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Horror

In this section you will find over 3.861 exciting and thrilling books about Horror. At Tales we have all types of good Horror books for each individual to enjoy, whether you want some of the classics, new or children’s horror books. We all need a little scare in our lives, to learn how to deal with the real world and acknowledge the fact that it is indeed okay to be scared. Scary stories also teach kids that Monsters are terrifying, but at the same time they’ll have an understanding of scary situations, and learn how to cope with them. Take a chance and let the mystery begin here.
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  • by Tom becker
    £15.99

  • by Terence A McSweeney
    £36.49 - 56.99

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    £11.99

    The InSpectres, a secret society devoted to the investigation of the occult originally formed by Charles Dickens, and brings together Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, Bram Stoker and ten-year-old Agatha Christie to try and save London from a deadly, paranormal event.

  • by Kieran Fanning
    £17.99

    Join master storyteller Kieran Fanning on a visit to every county in Ireland through 32 spooky stories. From well-known hauntings like The Ghost of Loftus Hall and The White Lady of Kinsale, to lesser-known sightings like The Black Pig of Kiltrustan and Father Hegarty's Phantom Horse, there's a story and a site to discover wherever you are in Ireland!This beautifully presented gift book features a map of all the story locations so you can carry out your very own ghost tour - or stay safely at home poring over the stunning illustrations by Dublin artist, Mark Hill.

  • by Midori Sato
    £7.99

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    £6.99

    A mysterious guest at the Coach and Horses Inn disrupts the village of Iping. The stranger is wrapped up from head to toe, his bandaged face hidden from sight. Is he the victim of an accident? A criminal on the run? No one in the village comes close to guessing what is really hidden behind the bandages.

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    £6.99

    Emily St Aubert lived a happy childhood in her large home in La Vallee, France. But after tragically losing her parents, a strange sequence of events leads Emily to the mysterious Udolpho Castle. Here, she finds herself unfolding long lost family secrets - ones which threaten to trap Emily ...

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    £6.99

    Roderick Usher invites his childhood friend to his family home, the House of Usher. A bleak mansion of gloom standing lonely at the top of the hill. A history of family illness, a 'mysterious' lake and the loss of his twin sister all play a part in the desolation of Roderick. Will Roderick's friend help him accept his family's fate?

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    £6.99

    Jessop is sailing on the Mortzestus, a ship deemed by sailors to be cursed. He dismisses the stories as seafaring tales, but two weeks into the voyage strange things start happening. Sails go slack, ghostly figures appear, and accidents start to befall the crew. Jessop fears that evil spirits are at work, threatening to drag the boat and its crew to the bottom of the sea ...

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    £6.99

    Adapted and illustrated edition of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at easy-to-read level for a new generation of readers aged 7+. Ichabod Crane moves to the haunted town of Sleepy Hollow and falls in love with Katrina Van Tassel. They bond over singing and ghost stories, especially the story about the Headless Horseman. But Katrina is being courted by the rich and handsome Brom Brunt, who warns Ichabod away from her. Ichabod refuses to be scared - until the terrifying Horseman appears and challenges him to a race he cannot win. About the Creepy Classics Children's Collection:An opera house haunted by a musical spirit and a castle whose owner sleeps in a coffin are just two of the places these ten spooky stories transport readers to. Based on the world's most famous gothic literature, they have been simplified and sanitised for a younger audience, with all the excitement and thrills of the originals.

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    £6.99

    Basil Hallward's latest portrait is the best he's ever painted. But when the portrait's subject, Dorian Gray, realises that he will never look as young and handsome again, he makes a terrible wish. From then on, Dorian becomes as ugly on the inside as he is beautiful on the outside. He lives his life never feeling bad about anything. Until one day his wrongdoings catch up with him.

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    £6.99

    Adapted and illustrated edition of The Phantom of the Opera at easy-to-read level for a new generation of readers aged 7+. Mr Poligny is retiring as manager of the Paris Opera House. Before he leaves, he tells his replacements how to please the phantom who has haunted the opera house for years. Despite the mysterious death of a stagehand, the new managers insist the phantom is just a ghost story and the ballerinas are scared of nothing. Meanwhile, a singer is visited by the Angel of Music; a being who is neither angel nor ghost ...About the Creepy Classics Children's Collection:An opera house haunted by a musical spirit and a castle whose owner sleeps in a coffin are just two of the places these ten spooky stories transport readers to. Based on the world's most famous gothic literature, they have been simplified and sanitised for a younger audience, with all the excitement and thrills of the originals.

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    £6.99

    Gabriel Utterson has known Dr Jekyll for many years. Suddenly, the doctor begins acting strangely. First, he makes preparations in case he dies or disappears, then he gets involved with a strange man called Mr Hyde. All Gabriel knows is that Mr Hyde is a bad man, and for some reason his good friend is protecting him. But why? That's the strangest part of all ...

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    £6.99

    Castle Dracula is shrouded with mystery. The building is maze-like, the owner only appears in the dead of night and during the day sleeps deep underground in the cold! Jonathan is desperate to return to England, but first he must escape from the castle - and pray that Count Dracula doesn't follow.

  • by Max Brallier
    £8.99

    The first book in the New York Times bestselling series with over ten million copies in print!'Terrifyingly fun! Max Brallier's The Last Kids on Earth delivers big thrills and even bigger laughs.' Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy KidNow an award-winning Netflix show!

  • by Terry Deary
    £7.99

    Have you ever read a book that can save your life before? Of course you haven't! That makes this the most brilliant book in the world. Learn what happens to these wicked children so it doesn't happen to you.Don't stand there in the bookshop reading this. Make sure you BUY it! And buy a copy for all of your friends. Save their lives too.Caution. The stories are so sad you may find the tears trickling down your legs. No one ever died of that. (At least I haven't heard of it.) But have a packet of tissues handy to mop up the tears and read on. Learn and live. (Maybe). Good luck.

