Books like 'When Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson'
Readers who enjoyed When Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson by Ellen Datlow, Joyce Carol Oates, Josh Malerman, Carmen Maria Machado, Paul Tremblay, Richard Kadrey, Stephen Graham Jones, Elizabeth Hand, Kelly Link, Cassandra Khaw, Karen Heuler, Benjamin Percy, John Langan, Laird Barron, Jeffrey Ford, M. Rickert, Seanan McGuire, Gemma Files & Genevieve Valentine also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary fantasy horror mystery supernatural paranormal dark retellings spooky folk-horror
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'Salem's Lot by Stephen King, Jerry N. Uelsmann
41 ratingsStephen King's second novel, the vampire bestseller 'Salem's Lot, tells the story of evil in small-town America. For the first time in a major trade edition, this terrifying novel is accompanied by previously unpublished material from King's archive, two short stories, and eerie photographs that bring King's fictional darkness and evil to vivid life... -
![And With Madness Comes the Light by Karina Halle]()
And With Madness Comes the Light by Karina Halle
17 ratingsThe Man. The Mystery. The Madness.Dex Foray has never been anyone’s fool – until he missed his chance for happiness with Perry Palomino. Broken and alone, Dex has no choice but to rise from the ashes Perry left behind and find his own path to redemption. But nothing in Dex’s life has ever come easily, especially when there’s a dark madness waiting in the wings... -
![The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson]()
The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson
24 ratingsAuthor Tiffany D. Jackson ramps up the horror and tackles America’s history and legacy of racism in this YA novel following a biracial teenager as her Georgia high school hosts its first integrated prom. When Springville residents—at least the ones still alive—are questioned about what happened on prom night, they all have the same explanation... Maddy did it... -
![The Crawling Darkness by J.L. Bryan]()
The Crawling Darkness by J.L. Bryan
12 ratingsGhost removal specialist Ellie Jordan must face a dangerous, shape-shifting entity that she and Calvin have encountered once before, with tragic results. The spirit has the power to reach into the minds of living and feed on their fears, taking the shape of their worst nightmares, and it has awoken in search of new victims... -
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![Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell]()
Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell
20 ratingsWe're waiting for you to come and play. Dunvegan School for Girls has been closed for many years. Converted into a family home, the teachers and students are long gone. But they left something behind...Sophie arrives at the old schoolhouse to spend the summer with her cousins... -
![Sixteen Souls by Rosie Talbot]()
Sixteen Souls by Rosie Talbot
12 ratingsSixteen-year-old Charlie Frith has problems. His crush is dating someone else, his sisters have glitter-bombed his prosthesis (again), and he's a seer-of-spirits in York, the most haunted city in England, and all his friends are ghosts.To make matters worse, it seems that famous spirits are mysteriously vanishing from York's haunted streets and alleys... -
![The Prayer of the Night Shepherd by Phil Rickman]()
The Prayer of the Night Shepherd by Phil Rickman
14 ratingsAt Stanner Hall, a Victorian mansion-turned-hotel, Ben Foley hosts murder-mystery weekends and strives to prove that his hotel is the house on which Arthur Conan Doyle based his immortal Baskerville Hall. As the days shorten and the weather worsens, Foley’s dabbling uncovers more than he can handle... -
![The Cure of Souls by Phil Rickman]()
The Cure of Souls by Phil Rickman
14 ratingsAs high summer bakes the rich earth of north-east Herefordshire, dark shadows gather around a converted hopkiln where the last owner was savagely murdered. Though the local vicar dismisses claims by its current occupants that the place is haunted, their story is soon splashed over a Sunday newspaper—and Merrily Watkins is directed by the Bishop of Hereford to defuse this situation... -
![The Lamp of the Wicked by Phil Rickman]()
The Lamp of the Wicked by Phil Rickman
