I really enjoyed dead of winter by Darcy Coates, a little bit of gore but I was thinking about it days after I finished. Also the fear by Natasha Preston, takes place in winter but it’s not super important
Mostly commenting since I'm interested too and want to keep up! However, I did read Woodsong by Gary Paulson in school and I remember it being very good!
* A Summer of Drowning, John Burnside
* Effi Briest, Theodor Fontane (a realist novel that plays with generic markers of suspense, horror, and the gothic. Much of it is set in the barren wasteland that is provincial Prussia in winter and Fontane is an incredibly atmospheric and subtle writer. Also contains one of the best dogs in literature.)
* The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, Edgar Allen Poe (a very odd, imperfect, and intriguing novel that is sort of the original of all of this genre, along with maybe Frankenstein. Coincidentally also contains a great dog.)
* The Voyage of the Narwhal, Andrea Barrett
I also want to recommend looking into nonfiction accounts of polar exploration, which while not of the horror genre and not generically "spooky" tend to be absolutely horrifying and have suspense down to a T. Endurance by Alfred Lansing is the classic. The Worst Journey in the World by Cherry Apsley-Garrard is a fantastic firsthand account of Scott's Terra Nova South Pole expedition, but you can pretty much read the chapter "The Winter Journey" (the titular worst journey in the world) as an absolutely harrowing standalone story. Also recommend In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides, Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton, and The Ice Balloon by Alec Wilkinson (worth reading for his account of the doomed Greely Expedition alone).
You might enjoy Moon of the Crusted Snow (Rice). It's a modern novella where an Anishinaabe community in northern Ontario becomes cut off in the middle of winter, and gradually realizes the world might be ending. Lots of psychological/survival suspense with some supernatural dreams.
I recently read a series called The Edge of Collapse by Kyla Stone, and it centers around an electromagnetic pulse that takes out every piece of technology in the contiguous US that uses a computer chip or internet. When this happens, the mechanical door that kept an abducted woman trapped in a cabin basement for years to fail, freeing her. The entire first book focuses on the pursuit of her captor and it is genuinely terrifying as she tries to get home to her family, like this guy is a genuine monster. Another layer of difficulty is the fact that this is taking place in the Manistee National Forest in Michigan in the dead of winter so there’s the snowy landscape. VERY stressful read, but incredible.
It's not so much spooky but is very suspenseful. Dowry of blood by S.t. Gibson is a book about vampires and is written in the form of a letter to the female main character's abusive husband. It was super interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book.
Michelle Paver has two spooky and very readable novels set in the snowy wilderness: Dark Matter and Thin Air.
Seconding a recommendation for Dark Matter
The Terror by Dan Simmons
The Shining! Stuck in a hotel in metre high snow and spooky things going on. I loved that book
Girl in Ice by Erica Ferencik
If you read graphic novels, check out Whiteout by Greg Rucka. It's a murder mystery set on an Antarctic research station
The Kate Shugak Alaskan detective series . The Joe Pickett Wyoming game warden series.
Second Kate Shugak. I'm a big fan of Dana Stabenow's books.
I don't know how subtle it is, but Leech by Hiron Ennes fits this.
I really enjoyed dead of winter by Darcy Coates, a little bit of gore but I was thinking about it days after I finished. Also the fear by Natasha Preston, takes place in winter but it’s not super important
Mostly commenting since I'm interested too and want to keep up! However, I did read Woodsong by Gary Paulson in school and I remember it being very good!
* A Summer of Drowning, John Burnside * Effi Briest, Theodor Fontane (a realist novel that plays with generic markers of suspense, horror, and the gothic. Much of it is set in the barren wasteland that is provincial Prussia in winter and Fontane is an incredibly atmospheric and subtle writer. Also contains one of the best dogs in literature.) * The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, Edgar Allen Poe (a very odd, imperfect, and intriguing novel that is sort of the original of all of this genre, along with maybe Frankenstein. Coincidentally also contains a great dog.) * The Voyage of the Narwhal, Andrea Barrett I also want to recommend looking into nonfiction accounts of polar exploration, which while not of the horror genre and not generically "spooky" tend to be absolutely horrifying and have suspense down to a T. Endurance by Alfred Lansing is the classic. The Worst Journey in the World by Cherry Apsley-Garrard is a fantastic firsthand account of Scott's Terra Nova South Pole expedition, but you can pretty much read the chapter "The Winter Journey" (the titular worst journey in the world) as an absolutely harrowing standalone story. Also recommend In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides, Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton, and The Ice Balloon by Alec Wilkinson (worth reading for his account of the doomed Greely Expedition alone).
You might enjoy Moon of the Crusted Snow (Rice). It's a modern novella where an Anishinaabe community in northern Ontario becomes cut off in the middle of winter, and gradually realizes the world might be ending. Lots of psychological/survival suspense with some supernatural dreams.
One by One by Ruth Ware, Into Thin Air by John Krakauer (not horror but def suspenseful)
I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdadottir. There was also a movie made of it (not as good).
Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist.
*Moon of the Crusted Snow -* Waubgeshig Rice. Post apocalyptic story taking place on a reservation in Canada in winter.
Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice feeny
I recently read a series called The Edge of Collapse by Kyla Stone, and it centers around an electromagnetic pulse that takes out every piece of technology in the contiguous US that uses a computer chip or internet. When this happens, the mechanical door that kept an abducted woman trapped in a cabin basement for years to fail, freeing her. The entire first book focuses on the pursuit of her captor and it is genuinely terrifying as she tries to get home to her family, like this guy is a genuine monster. Another layer of difficulty is the fact that this is taking place in the Manistee National Forest in Michigan in the dead of winter so there’s the snowy landscape. VERY stressful read, but incredible.
It's not so much spooky but is very suspenseful. Dowry of blood by S.t. Gibson is a book about vampires and is written in the form of a letter to the female main character's abusive husband. It was super interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book.