swap_horiz The Cipher Alternatives

1

Boy's Life

Robert McCammon’s *Boy's Life* is a supernatural horror novel exploring themes of innocence and corruption through the e...

Supernatural Coming Of Age Small Town 1990S

9.0 Excellent

2

The Fisherman

The Fisherman is a 2016 horror novel by American author John Langan, notable for winning the Bram Stoker Award and its c...

Grief 2010S Cosmic Horror Lovecraftian

8.5 Great

3

Summer of Night

Dan Simmons's 1991 novel set in a 1960 Illinois small town where a group of children discover and confront an ancient ma...

Supernatural Coming Of Age Small Town 1990S

8.4 Great

4

The Ballad of Black Tom

The Ballad of Black Tom is a 2016 horror novella by Victor LaValle, notable for reimagining H.P. Lovecraft's The Horror...

Historical 2010S Cosmic Horror Lovecraftian

8.3 Great

5

My Soul to Keep

This 1997 supernatural thriller by American author Tananarive Due explores the dark side of immortality through a secret...

Family 1990S Immortal Tananarive Due

8.3 Great

6

The Monk

Matthew Lewis's 1796 Gothic masterpiece follows the violent downfall of a Catholic monk in Madrid, notorious for its sho...

Classic Supernatural Gothic Transgressive

8.0 Great

7

Bag of Bones

Stephen King's 1998 ghost story about a grieving novelist who retreats to his Maine lake house and encounters supernatur...

Grief 1990S Ghost Story Haunted House

7.8 Good

8

The Witching Hour

Anne Rice's 1990 novel launching the Mayfair Witches series, tracing a New Orleans dynasty of witches and their centurie...

Supernatural Family Saga 1990S Witches

7.8 Good

9

Imajica

Clive Barker's 1991 epic fantasy-horror novel spanning five interconnected dimensions called Dominions, centering on a r...

Epic Dark Fantasy 1990S Cosmic

7.8 Good

10

Intensity

A 1995 psychological thriller by Dean Koontz following Chyna Shepherd, who survives a night of terror as a sociopathic s...

Psychological Thriller 1990S Serial Killer

7.8 Good

11

John Dies at the End

John Dies at the End is a 2007 comedic horror novel by David Wong, notable for its blend of surreal humor and bizarre ho...

Supernatural 2000S Cosmic Horror Jason Pargin

7.8 Good

12

The Great and Secret Show

Clive Barker's 1989 novel, first in the Art trilogy, about a postal worker who discovers a mystical substance called the...

Epic Supernatural 1980S Cosmic Horror

7.7 Good

13

Revival

Stephen King's 2014 novel blending cosmic horror with religious themes, tracing a minister's obsession with a mysterious...

Religion 2010S Cosmic Horror Lovecraftian

7.6 Good

14

The Between

Tananarive Due's 1995 debut novel is a contemporary horror story about a man haunted by alternate realities and dark fam...

Supernatural Psychological 1990S Tananarive Due

7.5 Good

15

Desperation

Stephen King's 1996 novel set in a Nevada mining town seized by a demonic entity, published simultaneously with its them...

Desert Supernatural 1990S Evil

7.2 Good

16

Fear Nothing

A 1998 thriller by Dean Koontz, first in the Moonlight Bay trilogy, featuring protagonist Christopher Snow, who has xero...

Thriller 1990S Conspiracy Dean Koontz

7.2 Good

17

Mr. X

Peter Straub's 1999 novel about a man who discovers his absent father's supernatural legacy, blending Lovecraftian horro...

Supernatural Mystery 1990S Lovecraftian

7.0 Good

18

What the Hell Did I Just Read

What the Hell Did I Just Read is a 2017 comedic horror novel by David Wong, notable for concluding the trilogy centered...

Supernatural 2010S Cosmic Horror Jason Pargin

7.0 Good

19

From a Buick 8

Stephen King's 2002 novel centered on a mysterious otherworldly car kept at a Pennsylvania state police barracks that ap...

Police 2000S Cosmic Horror Portal

6.8 Fair

20

Lasher

Anne Rice's 1993 second Mayfair Witches novel, continuing the story after the spirit Lasher has taken human form and pur...

Supernatural 1990S Demon Witches

6.8 Fair