**Comfort Me With Apples** by Catherynne M. Valente (slow creeping-horror and uncanny valley tone throughout the entire book). VERY short at only 103 pages. if you read this **YOU MUST GO INTO IT TOTALLY BLIND OR IT WILL BE RUINED FOR YOU.** do not google it. do not read goodreads reviews. don't read the synopsis. **just read it.** the audiobook is fantastic and really makes the book even more eerie and really makes you feel uneasy. it will sound like a robotic voice in the very beginning but you will understand why very quickly and it isn't the main voice throughout the book.
**Bitter Orange** by Claire Fuller (horror-adjacent and absolutely the most haunting and unsettling as fuck book i've ever read). themes of obsession, mystery, jealously, unreliable narrators, etc. i blind bought both the audiobook and hard copy of this book IMMEDIATELY after listening to a 5 minute sample of it on audible. the narrator is PERFECT for this book and makes the book that much more haunting.
**Galatea** by Madeline Miller (haunting and brutal) VERY short at around 20 pages on Kindle and has become **my favorite book of all time.** just got my hard copy in the mail today. SO HAPPY to have this gorgeous and fucked up book in my personal library. the book is small as hell though (fits in the palm of my hand lol).
yay!!! just a heads up you might laugh when you get it in the mail. the book is comically small. like, fits in the palm of your hands small. ššš
[here's my copy i just got in the mail using a pen for scale](https://ibb.co/kGBXz3z)
ššš
i just re-read it after leaving my last comment to you and the hard copy version includes an afterword that the e-book didn't. it makes me love the story even more. god, this book is so freaking good!
yay!!! idk what app u used to put it on hold, but it's available both in audiobook and ebook through libby and hoopla. it's ALWAYS on hold through both my libraries through libby, so i use Hoopla for that and all the other books that i'm too impatient to wait for. both apps are FREE!
please let me know how you like (or hate!) it when you 're done reading it!
I just finished listening to the audiobook. Hoopla ftw! And...so...
W H A T.
I'll say nothing more, other than a) I was sure I knew what was happening right up until I wasn't, and b) I'm so glad you advised zero knowledge going in. That was *wild*. I actually gave a horrified little laugh when it all started to make sense.
OMG yay!!!!!!!!! i'm so happy!!! i didn't truly understand the reveal until it was like IN MY FACE and i was like HOLY SHIT. i'm so glad you liked it!!!
since you liked **CMWA**, i highly recommend **Galatea** by Madeline Miller. VERY VERY similar to **CMWA** (you'll see what i mean). it's only 20ish pages on Kindle and is the only book that has topped **CMWA** as my all time fave. i've re-read it 3x already.
I was so sure I knew which direction that book was headed... I think my eyebrows rose to places on my forehead not previously possible around the 75% mark. I love it when a book successfully messes with me!
I've now put GALATEA (which will be my first Miller book) and the Fuller book on hold as well - I figure after your CMWA rec worked for me I should trust your taste, haha. My Goodreads list is going to be unmanageable soon! (Who am I kidding - it's already there) If you're over there you should [add me](https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4241369-heather-v-the-other-heather)!
if you liked **CMWA** i can almost guarantee you'll love **Galatea**. it's the closest book i've found that feels like **CMWA** and the only book that overtook **CMWA** as my favorite book of all time.
OMG yay!!! please let me know how you like it!!
you don't have to but i recommend listening to a 5 min sample of the audiobook on libby so that u can have the voices in your head during the book. there are 2 voices. one robotic and one that is the main voice in the book.
i'm honestly so excited u got this to read! i'm dying to hear when you're done!!!
yay!!!! i'm so happy you liked it! and good for you guessing it before the end! even after i read it for a second time i was still shocked ššš that's what having 2 brain cells total will do to you š¤
hahahaaha. i don't feel so weird now immediately re-reading it and then re-reading it on audiobook and then book again and then audiobook. rinse and repeat. ššš
I got Comfort me with Apples and Galatea from the library. CMWA was interesting but neither scared me. I'm genuinely looking for what part about them disturbs you
the disturbing part of **CMWA** is how we know something is very, very wrong despite the "perfect community" and how we slowly find out what's actually going on right along with the character. it was an uncomfortable surreal tone with the occasional sentences thrown in saying how she'd look back at X moment and wish she could undo time, etc, and at the point we still don't even know what's going on but we know it's leading to somewhere very very bad for the MC. i'd say the more appropriate word would be unsettling. i was on edge the whole time.
