BEST HORROR BOOKS FOR BEGINNERS

BEST HORROR BOOKS FOR BEGINNERS
Hello Creeps! Today I wanted to provide you with a list of horror books I think would be good for beginners. I did my best to include different subgenres and categories, so hopefully everyone can find something to read. Feel free to leave your suggestions below for the best horror books for beginners.
*some links are affiliate for which I may receive compensation
Books I mentioned
Voices in the Snow- amzn.to/3t7QMJ8
The Haunting of Blackwood House- amzn.to/452T3Tt
The Whispering Dead- amzn.to/45WuNU8
Clown in a Cornfield- amzn.to/46gS6I7
Here There Are Monsters- amzn.to/460AqRd
The Mist- amzn.to/45ZLSN8
We Have Always Lived in the Castle- amzn.to/45Yk6AF
The Broken Girls- amzn.to/3t26plz
The Sun Down Motel- amzn.to/46lNQY2
'Salems Lot- amzn.to/46kWeqI
The Yellow Wallpaper- amzn.to/3ZGszpT
Sophocles- amzn.to/465YAdm
Carmilla- amzn.to/45YioPK
Frankenstein- amzn.to/3PpQzbS
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My Original Fiction: thetantalusfeast.libsyn.com/
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#andakent #books #bookrecommendations

[@Bigbonker]

I'm very new to horror books my sister gifted me playground as my first horror book and I really enjoyed it I love horror movies so it wasn't too much for me some scenes did make me feel uncomfortable but i think a seasoned horror movie fan could enjoy it.

[@alyssaweaver202]

LOVE that you included The Yellow Wall-paper. One of my favorite short stories, I brought it to my book club last year and they loved it too. Anything with psychological horror is my jam.

[@Xoxo_gaming5000]

Mwhahahaha my name is everywhere!

[@JosephSaltal]

I read that once.

[@MediaAttorney]

I like your selection. I would also add The Shining. It's such a creepy blend of haunted house and possession/madness. Glad you included "Carmilla." It's a favorite!

[@RociosLibrary]

Too scary for a beginner, in my opinion. 😅 I love the Shining.

[@hospitalfood6621]

I agree with you, Darcy Coates is fabulous and a very good entry point for horror fans. Creepy enough to scare you a bit but doesn’t go overboard. ❤

[@anaritamenossedesouza853]

thank you for the recommendations! I'm adding them all to my list. I am a tabletop RPG GM and I like horror sessions/campaigns so these will help me A LOT in the building up of my plots 🥰🥰

[@timbridge9189]

I've been trying to get more into the horror genre and this list is perfect. Thank you!

[@jamieserrano827]

I love that the mist is an homage to Lovecraft and cosmic horror. I don’t know about the novella, but definitely the movie, although the ending kinda was a total gut punch.

[@jessica-bookslit4953]

Thank you so much for taking my video suggestion I added so many to my TBR and I’m really hoping to make it the more intense horror eventually! ❤

[@Kjt853]

I taught English for 25 years, and I often included some of your recommendations in my classes (We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Frankenstein, The Yellow Wall Paper, Oedipus Rex). 🤙Also, I think you’re right about Carmilla’s being the third vampire novel. The previous two were The Vampire, written by John Polidori during the same “let’s all write a ghost story” holiday when Mary Shelley began Frankenstein, and an absolutely turgid “penny dreadful” called Varney the Vampire, which runs over 1000 pages. Dracula, probably the most famous of the 19th-century vampire novels, wasn’t published until 1897.

[@skipperjustice]

Perfume: The Story of A murderer by Patrick Suskind. I'm a huge horror movie fan and wanted to get into books and a friend recommend this saying that Kurt Cobain would carry a book with him and even wrote a song from it. Read it and i instantly fell in love with reading.

[@andrea_2022]

Hey Anda! About 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' ,I actually saw the movie. It is really strange but I loved it. Now I wanna read the book. 🤩

[@Eric4real4321]

The first horror book i read, that was not goosebumps, was Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill. It must have been a good entry point because i immediately did a cannon ball into the 1000+ page monster that is IT. Now im a constant horror fan.

[@stephennootens916]

I started IT years ago and still have not finish it. The issue isn't Pennywise so much as the bully every time he shows up it just gets me. It might be that hits to close to home, my older brother loved to pick on me and I still remember him and my cousin ditching me in the middle of nowhere or shoving me in a closet.

[@Eric4real4321]

It's a book i want to recommend because i love it so much, but i know it's not going to be everyones cup of tea. Some of the subject matter is a bit intense at points, and there is a scene near the end where im A) wondering what the hell he was thinking and B) where were his freaking editors when it came to that scene.

[@hospitalfood6621]

I agree with Heart Shaped Box. I absolutely loved it👍❤

[@markolepotan]

You have the best recommendations. Thank you!

[@Gwyndon]

Discovered your channel because I started my first Darcy Coates book yesterday and then I see a Watsky hoodie! Heck yeah!

[@stephennootens916]

I remember one of my first horror books was Carrie and it wasn't until years later that I read any other horror author writer and that was Clive Barker.

