The Scariest Books I've Ever Read! |

[@lizkoroskenyi4387]

Anyone ever find out what the scene was in Dark Places she was talking about?? Because I'm curious.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Spoilers for Dark Places... It was the scene where the mother found the baby clothes in the son's room. I forgot that he thought his girlfriend was pregnant so I assumed the worst.

[@lizkoroskenyi4387]

@@TheShadesofOrange Ok yes!!! I was also freaked out at that so I was wondering if we had the same thought haha. Thanks for the response!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Glad I'm not the only one who freaked out. I seriously almost put the book down because I felt so sick about it. (Also I pinned your comment because I'm sure other people watch the video and wonder the same thing)

[@lizkoroskenyi4387]

@@TheShadesofOrange I'm glad I wasn't the only one too! I mentioned it to a friend of mine who was also reading the book and she was so unfazed and it baffled me!

[@upkar1444]

OMG! Dark Places scared me too. I thought I was foolish to get scared by a thriller book but I was really scared to turn page.

[@ShalomDove]

“So I waited until my husband was home ...” Me: But... he would attack couples... “Then I got to the part where he would attack people whose husbands were home...” Owww... yikes. That book was amazing , but yes, it was terrifying.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yes! OMG, I thought I would feel safe when he got home, but then it got more terrifying!

[@weebtrash6119]

Uzamaki is my favorite Junji Ito book.. one of the greatest to ever do it. The ability to turn something as mundane as a spiral into something so terrifying is just stunning. His short story “The Enigma of Amigari fault” was what got me into his work.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Ahh yes that is one of my all time favourite stories. So claustrophobic.

[@Pettywise_]

THANK YOU so much for getting to the point and the list. So many other videos out there that don’t get to their recommendations until 10 minutes in...

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yes, I like to get right into it! I think people drag put videos for the ad space

[@NatLli]

i'll be gone in the dark. oh god. i was alone while reading it as well. i was so scared, i would lock everything at night lol. thank you for the recs btw. the ritual, even though i low-key hated it, scared me for some reason

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh man, yeah I could not read that one alone!

[@christyhw]

Ooh I love Dark Places! Def my favorite Gillian Flynn book.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Same! SO good!

[@Pat.....]

Just came across this video two weeks ago, and your description of Laymon’s book intrigued me, so I bought it. What an Amazing book! I devoured it within days, couldn’t leave it. He immediately became a favourite and I bought several other titles. Thanks for the superb recommendation.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

So glad you enjoyed it!

[@creepyquills7092]

I recently got Uzumaki and I think I will read it this month or next! Camp Slaughter is actually in my kindle unlimited library now! After hearing you speak about it I may move it up on my TBR list. I was gonna do a sorta, "scariest books I have ever read," in OCT. but life happened. LOL. And I am just getting out of book slump. Great vid!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I highly encourage you to read both Uzamaki & Camp Slaughter soon. And it's definitely not too late if you still want to film that video.

[@aprilmarielynch]

I'm so glad this popped up. I just finished Head Full of Ghosts on your recommendation (SO GOOD) and randomly decided to start Dark Places. Glad to hear you love it. I love it so far. I think you'll be my go-to for reccs now lol.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

That's awesome! I hope you love the rest of Dark Places

[@aprilmarielynch]

@@TheShadesofOrange Just finished it. LOVED it! Gillian Flynn is so talented. I'm dying to know what part of the book you found so scary. I think I may know but there were a lot. Lol

[@sameershakya7194]

So curious that you mentioned you've read so much horror but was still so creeped out by Dark Places. Definitely gonna read it now. Thanks

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I should mentioned that I read Dark Places many years ago so I might be more desensitized if I read it for the first time now

[@jezzbooks]

I am so glad you mentioned Uzumaki that book messed me up for WEEKS

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Ahhh yes! Such a memorable work

[@ABFrank.]

I'm a new horror BookTuber and glad I've found your channel. I really liked The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements. It's sooo gothic and atmospheric

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh nice!

[@Priscilla_Bettis]

Great video. I think Koontz' Intensity was scary . . . but then . . . argh, it's hard to pick one book as the scariest I've ever read.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thank you! I really need to read Intensity. It's been on my TBR forever.

