Here are 100 books that Usher's Passing fans have personally recommended if you like
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As a fan and repeat viewer of classic horror films, I sometimes let my imagination wander into scenarios about what might have happened to certain characters before or after the events depicted onscreen. In this way, I developed my earlier novel, In theShadow of the Skull, an islander’s version of King Kong, and now Innocent, a sequel to The Turn of the Screw infused with Jack Clayton’s The Innocents. I’m fascinated by how other authors are equally inspired to retell classic horror stories or create prequels and sequels to fill in narrative gaps. These books are among the most creative examples.
Before Anne Rice's vampire gave an interview, Saberhagen’s Dracula told his own side of Stoker’s story, gently poking at plot holes and purple prose.
From the moment I first learned this book existed, I knew I had to read it. When I finally tracked down a copy, it gave me new insights into the count’s character, and it made me laugh. I enjoyed The Dracula Tape’s lighter take on the classic material.
Presents the complete transcript of a tape in which the inimitable count presents his side of the story about a series of ghastly incidents which occurred during his visit to England in 1891
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
As a fan and repeat viewer of classic horror films, I sometimes let my imagination wander into scenarios about what might have happened to certain characters before or after the events depicted onscreen. In this way, I developed my earlier novel, In theShadow of the Skull, an islander’s version of King Kong, and now Innocent, a sequel to The Turn of the Screw infused with Jack Clayton’s The Innocents. I’m fascinated by how other authors are equally inspired to retell classic horror stories or create prequels and sequels to fill in narrative gaps. These books are among the most creative examples.
This book about an isolated woman who gets caught up in Frankenstein’s quest to build a bride for his creation is actually more horrifying before Victor shows up.
The description of the Orkney Islands is stark and moody, infusing the story with atmosphere. The details of an 18th century woman’s life and its hazards are devastating. I sympathized with Agnes in her frustration, despair, and betrayal, and I celebrated her striving for autonomy.
Mostly, I appreciated how McGregor brought to life a narrow section of Shelley’s original story.
ORKNEY ISLANDS, 1797 - Agnes Tulloch feels a little cheated. This windswept place is not the island paradise her husband promised it to be when they wed. Now with four young children, she struggles to provide for her family while her husband grows increasingly distant.
When a stranger comes ashore to rent an abandoned cottage, Agnes and the other islanders are abuzz with curiosity. Who is this wealthy foreigner and why on earth would he come to Eynhallow? Her curiosity is soon replaced with vexation when her husband hires her out as cook and washerwoman, leaving Agnes with no say…
As a fan and repeat viewer of classic horror films, I sometimes let my imagination wander into scenarios about what might have happened to certain characters before or after the events depicted onscreen. In this way, I developed my earlier novel, In theShadow of the Skull, an islander’s version of King Kong, and now Innocent, a sequel to The Turn of the Screw infused with Jack Clayton’s The Innocents. I’m fascinated by how other authors are equally inspired to retell classic horror stories or create prequels and sequels to fill in narrative gaps. These books are among the most creative examples.
Of all the books on this list, Quint stays truest to its source material.
I admired how Lautner recreated Quint’s distinct voice for the narrative and molded the details of this prequel to fit references the character shared in the film Jaws.
Lautner tells the story of how Quint came to Amity Island, blending a Hemingway-esque action sequence with flashbacks to his days and nights in the shark-infested ocean following the Indianapolis sinking. The Indianapolis sequences are inspired by actual survivors’ testimony, adding a harrowing realism to the novel that impressed and captivated me.
'Puts some of the balls back into serious English fiction' GILES COREN, THE TIMES
'Whisky-soaked, guttural, stinking and funny' EVIE WYLD, OBSERVER
'Thrilling, brutal, poetic, literary and irresistible, one of the 21st century's first great 20th-century American novels' LOUISA YOUNG
Before there was Jaws, there was... QUINT
You already know the end of his story: now find out where it all began.
Quint: the taciturn and grizzled sea captain who survived the shark-ridden sinking of the USS Indianapolis, only to meet his maker in the maw of a Great White at the end of JAWS. So much…
The scenario we are facing is scary: within a few decades, sea levels around the world may well rise by a metre or more as glaciers and ice caps melt due to climate change. Large parts of our coastal cities will be flooded, the basic outline of our world will…
As a fan and repeat viewer of classic horror films, I sometimes let my imagination wander into scenarios about what might have happened to certain characters before or after the events depicted onscreen. In this way, I developed my earlier novel, In theShadow of the Skull, an islander’s version of King Kong, and now Innocent, a sequel to The Turn of the Screw infused with Jack Clayton’s The Innocents. I’m fascinated by how other authors are equally inspired to retell classic horror stories or create prequels and sequels to fill in narrative gaps. These books are among the most creative examples.