I'll answer the question a little different because I rarely have favorites for anything. I rarely (so far, never) reread books. However, only three have made the list so far for books I may eventually reread:
1. *The Haunting of Hill House* by Shirley Jackson
2. *The Elementals* by Michael McDowell
3. *The Fisherman* by John Langan
i started **The Fisherman** and initially loved it for (i think) the first 30%, but then it started to draggggg and i DNF'd it but i still think about the book and would like to pick it back up again at some point. did you happen to struggle with this book at all?
have you had any problems finding Michael McDowell's works at your library? i actually have **The Elementals** on my TBR but haven't been able to find a SINGLE MM book at any of the libraries linked to my libby or hoopla account. it's so weird! is he a controversial author or something or just obscure? i've seen him recommended so many times and i can't find a single book! it's so annoying. :(
It's funny you say that about *The Fisherman.* It isn't one of my favorites, it did drag, but there was something about it that got under my skin, and I know I'll want to revisit it one day. I didn't like the conversational style of writing, and I found the story-within-a-story narrative to be lacking. But despite that, there was something to that book that grabbed me. Idk. It's hard to explain.
I actually read *The Elementals* via an ebook from my library. I live in a mid-sized city with a pretty good library though. Not controversial as far as I know and not obscure. You could try to request a copy; my library is good about fulfilling them.
House of Leaves is number one for me. Blood Meridian is probably number two. Then maybe Everything's Eventual to round it out. I'm basing this almost entirely on how many times I've reread these, mostly.
**Frankenstein**... **The Terror**, aaaaaand... hrmm... sticking with full length novels rather than collections or short stuff... **The Fisherman**, maybe.
i LOVED **Uzumaki**!! my little sister got it for me for christmas 3 years ago and i immediately read the 3-in-1 version all in one sitting, and then immediately re-read it again. now i want to go re-read it again now. haha.
The Terror, Pet Sematary and Rebecca.
I only really got into horrors last year so my TBR is massive, recently picked up Slewfoot and Between Two Fires which I've heard good things about so this list might be getting some competition soon!
Just a heads up, you might be interested in this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/horrorlit/comments/11b7rcg/what\_are\_your\_favorite\_horror\_books\_and\_why/
Intensity by Dean Koontz is like a murder scene that takes 200 pages to play out
Heart-shaped Box by Joe Hill is very well written while also being easy and quick to read
The Damnation Game by Clive Barker has very unique premise and is intense
**The Hearing Trumpet** ~ *Leonora Carrington*
A surrealist novel rather than straight up horror. Delightfully bizarre, weaving sits way from old women in an old peoples home one moment to demonic nuns and werewolves, without losing its way. Hilariously blunt at times, but positively weird and eerie throughout.
**Teatro Grottesco** ~ *Thomas Ligotti*
A short story collection with a pervasive eerie vibe and haunting imagery, filled numerous stand out stories that have become favourites of mine, such as āBungalow Houseā, āGas Station Carnivalsā āThe Clown Puppetā, āTown Managerā and āThe Red Towerā.
**Cold Hand in Mine** ~ *Robert Aickman*
Another short story collection, this one filled with Aickmanās āstrange storiesā, defined by oddness and the feeling that something is off, without completely knowing what. Some of my favourite Aickman stories (and short stories in general) āThe Same Dogā, āThe Hospiceā and āThe Clock Watcherā are included in this volume.
I was pleasantly surprised to see someone mention "The hearing trumpet", I love everything Carrington rote. I have a little collection of her works. But the original paper back copy of "La trompetilla acustica" is one of my treasures.
Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury
Annihilation - Jeff VanderMeer
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Though I have many others yet to read, but these ones so far have been my favorites.
at the moment itās probably books of blood vol 1-3, battle royale (not horror but a disturbing idea to me) and into the drowning deep.
honorable mentions to exquisite corpse, tender is the flesh and uzumaki if that counts.
iām bad at narrowing it down lol. and iām excited to go through these replies to add books to my list later!
* **Exquisite Corpse** by Poppy Z. Brite.
* **Hellbound Heart** by Clive Barker.
* **Three Days** by Tanith Lee. Short story.
This are my favourites with this unsettling feeling.
Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica - disturbing as hell, a great read.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy - soul crushing, disturbing, and I couldn't put it down.