[@filmlover123]

Book suggestions that I have on my fall pile: The Elementals by Michael McDowell The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers Voices of the Vampire, a gorgeous collection of vampire stories from the 1800s and 1900s, most of which I had never heard of. Amazing looking! Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman (one of my all time favorites that is getting a beautiful new hardcover on October 3!) Hell House by Richard Matheson

[@josephcossey1811]

My introduction to the wonderful world of horror stories was a second-hand copy of the first paperback edition of The Pan Book Of Horror Stories edited by Herbert Van Thal in 1959 ("spine chilling tales by masters of the macabre!") Many, many years since I read or owned a copy but I seem to recall classic creepy yarns by the like of Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, Muriel Spark, Ray Bradbury, Algernon Blackwood and many more. The series ran into many more volumes and might well be an interesting topic for future videos. Thanks as always for the terrific recommendations!

[@awierdentity3860]

I know it's definetly not an easy read (or at least it isn't for me) but I'm currently about half way through House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski and it's made me much more intruiged about horror books than I was before.

[@rowansaro2458]

Yes, that book got me more interested in reading horror as well! It was recommended to me years ago, and I got too spooked out to finish it. I’m going to try to read it again this month!

[@rainbowsquee7188]

I just read Hunted as my first Darcy Coates. I agree she is addicting. I felt it was mild, but I think that is because I'm just coming off American Psycho, The Ruins, and The Deep by Nick Cutter. Yeah. Mild compared to those.

[@kevinwinfree4600]

I love your channel! So many great recommendations

[@jamieserrano827]

Mary Shelley was the mother of the modern science fiction/horror story and it’s awesome.

[@jamieserrano827]

It’s very cool that you’re doing a video for all the HorrorHound puppies and baby bats out there

[@theblighted57]

Fun fact, Frankenstein the novel had it's ground works (first draft essentially) written at the same retreat and during the same writing contest , that "the vampyre" was written at which is considered the first vampire novel in regards to how we view vampires now (the suave sophisticated gentleman)

[@ashleyscozybookcorner5577]

You may really enjoy Freida Mcfadden, she writes thriller suspense books mostly

[@vickymaldonado7761]

I've always been a huge horror fan but for some reason I've gravitated more towards cinema and tv, so thank you for such a varied selection of recs!! I really want to read more horror. I'd like to recommend an Argentinian author: Mariana Enriquez. Her short story collection "Things We Lost in the Fire" is really good and her novel "Our Share of Night", though quite long, is one of my favorite books I've ever read; so creepy and engaging. Also, I read The Elementals by Michael McDowell this year and enjoyed it; I think it's an easy read for people who are just getting into horror books, which is my case. Btw I've only recently found your channel and I love it!

[@shefilipina]

im gonna go read horror books until halloween! havent read much from this genre so im excited ! thank u for your recommendations

[@superdavid002]

When I got started, I read horror short story collections like Edgar Allen Poe stories, Animal Farm (Orwell), Alfred Hitchcock anthologies, horror comics, HP Lovecraft short stories, and science fiction stories with a darker edge like those of Ray Bradbury or Rod Sterling.

[@milesberkhof]

i loved dead of winter, and tried one of the haunting ones and didnt totally connect with it... do you have any suggestions what to try next!

[@Rinn421]

OMG!!! You’re a watsky fan?!?!? Fck yeah!!! ❤👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 was literally just listening to that album making dinner tonight!!! 😀😎

[@ericviera5120]

I always recommend a lot of Dean Koontz books for those wanting to read suspense/thriller/horror novels. I liken Dean Koontz novels similar to Stephen King's short stories. I feel that King can sometimes get way too descriptive in his novels that it can take away from the story, but his short stories are usually really good reads. Another author that I used to read a lot by is John Saul. I stopped a while back since the books all seemed to involve children as a main focus. Other authors I typically recommend I consider to be more suspense/thriller than horror (e.g. The Naturalist series by Andrew Mayne).

[@user-oi4vh1yx2x]

Love your book reviews I wonder if you've read the British author James Herbert got me into the horror novel reading his Rat trilogy

[@grantross2609]

also H P Lovecraft, Algernon Blackwood & Robert Aickman.... best short stories may well be The Monkey's Paw by W W Jacobs, How Love Came to Professor Guildea by Robert Hichens, The White People by Arfhur Machen The Beckoning Fair One by Oliver Onions William Wilson by Edgar Allan Poe .......for ghost stories check out M R James, Henry James, E F Benson, Walter de la Mare, H R Wakefield & A M Burrage

[@ChuckyFan666]

can u plz make a kid/teen horror books list. BTW just found ur channel today. and I'm hooked

[@seanfsmith]

I'd also recommend getting into some horror poetry by way of Rime of the Ancient Mariner

[@emily-crawford-soprano9181]

I love the recs thank you! Anyone who really likes here there are monsters would probably enjoy the year of the witching by Alexis Henderson.

