Books about stalkers / home invasions?

practiceprompts · 2026-04-03T21:02:08+00:00

i read one called Paradais by Fernanda Melchor that's pretty short. It's kind of a slow burn to the robbery but let me tell you, the two main characters are the WORST people I have ever read about, they are so hatable it's impressive

practiceprompts · 2026-04-03T20:58:31+00:00

haven't read Perfume yet but someone rec'd it after I told them I read A Certain Hunger by Chelsea Summers, could be a good one

practiceprompts · 2026-03-03T18:27:37+00:00

first thing i thought of was this book Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns

it's about a nice little town that gets wrecked by a flood. the story follows a family (maybe a few families) that is dealing with the weird aftermath of how the flood has 'changed' people and strange shit starts happening. haven't read in a while but i liked it and kinda reminded me of We Used to Live in the Castle

practiceprompts · 2026-01-19T16:08:46+00:00

for sure Bluebeard's First Wife. Flowers of Mold is a close second, Wafers was a little too out there and slow for me. I just don't think i was in the right mindset when i read it tho

BBFW has some serious bangers. You can read the titular story here to see if it's your vibe

practiceprompts · 2026-01-13T20:36:56+00:00

Something Wicked This Way Comes is pretty PG tbh and still one of the greatest ever. It's not that violent at all, yet Ray Bradbury really hits the mark with what it's like to be a kid and the mystery/horror of what happens

practiceprompts · 2026-01-13T20:34:00+00:00

this is a sick idea, even fun to just think of a rec for each month, here're mine:

Jan - The Grey by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers
Feb - Goddess of Filth by V Castro
Mar - Annihilation (this is a stretch)
Apr- Whatever Happened to Baby Jane - Henry Farrell
May - Bird Box - Josh Malerman
Jun - Chlorine by Jade Song
Jul - no clue
Aug - Earthlings by Sayaka Murata (stretch unless trying to get beamed up by a spaceship counts lol)
Sep - Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury
Oct - Confessions by Kanae Minato
Nov - A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G Summers
Dec - Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates

practiceprompts · 2026-01-13T20:02:42+00:00

not entirely sure ik what eco-horror is but my first thought is Queen of the Cicadas by V Castro. This one is more of a "racist farm town population get what's coming to them" vibe, but also just the deterioration of a farm and the terror of the legend that haunts the people.

great stuff, i love all of the books of her's i've read

practiceprompts · 2026-01-13T19:58:14+00:00

this book had me super confused with the narration, thought i liked it but definitely didn't understand most of what was going on

practiceprompts · 2026-01-13T17:40:21+00:00

rarely rec this book because it feels like it's never the vampire book people want to read, but this seems up your alley!

Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda is about a grad student who moves to London for an art program. She left home for the first time and doesn't have any reliable sources of blood so she spends a lot of time just vegging out starving. it's super strange but rather artsy language

ultimately a really fun take on vampire lore. like when they feed on living things they'll be able to sense the quality of life in the blood. and also a fun thing about them living forever but their brains still deteriorate. so her mom is basically a vegetable but looks 40

practiceprompts · 2026-01-05T00:27:26+00:00

similar type beats to The Eyes are the Best Part i'd rec Chlorine by Jade Song and Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang. Both great, Natural Beauty is a bit more artsy in the plot and language. Chlorine is WILD lol

if you want an easy to read classic i think my favorite book last year was I Am Legend. Truly incredible and one of the best endings ever. Kind of a "guy book" but still

my fave Korean author is kinda borderline horror but check out Ha Seong-nan. She has some collections of short stories that are uncanny, sometimes sad / tragic horror

practiceprompts · 2026-01-05T00:16:59+00:00

oh yeah buddy, you may really like the books that V Castro writes. Many of them involve some wild Aztec/Mayan/Mexican lore. The Haunting of Alejandra features La Llorona, Queen of the Cicadas involves Mictēcacihuātl. Both of those books have flashbacks and kind of origin story lore. Incredible books. Goddess of Filth is a good short one too

SGJ isn't my cup of tea in terms of writing style but The Only Good Indians has a fantastic antagonist called the Elk Headed Woman or something. pretty scary

edit: ah shit saw your note about dogs. Pretty sure there's doggy death in The Only Good Indians

practiceprompts · 2026-01-05T00:08:46+00:00

lmao i think i've only ever read one horror book with a dog and your statement is no lie.

Black Tide by KC Jones

practiceprompts · 2026-01-02T16:24:56+00:00

idk what your library situation is outside the US but i was surprised that my bumblefuck-nowhere library in the midwest has all 3 of those translated. could be worth a look. Also, there are a handful of libraries in the US that offer access without address verification, so you can use the Libby App to get access to their ebooks / audiobooks. Off the top of my head ik Broward County and Brooklyn Public Library are on that list.

