Horror Books that made me say "What the f*k did I just read?"

There's a very specific category of horror book that I don't think gets enough love. It's not really about being scared, it's about being completely baffled in the best way. You finish the last page, you close the book, you stare at the ceiling, and you think: what the f**k did I just read?

And then you immediately want to read it again.

These are my favorite books in that category. The ones that are unlike anything else I've ever read. If you love being genuinely surprised, buckle up.

But first, I’m trying to keep my shit together because this week I got the chat with Rachel Harrison on Talking Horror and I was fangirling hard.

Rachel Harrison is the New York Times bestselling author of The Return, Such Sharp Teeth, Play Nice, and her brand new novel out today, Kiss Slay Replay. She writes horror that's as funny as it is terrifying, full of messy, relatable women up against werewolves, witches, haunted houses, and now a wedding weekend stuck on repeat.

We talk about her “will they or won't they” relationship with horror, including a full panic attack watching The Orphanage in college that she couldn't shake the next morning. Rachel walks me through landing her literary agent through a Twitter pitch contest called PitDark on a whim, and releasing The Return into the very first week of COVID lockdown. She opens up about why she pushes back on being boxed in as a feminist horror author, and the shower epiphany about lady werewolf fiction that became Such Sharp Teeth.

Plus, a first look at her next book, a moodier, sepia-toned ghost story, and her nerves and excitement about her first-ever European tour. Go listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.

So grab your copy of Kiss Slay Replay, and check out the episode on on Youtube, or listen on Spotify or Apple Music.

Now for the recs.

You can grab all of this week’s titles on my curated shelf here!

This book is quite literally about a haunted suit jacket. I don't think anyone in the history of literature has ever said "I'll write about a haunted suit jacket," except for Joe Hill. And it absolutely works. Incredible pacing, hilarious dialogue, killer character development, and just a wicked creep of a villian. So original.

You go into this one thinking it's going to be a standard haunted house novel. Oh no, no, no, no, NO. What it actually is, is wild. And for that exact reason, it's a must-read. Wendig writes the kind of story where you keep thinking you've got it figured out, and you absolutely do not. It starts as one thing, and suddenly morphs into something else. Fantastic!

My actual review of this book was, verbatim, "what the f**k did I just read?" (you can fact-check my Fable account) And I mean it as a compliment. The two best words to describe this one are psychopath nanny. I don't know what more you could possibly want from a book than that. It is an absolute hell of a time.

Have you seen the movie Monster House? This is that book, if it grew up and got really, really dark and twisty. Christina Henry just has this way of taking something you think you know and turning it inside out. I was here for every single second of it. Also, we chatted about it on the podcast and she is awesome!

It is so bizarre and so weird, and one of the main characters is a cat. A religious cat. And that alone should be enough to have you wondering what the f**k. Trust me on this one, go in knowing nothing, and let it do its thing. This one may be the most bizzare on this list.

This is about a Hollywood scriptwriter who just wants to write authentic queer fiction, and a studio that is... messed up. Trying to determine exactly what was going to happen in this book was a journey, and I apparently really love that. Hold on tight, it's a wild ride and it fully commits to the bit. Also, if you haven’t check out our podcast episode, it really lets you see inside the wonderful, creative person that Tingle is.

What about you? Do you have a book that had you staring at a wall and contemplating your sanity, if so, I want to know what it was.

Host of Talking Horror Podcast