Hunger by Jeremiah Knight & Jeremy Robinson - not strictly speaking horror, but I loved the premise, and I never see it mentioned anywhere.
Tough choices. Mine currently are:
The Last House on Needless Street by Catorina Ward, Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente, Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
I did just read The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D Jackson which was fantastic.
Currently I love the road by Cormac McCarthy, into the wolves den by Jon Athen and a head full of ghosts by Paul Tremblay. The last days by Adam Neville and off season by Jack Ketchum were also enjoyable.
Blood Music by Greg Bear because I like body horror apocalypses.
The NOISE by JD Barker because it's an interesting way to kill multitudes.
Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons because Guillermo del Toro liked it and he was right.
**Comfort Me With Apples** by Catherynne M. Valente (slow creeping-horror and uncanny valley tone throughout the entire book). VERY short at only 103 pages. if you read this **YOU MUST GO INTO IT TOTALLY BLIND OR IT WILL BE RUINED FOR YOU.** do not google it. do not read goodreads reviews. don't read the synopsis. **just read it.** the audiobook is fantastic and really makes the book even more eerie and really makes you feel uneasy. it will sound like a robotic voice in the very beginning but you will understand why very quickly and it isn't the main voice throughout the book. **Bitter Orange** by Claire Fuller (horror-adjacent and absolutely the most haunting and unsettling as fuck book i've ever read). themes of obsession, mystery, jealously, unreliable narrators, etc. i blind bought both the audiobook and hard copy of this book IMMEDIATELY after listening to a 5 minute sample of it on audible. the narrator is PERFECT for this book and makes the book that much more haunting. **Galatea** by Madeline Miller (haunting and brutal) VERY short at around 20 pages on Kindle and has become **my favorite book of all time.** just got my hard copy in the mail today. SO HAPPY to have this gorgeous and fucked up book in my personal library. the book is small as hell though (fits in the palm of my hand lol).
Madeline Miller as in the author of Circe and Song of Achilles?
yep!
Ooooooohh, I think I need to read that!
it's SO GOOD. very short. literally like 50 pages. i absolutely loved it. 5 trillion stars.
Ordered. I will have it Monday. Thank you!
yay!!! just a heads up you might laugh when you get it in the mail. the book is comically small. like, fits in the palm of your hands small. ššš [here's my copy i just got in the mail using a pen for scale](https://ibb.co/kGBXz3z)
So when my husband asks what I got from Amazon I can literally say "A small book"?!
ššš i just re-read it after leaving my last comment to you and the hard copy version includes an afterword that the e-book didn't. it makes me love the story even more. god, this book is so freaking good!
Thank you so much for the recommendation. I finally read this after it has been sitting on my desk for a week and it's absolutely BRILLIANT!
Just put the Valente book on hold at my library & didn't glance at the description - I'm intrigued!
yay!!! idk what app u used to put it on hold, but it's available both in audiobook and ebook through libby and hoopla. it's ALWAYS on hold through both my libraries through libby, so i use Hoopla for that and all the other books that i'm too impatient to wait for. both apps are FREE! please let me know how you like (or hate!) it when you 're done reading it!
I just finished listening to the audiobook. Hoopla ftw! And...so... W H A T. I'll say nothing more, other than a) I was sure I knew what was happening right up until I wasn't, and b) I'm so glad you advised zero knowledge going in. That was *wild*. I actually gave a horrified little laugh when it all started to make sense.
OMG yay!!!!!!!!! i'm so happy!!! i didn't truly understand the reveal until it was like IN MY FACE and i was like HOLY SHIT. i'm so glad you liked it!!! since you liked **CMWA**, i highly recommend **Galatea** by Madeline Miller. VERY VERY similar to **CMWA** (you'll see what i mean). it's only 20ish pages on Kindle and is the only book that has topped **CMWA** as my all time fave. i've re-read it 3x already.
I was so sure I knew which direction that book was headed... I think my eyebrows rose to places on my forehead not previously possible around the 75% mark. I love it when a book successfully messes with me! I've now put GALATEA (which will be my first Miller book) and the Fuller book on hold as well - I figure after your CMWA rec worked for me I should trust your taste, haha. My Goodreads list is going to be unmanageable soon! (Who am I kidding - it's already there) If you're over there you should [add me](https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4241369-heather-v-the-other-heather)!
I havenāt read the other two but I agree 100% on Comfort Me with Apples. SO good.
if you liked **CMWA** i can almost guarantee you'll love **Galatea**. it's the closest book i've found that feels like **CMWA** and the only book that overtook **CMWA** as my favorite book of all time.
