Everyone loves watching scary movies around Halloween. But what about reading scary books? Often, the images we create in our minds as we read words on a page are more terrifying than anything that can be shown on a screen. When it comes to writing expertly crafted scary stories that stick with you, no one does it better than Stephen King. If you want to take a break from watching horror movies and read something really chilling, here are 10 books by Stephen King to read this Halloween. If you get too scared, you can always put the book in the freezer!
1. "The Stand" (1978)
Read if you like stories about: post-apocalyptic society, war, violence
Quote: “No one can tell what goes on in between the person you were and the person you become. No one can chart that blue and lonely section of hell. There are no maps of the change. You just come out the other side. Or you don't.”
2. "Lisey's Story" (2006)
Read if you like stories about: romance, memory, psychological terror
Quote: “You're good for the ones you love. You want to be good for the ones you love. Because you know that your time with them will end up being too short, no matter how long it is.”
3. "IT" (1986)
Read if you like stories about: friendship, clowns, childhood trauma, demons
Quote: "We lie best when we lie to ourselves."
4. "'Salem's Lot" (1975)
Read if you like stories about: vampires, blood, church
Quote: “The basis of all human fears, he thought. A closed door, slightly ajar.”
5. "Joyland" (2013)
Read if you like stories about: amusement parks, ghosts, murder mysteries
Quote: "When it comes to the past, everyone writes fiction."
6. "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" (1999)
Read if you like stories about: baseball, the woods, psychological terror, family problems
Quote: “The world had teeth and it could bite you with them anytime it wanted.”
7. "Pet Sematary" (1983)
Read if you like stories about: cats, families, returning from the dead
Quote: "The most terrifying question of all may be just how much horror the human mind can stand and still maintain a wakeful, staring, unrelenting sanity.”
8. "Insomnia" (1994)
Read if you like stories about: dreams, visions, alternate realities
Quote: “It was life, often unsatisfying, frequently cruel, usually boring, sometimes beautiful, once in awhile exhilarating.”
9. "The Shining" (1977)
Read if you like stories about: hotels, ghosts, children
Quote: “Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.”
10. "Doctor Sleep" (2013)
The less widely-read sequel to "The Shining."
Quote: “The good thing about being old, is you don’t have to worry about dying young.”
