By Dontaná McPherson-Joseph, Collection Management Librarian
Want to get into the spirit of Halloween, but don’t want to be too scared? We’ve got you! We’ve created a scary rating system from only a little scary () to terrifying ( ). Try it!
How much scare do you dare?
The Butcher & the Wren by Alaina Urquhart
Scary rating: Serial killers, a murder podcast, and creepy bayou? This one will have you checking the locks on your doors and windows.
Description: In the Louisiana bayou, forensic pathologist Dr. Wren Muller is sucked into an all-consuming cat-and-mouse game with a methodical killer who has a penchant for medical experimentation and is getting more brazen by the day.
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The Fervor by Alma Katsu
Scary rating: Part of the horror lies in the use of Japanese folklore and a strange sickness. The rest is in this story's foundation of the real history of Japanese American internment camps in the U.S.
Description: In 1944, Meiko Briggs and her daughter, Aiko, held in an internment camp in the Midwest, discover a mysterious disease spreading among the interned that is linked to a demon from the stories of Meiko's childhood, hellbent on infiltrating their already strange world.
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Chronophage by Tim Seeley
Scary rating: A lot of the scares in this graphic novel are visual, but there is a time factor to the story that is both trippy and creepy.
Description: A single mother becomes involved with a mysterious man who literally consumes past moments of her life, changing her history and forcing her to decide what should—or shouldn't—be undone.
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Eat the Rich by Sarah Gailey & Pius Bak
Scary rating: There are literal cannibals in this one.
Description: When the rich and powerful are literal cannibals, how can regular people avoid being on the menu?
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Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology
Scary rating: This collection features some of the most brilliant horror writers, including Stephen Graham Jones and Tananarive Due. Prepare to sleep with the lights on.
Description: Collecting original stories from some of the biggest names in horror as well as some of the hottest up-and-coming talents, this anthology puts a terrifying spin on what it means to be different—also known as "the other."
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Suburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer
Scary rating: If you've been missing the melodrama of Desperate Housewives or the freakiness of Santa Clarita Diet, this is the perfect blend.
Description: A Chicago cul-de-sac is about to get a new neighbor...of the demonic kind.
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The Liminal Zone by Junji Ito
Scary rating: Junji Ito is a master of storytelling. No amount of lights or locks will stave off the lingering dread these stories will engender.
Description: After abruptly departing from a train in a small town, a couple encounters a “weeping woman”—a professional mourner—sobbing inconsolably at a funeral. Mako changes afterward—she can’t stop crying! In another tale, having decided to die together, a couple enters Aokigahara, the infamous suicide forest. What is the shocking otherworldly torrent that they discover there?
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About Dontaná
Dontaná is a Collection Management Librarian who was born with an unending reading list. She is almost always reading two books simultaneously and is easily distracted by cool covers.