[@MerrilyKristin]

I’m glad to head that the Michelle McNamara Book was so scary! I gave it to my mom for Mother’s Day last year and she said she loved it (she’s VERY into thrillers / murder mysteries)! I’ve also had Uzumaki for years but every time I go to read it, I get nervous that I’ll be too scared!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I hope you try Uzumaki. It's bizarre but so much fun. (and I love that you gifted your mom Gone in the Dark!)

[@riomadre]

Yes! These are my favorite videos to watch! I'm so glad you made it into a tag, too. I would really love to hear your recommendations for other good horror booktubers! Thanks for another great video with more awesome recs :)

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'm glad you enjoyed this! (and if you are looking to find more horror booktubers, I have a video coming that you will find very helpful! )

[@kristinestaples7607]

Another great booktuber is Chapterstackss. She's almost 100% horror/thriller.

[@dindranew.6808]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who just eats up cannibal books. (couldn't help myself) I'd love an updated list, if it changed over 2020!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Haha love the pun... and yes I will definitely be revisiting my scariest books next year

[@glyndwr15]

Since you like Richard Laymon, you might like this if you haven't already seen it. Apparently somebody made a shot on video adaptation of his book In The Dark, which is one of my personal favorites of his. It's almost two hours and if you can get past the grainy low budget shot on video aspect of it, it's actually pretty decent and is relatively faithful to the novel. They also change the ending to something which, in my opinion, is far better than Laymon's own ending. It's on a channel belonging to a user named Sean Pocock.

[@alannabooks]

Ohhhh I’ll have to pick up Endless Nights and Camp Slaughter! I loved this video so so much! Some of my favorite books have come from your recommendations! I loved The Troop and The Ruins!! So so good! 🖤 👻

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh that makes my day! I'm glad you enjoyed those books and this video! =)

[@BeautifullyBookishBethany]

Me: A video about books Rachel thinks are really scary? *notes books to avoid

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Hahaha... I love this! That is a totally fair!

[@IShouldReadThat]

I love this video! I'm really nervous about reading horror because there's lot of stuff that I just can't handle, but I want to try to get into it! All Be Gone in the Dark scared the crap out of me! I listened to the audiobook and had nightmares. I wasn't allowed to listen after 7pm 😂

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'll Be Gone in the Dark was SO scary. And if you want to try some horror, I have a recommendation coming next week that you might enjoy. There will be a lot more "safe" horror books on that list.

[@juleschristiansalabatinore6543]

Gillian Flynn's writing is a hit and miss for me. Didn't really like Sharp Objects but I did like The Grownup immensely. So I might try reading Dark Places next. As for my top creepy books these are: 1) Children Of The Corn by Stephen King 2) Right To Life by Jack Ketchum 3) The Night Cyclist by Stephen Graham Jones 4) Beasts by Joyce Carol Oates & 5) Ghost Story by Peter Straub.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thanks for sharing your scariest stories. I actually haven't read any of those, so I'll have to check them out. I really hope you like Dark Places. It's very dark, but that's kinda my thing... haha

[@SparklesBooks]

I’m totally with you on I’ll be gone in the dark, when I found out that he still attacked with the husband around, I was super freaked out.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah, glad to hear I wasn't alone!

[@abhimanyu5061]

Thanks . I've been searching for a horrer novel to read for a long time and finally found it.

[@MrsLoya-er8nl]

OMG-Dark Places gave me nightmares for a week because of one scene in the book and i swear i could almost smell/taste the blood coming from the pages because of Flynns writing. It was EXCELLENT! I am not one who is easily frightened but this book.... wow it played and played in my mind each night obviously because of the night mares. Currently reading Kin by Kealan Patrick Burke you should check that one out. Its wonderful so far! Love this yt subject on your channel. Would love to hear some of your fave audiobooks as well.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thanks! And yes, Dark Places was SO creepy! And I have read Kin so I remember that gruesome opening scene. I'm planning to film a recommendatioin video of some of my favourite horror audiobooks in the new year.

