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Scary Literary Fiction for People Who Hate Horror

"What if blood and guts and ghosts are just really not your thing? What can you possibly read in this spookiest of months? Well, as it turns out, there are plenty of very scary novels in the literary fiction section. Some of the books below are existentially disturbing, some morally frightening, some simply sickening—in that good way, I mean, the way that keeps you turning pages, holding your breath, checking the locks at chapter breaks—but none are typical horror novels, though some do have supernatural or surrealist elements."
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Fever Dream (Samanta Schweblin)
Fever Dream
1
Samanta Schweblin
The Border of Paradise: A Novel (Esmé Weijun Wang)
The Border of Paradise: A Novel
2
Esmé Weijun Wang
Kindred (Octavia Butler)
Kindred
3
Octavia Butler
A Little Life (Hanya Yanagihara)
A Little Life
4
Hanya Yanagihara
2666 (Roberto Bolano)
2666
5
Roberto Bolano
The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
The Handmaid's Tale
6
Margaret Atwood
Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy)
Blood Meridian
7
Cormac McCarthy
A Manual for Cleaning Women (Lucia Berlin)
A Manual for Cleaning Women
8
Lucia Berlin
Coin Locker Babies - Ryu Murakami
Coin Locker Babies - Ryu Murakami
9
The Trial (Franz Kafka)
The Trial
10
Franz Kafka
The Woman in the Dunes (Kobo Abe)
The Woman in the Dunes
11
Kobo Abe
Black Hole (Charles Burns)
Black Hole
12
Charles Burns
Beside the Sea (Véronique Olmi)
Beside the Sea
13
Véronique Olmi
White Is for Witching (Helen Oyeyemi)
White Is for Witching
14
Helen Oyeyemi
Bastard Out of Carolina (Dorothy Allison)
Bastard Out of Carolina
15
Dorothy Allison
Threats
Threats
16
Crash (J.G. Ballard)
Crash
17
J.G. Ballard
In Cold Blood (Truman Capote)
In Cold Blood
18
Truman Capote
Disgrace (J. M. Coetzee)
Disgrace
19
J. M. Coetzee
We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lionel Shriver)
We Need to Talk About Kevin
20
Lionel Shriver
The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Conner (Flannery O'Conner)
The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Conner
21
Flannery O'Conner
Black Water (Joyce Carol Oates)
Black Water
22
Joyce Carol Oates
Tampa (Alissa Nutting)
Tampa
23
Alissa Nutting
Push (Sapphire)
Push
24
Sapphire
Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)
Never Let Me Go
25
Kazuo Ishiguro
Room (Emma Donoghue)
Room
26
Emma Donoghue
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