At first, Martin’s novel appears to be an account of a Victorian housemaid’s daily life, but after a couple of chapters, her employer’s name—Dr. Jekyll!—is revealed, and a third of the way in, his friend Mr. Hyde is mentioned, and by then, the true nature of the story is unmistakable.
I loved how Martin subtly incorporated familiar details from Stevenson’s novella but filtered them through Mary’s innocent, unwitting perspective. Always, the story remains firmly Mary’s; I welcomed her moral sense and opinions as a counterweight to Jekyll’s arrogance.
From the acclaimed author of the bestselling Italian Fever and award-winning Property, comes a fresh twist on the classic Jekyll and Hyde story, a novel told from the perspective of Dr. Jekyll's dutiful and intelligent housemaid.
"Part psychological novel, part social history, part eerie horror tale ... dark and moving and powerful." —The Washington Post
Faithfully weaving in details from Robert Louis Stevenson's classic, Martin introduces an original and captivating character: Mary is a survivor—scarred but still strong—familiar with evil, yet brimming with devotion and love. As a bond grows between Mary and her tortured employer, she is sent on…
When I was five my dad had to carry me, crying, out of the Salem Witch’s Dungeon. You’d think that would put a damper on my love of spooky things, but it absolutely did not! Bela Lugosi was my first crush. I set up Haunted Houses in my garage and read every single book my local library had on the Salem Witch Trials. I made my way from Bunnicula and The Halloween Tree, to books by Stephen King and Anne Rice. Halloween and horror will always have a special place in my heart, and yet…I still don’t let my legs dangle off my bed, lest the monsters get me.
Nothing is more Halloween than a haunted house, especially when that house randomly appears out of nowhere one day.
Jac can’t resist going in and checking it out, after all, it’s not the first time she’s faced death and beat the odds. Besides, things have been weird with her mom since Jac survived cancer, and she could use the distraction. Unfortunately for Jac, the house isn’t going to let her go, and the only way out is through.
This book’s heart elevates the story but make no mistake: this one is for the kids who love horror. This Appearing House is immersed in horror tropes and monsters, and one particular scene (ugh, teeth, *shudder*) still haunts me!
From the author of Ghost Girl comes another standalone spooky middle grade for fans of Nightbooks and Ghost Squad, about a terrifying house and the girl haunted by her experience with cancer, grief, and healing. Are you brave enough to step inside?
For as long as anyone could remember there wasn’t a house at the dead end of Juniper Drive . . . until one day there was.
When Jac first sees the House, she’s counting down to the five-year anniversary of her cancer diagnosis, when she hopefully will be declared NED, or “no evidence of disease.” But with a…
Hello! I am Jane Yolen, author of almost 450 books. I write picture books and novels, poetry, and graphic novels–mostly for children. I have published books about just about every subject imaginable. But I’ve always loved fantasy books especially. I grew up on the Alice in Wonderland books and the Arthurian legends. I, of course, carried that love into my writing life–having written about monsters, mermaids, and unicorns. I’m fascinated by fairies; they show up in a lot of what I write. Give me a real kid and a mythical creature of some sort, sprinkle in a bit of magic–I’m in!
In this silly romp, a little girl, despite her obnoxiously doubting brother, goes in search of fairies and gets more than she bargains for. My favorite line was: “Then a mermaid arrived. She brought her own ocean…” There are ogre boogers (yes, you read that correctly), and the brother eventually becomes a reluctant believer.
Drawing on biographical and historical sources, Bessie reimagines the early life of Bess Myerson, a Jewish woman and piano prodigy, who, in 1945 at age twenty-one, remarkably rises to become one of the most famous women in America.
This intimate fictional portrait reveals the transformation of the nearly six-foot-tall, self-deprecating…
I especially love books for children that capture city life in a way that feels both unique and child scaled. I have set most of my books in cities because I love the story possibilities that exist in what are almost entirely human-made environments. Paradoxically, city settings make any kind of connection to the natural world or animals even more important. On this list are all books I feel show a particularly special aspect of city life for children.