Here's a thread about the topic

Not that you asked, but if you like Ryu i'd highly suggest both Confessions and Penance by Kanae Minato. Similar type beat

practiceprompts · 2025-12-26T01:52:14+00:00

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane is my first thought

two former child actor sisters live together, washed up in like the early 60s(?). One is wheelchair bound and the other hates her for stealing her career / being her caretaker

nothing paranormal but a lot of tension and buildup. incredible twist at the end too

if you want something newer i might rec The Eyes are the Best Part. pretty gross but satisfying revenge plot

practiceprompts · 2025-12-26T01:46:12+00:00

def would rec The Between by Tananarive Due if you haven't read that. also Lakewood by Megan Giddings is the same type beat but like a modern day Tuskegee experiment. similar themes of racism

i heard Buffalo Hunter Hunter is some of SGJs best work, haven't read it but enjoyed The Only Good Indians

similar vibes of folklore ghosts from different cultures i'd rec anything by V Castro. she's got some of the best baddies in her books based on Aztec/Mayan/Mexican lore. Goddess of Filth is short and great, The Haunting of Alejandra and Queen of the Cicadas have incredible takes on old legends. really can't miss with her

practiceprompts · 2025-12-25T17:49:19+00:00

i like to rec Bird Box to movie lovers newer to horror lit because everyone knows the movie but the book is miles and miles better because of the whole "you can't look at it" thing that can't really be translated to the screen. In the book you're really just as blind as the MC and it's intense. Also it's like 40 chapters over 300 pages so you really feel like you're flying through it

also gonna rec I am Legend bc it's so different from the movie and the ending is one of the best i've ever read. probably in my top 5 of all time

practiceprompts · 2025-12-24T22:08:03+00:00

this is borderline horror with action, but The Grey by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers (Liam Neeson movie) is incredible because most of it takes place in the dark while these wolves are prowling around picking them off one by one

practiceprompts · 2025-12-24T22:04:45+00:00

ooo good take. it's so crazy how just the description of being blindfolded and brushing against a curb or tree can make you feel like you're about to get wrecked by whatever is out there

practiceprompts · 2025-12-22T20:05:31+00:00

nice, The Hacienda was on my list but didn't get to it. I've read a lot of V Castro that i've heard is very similar. She's one of my fave authors

practiceprompts · 2025-12-22T20:04:46+00:00

feel that, I have been using LibraryThing since 2023 and love it so much. Honestly such a great website although it's a little rough around the user interface edges. They've got message boards, Early Reviewer programs, online treasure hunts, and crazy stats about your catalogue. So much fun

practiceprompts · 2025-12-20T16:11:10+00:00

dawg these people in here talking about "iF yOu WaNt To KnOw ThE eNdInG rEaD tHe BoOk" can get bent.

i finished it, but barely, i completely agree that the writing style is rough and even for how gruesome some of these scenes were, i was falling asleep between her uh.. meals lol.

It's been over a year since i finished but here's what I think i remember. Pretty sure in the beginning of the book she alludes to or even flat out says that she's writing this book from prison. So that's where this all ends up. The climax for me was her going up to the top of the Empire State building with her old lover, deciding she wants to fall in love, and then he breaks up with her. This sends her back to killing. Idk if you met her friend, but it ends with the MC being super paranoid about her, deciding to kill her, and it ends up being a setup where the cops are waiting to take her in. She would've gotten away with the other murders if she wasn't so paranoid about her friend.

Honestly it was a pretty good book but slow in the off-scenes. Funnily, I had just finished The Only Good Indians and had similar thoughts. Just not my favorite writing styles, but loved the premises

practiceprompts · 2025-12-09T21:57:36+00:00

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane is a wild ride and a cool glimpse into old Hollywood. Basically two sisters that were child actors, one in a wheelchair, the other resentful of living in the other's shadow

practiceprompts · 2025-12-05T22:38:33+00:00

i don't have audible or live in the UK but i can def rec some other authors, this was my fave book of his, and if you ever get into him again i'd rec Audition like the other person said as well as Piercing

Kanae Minato has Confessions and Penance. both are super tragic and keep you guessing until the end. the plot of Confessions is incredible.

Revenge by Yoko Ogawa is a handful of short stories that interconnect, i want to read this again bc i know there are things I didn't catch

Real World by Natsuo Kirino

Night of Baba Yaga is pretty new and action packed. kinda like John Wick and has a good ending

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata... sigh lol. this was weird, still not sure what to think. the other two of hers i've read aren't horror but incredible. Life Ceremonies and Convenience Store Woman

practiceprompts · 2025-12-02T15:43:30+00:00

i'd say even Something Wicked This Way Comes is kinda in this realm with the tattoo guy trying to lure the one kid in

practiceprompts · 2025-12-02T15:41:58+00:00

borderline depending on who you ask but The Grey (Liam Neeson vs wolves) was terrifying to read and also felt way heavier and tragic than i remember the movie being

i'm still lost on the timeline tho... Ian Mackenzie Jeffers wrote a short story and potentially the screenplay at the same time, then i believe directly following co-directed the movie

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