Halloween is all about ghosts and ghouls and that deliciously spine-chilling sense of unease. What better way to capture the spirit of this day than devouring horror novels! Here is a list of novels that will scare the living daylights out of you...

Naomi’s Room

by Jonathan Aycliffe (Constable and Robinson, Rs 499)

Charles Hillenbrand’s little daughter Naomi is abducted and found murdered in a field. Soon after, he begins to hear whispers in the night and begins to uncover the mystery behind his daughter’s death. It claims to be a “psychological masterpiece” but is actually a terrifying horror story filled with ghosts that will compel you to keep the bed lamp on all night long!

The Ritual

by Adam Nevill (Pan Publishing, Rs 450)

This book takes us into the wild Boreal forests of northern Sweden where four university friends reunite to go hiking. They soon find themselves lost and terrified, stalked

by an unknown, malevolent entity. The master of riveting storytelling barely lets you catch your breath.

The Turn of the Screw

by Henry James (Collins Classics, Rs 150)

When a young woman accepts a job as a governess for two cute but strangely aloof and silent children, she has no idea of the horrors awaiting her on the estate. She spots eerie figures just off the corner of her eye. The governess realises that the phantoms desire the corruption of the souls, minds and bodies of the children. The kids do not seem to fear these apparitions. In fact, it’s almost as if they want to be possessed. The novel ends with an air of ambiguity that will make you wonder what was real and what wasn’t.

Ghost Story

by Peter Straub (Pocketus, Rs 632)

This is the story of several members of a group called the Chowder Society. They get together and tell ghost stories. Over time, members start dying and secrets spill out. What makes the book a compelling read is the fact that the truth keeps shifting and you realise that nightmares do come true.

House of Leaves

by Mark Danielewski (Transworld, Rs 1,799)

After returning from a trip, the Navidson family notices that something in their home is amiss. Doors, secret passageways and staircases leading to nowhere begin to appear. This novel looks more like a box of puzzles than a book, with lines of text running vertically or backwards along with copious footnotes. The visual chaos adds to the goosebump factor.

Heart-Shaped Box

by Joe Hill (Harper Collins, e-book, Rs 475)

Ageing, self-absorbed rock star Judas Coyne has a thing for the macabre. So when his assistant tells him about a ghost for sale on an online auction

site, he immediately bids for it and buys it. The black, heart-shaped box that Coyne receives in the mail not only contains the suit of a dead man but also his vengeance-obsessed spirit.

Let the Right One In

by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Quercus, Rs 696)

It is the autumn of 1981 when inconceivable horror happens in Blackeberg, a suburb in Sweden. The body of a teenager is found, emptied of blood, the murder rumoured to be part of a ritual killing. But that’s not the most important thing on the young Oskar’s mind. A new girl has moved in next door and there is something wrong with her because she only leaves her house at night. The gore is shocking, the characters superbly drawn, and the horror deeply disturbing.

Compiled by Abhinanda Datta