[@jensraab2902]

I love horror but I rarely find books really scary. Don't know what's wrong with me. 😅 Where it did, though, was in the opening chapter of Jeff Long's _The Descent_ which was one of the most powerful opening chapters I've ever read. The rest of the book isn't all like that but I still enjoyed it. Later on, fantasy elements get mixed in; not everybody loves the ending but it was OK for me. I definitely didn't regret reading this one. The main story is like a dark fantasy version of Verne's _Journey to the Center of the Earth_ so if this sounds interesting, give it a try. Or just read the first chapter. I just saw that it is included in full in the Kindle edition's reading sample at Amazon.

[@1Inked4Heart3]

Yes! Thank you ! Definitely going to add a few to my TBR!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Awesome!

[@1Inked4Heart3]

TheShadesofOrange Booktube Channel I finally read Uzumaki and I can never look at spirals the same again! It’s so good I want it as my personal collection! Thanks to you !! 💪🏻

[@twoofakindOGDC]

I’m so happy that you included a book by my favorite author of all time, Richard Laymon❤️ I have not found any writer who scares me like he does!! I just bought Camp Slaughter, and it’s on my TBR for this month!!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I need to read more Laymon. Do you have any recommendations? Also, I hope you enjoy Camp Slaughter!

[@jacobhooks7687]

The Cellar is awesome

[@MissEllaReads]

I’ve just started to dive into horror so I’ll check out your recommendations! I have read all of Gillian Flynn’s books and let me tell you... Dark Places was creeeepy!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'm so glad you also love Gillian Flynn and I'm excited that you're getting into the horror genre because I (obviously) love it. If you want to be scared, this is a good list to check out.

[@Ali093]

Two minutes in and I've already paused and ordered a book (Dark Places). Let's see how many times I need to pause and go back to the BN website!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Woo Hoo! Dark Places is SO good

[@purplebookishfrog4200]

Great video. I’ll definitely check some of those out. Unfortunately I haven’t read that many horror books but I have read The troop and so far it is the only book to creep me out! I recently read the Whisper man and it is a thriller but there is a Scene in there that just made me afraid to walk up my stairs at night time (putting my back to my front door) because of my letterbox. I love these videos, you are doing a great job xxxx

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thank you! So glad you enjoyed the video! The Troop & the Whisper Man definitely have some creepy scenes 😬

[@bookgirl1195]

These sound like great recommendations. Thanks, Rachel.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Awesome!

[@ToriMorrow]

Wow, Uzumaki sounds really intriguing! I’ve been interested to pick up another of Gillian Flynn’s books since I’ve only read Gone Girl, so Dark Places sounds like it might be another great read. I’ll be staying *far * away from I’ll be Gone in the Dark haha. Great list!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I hope you like Dark Places. And yeah, Gone in the Dark is so scary because it actually happened

[@PageTurns]

Thanks for this, Rachel! Always looking for more good scary stuff to dive into.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Happy to help! 😁

[@paulread7113]

@@TheShadesofOrange The travelling vampire show is a masterpiece

[@iyaiya8184]

I'm starting to get into dark horror. So happy I found your channel!! 💜

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh wonderful! Thank you!

[@NicoleFoti]

Yesssss. I love this. I also read a lot of horror so it's hard to scare me as well.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yes, it takes a lot to scare me, which is probably why there are a lot of "intense" books on this list

[@BookInvasion]

OOOH Uzumaki sounds awesome. I just added Camp Slaughter to my TBR the other night.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

They are both awesome. I hope you reading some horror this month!

[@Lila_S.]

Love your selection, rachel! Honestly, I am really creeped out by books by Mo Hayder. she is shelved with thriller authors, but the way she manages to unnerve me makes her my own personal queen of nightmares. I also really love Kin by Kealan Patrick Burke.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh I've heard Mo Hayder's books are super dark. I remember the opening scene in Kin was super gruesome.

[@kristinestaples7607]

The Devil of Nanking is on my TBR.

[@mitchellwilliams2491]

I really enjoyed this video. You make me want to go and pick up all of these books

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thanks! I was hoping people would enjoy this video. I hope you check out some of the books!