[@ryank9825]

One area of horror that I think is important are short story anthologies, particularly Stephen King and Richard Matheson (my favorites) as they offer a variety so people can find what types of horror they like. Likewise, short stories are quick reads. 20 pages is less intimidating than 200, especially for people who are unsure. I myself have dipped toes into horror short stories and find them worthwhile. I actually have an anthology coming out this week. Not going to plug unless anyone is curious, but my point is, I think short story collections are a good way to spark reluctant readers interest.

[@fabiogdeus]

I would recommend the classics, like some short horror tales written by Conan Doyle... I would also recommend Poe... I mean, why not?! It's always good to start with the classics.

[@jimronnysrlie8601]

Have you read any of Robert McCammon's books? He's to me one of the most underrated authors out there.

[@rythehorrorguy2851]

Could you do a video once a month spotlighting what horror movies you watched?

[@ninjawarrior531]

I read just two horror books this year, one was The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons and Amityville Horror by Jay Anson. I used to read when I travel to and fro my work in train and bus. It literally took me 9 months to finish these, am an ultra slow reader. what would you suggest me to read ? Shining or Salem's Lot ? I am yet to read a Stephen King one.

[@AndaKent]

It depends what you're looking for! The Shining is definitely creepier (in my opinion), but also a touching story about the relationship between Danny and Jack (much different from the movie). 'Salem's Lot is more focused on character development and less creepy. I think both are extremely well written and worth the read. My favorite Stephen King though, by far, is Pet Sematary.

[@ninjawarrior531]

@@AndaKent thank you soo much for your reply. Pet Sematary it is then. Keep rocking !

[@WYATTCORPSE]

Salem's Lot is crazy bc the plot is not scary but that book spooked the shit out of me

[@xuxeilu281]

could we have your review on The Amityville Horror. I just had two things that put me off there, one was the band thingy, was more comical, and the other was pig.

[@stephennootens916]

I think Salam's lot is one of those books where he lays out thw whole town, it the same thing with IT and I believe under the dome. I remember thinking how one I was rarely sure I had the map of the town and two how much it must be a pain in the ass to write a horror story in small town if you have to map out the town and name pretty much every damn street.

[@draculaissus6120]

Nana by Brandon Massey

[@TheReneepruitt]

Can you do one to explain the differences of the horror Genre? I mean I love haunting, and twists, and I also like vampires books but not the romantic kind, I like Darcy coats but they don’t feel scary enough so far. I love them but I would love a bit more scary. I love supernatural stories. I don’t like gross stories like gore all the time. If there is some it’s okay just not over the top like gross. I like a mystery to it but be able to understand it at the end. Like movies I love was the others, exorcist, Nightmare on Elm Street, I love the mystery part of the movie scream trying I figure out who don’t it. So I hear now gothic horror and I am not sure what the differences are. I want to buy books I know I will like but not sure which ones that should looks towards.. how do we know what category they are?

[@ericm215]

Im surprised you didnt bring up R.L. Stines series

[@geslinam9703]

I read ‘Salem’s Lot for the first time in 7th grade. It had not been out that long, so really dating myself here. I loved it. Just read it again, and it’s still very creepy, the spookiest of all King’s novels, in my opinion.

[@thefoodinator]

you look really cute while playing with the draw string

[@theplaguedoctor5773]

Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell The Harvest by Sara Clancy

[@JosephSaltal]

Is that one book on the shelf, "The Ruins", the basis for the movie?

[@AndaKent]

Yes! And I enjoyed the read much more than the movie. The characters and plot are changed too so even if you've seen the movie, it won't ruin the read.

[@miiisssssyyyy]

I can’t watch horror movies because I just cannot stand gore it grosses me out so bad but I can read about it and I love horror games and stories and I LOVE reading especially thrillers so I’m trying to get into horror but not extreme horror just yet.

[@NoNo-nj5un]

I started with woom then dead inside

[@jesshughes776]

SEA HARP HOTEL IS GOOD FOR CREEPY HOTEL STORIES.

[@oliverbehegan]

Cows? Hehehehehehehehe

[@angelwalker979]

🤣

[@rml5308]

Anda please throw me a heart react. It'd mean a lot

[@PeterMacansky]

[@jesshughes776]

HOW ABOUT A VIDEO WHERE YOU ACTUALLY KILL SOMEONE. THEN WE WILL WRITE ABOUT IT AND SEND THEM TO YOU. YOU PICK THE WINNER. I'M THE ODDS ON FAVORITE. I WROTE A PIECE ABOUT A MAN WHOSE WIFE OF 30 YEARS TOLD HIM THE SHE WOULD BEAR HIM A SON IN EXCHANGE FOR HIS IMMORTAL SOUL. SHE WAS THE SOFT SPOKEN-SWEET-ULTRA FEMININE WIFEY TYPE TO. BUT I DID NOT GO INTO MUCH DETAIL ABOUT HER BEYOND THAT. IT WAS HER HUSBANDS REACTION THAT GRABS THE READER LIKE A SUDDEN NOOSE.

[@rml5308]

First

[@b_olson542]

Side note - I LOVE the double stacked mass market paperbacks. Way to rep us working class readers.

[@Kirby-Bernard]

i loved dead of winter, and tried one of the haunting ones and didnt totally connect with it... do you have any suggestions what to try next!