So, maybe it's April. But horror is a genre that transcends season—one that's only amplified in spookiness when the leaves start turning. Last winter, I battled Michigan's sub-zero temps with The Shining(the book, and the residents of The Overlook, sympathized...) I drew up some summer night sweats with Chuck Palahniuk's Haunted—and never looked at candle wax the same way again. And right now, I'm working my way through a puzzling, claustrophobic read during the spring. Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves is currently straining my brain.
And while horror is a genre some casual readers write off, any good horror novelist will tell you the root of our most terrifying scenarios rests deep within the mind. The scares within the next 30 books? They'll stick with you longer than any knee-jerk gag you'll see in the theater this summer. Yeah—even if it's in 3D.
We've all got different favorites, so we'd love to hear yours in the comments section below. Oh—and sleep tight in the next few months.