14 ratingsIt appears that the unlovely village of Underhowle is home to a serial killer. But as the police hunt for the bodies of more young women, Rev. Merrily Watkins fears that the detective in charge has become blinkered by ambition. Meanwhile, Merrily has more personal problems, like the anonymous phone calls, the candles and incense left burning in her church, and the alleged angelic visitations... -
![Cold Shadows by J.L. Bryan]()
Cold Shadows by J.L. Bryan
14 ratingsParanormal investigator Ellie Jordan faces a difficult new case. Her new clients are a family haunted by multiple ghosts and a poltergeist that wrecks their home at night. Their seven-year-old son's invisible friends may not be imaginary at all, but the restless spirits of dead children... -
![The Raptor & the Wren by Chuck Wendig]()
The Raptor & the Wren by Chuck Wendig
11 ratingsOfficial Amazon description:In the fifth book of the “wildly entertaining” (Kirkus Reviews) Miriam Black series, Miriam continues her journey to find answers on how to change her fate and begin to make right some of what she’s done wrong... -
![The Green Man's Foe by Juliet E. McKenna]()
The Green Man's Foe by Juliet E. McKenna
6 ratingsWhen you do a good job for someone, there’s a strong chance they’ll offer you more work or recommend you elsewhere. So Daniel Mackmain isn’t particularly surprised when his boss’s architect brother asks for his help on a historic house renovation in the Cotswolds. Except Dan’s a dryad’s son, and he soon realises there’s a whole lot more going on... -
![Forty-Four Book Nine by Jools Sinclair]()
Forty-Four Book Nine by Jools Sinclair
6 ratingsCharlie Modine didn’t find any justice in life. And the afterlife hasn’t been much better. Still, Modine’s ghost is more determined than ever to find the cold-blooded murderer who ran his wife down on the streets of New York City. Tortured and tormented, Modine asks for help from the only person who will listen. The only one who knows he’s there. Abby Craig... -
![44 Book Ten by Jools Sinclair]()
44 Book Ten by Jools Sinclair
6 ratingsTrapped between confusing visions and a terrifying ghost, all Abby Craig knows for sure is that she is running out of time. But as a wildfire rages out of control in the mountains west of town, an even larger blaze burns deep within her heart... -
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![When Irish Eyes Are Haunting by Heather Graham]()
When Irish Eyes Are Haunting by Heather Graham
10 ratingsDevin Lyle and Craig Rockwell are back, this time to a haunted castle in Ireland where a banshee may have gone wild—or maybe there's a much more rational explanation—one that involves a disgruntled heir, murder, and mayhem, all with that sexy light touch Heather Graham has turned into her trademark style... -
![The Body at Auercliff by Amy Cross]()
The Body at Auercliff by Amy Cross
10 ratings"We'll bury her so deep, even her ghost will have a mouth full of dirt!" When Rebecca Wallace arrives at Auercliff to check on her aged aunt, she's in for a shock. Her aunt's mind is crumbling, and the old woman refuses to let Rebecca stay overnight. And just as she thinks she's starting to understand the truth, Rebecca makes a horrifying discovery in one of the house's many spare rooms... -
![Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury]()
Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury
10 ratingsThe Haunting of Hill House meets Sadie in this evocative and mind-bending psychological thriller following two teen girls navigating the treacherous past of a mysterious mansion ten years apart.Daisy sees dead people—something impossible to forget in bustling, ghost-packed Toronto. She usually manages to deal with her unwanted ability, but she’s completely unprepared to be dumped by her boyfriend... -
![The Remains of an Altar by Phil Rickman]()
The Remains of an Altar by Phil Rickman
14 ratingsIn 1934, the dying composer Sir Edward Elgar feebly whistled to a friend the theme from his Cello Concerto and said, "If you're walking on the Malvern Hills and hear that, don't be frightened. It's only me... -
![The Suffering by Rin Chupeco]()
The Suffering by Rin Chupeco
16 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Tark knows what it is to be powerless. But Okiku changed that. A restless spirit who ended life as a victim and started death as an avenger, she’s groomed Tark to destroy the wicked... -
![Midwinter of the Spirit by Phil Rickman]()
Midwinter of the Spirit by Phil Rickman
