by Gianna Birkeland
Photo by Its Adonis on Unsplash
The winter season is coming to a close, and what better way to welcome the new year than with a big scary reading entry? Here are my top three horror story recommendations that are guaranteed to have you on the edge of your seat along with a cozy sweater, an autumn candle, and some friends. Enjoy!
1) The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson
There is only one thing I love more than gothic psychological thrillers—gothic thrillers set in a haunted isolated mansion that’s feared by its small-town inhabitants. Descriptions of the bleak window panels, Victorian drapes and saddened cherubs transport the reader in a way that is both captivating and unsettling.
The story starts from the perspective of a group of free-lancing paranormal investigators Dr. Montague, and his group of volunteers to experience the curse of Hill House. The main character Eleanor, a disturbed individual, begins to experience the psychological torture that comes with the house’s supernatural spells. She describes feeling that she is like “a small creature swallowed whole by a monster…and the monster feels my tiny little movements inside.”
What makes this novel even more harrowing is not just the aspect of Eleanor losing her sense of self to the expansive, evil presence in the house, but the aspect of everyone else being completely oblivious. There are many points in the novel where she is unable to express that her words are not her own, as the others just assume that her downward spiral is a definitive of her personality. Eleanor becomes the sole vessel of the evil house, her meek and impressionable consciousness manipulated under the noses of the others left to watch. What could be scarier?
“It watches,” he added suddenly. “The house. It watches every move you make.”
-The Haunting of Hill House
2) “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe
If you are looking for a shorter, more thought-provoking read, I recommend this narrative poem, which you can find here. It details a man, who, on a ‘bleak December,’ is haunted by the visits from an ominous raven. It deals with heartbreak, the aftermaths of loss, and of course, all of the gothic descriptions of velvet-lined drapes, dim lamps, and the thundering rain that accompanies every spooky story worth reading.
The poem’s literary devices, rhyming scheme, and thematic imagery are perfect for the transition for the vibes of a “Halloween After Party.” It describes how the man implores the Raven of all of his pain and worries, under the pretense of the “Night’s Plutonian Shore.” After reading this piece, you might find yourself hearing the tap-tap tapping at your chamber dorm door!
“And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting; On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door…”
-The Raven
3) Carrie by Stephen King
Although a bit of an unconventional horror story, Carrie is one of my all-time favorites for the way it handles religious trauma, high-school bullying, and the sense of psychological isolation that the novel plays into. This is definitely a book worth reading late at night during a thunderstorm, as it builds up as the story progresses with more key features of Carrie’s powers.
The story follows the narrative of a coming-of-age plot line, but with the added twists and unnerving details that make this one of King’s best horror pieces. Carrie has psychic powers, with the ability to move things with her mind. While her zealous mother continues to try and control and withhold her from the outside world, labeling things such as periods and dating as from the devil, Carrie goes further down a path of violence and vengeful rampage that has the reader on the edge of their seat. Without too many spoilers, the prom scene towards the end of the book is the scariest and truly will leave you ready for a change of a jollier season scenery.
“And then the world exploded.”
-Carrie
Happy reading!
Gianna Birkeland is an editorial assistant for the nonfiction section of The Kudzu Review. She is a junior with a major in Creative Writing and a minor in Spanish. In her free time, she enjoys writing poems, bird watching, and making home-cooked meals for friends. Inspired by the novels of Amy Tan, J.D. Salinger, and J.R.R. Tolkien, Gianna hopes to write seriously outside of college.
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