I cannot stop loving this book, which graphically depicts a city growing up around a small farm country cottage. While the storyline concerns the fate of the tiny house, the thrill is watching the steady mushrooming growth of vehicles, electric lines, street cars, street lamps, apartment buildings, elevated and subway trains, and finally skyscrapers as they surround the home before it is able to make its satisfying escape back to the country. The art is warm and cozy, befitting a book that has a gutsy cottage as the main character.
Seventy-five years ago, Virginia Lee Burton created the Little House, and since then generations of readers have been enchanted by the story of this happy home and her journey from the pleasures of nature to the bustling city, and back again. In celebration of this beloved classic's seventy-fifth anniversary, this special edition features a beautiful set of window cling stickers - perfect for decorating your own "Little House" - and free downloadable audio (access code printed inside the book). AGES: 4 to 7 AUTHOR: Virginia Lee Burton (1909-1968) was the talented author and illustrator of some of the most enduring…
As a computational sociologist, I’m fascinated by the patterns people create, the signals they miss, and the stories they build when the world doesn’t make sense. That’s also why I’ve always been drawn to grounded horror: not monsters crashing through windows, but the quiet dread of a room, a street, a sound, or a thought that won’t behave. As a writer, I love books that make fear feel intimate and human, the kind that crawls under your skin because it’s real. These are the stories that stay with me: books where reality tilts, trust gets shaky, and everyday life becomes the scariest place imaginable.
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.
“A novelistic mosaic that simultaneously reads like a thriller and like a strange, dreamlike excursion into the subconscious.” —The New York Times
Years ago, when House of Leaves was first being passed around, it was nothing more than a badly bundled heap of paper, parts of which would occasionally surface on the Internet. No one could have anticipated the small but devoted following this terrifying story would soon command. Starting with an odd assortment of marginalized youth -- musicians, tattoo artists, programmers, strippers, environmentalists, and adrenaline junkies -- the book eventually made its way into the hands of older generations,…
I have always loved short stories for the way they pull readers into a complete universe and leave a lasting impact, all in a much shorter span than a novel. This is what makes them special! I love when an author presents an indelible image to recall later, or a passage that makes me go back to roll the words over my tongue again, or a turn of events that leaves me heartsore, or filled with longing, or purpose, or appreciation. Often, these shorter glimpses leave a longer impact because they are required to get and keep attention quickly. And the really good short stories do exactly that.
At times creepy and always provocative, Samanta Schweblin’s stories always make me look at the world in a new way.
From the moment I read her short novel Fever Dream, I knew I would read anything she writes, and this newest collection of short fiction did not disappoint. I feel a sort of delicious unsteadiness experiencing her visions, which create worlds that are shocking while being eerily recognizable, too.
A blazing new story collection that will make you feel like the house is collapsing in on you, from the three-time International Booker Prize finalist, 'lead[ing] a vanguard of Latin American writers forging their own 21st-century canon.' -O, the Oprah magazine
The world of Samanta Schweblin's short stories is dark and destabilising. Here, home is not a place of safety but the site of hidden danger, silent menace, unspoken resentment. Picture-perfect doors and spotless windows conceal lives in disarray, slowly unraveling in the face of obsession and fear, jealousy and…
This book envisions the church as a place where the wounded find comfort and healing, the broken find repair and restoration, and the vulnerable find help and hope. A church that acts more like the Christ it serves would offer refuge for the oppressed, a hand up to the beaten-down,…
I love writing books that feature buildings and construction as a backdrop to life. I’ve worked as an interior designer for over 30 years, and now I teach design at a university in Sydney. Our homes offer so much more than four walls and a roof. They provide us with comfort and shelter. They offer security and stability. They help us stay sane and grounded in a sometimes confusing and turbulent world. I don’t think the importance of our homes can be underestimated.
I teach interior design, so the importance of personal spaces is something I could talk about all day. To me, homes reflect our identity. They reveal our inner world and contain our treasures and precious belongings. They protect us and help us to make sense of our crazy lives.
Erica Bauermeister shows the work of renovating a house and building a life. I loved every detailed description.
From New York Times Bestselling Author Erica Bauermeister comes a memoir about the power of home and the transformative act of restoring one house in particular.
"I think anyone who saves an old house has to be a caretaker at heart, a believer in underdogs, someone whose imagination is inspired by limitations, not endless options."
In this mesmerizing memoir-in-essays, Erica Bauermeister renovates a trash-filled house in eccentric Port Townsend, Washington, and in the process takes readers on a journey to discover the ways our spaces subliminally affect us. A personal, accessible, and literary exploration of the psychology of…
