. Elie Wiesel as well, am amazing man. Thank you so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI love the twist you put on this! I read the Road years ago and wasn't a fan! It was too slow for me.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a spooky week and a Happy Halloween! 🎃💀👻
My TTT: https://essentiallyash.blogspot.com/2025/10/top-ten-tuesday-halloweeeeeeen.html
Ash @ Essentially Ash
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Of the books above I have read only “The Handmaid’s Tale” (twice) and “Angela’s Ashes.” Many of the titles look very interesting, though.
ReplyDeleteI have read The Glass Castle, but that is it. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteYes, several of these titles deal with depressing and bleak topics! I'd be haunted after reading them!
ReplyDeleteThese definitely fall in the bleak, depressing, and frightening categories. Most are books I know of but have avoided, because as someone with anxiety, I prefer to avoid books that are likely to trigger it. I have read The Glass Castle, though; I found it bleak, but ultimately hopeful in that the author survived the traumas of her childhood.
ReplyDeleteHorror doesn't appeal to me, either. I'm not one for dark or bleak. There's enough of that in real life.
ReplyDeleteI have read quite a few of those books, though I’m not sure I agree that some of them are that horrifying. At least not in the supernatural sense, which is what I think of for Halloween. But yes, human nature can be creepy! All by itself.
ReplyDeleteSame. I value my sleep, so I try not to read anything too scary. That being said, I do like spooky tales as long as they're not TOO terrifying. I agree that real life is often much scarier than fiction :(
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT and Happy Halloween!