Let’s face it, there comes a time when you want to read something that scares you silly.  Something you can’t put down, even if it means keeping the lights on when you finally decide to go to bed.  Check out our list of the 7 scariest novels. The Shining – Stephen King – If you’ve seen the Stanley Kubrick movie about the haunted hotel outside of Colorado by the same name and decided not to read the book, then you are missing a whole lot.  The book is much, much scarier than the movie, and goes into a lot more detail.  Not to mention it has a different ending.  Stephen King himself wasn’t a big fan of the movie, complaining of what was missing. The Exorcist – William Peter Blatty – The movie is considered one of the scariest of all times, but it pales in comparison to the source material.  The book is based on a true story, but the name and locations have all been changed.  the pace of the novel is quick, and the action starts right away.  It’s entirely possible that you’ll read the entire  story of a young girl’s exorcism in one sitting. The Demonologist – Andrew Pyper – The Canadian author takes you from Venice and back as the main characters attempts to find his missing daughter, while tracking a demon who kidnapped her.  Pyper presents the story in a way that doesn’t dumb things down, which makes it that much more terrifying. Hell House – Richard Matheson – Like most good scary novels, this one too was turned into a movie, but like most of adaptations, this one is far scarier.  Thankfully it is a quick read, as you definitely will want to read through it as quickly as possible.  It’s about a team of scientists and mediums hired to look into the possibility of life after death, who spend their time investigating what is considered to be the most haunted house in America. The Silence of the Lambs – Thomas Harris – If you seek thrills other than the supernatural, this novel about an FBI agent trying to track down a serial killer, by spending time with another serial killer, is sure to get you what you seek.  There is something about reading Hannibal Lecter’s speeches instead of hearing them that will drive your imagination wild. Ghosts – Noel Hynd – Never heard of this one?  We’re not surprised.  This books about an actress, a burnt out cop, and a ghost hunting priest fighting an evil spirit wasn’t a best seller by any stretch of the imagination, but it is scarier than a lot of other books with similar subject matter.  Whatever you do, don’t read it late at night alone. The Store – Bentley Little – Little consistently releases a novel every year, but this one about an evil department store that takes over a small town (think Wal-Mart, just way more evil) is by far one of his best.  His work always comes out in paperback first so it’s a cheap read.

"There is no greater privilege than making up a homegrown myth and having someone else - a distant third party, a stranger - accept it, live it, modify it with their own imaginations.  Wait, not true.  There is one greater privilege.

 You can introduce your children to all this."