swap_horiz The Manitou 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

Swan Song

Robert McCammon’s *Swan Song* presents a sprawling post-apocalyptic horror narrative set in 1987. The novel explores the...

Post Apocalyptic Epic Supernatural 1980S

8.9 Great

3

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Ray Bradbury’s *Something Wicked This Way Comes* is a celebrated 1962 horror novel exploring themes of temptation and lo...

Classic Supernatural Coming Of Age Ray Bradbury

8.9 Great

4

Blackwater

Blackwater is a novel by Michael McDowell set in 1980s Alabama. The story follows the Blackwood family as they confront...

Supernatural Family Saga 1980S Southern Gothic

8.9 Great

5

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a dark fantasy horror novel by Neil Gaiman. It recounts an adult’s fragmented memory...

Supernatural Dark Fantasy Childhood 2010S

8.7 Great

6

The Hellbound Heart

Clive Barker's 1986 novella that introduced the Cenobites and the Lament Configuration puzzle box, directly inspiring th...

1980S Body Horror Demons Clive Barker

8.6 Great

7

'Salem's Lot

Stephen King's 1975 vampire novel set in the fictional Maine town of Jerusalem's Lot, widely regarded as a landmark of A...

Supernatural Vampire Small Town 1970S

8.5 Great

8

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

9

Hell House

Richard Matheson's 1971 novel about a parapsychologist and a psychic investigating Belasco House, a mansion with a histo...

Classic 1970S Haunted House Richard Matheson

8.3 Great

10

Harvest Home

Thomas Tryon's 1973 novel follows a New York family who relocate to an idyllic New England village concealing violent pa...

1970S Rural Folk Horror Thomas Tryon

8.3 Great

11

The Elementals

Michael McDowell's 1981 Southern Gothic novel is set on an Alabama Gulf Coast property shared by two families and haunte...

Supernatural 1980S Southern Gothic Michael Mcdowell

8.2 Great

12

The Face That Must Die

Ramsey Campbell's 1979 British psychological horror novel portrays a paranoid Liverpool man who convinces himself that a...

Psychological 1970S Serial Killer Ramsey Campbell

8.2 Great

13

The Shrinking Man

Richard Matheson's 1956 science fiction horror novel about a man who begins shrinking after accidental radiation exposur...

Classic Existential Body Horror Sci Fi Horror

8.1 Great

14

The Other

Thomas Tryon's 1971 psychological horror novel, set in 1930s rural Connecticut, follows twin boys and builds to a devast...

Psychological 1970S Gothic Thomas Tryon

8.1 Great

15

Little Heaven

Little Heaven is a 2016 horror novel by Canadian author Nick Cutter, notable for its extreme violence and its setting of...

Supernatural Western 2010S Nick Cutter

8.0 Great

16

The House Next Door

Anne Rivers Siddons' 1978 novel portrays a stylish new house in suburban Atlanta that drives each successive family occu...

Psychological 1970S Suburban Haunted House

8.0 Great

17

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

18

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

19

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

20

Suffer the Children

John Saul's 1977 debut novel is set in a New England coastal town haunted by the spirit of a murdered girl whose century...

Supernatural Small Town 1970S Evil Children

7.5 Good