book reviews
Book reviews for horror fans; weather a sleepless night with literary accounts of hauntings, possessions, zombies, vampires and beyond.
Why We Crave the Shadows?
Horror is often dismissed as a "cheap thrill"—a collection of jump scares and visceral shocks designed to elicit a scream. However, the most enduring horror stories are not about what hides under the bed, but what hides inside the human psyche. At its core, horror is a sophisticated psychological tool that allows us to explore our deepest anxieties within the safety of a narrative.
By Being Inquisitive3 days ago in Horror
10 Banned Horror Novels You Should Still Read. AI-Generated.
Throughout history, numerous horror novels have faced censorship due to their controversial themes, graphic content, or societal critiques. Despite these challenges, many of these works are considered essential reading for their literary merit and the discussions they provoke. Here are ten horror novels that have been banned or challenged, along with reasons why they are still worth exploring.
By Ninfa Galeano6 days ago in Horror
The Ninth Hour of Malachi : SEASON 4
Chapter 12 (Climax and Immediate Aftermath) CHRONICLE LOG: Final entry in the retrieved portion of Father Pavel’s journal. The entry consists of only two words, written in a shaky, almost illegible hand, before the page is consumed by a jagged tear: "She awoke." The whereabouts of Father Pavel remain officially undisclosed.
By Tales That Breathe at Night7 days ago in Horror
The Ninth Hour of Malachi : SEASON 3
SEASON 3 Chapter 9 FATHER PAVEL’S PRIVATE JOURNAL: Entry dated November 5th, 2003. We found the root. It is a chamber beneath the foundation, clearly pagan. Ana is down here, but she is barely visible, encased in some type of crystalline growth...the stone has accepted the entity, and the girl is the final mortar. The anchor is here, not a relic, but a crude, petrified heart. Malachi will not yield until we destroy the physical core of its power.
By Tales That Breathe at Night23 days ago in Horror
Living in the In-Between: What My ADHD Feels Like
I didn’t wake up one morning and think, Today is the day I realize my brain works differently. It happened in pieces. Small, quiet realizations that stacked on top of each other like unread notifications. It started with an alarm. Not because I didn’t hear it. Not because I slept through it. I heard it. I looked at it. I thought about getting up. Then I stared at the ceiling wondering if cereal or eggs would take longer. Then I wondered if I still had eggs. Then I remembered I never washed the pan from yesterday. Then I checked my phone “for a second” and somehow twenty minutes disappeared. My body stayed in bed. My mind went on ten different field trips. That’s when I started to suspect something wasn’t just laziness. I tell myself every day: Today I will be productive. Not in a grand, inspirational way. Just simple goals. Shower. Answer two emails. Eat real food. Fold laundry. Four tasks. That’s it. Yet somehow, I start by organizing my sock drawer. Why? Because I went to grab a shirt. Noticed socks on the floor. Sat down to pick them up. Found a pen. Wondered where that pen came from. Started looking for its matching notebook. Ended up sitting on the floor scrolling through my phone. Still wearing yesterday’s clothes. Still hungry. Still no emails answered. But wow… my socks look amazing. People say, “Just focus.” I wish they knew how funny that sounds. I want to focus. I crave focus. My brain, however, treats focus like a cat treats commands. Sometimes it listens. Sometimes it stares at me and knocks everything off the table. There are moments when my brain becomes a laser. I write for three hours without blinking. I clean my entire kitchen in one burst. I solve problems quickly. I feel unstoppable. Then suddenly… it’s gone. Like someone unplugged my motivation without warning. I don’t know when it will come back. I don’t know how to turn it on. I just sit there, frozen between wanting to move and not moving at all. It feels like being stuck at a green light while everyone behind you honks. Grocery stores are my personal obstacle course. I walk in with a list. Milk. Bread. Rice. That’s all. Ten minutes later I’m holding candles, gum, a notebook, and a plant I absolutely do not need. Why do I own so many notebooks? Because I believe each one will magically turn me into a new, organized person. It never