News

9 Horror Books Scarier Than Most Movies

Published

10 years ago

May 20, 2014

As you know all of us here at iHorror.com love a good scare. However, sometimes Netflix seems a little bland and nothing worthwhile is in theaters – that’s when I urge you to reach for one of these Horror gems. Some of these have been made into movies and some are in the process, but there’s something to be said for letting your mind conjure your own demons from the ink.

Your imagination can be a far scarier evil than anything a director can portray on screen. So if your by the pool, beach, or hiding in from a summer rain – reach for one of these books scarier than any Horror out now.

**1. The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff**

What if you were the thing your neighbors whispered about, the dark shadow that everyone felt but no one acknowledged? The Replacements takes place in a town where every once in a while, a baby will be taken and replaced by a not-quite-right double that dies soon after the switch is made. The entire story is told from the perspective of one of the replacements that has mysteriously lived into his teens.

Image: Penguin Publishing

2. Horns By Joe Hill
Pick up this novel written by Stephen King’s oldest son before the movie comes out, and you can only picture Daniel Radcliffe as the newly horned, deeply troubled protagonist Ig. It’s proof that the scariest creatures in fiction are not ghosts or vampires, they are characters so twisted by grief and rage they’ve become unrecognizable.

Image: Harper Collins

3. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
When people talk about what kind of superpowers they’d like to have, the most common are typically flight, invisibility and mind reading. Mara Dyer has the power of her fear and her anger, and it’s not until she walks into a room of live-caged bugs and walks out of a room of dead ones that she understands just how powerful she is.

Image: Simon and Schuster

4. Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Readers today are never at a loss for new zombie books, and any story about society crumbling under the weight of the brain-eating undead is bound to be terrifying. What makes Handling the Undead particularly spine-tingling is the window of hope for the characters that their undead loved ones might mean them no harm.

Image: Macmillan Publishers

5. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
The best thrillers tap into a specific (and realistic) fear. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown opens in the aftermath of a typical party. But when the young heroine wakes up, instead of finding drunk people, she’s surrounded by dead people. And it only gets creepier from there.

Image: Hachette Book Group

6. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
What’s truly creepy about this Shirley Jackson classic are all the unanswered questions left with the reader. At the end of most thrillers, you at least know what to be irrationally afraid of. With this novel, you won’t know if you should be wary of the haunted house on the corner or the mysterious woman who lives next-door.

Image: Penguin Publishing

7. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Cas has been killing ghosts for as long as he could handle his late father’s ghost-slashing knife. It’s a lonely life, but one that he fully accepted until coming face to face with Anna, the murderous ghost of a dead teen who wants to leave but can’t. Anna doesn’t want to kill but must, and she terrifies Cas — not because of her black eyes or blood-soaked dress, but because she makes him hesitate.

Image: Macmillan Publishers

8. The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson
This is the original Paranormal Activity, and definitely not a book to pick up before you move to a new house, or come anywhere near one. It can also provide a fun after-dinner game: How many terrifying noises, smells, or sounds does it take for you to move out?

Image: Simon and Schuster

9. Miss Pergrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
This novel has the makings of any great horror flick: an abandoned orphanage, haunting children (Because the first rule of effective horror trailer-making is to include a small child’s eerie rendition of nursery rhymes.), and a horrible tragedy. If you doubt your ability to fill in the creepy pieces with your own imagination, the included spooky vintage photographs are guaranteed to haunt your dreams.

Any other books you think should be on this list? Let us know in the comments below!

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Editorial

Yay or Nay: What’s Good and Bad in Horror This Week

Published

1 day ago

May 4, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Welcome to Yay or Nay a weekly mini post about what I think is good and bad news in the horror community written in bite-sized chunks.

Yay:

Mike Flanagan talking about directing the next chapter in the Exorcist trilogy. That might mean he saw the last one and realized there were two left and if he does anything well it’s draw out a story.

