Phantoms
“Phantoms” is a book by Dean Koontz, released in 1983. This spine-tingling story explores the delicate nature of relationships in the face of unimaginable horrors. It takes place in a secluded village called Snowfield and focuses on two sisters, Jenny and Lisa, who come back home to discover their family members have disappeared without a trace.
As they battle an invisible threat that has wiped out the community, their fight becomes a compelling journey through fear, survival, and the importance of family ties. Koontz skillfully incorporates themes of solitude and the human spirit’s ability to endure throughout the plot.
Although it hasn’t been turned into a movie, its haunting setting and psychological complexity make a deep impact, encouraging readers to reflect on the power of love and togetherness when confronting the unknown.
Swan Song
“Swan Song” is a novel published in 1987. This tale written by Robert McCammon which became a bestseller soon after its publication, takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting devastated and destroyed by nuclear conflict, where the remaining members of humanity strive to survive amidst turmoil and despair.
The story centers around various characters, including the determined young girl, Sister Creep, and the brave truck driver, Josh, as they travel through the wasteland and face the malevolent forces that jeopardize their existence.
Throughout their adventures, McCammon dives into themes of hope, redemption, and the unbreakable strength of the human spirit. Although the novel has yet to be transformed into a live-action film, its intricate character depiction and storytelling leave a lasting impact.
Gone Girl
Published in 2012, “Gone Girl” is a novel that has been a New York Times best seller. It is one of the most popular works by the author Gillian Flynn. This is a psychological thriller and it uncovers the deep dark complexities of deception, infidelity and marriage.
This story centers around Nick and Amy Dunne, whose relationship seems to be perfect but later on unravels when the wife, Amy goes missing on their fifth wedding anniversary. As the investigation goes on a lot of secrets along with lies come forward.
The truth about the authentic selves of both spouses starts to come out as well. The story follows the themes of manipulation and the masks that people wear in order to hide their true nature and identity.
This story has also been adapted into a successful film and has been a major hit.
The Silent Patient
“The Silent Patient” was published in 2019, but it gained popularity pretty quick due to its unsettling themes and story. The novel is written by Alex Michaelides and it is a psychological thriller.
The narrative centers around the main character Alicia Berenson, a famous painter who is said to have shot her husband mysteriously and has said to be physically gone silent afterward. The story is written from the point of view of the psychotherapist, Theo Faber who is obsessed with discovering the truth that lies behind the silence.
As he dives deeper into the events leading up to the murder a lot of dark truths come out that uncover the concealed complexities of trauma, betrayal and love.
You
“You” is a novel written by Caroline Kepnes and it is also one of those novels that became very popular and had a live adaptation made on them as well! It was published in 2014 and is still in demand by the readers till date.
This is also an unsettling psychological story that is centered around Joe Goldberg, who seems to a young charming man but the dark truth is that he is deeply troubled and is a bookstore manager. He becomes infatuated with a customer named Guinevere Beck. He used social media along with his obsessive tendencies to stalk her and infiltrates her life in any way possible.
And he seems to think he is doing all this under the pretense of love. This book has themes of toxicity in relationships, the dark side of obsession and modern romance turned dark. Its live adaptation is still going on and is loved by its fan base.
The Girl On the Train
The Girl On the Train by Paula Hawkins is another New York Times bestseller as well as a well-loved novel that ended up getting a live adaptation. It was published in 2015.
This story revolves around a woman who has trouble with alcoholism after her divorce and she becomes obsessed with this seemingly perfect couple. She takes the same train every day that stops near her old neighborhood where she watched the lives of this couple to the point of obsession, specifically after the woman goes missing.
This psychological thriller unravels the layers of deception, trauma, memory and loss, complexities of human relationships.
Jennifer’s Body
Jennifer’s Body is a novel by Diablo Cody that was adapted from the 2009 live action film of the same name. The book and the movie both are in demand and an all-time favourite.
The narrative revolves around the main character Jennifer Check who is a popular girl in high school and a cheerleader. Her body gets possessed by a demon after a failed sacrifice. After, she starts to prey on her male classmates which leads to a horrific series of murders.
The story is told from the point of view of Jennifer’s best friend, Needy, who is trying to grapple with her own complex and complicated feelings towards Jennifer and her actions.
It has themes of horror with some dark comedy, while it also has a lot of disturbing elements like violence and possession along with some feminist undertones which caused it to gain a very huge following.
American Psycho
American Psycho was published in 1991, it is a dark satire by Bret Easton Ellis and explores the extremes of consumerism, vanity, and moral decay in Manhattan in the 1980s. The main character is Patrick Bateman, a well-off and charismatic investment banker who conceals a terrifying secret: he is also a violent psychopath.
The story centers around Bateman’s gruesome double life as it grows more horrifying as he makes his way through a society that is fixated on wealth, appearances, and social standing. As he delves into terrifying fantasies that reveal his fractured nature, his flawless exterior belies a disturbing need for violence. American Psycho was adapted into a successful live action film starring Christian Bale, which captured Bateman’s chilling character and the unsettling satire of the novel.
Bird Box
Published in 2014, Bird Box gained popularity very quickly due to its live-action film on Netflix. The book was published in 2014, it is a very disturbing novel that takes place in a post-apocalyptic era.
The story is set in a world where an unseen entity pushes people to madness and drives them to insanity which causes them to commit suicide upon sight. The story centers around a woman, Malorie, a mother who is trying to protect her two children in this gruesome environment.
Amidst all this chaos she tries to protect herself and her kids, she has to go through a number of challenges while being blindfolded in order to avoid the entity. It falls under contemporary horror literature and is one of the most disturbing reads ever, it is such an unsettling novel that has such an impact that makes it a memorable read.
Pet Sematary
Published in 1983, Pet Sematary is a chilling story. It is written by Stephen King and it also has a very popular movie based on it as well! The story revolves around main character of the tale, who is Louis Creed, a physician who moves to a small Maine town with his family and soon finds a secret graveyard tucked away in the surrounding forest.
Beyond this “Pet Sematary,” where local kids have interred their pets for decades, lies a darker secret: it is a cursed graveyard, that has the ability to resurrect the dead, but at a terrifying price. Louis is lured to the cemetery’s sinister charm while disaster strikes the Creed family, starting a terrible series of events that degenerate into unthinkable horror.
Tender Is the Flesh
Published in 2015, Tender Is the Flesh is written by Augustina Bazterrica. This is an unsettling tale where humans are farmed for meat now instead of animals as there has been a mysterious novel that led to cannibalism as a solution.
The story follows the story of a worker in a processing plant, Marcos who is deeply affected by these dehumanizing practices. This tale dives into internal conflicts and how he struggles with the normalization of cannibalism. This unsettling dystopian novel explores thought provoking themes and the darkest aspects of humanity.
It
Published in 1986, “IT” is a horror novel by Stephen King. The story takes place in a fictional town of Derry, Maine. The story centers around the group of children known as the Losers’ Club who encounter a malevolent entity that takes the form of a clown, Pennywise.
The story alternates between two separate timelines: the children’s battles against the entity in the 1950s and their reunion as adults and in the 1980s just to encounter the entity again. This novel explores the genre of friendship, memories and childhood trauma. It also has had two successful films and a miniseries.