[@boxcutter8887]

Try The Deep by Nick Cutter. A very dark, brooding atmosphere about a man trying to discover why nobody is responding the radio calls from the surface inside a lab deep under the ocean. It was built to find a cure against a infectious disease that is slowly exterminating mankind. It has some very weird and scary moments and at the later chapters there is some body horror.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

That sounds awesome. I loved the Troop, but I haven't read more of his horror novels yet

[@Mslector]

I loved dark places 🤗🤗

[@alexgray890]

This is great! Please do more of these!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Glad you enjoyed it Alex!

[@danamelton1738]

I love that you did this. These are the kind of videos I look forward to all year long! Great job ghoul friend. I'll be honest I haven't been truly scared by a book since I was a child and read The Haunted mask and watched the movie which I loved even more than the book. (Goose bumps) I still have my old VHS tape of the haunted mask and will never part with it. I want a book that will really scare me but maybe I just read to much horror and I'm numb to it. Lol

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Heya Ghoul Friend, yes October is the best month on booktube for all the creepy content. It definitely takes a lot to scare me.

[@andyesss8054]

I love this. Im always trying to find new horror books. Thanks for doing all the work. So great. Plus a fellow Cdn!!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh wonderful! I read a lot of new horror releases so I hope I can help you find ones to try out.

[@lechuga95]

. any chance i can get u to give up ur top five scary books? asking bc u sound like you've read a bunch of them and I'm picky with a short attention span....

[@nailpolishnook7373]

I LOVE Endless Night!! I read that book when my kids were sleeping and my husband was out of town. So surely one of the scariest books I have read. You really intrigued me with Uzumaki! That is definitely going on my list! So is Camp Slaughter! lol.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'm so glad I finally read it. It was as amazing as you said! (Also, that is terrifying that you read it when you husband was out of town.. That book is so scary)

[@DamnableReverend]

I've been reading the stories in Behold the Void by Philip Fracassi and there's definitely some unsettling stuff in there. "Dread" by Clive Barker, or at least the scenario of what happens to the victims, always got me pretty deeply, even if I feel like the story gets a bit silly toward the end. What a coincidence -- i'm reading Endless Night now! I agree that it's brutal but I must confess I find the writing a little bit funny (sometimes intentionally, sometiems, maybe not?) and to me that takes away from the intensity. This is the furthest I've ever gotten through a Laymon book (I've tried two or three other ones) and I think I'll finish this one.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Love hearing about your scary reads. And yeah I don't think Laymon has amazing prose but that plot really grabbed me

[@DamnableReverend]

@@TheShadesofOrange Thanks! Yeah, I think it's been a long time since I was reallys cared bya book, but it's just the feeling, the mood, and the weird way I sometimes feel after closing a book that makes me love horror fiction. I think I like weird existential horror best, along with body horror and well-written psychological stuff. As for Laymon, yes the prose is a little light on the kind of stylistic flourishes I like in my fiction, and also some o the omestic scenes are..a little weird? Don't quite know how to explain it. The conversations and reactions sometimes feel a tad off to me. But I like the balls-out craziness he seems to be able to do and I admit it, the unabashed randiness (!0 kind of takes me back to a younger time. Too bad I didn't discover this stuff as a teen, maybe.d

[@DamnableReverend]

I think I am going to check out that Gomez book...

[@Disis19Hearts]

I've been looking for some scary books so your video came at the perfect time! Endless Night and Camp Slaughter sound really good and they're on Kindle Unlimited too, so I'll definitely check those out. Thanks for the recommendations!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Awesome. I love when videos come out at the perfect time! I hope you enjoy both. KU is such a great resource for horror books.

[@StormReads]

I have been eying Camp Slaughter since I first seen you talk about it! I can’t think of anything that I have read that scares me. I will have to think on this!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I hope you check it out! It looks like it's available on Kindle Unlimited.

[@JasonsWeirdReads]

Great list of scary stories. I’m trying to figure out a good time to read Dark Places. I’m thinking either in November or December. Camp Slaughter is high up on my list too.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'm SO excited/nervous for you to read Dark Places. I really need to reread it.

[@sapnasarfare2920]

Love your podcasts. Please do some stuff on Indian books esp. Indian horror. There are quite a few. One of the names is Ratnakar Matkari who wrote in Marathi but his short stories have been translated into English. He is called the Stephen King of Marathi horror.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thank you for the recommendations. I just added that author to my Goodreads tbr

[@sapnasarfare2920]

@@TheShadesofOrange Awaiting for your response. I can recommend loads of Indian authors. Let me know what you are interested in.