Yay:

To the announcement of a new IP-based film Mickey Vs Winnie. It’s fun to read comical hot takes from people who haven’t even seen the movie yet.

Nay:

The new Faces of Death reboot gets an R rating. It’s not really fair — Gen-Z should get an unrated version like past generations so they can question their mortality the same as the rest of us did.

Yay:

Russell Crowe is doing another possession movie. He’s quickly becoming another Nic Cage by saying yes to every script, bringing the magic back to B-movies, and more money into VOD.

Nay:

Putting The Crow back in theaters for its 30th anniversary. Re-releasing classic movies at the cinema to celebrate a milestone is perfectly fine, but doing so when the lead actor in that film was killed on set due to neglect is a cash grab of the worst kind.

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Lists

The Top-Searched Free Horror/Action Movies on Tubi This Week

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The free streaming service Tubi is a great place to scroll when you’re unsure what to watch. They are not sponsored or affiliated with iHorror. Still, we really appreciate their library because it’s so robust and has many obscure horror movies so rare you can’t find them anywhere in the wild except, if you’re lucky, in a moist cardboard box at a yard sale. Other than Tubi, where else are you going to find Nightwish (1990), Spookies (1986), or The Power (1984)?

We take a look at the most searched horror titles on the platform this week, hopefully, to save you some time in your endeavor to find something free to watch on Tubi.

Interestingly at the top of the list is one of the most polarizing sequels ever made, the female-led Ghostbusters reboot from 2016. Perhaps viewers have seen the latest sequel Frozen Empire and are curious about this franchise anomaly. They will be happy to know it’s not as bad as some think and is genuinely funny in spots.

So take a look at the list below and tell us if you are interested in any of them this weekend.

1. Ghostbusters (2016)

Ghostbusters (2016)

An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.

2. Rampage

When a group of animals becomes vicious after a genetic experiment goes awry, a primatologist must find an antidote to avert a global catastrophe.

3. The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren uncover an occult conspiracy as they help a defendant argue that a demon forced him to commit murder.

4. Terrifier 2

After being resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to Miles County, where his next victims, a teenage girl and her brother, await.

5. Don’t Breathe

A group of teens breaks into a blind man’s home, thinking they’ll get away with the perfect crime but get more than they bargained for once inside.

6. The Conjuring 2

In one of their most terrifying paranormal investigations, Lorraine and Ed Warren help a single mother of four in a house plagued by sinister spirits.

7. Child’s Play (1988)

A dying serial killer uses voodoo to transfer his soul into a Chucky doll which winds up in the hands of a boy who may be the doll’s next victim.

8. Jeepers Creepers 2

When their bus breaks down on a deserted road, a team of high school athletes discovers an opponent they cannot defeat and may not survive.

9. Jeepers Creepers

After making a horrific discovery in the basement of an old church, a pair of siblings find themselves the chosen prey of an indestructible force.

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News

Morticia & Wednesday Addams Join Monster High Skullector Series

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Believe it or not, Mattel’s Monster High doll brand has an immense following with both young and not-so-young collectors.

In that same vein, the fan base for The Addams Family is also very large. Now, the two are collaborating to create a line of collectible dolls that celebrate both worlds and what they have created is a combination of fashion dolls and goth fantasy. Forget Barbie, these ladies know who they are.

The dolls are based on Morticia and Wednesday Addams from the 2019 Addams Family animated movie.

As with any niche collectibles these aren’t cheap they bring with them a $90 price tag, but it’s an investment as a lot of these toys become more valuable over time.

“There goes the neighborhood. Meet the Addams Family’s ghoulishly glamorous mother-daughter duo with a Monster High twist. Inspired by the animated movie and clad in spiderweb lace and skull prints, the Morticia and Wednesday Addams Skullector doll two-pack makes for a gift that’s so macabre, it’s downright pathological.”

If you want to pre-purchase this set check out The Monster High website.