Books like The Grief Hole

I was amazed at the subtle way this horror story unfolded and how the evil presence slowly began to reveal itself. It draws you in completely.

When the hunters become the hunted and justice is brought by those who were wronged, it is one of the most satisfying aspects of this book. The masterful way Mr. Graham interwove elements of Native American culture and the power of Nature was beautiful, even in its most horrifying aspects.

The final sequences are truly breathtaking, and the final justice is more than gratifying.

I love this book because it turns reading itself into a haunted space.

House of Leaves doesn’t just tell me something is wrong; it makes me physically experience disorientation on the page. I admire books that take big formal risks and still keep a human pulse underneath the invention.

This one made me feel trapped in a maze made of rooms, footnotes, fear, and obsession, and I mean that as high praise.

Clive Barker is one of my favorite authors and greatly influenced me. This is his first novel but also, in my opinion, one of his best. I love books that blend crime and horror, particularly supernatural horror. I enjoyed the interplay here between the protagonist, recently released from prison, and the wealthy Londoner he starts to work for as a bodyguard.

I was hooked by the slow ramping up of danger throughout the book as the characters get more deeply entangled in the supernatural elements. I love Barker’s lyrical style and amazing use of language, and this remains one of the best horror novels I’ve ever read.

I read Kiernan’s book only recently and found it entrancing. It’s a novel that defies any easy description. In a way, it’s about a grieving writer who takes up residence in an isolated house to try to recover from the death of her partner and to try to start writing again. Nothing more happens except her occasional drives to the local village and walks to the nearby red tree. But the book bursts with richness–with complex storytelling and, we slowly realize, with an increasingly unreliable narrator. As the narrator finds, reads, and transcribes a manuscript of local folklore she found in the house, the novel increasingly blurs the boundaries between past and present, reality and delusion. At times, I found myself unsure of where I was or whose words I was reading. All the stories converge, though, on the red tree, which exerts some force over those that come within… show more.

You don’t have to know Beowulf to enjoy this modern-day re-imagining – set in a gated community at the foot of a mined-out mountain with subterranean caves and lakes a plenty – but the novel serves up delicious layers for readers familiar with the Old English epic. Headley weaves a story that is horrific and beautiful in equal measure as she explores the gulf between the experiences of two very different mothers – Dana, an ex-soldier barely surviving in the wilderness with her son Gren; and Willa Herot, suburban royalty living a luxurious if socially pressurised existence, protected her wealthy husband’s power. With writing that oscillates between lyrical poetics and prose that is sparse, blunt, and direct, The Mere Wife is a darkly fabulous novel that I look forward to reading over and over again.

Alright, so a theme seems to be developing here, but in this case, ‘Don’t mess with nature’ gets a Canadian island treatment (those poor Boy Scouts). And, of course, a storm is coming. And, of course, the communications go out. I was gripped and frankly grossed out by this Stephen King-esque tale. 

There are also shades of Frankenstein and Lord of the Flies, and I love a horror novel that asks the question of which monsters are worse—the ones we create or the ones that lurk inside. 

I’m often not a huge fan of vampire fiction as it’s been done so much, but occasionally something really different comes along. I love fiction that deals with family, especially when it explores working class people and addresses issues of existential angst and social isolation.

This kind of thing is one of the horrors I enjoy the most, and I loved the way those themes were woven into this novel set in a working-class suburb of Stockholm, Sweden. I found this novel truly disturbing and particularly enjoyed the varied and unpleasant cast of characters.

Let’s start off with: if my old friends called me up for a hike into the Scandinavian wilderness, I’d tell them to have fun and send pictures. Thankfully, I am not a horror story protagonist.

In horror, I love a creepy forest setting. What could be watching you? How dangerous is it? I felt like I was in the forest, lost, alone with friends I may no longer trust. And then, when things got weird, we had to escape a monster too.

Was it a bit of a departure? Yes. Was I here for it? Also yes. It felt like the telling of an old campfire story that eased you in quietly, then bashed you over the head.

We all think we know "A Christmas Carol" but after the Muppet version, I find myself thinking of it as simply comical.

Until I re-read it, I forget just how chilling the ghosts who visit Scrooge are. And I love "Captain Murderer," Dickens’ account of how his nursemaid terrified him with scary tales, because it takes me back to my own childhood love of terrors.

Then there are stories like "The Signalman," which is not at all funny, darkened with the signalman’s dreadful loneliness and apprehension.

Dickens was a Master. Even his humorous ghost stories have an edge of fear.

First of all, the title. Intriguing, original, enigmatic. That is what first drew me to this book. I had to find out more about it.

This book is much more in the style of traditional ghost stories, which I love. A spooky, desolate setting in an old house with a long history. I love the build-up of suspense, the remote location adding to the sense of isolation and helplessness, everything cold, chilly. 

The ghostly happenings, whilst perhaps not original, are very well done, which is just fine with me. Traditional ghost stories are meant to have certain elements that are standard, just as fantasy stories must have certain magical aspects. As far as ghost stories are concerned, as long as they make the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, I’m happy. This book does that extremely well, I thought. Absolutely dripping with spooky atmosphere.