[@yeti2352]

Hi, just discovered your channel. Love it. Could you do a followup on this one, with more truly scary books? Thanks!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thank you. I definitely want to do a follow up video but I'm still trying to find more scary books. Once I have enough to justify a video, I will absolutely film it!

[@yeti2352]

TheShadesofOrange Booktube Channel I found The Haunting of Hill House really scary, but I suppose everyone’s read that one already.

[@BookTubewithAmy]

Some of these sound sooooo gooooood my tbr just grew a bit 😂

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yayyyy

[@upkar1444]

Thank you . These are great reccomendations

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thanks

[@nerd-tastic3622]

Thank you for the recommendations. I have 2 of the books that you have in here. Scariest for me so far is My sister the Serial Killer (recent read), The Exorcist, and The Amityville Horror.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thanks... and YES the Exorcist is scary. It would definitely make a 2nd part to this video

[@BobbiReads]

I LOVE Richard Laymon! He’s so underrated, but he’s also very gruesome so a lot of people can’t handle the subject matter. He has a lot of other good one too!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'd love some Laymon recommendations. I definitely want to read more by him.

[@BobbiReads]

TheShadesofOrange Booktube Channel My favorites of his are: Island, The Traveling Vampire Show, Body Rides, In the Dark, Come Out Tonight, and Into the Fire. I prefer his 90’s and later novels to the ones he wrote in the 80’s. I’ve read and own them all and love to reread them from time to time. He’s just super intense so I hesitate to recommend him to a lot of readers. His books are super gruesome and have lots of rape usually. But his later novels are better written and the stories are way scarier and not so out there. Whatever you do, avoid The Cellar like the plague. It’s awful.

[@BobbiReads]

TheShadesofOrange Booktube Channel oh and almost all of his works are free on kindle unlimited! If you want physical copies, it’s rare for libraries to carry him so Amazon or Thriftbooks are good for copies.

[@racheltheshadesoforange8700]

@@BobbiReads thanks Bobbi!

[@baloog8]

I enjoyed this video. Dont read much at all. Scariest book I've read was scary stories to tell in the dark but partly read skeleton crew by Steven King.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Glad you enjoyed this!

[@gleamogirljoelle]

If I hadn’t been watching your videos for a while I’d think you were messed up lol. Love hearing list like these especially from you. I would love to know about that scene from dark places that you were talking about. Definitely considering reading some of these books but also terrified at the same time. Love ya

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Hahaha -- yeah I often sound like a crazy person. If you message me on twitter or instagram, I'll tell you what part of Dark Places got to me.

[@MarilynMayaMendoza]

I don't think I could read body horror but I've read many many true crime books. One of the scariest that I remember was Serpentine by the late Thomas Thompson and also the Hillside Strangler. If you can get hold of serpentine, you will find true evil in Charles sobhraj. And the hillside stranglers were terrifying. I've read many more but I always go back to these two.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oooh yeah I've heard of that one. Sounds absolutely terrifying

[@stews9]

Scariest book I've read is The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. It's true, about Ebola-Z, and it's terrifying. Scariest fiction is tougher to come up with. Since childhood I've not been scared by horror or suspense, no nightmares from stories or movies, nothing. If pressed I'd say The House on the Borderland by Wm. Hope Hodgson, due to conceptual aspects. What IS reality, what's in it that we're unaware of, and can we navigate it successfully?

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh I've heard good things about the Hot Zone... its on my tbr!

[@covertocoverbookreviews6721]

I love Richard Laymon, Endless Night is next on my tbr list. The scariest books I've read are Stephen King's Pet Semetary and Joe Hill's Heart Shaped Box.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oo Pet Sematery is so good. Probably would be an honorable mention for me.

[@LiteraryStoner]

Ooh I have Camp Slaughter. I haven't read it yet but this makes me really want to get to it soon! I want some scary horror books in my life

[@TheShadesofOrange]

It's such an intense one!

