5 Horror/Thriller Novels that Genuinely Scared Me

I recently read five horror books that is one of the best batches of books I have read in a long time. Two of these books are thriller related, but the horror aspects in these stories were so awesome, and I was not expecting these two stories to be so shocking and gruesome. 

The other three horror books are probably some of the best I've read, and one of these horror stories is one of the best horror tales I have read this year. Seriously, these stories were next level awesome, and I think any reader is going to love each of these stories. 

Of course, some of these stories are not really for the faint hearted, so it can be tough to get through each of these books, for many different reasons.

5. Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

This was one of the most unique thriller books I have read so far. We follow the story of five random students who are attending a university program that is only meant for diagnosed psychopaths. They end up being hunted by a killer, who is determined to take out each of the students in this secret program. 

Each of the psychopath characters are so interesting and extremely complicated. They were hard to like to a point, but you couldn't help but feel bad for them, because they did struggle to fit in among society. The story is very character driven, but it's so entertaining, because you truly don't know what these characters are going to do next. Their actions were always so unpredictable, and that is what made this book so fun to read. 

The ending felt so abrupt, but it also felt pretty realistic for a story like this!

4. Want to Know a Secret? by Freida McFadden 

This story is determined to mess with your head from beginning to end. It's probably one of the best stories this author has written so far, and I was blown away by how unhinged the plot became. We follow a housewife that has the perfect life, but then she is blackmailed by a mystery person with a photo of another woman's husband attempting to make a movie on her. 

She goes crazy over this evidence against her, and her life goes completely downhill when everyone around her starts to suspect that she is crazy, and they even exclude her from the community. 

Then we get one of the most insane twists mid-way during the book, and you will find yourself not exactly feeling bad for this woman anymore. I found myself so entranced by the story, wondering how the hell it was going to end!

3. Dialova by Jennifer Thorne 

I had already read another horror story by this same author, and I really enjoyed that previous book, so I wasn't surprised that I fell in love with her next book too! Dialova is about a young woman with a very unstable family, but even her character is hard to root for. They decide to stay in a large home for a trip, but they end up finding out that the home is haunted by a very dangerous spirit. 

Even though the main character is unlikable, you can't help but share her frustration when no one in her family would take the hauntings seriously. They knew that something terrifying was happening, but they chose to ignore the issue, just like how they ignored the unstableness of their family. The main character chooses to run away from her family, only for the spirit to follow her back home, turning her life into a living hell. 

It's a tough story to get through, and you will feel so sorry for the entire family, because it's tragic how some families are never able to move on from trauma or fix their own problems to actually get along. 

2. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

This is one of the most ruthless vampire stories ever written. I had read this book when I was fifteen years old, and I honestly was way too young to read a book this disturbing. I eventually came back to this story years later, and decided to purchase my own copy, since I did remember how much I enjoyed the vampire aspect to the story. 

A young boy named Oskar meets a young strange girl that he quickly befriends. He quickly learns that something is wrong with her, and she later admits that she must drink blood to survive. Even though her character is depicted as a villain, her assistant was the biggest monster in this book. He was a pervert that was a danger to society, and even though he was aware that he was doing bad things, he couldn't help himself. 

His character really pissed me off, and I wanted him dead throughout the entire book. It's crazy how there were two villains in this story, but you will loathe this bastard ten times more than the vampire girl. It's a great tale, and man, it will make you so uncomfortable. 

1. The Dorians by Nick Cutter 

I was already familiar with this writer as well, and I considered this guy to be the King of Body Horror. He understands how body horror should be written, and the detail of these monsters is terrifying, and I love how his characters express their fear whenever they run into these creatures. 

The Dorians is a bold move from what he usually writes about. We follow the story of five old people who decide to enter a program of possibly becoming young again. It takes place on an island, and the characters instantly agree to the experiment. The scientists inject a fish known as a Hydra, that literally enters their bodies, making them young again. 

They eventually learn that the Hydra is consuming them from the inside out, taking away their youth, in order to stay alive. The subjects go insane when they realize what the Hydra is doing to them, and it's a slow burn of madness, turning into a Lovecraftian sort of body horror. 

It's one of Nick Cutter's best stories, and I freaked out with how great the buildup was to the final chapters of the book!

I'm planning to do another 5-book review once I go visit the bookstore again!

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Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn