Ajvide Lindqvist, John. Harbor. (2011)
One ordinary winter afternoon on a snowy island, Anders and Cecilia take their six-year-old daughter Maja across the ice to visit the lighthouse in the middle of the frozen channel. While the couple explore the lighthouse, Maja disappears — either into thin air or under thin ice — leaving not even a footprint in the snow. Two years later, alone and more or less permanently drunk, Anders returns to the island to regroup. He slowly realises that people are not telling him all they know; even his own mother, it seems, is keeping secrets. What is happening in Domaro, and what power does the sea have over the town’s inhabitants?

Allbritten, Esri. Chihuahua of the Baskervilles. (2011)
When the owner of a small-dog clothing catalog reports sightings of a canine ghost who some believe to be a former retail mascot, the eccentric staff of a low-budget paranormal periodical visit Colorado’s Manitou Springs to investigate.

Alderman, P.J.. Ghost Ship: A Port Chatham Mystery (2011).
A recent transplant to Washington State’s charming seaside town of Port Chatham, Jordan is still getting used to sharing her slightly run-down but historic lodging with ghosts.

Allan, Barbara. Antiques Maul: A Trash ‘N Treasure Mystery.

Amis, Kingsley. The Green Man.

Anson,Jay. Amityville Horror.
Non-Fiction that’s really scary.

Anthony, Piers. Shade of the Tree.

Armstrong, Kelly. Bitten.
Excellent debut revolving around werewolves, see review.

Austen, Jane & Seth Grahame-Smith. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: A Classic Regency Romance–now with untraviolent Zombie Mayhem. Review

Austin, John So Now You’re a Zombie: A Handbook for the Newly Undead (2010) .
Humorous look at the undead phenomenon.

Bachman, Richard. Thinner.
Classic Stephen King.

Banerjee, Anjali. Haunting Jasmine. (2011)
A call from the past brings divorcee Jasmine Mistry home to Shelter Island to run her beloved aunt’s bookstore, which has always been rumored to be haunted. Jasmine embarks on a mystical journey, guided by the highly emotional spirits of long-dead authors.

Banks, L.A. Undead on Arrival: A Crimson City Novel.
Urban Fantasy.

Barbeau, Adrienne & Michael Scott. Vampyres of Hollywood.
Fang-in-cheek humor

Baker, Nancy. The Night Inside: A Vampire Thriller.

Barker, Clive. Great and Secret Show.
One of the greats in horror–the very best in short story form.

Barlow, Toby. Sharp Teeth.
An ancient race of lycanthropes have survived to the present day.

Beagle, Peter. A Fine and Private Place.

Bierce, Ambrose. Ghost and Horror Stories of Ambrose Bierce.

Black, Campbell. Letters From the Dead.

Blackwell, Juliet. If Walls Could Talk: A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery. (2010)
—.Dead Bolt; bk.2 (2011)

Blatty, William Peter. The Exorcist.

Bohjalian, Chris. The Night Strangers. (2011)
A riveting and dramatic ghost story: In a dusty corner of a basement in a rambling Victorian house in northern New Hampshire, a door has long been sealed shut with 39 six-inch-long carriage bolts. The home’s new owners are Chip and Emily Linton and their twin ten-year-old daughters. Together they hope to rebuild their lives there after Chip, an airline pilot, had to ditch his 70-seat regional jet in Lake Champlain after double engine failure. Unlike the Miracle on the Hudson, however, most of the passengers aboard Flight 1611 died on impact or were drowned. The body count? Thirty-nine, a coincidence not lost on Chip when he discovers the number of bolts in that basement door. Meanwhile, Emily finds herself wondering about the women in this sparsely populated White Mountain village, self-proclaimed herbalists, and their interest in her fifth-grade daughters. Are the women mad? Or is it her husband, in the wake of the tragedy, whose grip on sanity has become desperately tenuous? The result is a powerful ghost story with a palpable sense of place, an unerring sense of the demons that drive us, and characters we care about deeply. The difference this time? Some of those characters are dead.

Borchardt, Alice. Silver Wolf.
Followed by Night of the Wolf and The Wolf King.

Boyd, Donna. The Promise and The Passion.
Werewolves at their attractive best.

Bradbury, Ray. Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Brite, Poppy Z. Exquisite Corpse.

Brooks, Max. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.

Brown, Ryan. Play Dead (2010) .
For the first time in Killington High School history, the Jackrabbits football team is one win away from the district championship where it will face its most vicious rival. On the way to the game, the Jackrabbits’ bus plunges into a river, killing every player except for bad-boy quarterback Cole Logan who is certain the crash was no accident. Bent on payback, Cole turns to a mysterious fan skilled in black magic to resurrect his teammates. But unless the undead Jackrabbits defeat their murderous rival on the field, the team is destined for hell. — from publisher description.

Burley, W.J. Wycliffe and the Scapegoat.
Mystery

Butcher, Jim. Ghost Story. (2011)
“In his life, Harry’s been shot, stabbed, sliced, beaten, burned, crushed, and tortured. And after someone puts a bullet through his chest and leaves him to die in the waters of Lake Michigan, things really start going downhill. But even trapped in the realm between life and death, Harry can’t catch a break…So the late Harry Dresden will have to pull off the ultimate trick without using any magic–or face an eternity as just another lost soul”–Provided by publisher. Highly recommended that if you are unfamiliar with this series, you start with the first, Storm Front.

Butler, Octavia. Fledgling.
Vampire horror

Cadnum, Michael. Horses of the Night.

Campbell, Ramsey, almost anything–short stories and novels.
Grin of the Dark (2008)

Carrington, Tori. Working Stiff: A Sofie Metropolis Novel
Sofie’s latest adventure takes place just before Halloween

Clark, Francis. Waking Brigid
Horror in late 1800s Georgia

Coffman, Elaine. The Return of Black Douglas. (2011) HISTORICAL ROMANCE
“Longing for a man like Mr. Darcy and haunted by the feeling she was born two hundred years too late, Isobella Douglas never dreamed she would get what she wished for– until she was hurled back five centuries to the Isle of Mull in the year 1515. She arrived in the midst of a battle between the
Mackinnon’s and Maclean’s, only to be abandoned there by the capricious ghost of Black Douglas. “–from author’s web site.

Collins, Nancy A., excellent short horror stories, and check out the Sonja Blue vampire series.

Condé, Nicholas. In the Deep Woods.

Coyne, John. Hobgoblin.

Crawford, Isis. A Catered Halloween: A Mystery with Recipes.

Daniels, Casey. A Hard Day’s Fright: A Pepper Martin Mystery. (2011)
One night in 1966 after a Beatles concert, a teenager named Lucy started home with her friends and was never seen again–until she decides to haunt reluctant medium Pepper Martin. Lucy’s spirit can’t rest in peace until her body is found and buried, but how will Pepper track down a missing corpse after 45 years? 7th in series that begins with Don of the Dead.

De Felitta, Frank. Audrey Rose & The Entity.

Drake, Shannon. The Awakening..
Horror in Salem, MA with a Romance theme.

Due, Tananarive.

Duncan, J.N. Deadworld. (2011) MYSTERY
“She’s as tough as anything haunting Chicago’s streets. But to deal with an inhuman power that won’t stay buried, this FBI agent needs help that comes at an immortal price…Jackie Rutledge has seen her share of supernatural killers. But her latest murder case is what recurring nightmares are made of. Brutally exsanguinated human victims, vanishing-into-the-ether evidence, and a city on the edge of panic mean that she and her psychic partner, Laurel, are going to need more than just backup…So Jackie is fine with any help rugged P.I. Nick Anderson can give – even if that includes the impish ghost and sexy vampire who make up his team. But Nick is hiding secrets of his own. And Jackie’s investigation has plunged them both into a vengeful game reaching back centuries – and up against a malevolent force hungry for more than just victory…”–P. [4] of cover.

Elrod, P.N.My Big, Fat, Supernatural Wedding
My Big, Fat, Supernatural Honeymoon.
Short Stories

Erskine, Barbara. House of Echoes.
Romance with vampires.

Farris, John. You Don’t Scare Me.

Ferris, Monica. Blackwork.
Needlecraft Mystery; bk.13

Freedman, Dave. Natural Selection.
Monsters in CA

Freydont, Shelley. Halloween Murder: A Lindy Haggerty Mystery.

Frost, Mark. List of 7.
Arthur Conan Doyle supernatural Mystery series.

Gaiman, Neil. Neverwhere.
Helping a young woman who lies dirty and bleeding in the street leads the main character into London Below–the long-forgotten parts of historic London–a place so overrun with monsters that it is terrifying (Novelist, 10/2/02).

Ghost Stories. Everyman’s Library edition includes Robert Louis Stevenson, Ray Bradbury and Edith Wharton among many others.

Goshgarian, Gary. The Stone Circle.
Review.

Grace, Margaret. Monster in Minature.
Gearldine Porter mystery

Graham, Lorna. The Ghost of Greenwich Village. (2011)
A young woman moves to Manhattan seeking romance and excitement, only to find that her apartment is haunted by the ghost of a cantankerous Beat Generation writer in need of a rather huge favor.

Grahame-Smith, Seth. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. (2010)
What if? mashup from author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies on this list.

Grant, Helen The Glass Demon (2011) .
When seventeen-year-old Lin and her family move to an ancient German castle for a year while her medievalist father searches for the famed Allerheiligen glass–lost stained glass windows that are said to be haunted by a terrifying demon–she becomes involved in a horrific murder mystery.

Grant, Mira. Feed.
The newsflesh trilogy; bk. 1–combining zombies & SF
Deadline (2011).
Newsflesh Trilogy; bk.2

Haines, Carolyn. Hallowed Bones.
Southern ghost story mystery.

Halloween Horrors.

Hambly, Barbara. Those Who Hunt the Night.
Vampires, of course.
Renfield: Slave of Dracula.

Hamilton, Laurell K. Guilty Pleasures.
First in a series of mystery, romance & suspense combined with vampires & the occult. For a review please, click here.

Harris, Thomas.
His Hannibal Lector series is one of the scariest trilogies in existence.

Hart, Carolyn G.
Ghost at Work: A Ruth Bailey Mystery

Harwood, John. The Ghost Writer.
Ghost story.

Hill, Joe. Heart-Shaped Box (2007) & Horns (2010).

Hockensmith, Steve. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls. (2010) Austen and Horror mash-up continues (See Austen on this list.) with great illustrations.

Horror Writers’ Association Presents Blood Lite: An Anthology of Humorous Horror Stories.

Hubbard, Susan. The Society of S.
Year of Disappearances
Different take on Vampires & coming of age

Hunt, Lee. The Vampire of New York.
Archaeologist Carrie Norton & Detective Max Slattery uncover the undead

Jackson, Shirley. Haunting of Hill House.
Mystery.

James, M. R.
Casting the runes.
Classic Ghost Stories.

Keene, Brian. The Rising.
Urban Gothic.
Great Zombie action.
Darkness on the Edge of Town (2010)

Kenyon, Nate. Bloodstone.
New England horror tales

Kenyon, Sherrilyn.
Dark-Hunter Vampire tales of love and terror.

Kilborn, Jack. Afraid.

King, Stephen.
There is good reason for this prolific writer’s reputation. Start with
Carrie, if you don’t believe!

King, Tabitha. Candles Burning.
Psychics

Klause, Annette Curtis. The Silver Kiss for Vampiric thrills
and Blood and Chocolate for werewolf.

Klavan, Andrew. Animal Hour.

Koontz, Dean.
Another master of the truly scary,
Phantoms is a great start.
Or his re-visioning of Frankenstein. Start with Frankenstein: Prodigal Son.
The Dead Town (2011).
The war against humanity is raging. As the small town of Rainbow Falls, Montana, comes under siege, scattered survivors come together to weather the onslaught of the creatures set loose upon the world. As they ready for battle against overwhelming odds, they will learn the full scope of Victor Frankenstein’s nihilistic plan to remake the future–and the terrifying reach of his shadowy, powerful supporters. Now the good will make their last, best stand. In a climax that will shatter every expectation, their destinies and the fate of humanity hang in the balance.

Koryta, Michael. So Cold the River. (2010)
After he is hired by Alyssa Bradford to research the life of her 95-year-old billionaire father-in-law, Eric Shaw visits the man’s hometown, where he discovers a restored hotel that has a checkered past–and a newly reawakened evil bent on revenge.
The Ridge (2011).
For years, a lighthouse at the top of a hill called Blade Ridge has lit up the surrounding woods. But when the lighthouse keeper is found dead, strange things begin happening to the people and animals in the area.

Kostova, Elizabeth. The Historian.
Literary vampire horror

Krinard, Susan. Touch of the Wolf
Romance with vampires & werewolves.

Lane, Vicki. In a Dark Season.
Elizabeth Goodfellow mystery about haunted house

Laurie, Victoria. Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls: A Ghost Hunter Mystery. (2011)
While in Ireland at the haunted ruins of Dunlow Castle, M. J. and the crew of “Ghoul Getters” face their most dangerous foe yet in the form of a deadly phantom who is guarding a hidden treasure. #5 in series–start with What’s a Ghoul to Do?

Laymon, Richard.
The Cellar.
Cuts Gruesome murders
Dark Mountain (2009)
Flesh. (2009)

Lee, Patrick. Ghost Country.
What Paige Campbell saw when she opened a door into seventy years from now scared the hell out of her. She and her Tangent colleagues brought their terrible discovery to the President–and were met with a hail of automatic gunfire after leaving the White House. Only Paige survived. Fearing a terrifying personal destiny revealed to him from the other side of the Breach, Travis Chase abandoned Tangent . . . and Paige Campbell. Now he must rescue her–because Paige knows tomorrow’s world is desolate and dead, a ghost country scattered with the bones of billions. And Doomsday will dawn in just four short months . . . unless they can find the answers buried in the ruins to come. But once they cross the nightmare border into Ghost Country, they might never find their way back . . . — publisher.

Lennon, J. F. Soul Trapper (2011)
Kane Pryce is a twenty-seven-year-old Hollywood musician, and occasional substance abuser. Like a lot of slackers, he is also a hopeless romantic. But unlike all the rest of them, he possesses a treasure of other worldly power – a supernaturally charged object called the Soul Trap that allows him to hunt down, capture, and send ghosts from the earthly realm to the afterlife. As an underground legend, Kane attracts the attention of Eva Kells, a crack reporter. Kane is persuaded to let her into his life, and the sparks soon fly. Risking his heart is soon the least of Kane’s worries after he receives a call from a terrified priest desperate to rid his church of a deceased little boy’s soul who won’t pass on. A nail-biting, darkly humorous tale that will dazzle fans of “World of Warcraft”, “Medium”, “Ghost Whisperer”, and other iconic fantasy adventure title…(NoveList Plus 10/18/11)

Levin, Ira. Rosemary’s Baby.
The grandmother of all demonic possession books.

Little, Bentley. The Academy.
Good vs evil in high school

Lumley, Brian.
A riveting series,
Necroscope is probably the best of the bunch.

Maberry, Jonathan. Dead Man’s Song. Serial killers
Bad Moon Rising

Marasco, Robert. Burnt Offerings.
As gruesome as the name implies.

Marion, Isaac. Warm Bodies (2012) .
A zombie who yearns for a better life ends up falling in love with a human, in this original debut novel. R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He doesn’t enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra. He is a little different from his fellow Dead. Not just another zombie novel, this is funny, scary, and deeply moving.

Masterton, Graham.
The 5th Witch.
Blind Panic (2010)

Matheson, Richard specializes in ordinary people caught up in terrifying situations. Try his short stories in The Box.

McBain, Ed. Tricks: An 87th Precinct Novel.
Police procedural.

McCammon, Robert R. Boy’s Life.
A twelve-year-old’s father finds a dead man handcuffed to a car’s steering wheel that has plunged into Zephyr’s Lake in 1964, and they realize that all is not as it seems in their quiet town.

McGrath, Patrick, start with The Grotesque but try them all.

McKevett, G.A. Poisoned Tarts: A Savannah Reid Mystery.

Meier, Leslie. Wicked Witch Murder : a Lucy Stone Mystery.

Moorat, A.E. Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter. (2009)
Great mash-up of biography and fantasy.

Moore, Christopher. Bloodsucking Fiends and You Suck.

Murphy, C.E. Walking Dead.
Urban Fantasy. Walker Papers; bk.4

Nasaw, Jonathan Lewis. The World on Blood.
Mystery.

Nicholson, Scott. The Farm.

Oates, Joyce Carol. (AKA Rosamund Smith) As Oates look for Zombie amd Bellefleur among others to chill you.

On a Raven’s Wing: New Tales in Honor of Edgar Allen Poe. ed. Stuart M. Kaminsky.

O’Nan, Stewart. The Night Country, or, the Darkness on the Edge of Town.
Modern New England Ghost story.

Pekearo, Nicholas. The Wolfman. (2009)

Perreti, Frank E. & Ted Dekker. House.
Haunted House

Pickard, Nancy. Twilight.
Mystery.

Poe, Edgar Allan.
Tales of Poe is a nice beginning.

Priest, Christopher. The Prestige.
Excellent movie too, Obsessive Magicians

Rice, Anne.
Interview With the Vampire is just the beginning of a repertoire of solidly sensual and thrilling vampire and witch tales (The Witching Hour).

Roberts, Gillian. Hole in Juan: An Amanda Pepper Mystery.

Rowland, Diana. My Life as a White Trash Zombie (2011) .
“Teenage delinquent Angel Crawford lives with her redneck father in the swamps of southern Louisiana. She’s a high school dropout, addicted to drugs and alcohol, and has a police record a mile long. But when she’s made into a zombie after a car crash, her addictions disappear, except for her all-consuming need to stay ‘alive’”–From amazon.com

Saul, John.
The Guardian is one of his classics.

Schlozman, Steven C. The Zombie Autopsies: Secret Notebooks form the Apocalypse (2011).
Based on the research of renowned zombie expert Dr. Stanley Blum, performed at a remote island where a crack medical team has been sent to explore a radical theory that may lead to a cure for the zombie epidemic, this notebook documents for the first time the unique biology of zombie organisms.

Sigler, Scott. Ancestor. (2010)
Horror in the Frankenstein/cloning tradition with SF twists.

Simmons, Dan. Carrion Comfort. Vampires.
The Terror.

Simon, Leonard. Dissociated States.

Sokoloff,Alexandra. The Harrowing.
Ghost Story

Small, Bertrice. Moment in Time.
Romantic witchcraft.

Smith, Rosamond. AKA Joyce Carol Oates. Soul/Mate.

Spruill, Steven G.Rulers of Darkness is the first in a nicely done vampire series.

Stein, Jeanne C. The Becoming: Anna Strong Chronicles; bk.1
Vampire Hunter
Blood Drive; bk.2

Stoker, Bram. Dracula.

Straub, Peter. Ghost Story is a great place to start, or Magic Terror for short stories that will curl your hair.

Streiber, Whitley. Billy.

Strout, Anton. Dead Waters: A Simon Canderous Novel. (2011)
“With Manhattan’s Department of Extraordinary Affairs in disarray (forget vampires and zombies–it’s the budget cuts that can kill you), Simon Canderous is still expected to stamp out any crime that adds the ‘para’ to ‘normal.’ And his newest case is no exception… A university professor has been found murdered in his apartment. His lungs show signs of death by drowning. But his skin and clothes? Bone-dry. Now Simon has to rely on his own powers–plus a little help from his ghost-whispering partner an technomancer girlfriend–to solve a mystery that has the NYPD stumped and the D.E.A. shaken and stirred.”–P. [4] of cover. Fun urban fantasy series–start with Dead to Me.

Swanson, Denise. Murder of a Royal Pain
Scumble River Mystery

Tryon, Thomas. Night Magic.

Turner, Joan Frances. Dust (2010)
Wholly new way of viewing zombies.

Van Thal, Herbert. Great Ghost Stories.
Short, spooky stories.

Waters, Sarah. The Little Stranger.
British Ghost Story

Wellington, David. Monster Island, #1
Monster nation #2
Monster planet #3
Trilogy of zombies overrunning NYC.

Yarbro, Chelsea Quinn.
Count Saint-Germaine’s vampire makes Lestat look uncouth!

Zampano. Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves.

Zeltserman, Dave. The Caretaker of Lorne Field. (2010)
Very scary carnivorous plants

Categories: Book Buzz,Booklists,Horror,Readalike
Tags: Ghosts, Haunted, Supernatural, terror, Vampires