[@krakentoagoodbook]

I've been pretty interested in I'll Be Gone in the Dark - that's good to know about reading it during the day! That's a good idea for a video though. Maybe I'll do one! The Shining is possibly the scariest book I've ever read, but I'd definitely have to think about it.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I think a lot of people consider The Shining to be King's scariest book. I could see you really enjoying I'll be Gone in the Dark

[@krakentoagoodbook]

@@TheShadesofOrange I made sure to read it during the day and I was still terrified! I also read 'Salem's Lot back in middle school and it was rough haha. I didn't want my parents to know I was reading it, so I only read it at night..and then was convinced that vampires were coming to get me. Do you think I'll Be Gone in the Dark is one to just borrow from the library? I've been debating on if it's one I'd ever want to own/reread.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

@@krakentoagoodbook Personally, I'd say library. While I enjoyed it, I felt that it was obvious that the author wasn't finished the book when she died so the structure of the book is quite awkward. It's a good place to start with the true crime story, but then you'll probably want to move along to other books (or even podcasts) that will fill out the details of the case better. (I personally recommend Evil Has a Name if you are an audible member)

[@krakentoagoodbook]

@@TheShadesofOrange This is so helpful to know!! Thanks! Sadly, I'm not an audible member, but that's definitely good to know in case I join in the future. I have like zero experience with podcasts - have you found any that are particularly good?

[@michellestribe7231]

I can honestly say I am somewhat new to horror, or at least to contemporary horror and I've never had a book scare me to that point. But if I had to list one that thoroughly disturbed me it would be a tie between The Exorcist and Cujo.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I haven't read Cujo (yet) but I definitely agree that The Exorcist was scary!

[@thomassanders4168]

Loved Endless Nights. However my favorite Laymon is The Traveling Vampire Show. There was a scene in The Stand that gave me nightmares for a week. Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door and his Novella Weed Species were terrifying to me Edward Lee's City Infernal also. Loved your list and now have a few more books I need to check out.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thanks - you are adding books to me list too!

[@SFF180]

Probably the scariest books I've ever read have been true crime, interestingly enough. Donald Rumbelow's The Complete Jack the Ripper has not only vivid accounts of the murders themselves, but a chapter towards the back describing the crimes of Peter Kürten, the Düsseldorf Ripper, that made me actually lose sleep. Ditto for Harold Schechter's Deviant, about Ed Gein. Knowing it was all real just amped up the horror 1000x.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

OOO that's pretty intense that you actually lost of sleep. I was glad you commented on this video because I was super curious what your scariest books might be. I so rarely get to learn about your reading tastes when it comes to dark & creepy reads. (but I know that the 12 days of Halloween are coming soon!)

[@gp365y]

Endless Night is amazing! Could not put it down, such a fast paced and demented read. Hail King Laymon! Scariest book recently Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill. As a teen back in the 90s gotta go with King's Nightshift collection and Lovecraft.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Hahaha - I'm glad someone else shares my love for demented books. I really need to read Nightshift.

[@onthefritz820]

Camp Slaughter sounds terrifying! I'm all about the camp setting in horror 👌

[@TheShadesofOrange]

SO terrifying! Yes Camp Horror is awesome.

[@johnnythepillpopper1974]

Highly recommend The Troop by Nick Cutter

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Such a good one!

[@lloydy68]

Generally speaking, the only type of horror I find truly scary is Possession, splatter/gore doesn`t do it for me, I prefer the phsycological stuff. I read `Possessed` by Thomas B.Allen and it is the only book ever, to make me sleep with the lights on.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh I don't know that one

[@thetheatrezoo3603]

Strangely, the one that always come to my mind is the story "Secret Window, Secret Garden" by Stephen King. I think it was because of the whole "fear of oneself" aspect. I was a teenager when I read it and finished it around 1 o'clock in the morning. We had this mirror at the end of the hallway. I was returning from the bathroom, and all I could see behind me was darkness. The hairs on the back of my neck just stood, and I totally got the heebie-jeebies. Of all the other scary or disturbing books I read since, none have held on to me the way that story did.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

That sounds intriguing

[@arcticflower7223]

I hate when people say "it could actually happen". That is very unsatisfying from my point of view.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Fair!

[@justcosmika7843]

I have decided to recently try some horror books but I am scared pretty easily so this is a good list to avoid for now even though they all sound super interesting! :)

[@TheShadesofOrange]

hahaha - that's fair! (and I have a video coming for people who are trying to get into horror ... so stay tuned!)

