10 scary books that will keep you up all night

There is a sort of spookiness in the winter chill. Maybe it is because the darkness descends earlier in the day and also because the mist that hangs around gives the weather a mysterious appeal. It's no wonder Halloween falls at this time. Halloween is an annual celebration of all things spooky. The history of the festival is complex but it now represents all things scary. People like to dress up as scary characters, watch scary movies or read scary books. For those who want to read or gift ‘very’ scary books, here are some that will freak you out of your senses:
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This book won the Edge Hill Short Story Prize and was honoured as NPR Best Book of the Year and A New York Times Notable Book of the Year. It's a collection of tales that start normally but then gradually uncover the horror of things that can happen in a normal life. A child explores her home at night, a young woman accepts a ride from some older guys, a housekeeper who cares for a frail old man learns about his past and so on, the stories sound simple, but the pacing and plots are excellent.
Photo: Harper

Set in a British colony that now falls under Malaysia in the 1800's, this book follows a girl married to a dead man. Li Lan has terrible prospects and has to accept a proposal from a respectable family for their son. Their son is dead and needs a bride to calm his restless spirit. She finds herself attracted to her husband's living cousin after marriage. However, her husband haunts her dreams and draws her into the spirit world and she has to fight to stay alive.
Photo: William Morrow Paperbacks

The ultimate 'haunted house' story, this novel needs no ghosts to terrify the reader with supernatural elements. The book follows a family that moves into a house which seems to have a life of it's own. It grows and changes on its own, adding new rooms and soon the children are drawn to the sounds they hear emanating from a tunnel.
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The scariest part about this book is that it's true, it's based on a true story. While the writing isn't like that of a thriller the fact it's all likely real will scare readers. In a house in Amityville, USA, there was a Ronald J. DeFeo Jr. who murdered his entire family while they were asleep in 1974. In 1975 another family moved in and within a month they fled for there were too many strange things happening in that house. This book tells their story.
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No collection of scary stories would be complete without a submission by the King of horror, Stephen King. This terrifying book is about a teenage girl called Carrie who develops supernatural powers and then uses them to exact terrible revenge on all those who bullied her. The tale is told in epistolary format, through newspaper and magazine articles, letters, and excerpts from books. It has had several screen and even theatre adaptations.
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This compilation of short stories is originally written for children, though it is enjoyed by all ages. Some parents deem it unfit for children so it's best to read it once before deciding if it should be gifted to a child. The book has had a couple of sequels and even a film adaptation.
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This creepy book is set in the 1940's in England. A country doctor visits a crumbling mansion and befriends the residents. Their family has resided in the mansion for generations and the current resident's declining fortunes are making it hard to maintain such a vast property. However, the doctor soon has a reason to suspect that there is something more to the house they reside in.
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Set in a post-apocalyptic Earth, this scary novel is about loss on many levels, includingthe loss of humanity. A father and son brave a destroyed desolate world where only a pistol and their vigilance keeps them safe from the cannibals.
Photo: Panmacmillan

This book follows a young woman who gets coaxed to clean out her late grandmother's home by her father. On reaching the mysterious cottage in the woods she discovers her grandmother was a hoarder, which makes her task much more difficult. She finds a diary with entries that seem hard to believe, but then when she starts noticing similar things happening, she realises she needs to be careful.
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This classic story has very little mystery left for it has been adapted many times and in so many ways that most have seen it somehow. However, reading it is still a novel experience. The story is about a man who goes to Crythin Gifford, a small town in England. As he resides there he often sees a woman in black clothes with dark eyes and pale skin under mysterious circumstances. He slowly uncovers the history of the spectre but is unable to stop her.
Photo: Random House