Horror Novels Making My 2016 Reading List

Most years I don’t keep a planned reading list, but 2016 is an exception. My bookshelves are filling up with “to be read” titles, and I’d like to put a bigger dent in that collection this year. While most of my list features mysteries (I’m far more backlogged with those), several horror novels made the cut.

These are the horror, or borderline-horror, novels I’m planning to read or re-read in 2016.

  • Ghost Story by Peter Straub
  • Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
  • Horns by Joe Hill
  • Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Graham-Smith
  • Little Girls by Ronald Malfi
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (a re-read)
  • Misery by Stephen King (a re-read)
  • The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (a re-read)
  • We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
  • Coraline by Neil Gaiman
  • Frankenstein by Mary Shelly (ashamed to say I haven’t read this yet)
  • Timeline by Michael Crichton (a re-read)
  • Queen of Kings by Maria Dahvana Headley
  • Prisoner 489 by Joe Lansdale
  • The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (I’d read it in its original French years ago, but didn’t tackle the English translation until this month; this was the first book I knocked off my reading list.)

I’m also looking forward to reading a few short story collections including Jack Zipes’ translation of the first edition of the Grimms’ tales.

Knowing me, I’ll give at least a few indie authors a shot too if I see something that looks appealing. And I usually toss in other “whim reads” when I just want to step away from plans and do something a little different. So if you have recommendations, I’d love to hear about them.

What horror novels are on your reading list this year?

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