  • by Denise Brown
    £7.99

  • by Marisha Pessl
    £11.99

    What would you kill for?The New York Times bestselling author of Night Film spins a twisted web in this masterful YA psychological thriller about the dark legacy of a notorious games designer. A seemingly ordinary high school student. A mysterious summer internship. And a legendary games designer, now dead. When an ad for an internship with the Louisiana Veda Foundation appears, Arcadia 'Dia' Gannon rushes to apply. Veda's game-making empire, Darkly, was renowned for its ingenious and terrifying games back in the day and Dia is as obsessed with them as anyone. The remaining games are priced like highly sought-after works of art, with the rarest and most notorious commanding tens of millions of dollars at auction. Now, Dia is thrust into the enigmatic heart of the operation. But who are these other interns? Why do they all seem to have something to hide? And why was she really chosen? It soon becomes clear that this summer will be the most twisted Darkly game of all.

  • by Kate Howard
    £7.99

    Five Nights at Freddy's fans won't want to miss this pulse-poundingcollection of three novella-length tales that will keep even thebravest FNAF player up at night...

  • by Nadine Holland
    £8.99

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    £6.49

    Enjoy Every Cherry's new adaptation of Easier Classics' A Christmas Carol featuring a range of accessibility features to bring this story to as many people as possible.

  • by Frank Cadaver
    £7.99

    Fourteen year old EVANGELINE knows she isn't good. She knows she might even be a bully to her quiet, studious classmate OLIVIA. But when her Dad returns home with a sinister looking Watching Elf, desperately hoping it will push her to behave, 'just in time for Christmas' , she's positive he's lost the plot. Just how old does he think she is?!But then footsteps scuttle past flickering fairy lights, when she's sneaking to places she shouldn't. A malevolent figure is reflected in her phone screen, when she's about to share malicious photographs. And, when a bullying teacher is brutally attacked during her detention, Evangeline starts to wonder: is this Watching Elf more than just a doll?And not to be forgotten, is Olivia. Always perfect Olivia. There's just something not right about her; she's got a part to play in this but Evangeline can't quite figure out what. All she knows is Olivia may not be as innocent or as perfect as she seems...The first in a brand new horror series, Blood Texts. Book 2 publishing 2nd September 2025. Cover illustration by Keith Robinson.

  • by Eva Frantz
    £8.99 - 12.49

  • by Eibhlis Carcione
    £7.99

    Welcome to Black Gables, the world's creepiest school with the creepiest Head Master who seems to be communicating with the lake ghouls. Even the pets are eerie.

  • by Eve McDonnell
    £7.99

    Brewster climbs chimneys risking his life as a sweep, but he has got a SECRET: he is a WIZARD with numbers and his numbers predict a TERRIFYING STORM OF STARS. Upon each star he'll cast a wish to be the last climbing boy ever. A powerful woman promises to make his wish come true, but challenges him to do the impossible in return: A WISH FOR A WISH.

  • by Susan Cahill
    £7.99

    Marina has vanished to a world of gods and demons just when her family need her most. Will she be back in time to save them? There is a world between the ever falling rain. A world like no other.

  • by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
    £7.99 - 8.99

The Horror Genre
Horror is a cultural genre that is meant to scare, shock and repulse its audience. An important thing to remember about this type of genre is that it elicits a dreadful sense in the reader through frightening and terrifying themes, situations and descriptive images. When we read a horror book, everything is important, such as the storyline, characters and the whole atmosphere. It is meant to provoke and shock the reader with its exploration of the unknown. The depreciating value that horror has, will help us understand why something is indeed scary. Look at it this way, once you see the monster come into the light, and you see it for what it truly is, it will help you to be less afraid. This genre also has several sub-genres, some of them consist of; Gothic, Science fiction, Survival, Occult, Dark fantasy, Paranormal, etc. Each has its own distinct characteristics. 

Classic Horror books
If we think about some of the popular classic horror books, the first author that will pop up is most likely the gothic writer Edgar Allan Poe. The gothic novel is a subgenre under horror that specifically has a focus on death, originated in the 18th century and is mastered by him. In the 19th and 20th century the horror writers focused on something completely different, such as tales involving occult ideas, and the popular books Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Dracula by Bram Stoker came into the picture and still kept their relevance today. Frankenstein is a classic story about a scientist who accidentally creates a monster when his experiment goes horribly wrong. And Dracula is a gothic novel about a vampyre who has a desire to spread the undead curse to as many mortal humans as possible. These two popular stories are well known worldwide and they will never lose their relevance, no matter how old they get. That is the magic of being a classic.  

New Horror books
As for the newer horror books, 2019-2021 had been some epic years for horror fiction. It is an ever-evolving genre and so many new voices blossomed. Most of the popular horror stories today involve crime writing, especially serial killers, slashers, and the ghost of the past. Something about newly written gothic stories that take place in the Victorian-era is so thrilling to read about, here we find books like the Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalo. The author incorporates themes of equality and social justice which takes the mystery of the infamous murderer to a whole new level. The main character Audrey Rose, eschews polite society for the very scandalous pastime of learning burgeoning science of forensic medicine. While she spends her time being captivated by science, there’s a serial killer on the loose. There’s nothing more thrilling and entertaining than reading about an inspiring heroine who solves mystery crimes. 
Children’s horror books are also important to address. Here we find Nightmares by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller, where the younger audience can explore dark territory but at the same time be comforted. It is a book that’ll reassure you how to overcome the power of fear. The main character Charlie’s and his friends’ adventure in the Netherworld is harrowing, because they’re in constant danger, but together they try to face their fears and conquer their nightmares. 

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