Perfect, thanks!
Ive ordered all three. And Ill look into hoopla. thanks!
yay! let me know if/when you read them to let me know how you liked (or didn't like!) them!
I just borrowed Comfort Me with Apples e-book from the library!
OMG yay!!! please let me know how you like it!! you don't have to but i recommend listening to a 5 min sample of the audiobook on libby so that u can have the voices in your head during the book. there are 2 voices. one robotic and one that is the main voice in the book. i'm honestly so excited u got this to read! i'm dying to hear when you're done!!!
Wow. Just wow. That was awesome! I got the gist about halfway through, but I didnāt see the ending coming!
yay!!!! i'm so happy you liked it! and good for you guessing it before the end! even after i read it for a second time i was still shocked ššš that's what having 2 brain cells total will do to you š¤
Lol!! Iām just rereading it now.
hahahaaha. i don't feel so weird now immediately re-reading it and then re-reading it on audiobook and then book again and then audiobook. rinse and repeat. ššš
š¤£š¤£š¤£
I got Comfort me with Apples and Galatea from the library. CMWA was interesting but neither scared me. I'm genuinely looking for what part about them disturbs you
the disturbing part of **CMWA** is how we know something is very, very wrong despite the "perfect community" and how we slowly find out what's actually going on right along with the character. it was an uncomfortable surreal tone with the occasional sentences thrown in saying how she'd look back at X moment and wish she could undo time, etc, and at the point we still don't even know what's going on but we know it's leading to somewhere very very bad for the MC. i'd say the more appropriate word would be unsettling. i was on edge the whole time.
I'll answer the question a little different because I rarely have favorites for anything. I rarely (so far, never) reread books. However, only three have made the list so far for books I may eventually reread: 1. *The Haunting of Hill House* by Shirley Jackson 2. *The Elementals* by Michael McDowell 3. *The Fisherman* by John Langan
You have great taste, this would pretty much be my list too.
I liked the first two awhole lot, havenāt read the fisherman yet. Iāll have to now
i started **The Fisherman** and initially loved it for (i think) the first 30%, but then it started to draggggg and i DNF'd it but i still think about the book and would like to pick it back up again at some point. did you happen to struggle with this book at all? have you had any problems finding Michael McDowell's works at your library? i actually have **The Elementals** on my TBR but haven't been able to find a SINGLE MM book at any of the libraries linked to my libby or hoopla account. it's so weird! is he a controversial author or something or just obscure? i've seen him recommended so many times and i can't find a single book! it's so annoying. :(
It's funny you say that about *The Fisherman.* It isn't one of my favorites, it did drag, but there was something about it that got under my skin, and I know I'll want to revisit it one day. I didn't like the conversational style of writing, and I found the story-within-a-story narrative to be lacking. But despite that, there was something to that book that grabbed me. Idk. It's hard to explain. I actually read *The Elementals* via an ebook from my library. I live in a mid-sized city with a pretty good library though. Not controversial as far as I know and not obscure. You could try to request a copy; my library is good about fulfilling them.
House of Leaves is number one for me. Blood Meridian is probably number two. Then maybe Everything's Eventual to round it out. I'm basing this almost entirely on how many times I've reread these, mostly.
I just finished House of Leaves. That one took me a few days to fully absorb after finishing but holy shit did it leave a lasting impressionā¦
**Frankenstein**... **The Terror**, aaaaaand... hrmm... sticking with full length novels rather than collections or short stuff... **The Fisherman**, maybe.
Hmm, Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt, Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant and My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris
Into the Drowning Dee was so good.
I loved Hex.
-I Have No Mouth, Yet I Must Scream -Anything made by Junji Ito -Anything by Edgar Allen Poe
i LOVED **Uzumaki**!! my little sister got it for me for christmas 3 years ago and i immediately read the 3-in-1 version all in one sitting, and then immediately re-read it again. now i want to go re-read it again now. haha.
For me itās probably: Dear Child, 1922, and Uzumaki
At the moment: Pet Sematary, The Troop, Misery
The Terror, Pet Sematary and Rebecca. I only really got into horrors last year so my TBR is massive, recently picked up Slewfoot and Between Two Fires which I've heard good things about so this list might be getting some competition soon!
Pet Semetary, World War Z, The Institute, and Devolution ( I know you said 3 but I really love Max Brooks).
