Book picks similar to
Seance for Susan by Lydia Benson Clark


gothic
horror
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Darker Than You Think


Jack Williamson - 1940
    Inexorably drawn into investigating a rash of grisly deaths, he soon finds himself embroiled in something far beyond mortal understanding.Doggedly pursuing his investigations, he meets the mysterious and seductive April Bell and starts having disturbing, tantalizing dreams in which he does terrible things--things that are stranger and wilder than his worst nightmares. then his friends being dying one by one and he slowly realizes that an unspeakable evil has been unleashed.As Barbee's world crumbles around him in a dizzying blizzard of madness, the intoxicating, dangerous April pushes Barbee ever closer to the answer to the question "Who is the Child of Night?"When Barbee finds out, he'll wish he'd never been born.

The Haunting of Alcott Manor


Alyssa Richards - 2017
    His family has a past. Can they solve a century-old mystery… together? Gemma doesn't miss working for the family business. She has a knack for restoring older properties, but after a vicious haunting nearly killed her, she was more than ready to move on. Gemma agrees to one last job to save her parents’ business, but the 1880s historical estate has its fair share of dark secrets…Henry Alcott wants nothing more than to free the spirit from his family’s property. Ever since the original owner was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death, the ghost has made sure every restoration effort was a miserable failure. But there’s something about Gemma that makes Henry believe in a much brighter future…Gemma and Henry must solve a hundred-year mystery to complete the restoration in time. Failure to do so could cost Gemma’s parents their business, but staying in the house could cost them much, much more…The Haunting of Alcott Manor is a contemporary gothic romance mystery. If you like fateful chemistry, engaging characters, and mysteries that keep you guessing until the very end, then you’ll love the first book in USA TODAY BESTSELLING Author Alyssa Richards’ chilling new series. Buy The Haunting of Alcott Manor to step inside the house today!

Carmilla: A Dark Fugue


David Brian - 2013
    However, General Spielsdorf does not travel alone. Moreover, his band of companions carry a secret of their own, and it is one which will likely spell disaster for any who fall prey to their urges. The General is about to discover that when werewolves and vampires clash; there can be no winners. Carmilla: A Dark Fugue - is a stand alone story which unfolds parallel to the events in Carmilla: The Wolves of Styria.

Dead in the Water


Nancy Holder - 1994
    Pandora and sail into a cruise of metaphysical terror, madness, and death.

The Haunting of Gatesworld Manor


Cat Knight - 2019
    All she had to do was stay at the manor and research the history of the house.  She didn’t know she couldn’t leave….. Novelist and freelancer Zandra Turner is finding it tough to get work when a mysterious envelope brings a job offer to research the history of Gatesworld Manor. The estate manager seems evasive, the housekeeper borders on rude, but that is not all that’s wrong with Gatesworld manor. How is it possible that the layout of the manor changes with rooms and hallways that come and go? And who is the woman that Zandra hears crying in the night? But more than anything how can it be day and night at the same time? As Zandra enters into a battle for her soul the world she finds herself in closes in around her, and Zandra’s existence hangs in the balance. Will she manage to find her way out of the manor and back to her life, or will the manor claim her life forever? List of Books The Ghosts and Haunting Collection - 16 Book Boxed SetThe Haunting of Elleric LodgeThe Haunting of Grayson HouseThe Haunting of Weaver HouseThe Haunting of Fairview HouseThe Haunting of Keira O’ConnellThe Haunting of Ferncoombe HouseThe Haunting of Highcliff HallThe Haunting of Stone Street CemeteryThe Haunting of Knoll HouseThe Haunting of Harrow HouseThe Haunting of Rochford HouseGhosts and Haunted Houses Vol OneThe Haunting of the Grey LadyThe Haunting of Blakely ManorThe Haunting on the Ridgeway (Ghost Sight Chronicles)Cursed to Haunt  (Ghost Sight Chronicles)The Revenge Haunting (Ghost Sight Chronicles)The Haunting of Fort RecluseThe Haunting TrapThe Haunting of Montgomery HouseThe Haunting of Mackenzie HouseIf you read stories in the occult, occultism, horror, supernatural and paranormal genres then add these to your reading list.

The Survivor and Others


August Derleth - 1957
    

Hauntings: Is There Anybody There?