16 ratingsLibrarian note: an alternate cover for this edition can be found here.The post of Diocesan Exorcist in the Church of England has changed to the preferred term Delivery Ministry. It sounds less sinister, more caring, so why not a job for a woman? When offered the post the Rev. Merrily Watkins cannot easily refuse, having suffered uncanny experiences of her own... -
![The Red House by Tony Abbott]()
The Red House by Tony Abbott
6 ratingsCould the road to the afterlife be a two-way street? After diving into Derek's world in books #1 and #2, readers are in for more spooky, sinister adventure in this latest installment.Derek didn't ask for this.It's bad enough that his brother's body is hosting a dead soul. Then there's that whole business of the evil dead waging war... -
![Ghost Huntress: The Journey by Marley Gibson]()
Ghost Huntress: The Journey by Marley Gibson
6 ratingsTeen psychic Kendall Moorehead is about to embark on the most dangerous and shocking ghost hunt of her life. After all, it isn't every day that the ghost of Princess Diana steps in as a personal spirit guide. But Shy Di isn't the only surprise awaiting Kendall and her team of teen paranormal superstars as they begin a whirlwind tour of Europe with renowned TV medium Oliver Bates... -
![Cemetery Tours by Jacqueline E. Smith]()
Cemetery Tours by Jacqueline E. Smith
6 ratingsSome secrets are best kept laid to rest.At least, that's as far as Michael Sinclair is concerned. At twenty-seven, he has spent his entire life pretending that the ghosts he encounters on a daily basis do not exist. Now, if only the dead would let him rest in peace.Unfortunately, that doesn't seem likely, especially after Kate Avery and her ailing brother, Gavin, move in next door... -
![Veiled Enchantments by Deborah Blake]()
Veiled Enchantments by Deborah Blake
6 ratingsIn this exciting novel in the Veiled Magic series, Witch and police officer Donata Santori travels to Maine to help solve a deadly mystery, where her magical abilities are tested like never before... -
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![A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher]()
A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
8 ratingsA haunting Southern Gothic from an award-winning master of suspense, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family."Mom seems off."Her brother's words echo in Sam Montgomery's ear as she turns onto the quiet North Carolina street where their mother lives alone.She brushes the thought away as she climbs the front steps... -
![Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap]()
Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap
8 ratings“Am I dead?”Mebuyen sighs. She was hoping the girl would not ask.Spells and stories, urban legends and immigrant tales: the magic in Isabel Yap’s debut collection jumps right off the page, from the joy in her new novella, 'A Spell for Foolish Hearts' to the terrifying tension of the urban legend 'Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez'... -
![Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung]()
Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung
10 ratingsCursed Bunny is a genre-defying collection of short stories by Korean author Bora Chung. Blurring the lines between magical realism, horror, and science-fiction, Chung uses elements of the fantastic and surreal to address the very real horrors and cruelties of patriarchy and capitalism in modern society... -
![The Man in the Moss by Phil Rickman]()
The Man in the Moss by Phil Rickman
10 ratingsPerfectly preserved in black peat, the Man in the Moss is one of the most fascinating finds of the century. But for the isolated community of Bridelow, his removal is a sinister sign—a danger to the ancient spiritual tradition. In the weeks approaching the Celtic feast of the dead, tragedy strikes again and again in Bridelow... -
![The Ghost Next Door by Wylly Folk St. John]()
The Ghost Next Door by Wylly Folk St. John
10 ratingsSherry Alston had never been told about her dead half-sister Miranda. So when Sherry came to visit her Aunt Judith, no one could explain the odd things that started to happen... -
![Uncertainty by Abigail Boyd]()
Uncertainty by Abigail Boyd
10 ratingsLast year, Ariel's life was ripped apart. She's finally started to put the pieces together again, and is looking forward to summer break. That's when a dream brings her back to the mysterious Dexter Orphanage... -
![The Nurse by Amy Cross]()
The Nurse by Amy Cross