[@grimreads]

I should definetely read Entless Night. Dark Places was really good, but I do not remember finding it too disturbing. But then again, I am a gorehound. I will do the tag.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Awesome! And yes I think different books with disturb some readers and not others haha

[@BedtimeBookworm]

I really need to check some of these out! I’ve been meaning to read I’ll be gone in the dark for awhile already 😆

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I could see you really enjoying I'll be Gone in the Dark. So fascinating. (keep bugging your book club to pick it!)

[@bookmarkbeth8416]

Wow. All of these sound intriguing! I want to read them all lol

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Do it!

[@lostinwonderart]

Intrigued by the spirals, tho I’m really grossed by body horror. Mexican Gothic didn’t bother me too much, is it on par with that?

[@TheShadesofOrange]

It's definitely a LOT more intense than Mexican Gothic

[@khomo12]

Sounds very scary!!

[@WritteninBlood]

I have Dark Places and Uzumaki and now plan to read both much sooner than planned. I'll try to come with a video of the books that scared me the most.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'm happy to bump those both up on the reading list. And yes, I'd love for you to make a response video with your own scariest books!

[@fredoliveira4882]

"Camp Slaugther" sounds creepy... I wiil definitely check this one. The scariest book I've ever read is "Pet Sematary" - probably one of the darkest, most disturbing books of all time. I read it 30 years ago but, it still comes to my mind.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

OOOoh Pet Semetary is a good pick. It definitely could have been an honourable mention for me.

[@jessieyarish2418]

I am like you I'm not easily scared, but when I was reading the Amityville Horror by Jay Anson, I had nightmares every night. The Shining also made me look under the bed before getting in to it. Last a Head Full of Ghosts really freaked me out so bad that I had to go finish it in a coffee because I didn't to sit by myself.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yes, I think that the Shining is a scary book for a lot of people. I've also heard tha Amityville can be super creepy to read.

[@jjnewbold]

Uzumaki is definitely going onto the TBR!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@katblack394]

One of the most disturbing books I've ever read is The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum. I read this over 10 years ago and it still haunts me.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I've heard of that one and honestly I'm a little terrified to read it. Maybe it'll make an apperance on my next "scariest books" video.

[@SparklesBooks]

I also read Endless Night when I was 12 and home alone, it terrified me!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Omg! That is terrifying!

[@starian72]

I really need to read Dark Places, it's been on my shelf for way too long. I'll be Gone in the Dark was a good one but I think since I knew about him through a podcast I listened to, it didn't scare me as much :/ I wish I didn't know anything about him going into the book. Ahhh I definitely want to read Uzumaki!!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

What... you haven't read Dark Places!?! I love that one. And yes, you should read Uzumaki. I know that you love Junji Ito and that one is probably his best!

[@sandylewis1459]

I’m reading “The Troop” and I’m on the fence....it’s gross not creepy. I’ve also been warned it has animal torture so I’m going to skip that when I get there. It’s very much body horror; not my favorite. Scariest book I’ve ever read.....Helter Skelter

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah you make a good distinction with the Troop. I agree that it's gross, but not exactly scary. And yes, if you don't like animal torture, try to skim that section.

[@kristinestaples7607]

I read Helter Skelter many years ago and I agree, it was scary and disturbing. I've never forgotten it. And if The Troop has that much animal torture I will definitely be skipping it.

[@theGillybean_Chrinicle]

I completely agree that true crime can be terrifying. With fiction or films, there’s a part of my brain that defaults to: “It’s not real.” And so, I don’t get as scared. But true crime, knowing it really happened...makes for a truly creepy read.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah, I didn't use to understand it... but now I get it. haha

[@nonfictionfeminist]

I think I know which Gillian Flynn scene you're talking about, and yes, super creepy. Love this book though, definitely my favorite of hers!

[@Shayyyyyyyy]

I read the book but I don't know which scene she is referring to. Can you tell me?

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah, there's a few scenes. Feel free to message me on Twitter or Instagram if you want to know.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

@@Shayyyyyyyy Feel free to message me on Twitter or Instagram if you want to know.