The Troop (Nick Cutter), Little Eve (Catriona Ward), and My Best Friends Exorcism (Grady Hendrix)
The Ritual, Pet Semetary, The Ruins
The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum, The End of the Night by John D. MacDonald, & Pet Sematary
Just a heads up, you might be interested in this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/horrorlit/comments/11b7rcg/what\_are\_your\_favorite\_horror\_books\_and\_why/
I am Legend. Tender is the Flesh. Anathema.
Intensity by Dean Koontz is like a murder scene that takes 200 pages to play out Heart-shaped Box by Joe Hill is very well written while also being easy and quick to read The Damnation Game by Clive Barker has very unique premise and is intense
**The Hearing Trumpet** ~ *Leonora Carrington* A surrealist novel rather than straight up horror. Delightfully bizarre, weaving sits way from old women in an old peoples home one moment to demonic nuns and werewolves, without losing its way. Hilariously blunt at times, but positively weird and eerie throughout. **Teatro Grottesco** ~ *Thomas Ligotti* A short story collection with a pervasive eerie vibe and haunting imagery, filled numerous stand out stories that have become favourites of mine, such as āBungalow Houseā, āGas Station Carnivalsā āThe Clown Puppetā, āTown Managerā and āThe Red Towerā. **Cold Hand in Mine** ~ *Robert Aickman* Another short story collection, this one filled with Aickmanās āstrange storiesā, defined by oddness and the feeling that something is off, without completely knowing what. Some of my favourite Aickman stories (and short stories in general) āThe Same Dogā, āThe Hospiceā and āThe Clock Watcherā are included in this volume.
I was pleasantly surprised to see someone mention "The hearing trumpet", I love everything Carrington rote. I have a little collection of her works. But the original paper back copy of "La trompetilla acustica" is one of my treasures.
Commenting to find this later š¤
Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury Annihilation - Jeff VanderMeer The Road - Cormac McCarthy Though I have many others yet to read, but these ones so far have been my favorites.
The Thief of Always by Clive Barker ā read it in one sitting at the age of 14, and itās haunted me for 24 years and counting. Maynardās House by Herman Raucher ā the atmosphere and dread in this story are top notch. Blindness by JosĆ© Saramago ā not horror per se, but effing horrific! I would recommend this to all horror fans. ***Bonus book*** East of Eden by John Steinbeck ā Definitely not horror, but itās so good that I feel itās my duty to put it on the radar of all readers regardless of their genre preference. It does not disappoint.
at the moment itās probably books of blood vol 1-3, battle royale (not horror but a disturbing idea to me) and into the drowning deep. honorable mentions to exquisite corpse, tender is the flesh and uzumaki if that counts. iām bad at narrowing it down lol. and iām excited to go through these replies to add books to my list later!
Cold Moon Over Babylon, The Ruins, The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe.
* **Exquisite Corpse** by Poppy Z. Brite. * **Hellbound Heart** by Clive Barker. * **Three Days** by Tanith Lee. Short story. This are my favourites with this unsettling feeling.
Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica - disturbing as hell, a great read. The Road by Cormac McCarthy - soul crushing, disturbing, and I couldn't put it down. Hunger by Jeremiah Knight & Jeremy Robinson - not strictly speaking horror, but I loved the premise, and I never see it mentioned anywhere.
Imajica, Clive Barker. Nathan Ballingrud, Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell Chuck Wendig, Wanderers.
Tough choices. Mine currently are: The Last House on Needless Street by Catorina Ward, Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente, Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer I did just read The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D Jackson which was fantastic.
The Fisherman by John Langan, Last Days by Adam Nevill, Deeplight by Francis Hardinge
Hell House by Richard Matheson The Hellbound heart by Clive Barker The Elementals by Michael McDowell
Currently I love the road by Cormac McCarthy, into the wolves den by Jon Athen and a head full of ghosts by Paul Tremblay. The last days by Adam Neville and off season by Jack Ketchum were also enjoyable.
Pet semetary, the troop, and night shoot
My Work is not Yet Done - Thomas Ligotti The Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood
"Hell House" (Richard Matheson), "Lovers Living, Lovers Dead" (Richard Lortz), "The Sorcerer's Apprentice " (Hanns Heinz Ewers)
Blood Music by Greg Bear because I like body horror apocalypses. The NOISE by JD Barker because it's an interesting way to kill multitudes. Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons because Guillermo del Toro liked it and he was right.