10 ratings“Twenty years ago, something very bad happened in this house. But it's over now. I promise.” When Rachel moves to a new house with her mother, she immediately realizes that something isn't quite right. Although she's blind, Rachel can tell that the stories about the house's past don't add up. And slowly, she starts to worry that someone or something from that past might still be around... -
![Stonewords: A Ghost Story by Pam Conrad]()
Stonewords: A Ghost Story by Pam Conrad
12 ratingsThe first time Zoe met Zoe Louise, Zoe was four years old. Zoe Louise was more than 100. From that day on -- living in the same house, separated by a staircase and a century -- Zoe and Zoe Louise have been an important and permanent part of each other's lives.Now Zoe is older. And although Zoe Louise never grows up, she is changing in dreadful, frightening ways... -
![High Moor by Graeme Reynolds]()
High Moor by Graeme Reynolds
12 ratingsWhen John Simpson hears of a bizarre animal attack in his old home town of High Moor, it stirs memories of a long forgotten horror. John knows the truth. A werewolf stalks the town once more, and on the night of the next full moon, the killing will begin again. He should know. He survived a werewolf attack in 1986, during the worst year of his life... -
![American Gothic Tales by Joyce Carol Oates, Charles Brockden Brown]()
American Gothic Tales by Joyce Carol Oates, Charles Brockden Brown
12 ratingsJoyce Carol Oates has a special perspective on the “gothic” in American short fiction, at least partially because her own horror yarns rank on the spine-tingling chart with the masters. She is able to see the unbroken link of the macabre that ties Edgar Allan Poe to Anne Rice and to recognize the dark psychological bonds between Henry James and Stephen King... -
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![The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies by John Langan, Laird Barron]()
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies by John Langan, Laird Barron
14 ratingsJohn Langan has, in the last few years, established himself as one of the leading voices in contemporary horror literature. Gifted with a supple and mellifluous prose style, an imagination that can conjure up clutching terrors with seeming effortlessness, and a thorough knowledge of the rich heritage of weird fiction, Langan has already garnered his share of accolades... -
![The Mortician's Daughter: One Foot in the Grave by C.C. Hunter]()
The Mortician's Daughter: One Foot in the Grave by C.C. Hunter
14 ratingsThe first exciting novel in a brand-new series from New York Times bestselling author C. C. Hunter! Her dad's job is with the dead... and he's bringing his work home with him. Once again, seventeen-year-old Riley Smith is the new kid in school and her dad's career has her back to being dubbed a freak. Truth is, she's a much bigger freak than her classmates think... -
![The Whispering Dead by Darcy Coates]()
The Whispering Dead by Darcy Coates
14 ratingsHomeless, hunted, and desperate to escape a bitter storm, Keira takes refuge in an abandoned groundskeeper's cottage. Her new home is tucked away at the edge of a cemetery, surrounded on all sides by gravestones: some recent, some hundreds of years old, all suffering from neglect.And in the darkness, she can hear the unquiet dead whispering... -
![The Carrow Haunt by Darcy Coates]()
The Carrow Haunt by Darcy Coates
18 ratings"The dead are restless here..." Remy is a tour guide for Carrow House, a notoriously haunted building. When she's asked to host seven guests for a week-long stay to research Carrow's phenomena, she hopes to finally experience some of the sightings that made the house famous. At first, it's everything they hoped for... -
![Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell]()
Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell
19 ratingsA romantic cabin getaway doesn’t go exactly as planned. High up on the windswept cliffs of Pale Peak, Faye and Felix celebrate their new engagement. But soon, a chorus of ghastly noises erupts from the nearby woods: the screams of animals, the cries of children, and the mad babble of a hundred mournful voices. A dark figure looms near the windows in the dead of night, whispering to Faye... -
![The Elementals by Michael McDowell]()
The Elementals by Michael McDowell
24 ratingsOn a split of land cut off by the Gulf, three Victorian summer houses stand against the encroaching sand. Two of the houses at Beldame are still used. The third house, filling with sand, is empty...except for the vicious horror which is shaping nightmares from the nothingness that hangs in the dank, fetid air... -