[@shaunpstitches]

Just grabbed Camp Slaughter from Kindle Unlimited. Only one I was unfamiliar with. Haven't read all of the other, but I am at least familiar with the ones I haven't read.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Glad I could get one new book on your radar. It is funny that most of my scariest books ended up being more well known/popular books. I suppose they are popular for a reason. haha. Would love to see your list if life slows down enough for booktubing =)

[@yadukrishnan5991]

True Crime Mobile Phone repair

[@tinaconn3989]

I am not having too much luck with horror at the moment. I have recently read two ARCS of horror books neither of which scared me. In fact the book I finished today Starve Acre read to me like a straight novel about parents dealing with grief. It has lots of rave reviews which makes me wonder if I missed something. I gave them both two stars. I think that I might stick with True Crime for my scares. I have got an ARC of a book about Ted Bundy which I may start tonight. I am intrigued with the horror book about spirals so I may give that one a try.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Awww that's frustrating. And yeah, I've found that horror books are necessarily scary. Even for me, I ended up with a thriller and a true crime book on my list, even though I read a ton of horror.

[@vamps_rock]

I'm not really into horror but I've read a few in my time. Sometimes Dystopia/Post Apocalyptic's scare me just as much as actual horror genre books ie. The Earthseed Duology by Octavia E. Butler which is FANTASTIC. One horror book that I remember did get me crapping myself silly was Amityville (whatever the actual title is I can't remember). Also, some parts of The Witching Hour by Anne Rice are terrifying to me. I also read and enjoyed a few James Herbert (RIP) some years back (Shrine is great), and am surprised that he never seems to be talked about here on BT. Have you read any of his books? TFS :)

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I haven't read Herbert, but I really want to read more Butler. I loved Kindred & Fledling.

[@vamps_rock]

@@TheShadesofOrange Genuine curiosity (from a confused Brit) here aimed at anyone who wishes to answer - why no JH? Is there little awareness of his work in the US? I know that Horror is a niche here on BT, I just don't get his lack of prescence here as he wrote some fantastic books before his death.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

@@vamps_rock I assume it's a geographical thing? I don't read a lot of UK horror authors. I've never actually heard of him before your comment.

[@vamps_rock]

@@TheShadesofOrange REALLY? Wow, he had been around about the same length of time as SK. I urge you to have a look at his backlist, I'm sure something will be of interest.

[@DarkBetweenPages]

Yes! I'll be gone in that dark is one that I really want to get to. I have heard AMAZING things. Yes true crime can be scary for sure. I haven't read too much but just knowing that these awful stories were true and people are out there in the world like that... UGhhhhh lol my skin in crawling. Great list! Thanks for sharing lovely! :)

[@TheShadesofOrange]

You should definitely read I'll Be Gone in the Dark -- so good!

[@DarkBetweenPages]

😍

[@Iorekbyrnison100]

Richard Laymon is great. I've read probably around 30 of his novels and he can be hit or miss but when he hits, he hits hard. Trashy to the absolute nth degree, but in the best way.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I definitely want to read more by him

[@beardscanty]

Camp Slaughter was so good!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@mcmohitchauhan21]

Great recommendations.

[@randyu4887]

Intense gore: Unban Gothic. Brian Keene. Warning: explicit gore

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Good to know!

[@arcticflower7223]

Of course you were never safe with him home. Who would think otherwise?

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Haha you are so right. Funny how the brain works 😅

[@wjamimah7772]

Kill Creek was the scariest book I’ve ever read. It scared me so bad. Then I read Violet by the same author, Scott Thomas, and I didn’t care for it at all really.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah I didn't mind Violet but i definitely didn't find it scary

[@alifeworthfinding2838]

Not an insult but I just laughed kuz you look like a teacher or librarian and your talking about books with home invasion, rape, murder , body mutilation with cannibalism. Great recommendations subbed 👍

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thank you! Your comment made me laugh and honestly made my day. I enjoy surprising people with my ,reading tastes

[@stacysstories7636]

Great video!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thanks

[@jeffronium]

Brother By: Ania Ahlborn Very dark. Very disturbing. I contemplated not finishing it after one particular moment. This book should come with multiple trigger warnings

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh yes, I have friends that found one very disturbing