I have always been fascinated by horror, particularly the dark and imagination-inciting creatures produced by it (even though I’m a big scaredy-cat, haha!). In a time when slasher films and haunted houses tend to dominate the horror genre, I set out to create a creature-feature similar to the 80s and early 90s classics I grew up with (Aliens, The Thing, Phantoms, Dawn of the Dead). I fell in love with creating truly nightmarish monstrosities and deep, vulnerable but strong characters to battle them. The books on this list are definitely huge inspirations in my own work, so I hope you enjoy the beasties in them as much as I have!
A cruise ship disappears without a trace, reemerging a week later and transmitting a single word: Pandora. Business tycoon and owner of the cruise line Patrick Carver sends a band of mercenaries to land on the ship and figure out what happened. For reasons beyond her, young doctor Aubrey Pittenger is chosen to go along for the ride. But all is not as it seems aboard the crumbling cruise liner, and evil comes in many forms. Now the ragtag team will have to band together in order to survive the night in this Aliens/The Thing homage horror thriller from the mind of bestselling author Joshua Grant!
I have always loved the hapless heroes and gruesome thrills of the Resident Evil video game series! When a friend bought me this book, I was a bit skeptical at first, but it quickly became my favorite book series I’ve ever read! It builds depth and likability into the characters and situation beyond what the games have ever achieved, and it’s just fun to spend some more time with zombies and other horrifying creatures! S.D. Perry is definitely one of the biggest influences on my early writing.
Claire Redfield's desperate search for her missing brother leads her to a remote island, where a mad genius has unleashed every grotesque creature at his disposal to stop her from interfering with his horrific agenda. Meanwhile, Chris Redfield has been fighting a one-man war against Umbrella's creations...and is now on a collision course with the man who betrayed the S.T.A.R.S. in Raccoon City.
This book is all around haunting and instantly made me a huge fan of Dean Koontz. Set in an apartment complex with a long history of violence and hauntings, Koontz does a fantastic job of setting up expectations, and then subverting those expectations. Not everything here is as it seems. Throw in some disturbing creatures and an interesting twist and I was hooked!
Heart-stopping thriller from the master of suspense. Bad things are starting to happen at the Pendleton, an eerie building with a tragic past.
The Pendleton stands on the summit of Shadow Hill, a palace built in the late 19th century as a tycoon's dream home. But its grandeur has been scarred by episodes of madness, suicide and mass murder. Since being converted into luxury apartments in the 70s, however, the Pendleton has been at peace. For its fortunate residents - among them ex-marine Bailey Hawk, songwriter Twyla Trahern and her young son Winny - the Pendleton is a sanctuary, its…
I was one of those people that read this one after seeing the popular film on Netflix. While I enjoy the movie a bit better personally, the book adds a lot of depth to the characters and sheds more light on the strange and creepy creatures. I just love the alien and unknowable nature of the monsters in this one, along with the downright creepiness of the people that worship these creatures. I truly can’t wait for them to make a film of the sequel!
I know, it’s the same guy that created Jurassic Park, but this book is downright a horror novel! It made me afraid of the ocean for years! It’s the fantastic writing and mind-bending nature of this one that makes it so suspenseful, and all the creature encounters are pulse-pounding. Just don’t read this one if you like the movie. I couldn’t even go back and watch it after reading.
“Crichton keeps us guessing at every turn in his best work since The Andromeda Strain.” —Los Angeles Times
“Sphere may be Crichton’s best novel, but even if it ranked only second or third, it would be a must for suspense fans.” —Miami Herald
A classic thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Crichton, Sphere is a bravura demonstration of what he does better than anyone: riveting storytelling that combines frighteningly plausible, cutting edge science and technology with pulse-pounding action and serious chills. The gripping story of a group of American scientists sent to the…
I actually kind of hate all the characters in this novella (I’m actually not a huge Stephen King fan), but the creatures and the horrifying nature of this world made me half to read it (and I wasn’t disappointed). Mist in itself makes everything creepy. Now fill that with nightmarish things flitting about and some truly grizzly deaths, and I’m liable to never go outside in the fog ever again! It’s the monsters that made this one for me, and it is a testament to King that my imagination still wonders just what were those horrid things and where did they come from?
#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King’s terrifying novella about a town engulfed in a dense, mysterious mist as humanity makes its last stand against unholy destruction—originally published in the acclaimed short story collection Skeleton Crew and made into a TV series, as well as a feature film starring Thomas Jane and Marcia Gay Harden.
In the wake of a summer storm, terror descends...David Drayton, his son Billy, and their neighbor Brent Norton join dozens of others and head to the local grocery store to replenish supplies following a freak storm. Once there, they become trapped by a strange…
Meet Tony Valenti. His high-flying corporate law career just cratered. His society marriage blew up in a bitter divorce. He's returned to the Chicago suburbs to lick his wounds and regroup in the haven of the Valenti family home. But time to heal isn't in the cards.
Tony's elderly father inexplicably shoots a sheriff's deputy on their front porch. Nobody knows why, and Papa isn't talking. Then their house becomes an unlikely target for condemnation and expropriation by corrupt local officials and their cronies.
With money and hope dwindling, Tony steps up to defend his father and take to city hall, and quickly finds himself in peril when he unearths sinister connections between the cases. The audacity of the plot against them fuels a gritty determination to get to the bottom of what really happened—regardless of the risks and ultimate cost to himself. To win, Tony must earn his father's trust and outwit his wily opponents.
Meet Tony Valenti. His high-flying corporate law career just cratered. His society marriage blew up in a bitter divorce. He’s returned to the Chicago suburbs to lick his wounds and regroup in the haven of the Valenti family home. But time to heal isn’t in the cards.
Tony’s elderly father inexplicably shoots a sheriff’s deputy on their front porch. Nobody knows why, and Papa isn’t talking. Then their house becomes an unlikely target for condemnation and expropriation by corrupt local officials and their cronies.
With money and hope dwindling, Tony steps up to defend…
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