![Lanny by Max Porter]()
Lanny by Max Porter
26 ratingsThere’s a village sixty miles outside London. It’s no different from many other villages in England: one pub, one church, red-brick cottages, council cottages and a few bigger houses dotted about. Voices rise up, as they might do anywhere, speaking of loving and needing and working and dying and walking the dogs... -
![Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham]()
Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham
18 ratingsEveryone has wanted their favorite book to be real, if only for a moment. Everyone has wished to meet their favorite characters, if only for a day. But be careful in that wish, for even a history laid in ink can be repaid in flesh and blood, and reality is far deadlier than fiction . . . especially on Addington Isle... -
![The Imago Sequence and Other Stories by Laird Barron]()
The Imago Sequence and Other Stories by Laird Barron
16 ratingsThe title story of this collection - a devilishly ironic riff on H. P. Lovecraft's "Pickman's model" - was nominated for a World Fantasy Award, while "Proboscis" was nominated for an International Horror Guild award and reprinted in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 19. In addition to his previously published work, this collection contains an original story... -
![The Farm by Amy Cross]()
The Farm by Amy Cross
12 ratingsOne farm. Two tragedies, thirty years apart. And a tortured figure whose presence connects both incidents... In 1979, the Bondalen family farm in Norway is home to three young girls. As winter fades to spring, Elizabeth, Kari and Sara each come to face the secrets of the barn, and they each emerge with their own injuries... -
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![The Chalice: A Glastonbury Ghost Story by Phil Rickman, Dion Fortune]()
The Chalice: A Glastonbury Ghost Story by Phil Rickman, Dion Fortune
10 ratingsGlastonbury, legendary resting place of the Holy Grail, is a mysterious and haunting town. When Diane Ffitch returns home, it’s with a sense of deep unease. As the town becomes increasingly split by violence and death, Diane and her friends face up to the worst of all possibilities: the existence of an anti-Grail—the Dark Chalice... -
![Dark and Deadly Things by Kelly Martin]()
Dark and Deadly Things by Kelly Martin
10 ratingsSince Elise Morgan left her father’s reality television show, Dark and Deadly Things, she put the ghost-hunting life behind her, able to comfortably watch from her couch. Her father has resorted to faking the hauntings that thrill America, but he could never fool Elise. She can see the dead. When the Halloween episode airs live on television, something goes horribly wrong... -
![Battle Hill Bolero by Daniel José Older]()
Battle Hill Bolero by Daniel José Older
8 ratingsIn the third in the richly detailed and diverse (io9) urban fantasy series, the time has come for the dead to rise up against the shady powers-that-be... "The time has come for the dead to rise up..." Trouble is brewing between the Council of the Dead and the ghostly, half-dead, spiritual, and supernatural community they claim to represent... -
![The Ghost in the Big Brass Bed by Bruce Coville]()
The Ghost in the Big Brass Bed by Bruce Coville
8 ratingsWhen sixth grader Nina Tanleven starts working at an antiques shop, she never expects to stumble onto a mystery -- or into danger. But that's exactly what happens when she and her best friend, Chris, go to pick up an antique wardrobe at old Miss Watson's... -
![The Glass Guardian by Linda Gillard]()
The Glass Guardian by Linda Gillard
8 ratingsRuth Travers has lost a lover, both parents and her job. Now she thinks she might be losing her mind.When death strikes again, Ruth finds herself the owner of a dilapidated Victorian house on the Isle of Skye: "Tigh na Linne", the summer home she shared as a child with her beloved Aunt Janet, the woman she'd regarded as a mother... -
![The Devil's Woods by Brian Moreland]()
The Devil's Woods by Brian Moreland
6 ratingsFear wears many skins. Deep within the Canadian wilderness, people have been disappearing for over a century. There is a place the locals call “the Devil’s Woods,” but to speak of it will only bring the devil to your door. It is a place so evil that even animals avoid it...
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