does. I leave the store with everything except bread. Every. Single. Time. Conversations are another adventure. I try so hard to listen. I really do. But my brain starts building side quests. Someone says, “Yesterday I went to the mall.” My brain says: Oh yeah, I need socks. Did I pay my phone bill? I should drink more water. I wonder if penguins have knees. Suddenly they ask, “What do you think?” I panic-smile. “Yeah… totally.” I have no idea what they just said. Growing up, I thought I was broken. Teachers wrote: “Smart but careless.” “Needs to try harder.” “Daydreams too much.” I believed them. I thought everyone else had a manual for life that I somehow lost. Why could others sit and study for hours? Why could others remember homework? Why did simple things feel heavy? No one explained that my brain wasn’t lazy. It was wired differently. ADHD isn’t just distraction. It’s emotional, too. I feel things loudly. Excitement becomes obsession. Small rejection feels enormous. Criticism echoes for days. At the same time, I can forget entire conversations. Not because I don’t care. Because my brain misfiles information like a messy computer. People assume forgetting equals not caring. That hurts. I care deeply. Sometimes too deeply. The day I learned about ADHD, something shifted. Not everything became easy. But everything made sense. I wasn’t stupid. I wasn’t lazy. I wasn’t broken. I was different. Different with strengths. Different with challenges. Different with a brain that moves fast and zigzags. Now I build my life differently. I write things down immediately. I use alarms for everything. I break tasks into tiny pieces. Not: “Clean the house.” But: Pick up clothes. Wipe table. Wash three dishes. Three dishes is better than zero. Progress doesn’t have to be perfect. Some days are still hard. Some days I scroll instead of start. Some days I forget important things. Some days I feel behind everyone else. But I remind myself: I am running a different race. And I am still running. Living with ADHD feels like living in the in-between. Between chaos and creativity. Between exhaustion and inspiration. Between struggling and shining. It’s messy. It’s frustrating. It’s also full of imagination, curiosity, empathy, and ideas. So many ideas. I’m learning to stop asking: “What’s wrong with me?” And start asking: “How does my brain work best?” That question changes everything. I am not a failure. I am not broken. I am a human with a fast, noisy, beautiful mind. And I’m still figuring it out. One unfinished to-do list at a time.
By Behind the Curtain28 days ago in Horror
The Burari Deaths: A Tale of Horror
Imagine living in a tight-knit neighborhood where everyone knows everyone. In this community lives a family of 11. Then, one bizarre morning, you wake up and they’re just... gone. Vanished into thin air. You and the neighbors decide to check on them, only to stumble upon the strangest and most terrifying story you’ve ever heard.
By Hossam Gamal30 days ago in Horror
The Echo in the Floorboards
The house on Miller Street didn't look haunted. It didn’t have sagging shutters or a bleeding foundation. It was a crisp, mid-century modern ranch with floor-to-ceiling windows and honey-colored oak floors. Elias bought it because it felt "transparent." After a messy divorce and a cramped apartment, he wanted a life where nothing could hide.
By Asghar ali awanabout a month ago in Horror
Nothing Felt Wrong at First — That’s What Made It Terrifying
Short introduction Come Closer is a psychological horror novel about possession, but not in the dramatic, spinning-head, holy-water kind of way. It’s quiet, modern, and very close to real life. The book follows a woman named Amanda as something slowly starts going wrong with her thoughts, her behavior, and her sense of self. It’s short, simple, and written in a very direct voice — which is exactly why it works.
By Rosalina Janeabout a month ago in Horror
The Haar: A Fog That Hides More Than You Want to See
Short introduction The Haar is a short horror novel set in a quiet Scottish coastal town. It mixes folklore, grief, body horror, and revenge in a way that feels both strange and oddly emotional. On the surface, it looks like a creature feature. But once you start reading, you realize it’s really about loneliness, loss, and what happens when someone finally decides they’ve had enough of being stepped on.
By Rosalina Janeabout a month ago in Horror
