Riot Headline Book Riot’s 2024 Read Harder Challenge
Horror

Pick A Horror Movie, Get A Horror Novel

Emily Martin

Contributing Editor

Emily has a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi, MS, and she has an MFA in Creative Writing from GCSU in Milledgeville, GA, home of Flannery O’Connor. She spends her free time reading, watching horror movies and musicals, cuddling cats, Instagramming pictures of cats, and blogging/podcasting about books with the ladies over at #BookSquadGoals (www.booksquadgoals.com). She can be reached at emily.ecm@gmail.com.

Saga Press

In her quickly gentrifying rural lake town Jade sees recent events only her encyclopedic knowledge of horror films could have prepared her for in this latest novel from the Jordan Peele of horror literature, New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones.

Hey horror fans! Are you preparing your TBR list for horror season? Are you planning a movie marathon (or 20) to get you through the autumn months? I’m the type of person who loves to watch and read horror all year round. So I could lie and tell you that I’m suddenly in the mood for horror as soon as the leaves turn brown. But I was reading horror poolside all summer. Still, there’s something about the fall season that makes horror novels all the more exciting. It just feels festive, you know?

If you love horror movies, you’ve probably got a lot of opinions about what kind of horror you prefer to watch. Which is great, because the more you know about your tastes in horror movies, the easier it is to pick out your next favorite horror read. Take this quiz and pick out your favorite horror movies across several genres: vampire movies, zombie films, slasher flicks, sci-fi horror, and more. Then get a new horror novel that’s perfectly suited to your specific tastes.

The following quiz is going to give you the title of your next favorite horror novel, based on your favorite horror movies. After you get your new book, read on to find out more about the book that was chosen for you. And to find out what other results you could have received!

So go ahead and crank up your favorite horror movie soundtrack, take this quiz, and get ready to get scared.

Got your results? Great. Here’s what your new favorite horror book is all about (and here’s a chance to see what other results you could have gotten). Try not to peek before you take the quiz! You wouldn’t want to ruin the scary surprise.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw — This horror novel is a haunted house story inspired by Japanese folktales. A group of friends decide to celebrate a wedding in an abandoned Heian-era mansion. The house is built on the bones of a dead bride who is hungry for company. What could go wrong, right?

The Seven Visitations of Sydney Burgess by Andy Marino — After a home invasion, Sydney Burgess’s life feels like it’s falling apart. She’s told she killed the intruder who broke into her home, but she doesn’t remember that at all. And no one believes her.

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia — This is a neo-noir horror thriller that reimagines vampire mythology. Domingo is a street kid just trying to survive in Mexico City and avoid the cops. Atl is a vampire, a descendent of Aztec blood drinkers, and she needs to escape the city. Will Domingo be able to help Atl escape, or will Mexico City devour them both?

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson — This young adult novel is a psychological horror thriller that’s being compared to The Haunting of Hill House and Get Out. When Marigold moves with her newly blended family into a picture-perfect home in the midwestern city of Cedarville, she thinks this could be the fresh start her family needs. Where have we heard that before? Sounds like the start of every haunted house story ever, right? Yes White Smoke is a haunted house story, but it will surprise you.

This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno — The Thing Between Us is a horror story about a smart speaker (called Itza) gone bad. At first the Itza just seems strange, but then Thiago’s wife dies, and he realizes there’s something much more sinister at play.

Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood — This book is an Ethiopian-inspired dark fantasy retelling of Jane Eyre, with a horror twist. Andromeda is a debtera, which means she cleanses households of the Evil Eye. When she’s hired to work for the handsome Magnus Rochester, Andromeda quickly realizes this job is unlike any other.


Want more horror novel recommendations? Here are 8 of the best horror novels to creep you out this fall. Stay scared, fellow horror fans!