It’s time for another Top 10 Tuesday!!! For those of you who don’t know, Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the folks over at The Broke and the Bookish!
The theme this week was a freebie that encouraged us to explore any topic relating to Halloween! I’ve decided to feature my top ten favourite books that contain some sort of creature/monster, paranormal being or entity.
Are you ready to get spooked?!
This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.
Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.
Devil and the Bluebird by Jennifer Mason-Black
Blue Riley has wrestled with her own demons ever since the loss of her mother to cancer. But when she encounters a beautiful devil at her town crossroads, it’s her runaway sister’s soul she fights to save. The devil steals Blue’s voice—inherited from her musically gifted mother—in exchange for a single shot at finding Cass.
Armed with her mother’s guitar, a knapsack of cherished mementos, and a pair of magical boots, Blue journeys west in search of her sister. When the devil changes the terms of their deal, Blue must reevaluate her understanding of good and evil and open herself to finding family in unexpected places.
Outcast by Robert Kirkman
Kyle Barnes has been plagued by demonic possession all his life and now he needs answers. Unfortunately, what he uncovers along the way could bring about the end of life on Earth as we know it.
Preacher by Garth Ennis
After merging with a bizarre spiritual force called Genesis, Texan preacher Jesse Custer has become completely disillusioned with the beliefs to which he had dedicated his entire life. Now possessing the power of “the word,” an ability to make people do whatever he utters, Custer begins a violent and riotous journey across the country. Joined by his gun-toting girlfriend Tulip and the hard-drinking Irish vampire Cassidy, Custer loses faith in both God and man as he witnesses dark atrocities and improbable calamities during his exploration of America.
Camp Midnight by Steven T. Seagle
Reluctant Skye is accidentally sent to the wrong summer camp. Not wanting to please her “step monster,” Skye is dead-set on not fitting in. That won’t be a problem, as everyone at Camp Midnight-with the exception of fellow camper and fast-friend Mia-is a full-fledged monster!
Through The Woods by Emily Carroll
Five mysterious, spine-tingling stories follow journeys into (and out of?) the eerie abyss.
Locke and Key by Joe Hill
Locke & Key tells of Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them. Home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all…
Horns by Joe Hill
Ignatius Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things. He woke up the next morning with a thunderous hangover, a raging headache . . . and a pair of horns growing from his temples.
At first Ig thought the horns were a hallucination, the product of a mind damaged by rage and grief. He had spent the last year in a lonely, private purgatory, following the death of his beloved, Merrin Williams, who was raped and murdered under inexplicable circumstances. A mental breakdown would have been the most natural thing in the world. But there was nothing natural about the horns, which were all too real.
Once the righteous Ig had enjoyed the life of the blessed: born into privilege, the second son of a renowned musician and younger brother of a rising late-night TV star, he had security, wealth, and a place in his community. Ig had it all, and more—he had Merrin and a love founded on shared daydreams, mutual daring, and unlikely midsummer magic.
But Merrin’s death damned all that. The only suspect in the crime, Ig was never charged or tried. And he was never cleared. In the court of public opinion in Gideon, New Hampshire, Ig is and always will be guilty because his rich and connected parents pulled strings to make the investigation go away. Nothing Ig can do, nothing he can say, matters. Everyone, it seems, including God, has abandoned him. Everyone, that is, but the devil inside.
House Of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Years ago, when House of Leaves was first being passed around, it was nothing more than a badly bundled heap of paper, parts of which would occasionally surface on the Internet. No one could have anticipated the small but devoted following this terrifying story would soon command. Starting with an odd assortment of marginalized youth — musicians, tattoo artists, programmers, strippers, environmentalists, and adrenaline junkies — the book eventually made its way into the hands of older generations, who not only found themselves in those strangely arranged pages but also discovered a way back into the lives of their estranged children.
Now, for the first time, this astonishing novel is made available in book form, complete with the original colored words, vertical footnotes, and newly added second and third appendices.
The story remains unchanged, focusing on a young family that moves into a small home on Ash Tree Lane where they discover something is terribly wrong: their house is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.
Of course, neither Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson nor his companion Karen Green was prepared to face the consequences of that impossibility, until the day their two little children wandered off and their voices eerily began to return another story — of creature darkness, of an ever-growing abyss behind a closet door, and of that unholy growl which soon enough would tear through their walls and consume all their dreams.
Bird Box by Josh Malerman
Something is out there, something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse of it, and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.
Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remains, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now that the boy and girl are four, it’s time to go, but the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat–blindfolded–with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. Something is following them all the while, but is it man, animal, or monster?
I hope you’ve all had some time to read some spooky books this October! What’s your favourite book that contains a creature/monster/demon etc.?
I love what you did with this topic and your title! So much fun. Sadly, I haven’t read any of these books. I don’t like being creeped out, so I usually stick to romance. 😉
My TTT.
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Thank you so much! That’s so funny because I honestly don’t get creeped out very easily 😛
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This is such an epic take on this weeks topic. I’ve only read This Savage Song but the Devil and the Bluebird sounds like an interesting read. 😀
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Thank you so much! I definitely enjoyed The Devil & The Bluebird! Totally worth checking out! 😀
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I need to get on Lock and key Ive bough them all and haven’t read any
haha
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I actually listened to the audio drama which was AMAZING! I have since bought the graphic novels as well, but I just haven’t had the time to get back into this story just yet! 😛
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Bird Box sounds super interesting!!! Great list and topic 🙂
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Bird Box was definitely one of the best surprises ever! I didn’t know what I was expecting going into it but it’s genuinely creepy 😐
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ahhh, I feel like I need to read it just because of how interested I am. Is it really creepy? I like creepy but not too creepy lol.
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It’s definitely worth the read I promise! It’s creepy in the sense that it’s unexplainable. Like you don’t really have any idea what’s causing the issue and neither do the characters which makes it pretty creepy. I can’t really say too much without giving it away 😛 I feel like I’ve become desensitized though, not a lot really makes my skin crawl or give me nightmares anymore 😛
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Oh good, I’ll defiantly give it a try! lol I’m not do the desensitized state yet, but I’m sure the more I keep reading at some point I’ll get there!
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So many great recommendations! I hadn’t heard of Devil and the Bluebird. I have now added it to my TBR 🙂
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I’m so glad! Devil & The BLuebird was definitely a really unique read for me! I’m glad you were able to find it through my list! 😀
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