Norah Lofts - 1974
    

Bonegrinder


John Lutz - 1977
    He's bleeding heavily and near death, but he still has strength to tell them of the monster that attacked him: a dark, massive creature that emerged from the bottom of the lake. The child dies before he can say more. Sheriff Billy Wintone has seen too much superstition, drunkenness, and rage in this small Ozarks town to believe the delirious boy's tale of a monster lurking under the lake's dark waters. Like it or not, however, Wintone must scour the woods for the man or beast who killed the child before the start of fishing season. When another body is found chewed to pieces, the Sheriff begins to wonder what evil lies at the bottom of Big Water Lake. This ebook features an illustrated biography of John Lutz, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author's personal collection.

The Search for Joseph Tully


William H. Hallahan - 1974
    One of the few buildings still standing amid the rubble is the Brevoort House, older than memory. Its only remaining tenant is Peter Richardson. Abandoned. Menaced. Alone. The Brevoort has become an unbearable burden for him. Houses, like people, can go bad, and the Brevoort emanates an evilness, an undefined terror, aimed directly at him. The house—something in the house—is telling Richardson of his impending death. In another part of Brooklyn, solicitor Matthew Willow arrives from London seeking a man who may not exist. He has one clue, the name of the wanted man’s ancestor: Joseph Tully. Willow’s search takes him into the fascinating world of the genealogical detective—and uncovers a relentless pursuit and quest for vengeance through centuries of reincarnation . . .

The Cult


Max Ehrlich - 1978
    For Jeff is now a member of the Cult. The souls for Jesus, the brainchild of the Master, Buford Hodges, a tax dedcutable, multi-million industry feeding on the minds and bodies of the young and vulnerable.Only one man can redeem thse lost souls, only one man dares take on the sinister forces of the Master. Only one man can help the Reeds, the man they call The Devil.

Prodigal


Melanie Tem - 1991
    The voice could only belong to one person, her brother Ethan, but his body, broken by drugs, lies cold in the morgue. An invisible hand has opened the door for Lucy and her sisters and though Lucy questions her parents they have receded into their private existence where nothing can touch them. Lucy is quickly losing touch with her reality of white fences and pristine lawns. She is drawn beyond that door into the dark abyss where her brother waits and evil is hiding in the shadows. Each day the voice grows stronger, demanding that she journey far away to the place that stole her brother's mind and body. As the secret unfolds, the Prodigal emerges.

The Man Who Found Out


Algernon Blackwood - 2009
    Laidlaw knew him in his laboratory, was one man; but Mark Ebor, as he sometimes saw him after work was over, with rapt eyes and ecstatic face, discussing the possibilities of "union with God" and the future of the human race, was quite another. "I have always held, as you know," he was saying one evening as he sat in the little study beyond the laboratory with his assistant and intimate, "that Vision should play a large part in the life of the awakened man-not to be regarded as infallible, of course, but to be observed and made use of as a guide-post to possibilities-" "I am aware of your peculiar views, sir," the young doctor put in deferentially, yet with a certain impatience.

The Mystery of Drury House


Elizabeth Wilde - 2015
    For Jack Saxon, a semi-retired magician from the mainland, the icy weather is an acquired taste to say the least. After Saxon inherits an enormous mansion and vast fortune from an eccentric recluse named Drury, disturbing things begin happening on the island. A young girl vanishes without a trace. A woman takes her own life under mysterious circumstances. And finally, a vicious murder is committed, shocking the peaceful residents of the normally placid island. All too soon, Saxon finds himself in the middle of a deadly game of madness and deception… Original American title: Mystery of the Red Alders

The Shapes Of Midnight


Joseph Payne Brennan - 1953
    Hear me! Or don't. For there are those obsessed with uncovering the witcheries that fester in man's foul heart. There are those who would invoke the awful powers that yet remain in Earth's cursed places. Joseph Payne Brenna is such a one. This is his book. Dare you make it yours? (back cover copy)Introduction by Stephen King.Contents:Diary of a Werewolf The Corpse of Charlie Rull Canavan’s Back Yard The Pavilion House of Memory The Willow Platform Who Was He?DisappearanceThe Horror at Chilton CastleThe Impulse to KillThe House on Hazel StreetSlime

Dark Homecoming


William Patterson - 2016
    Their honeymoon was idyllic and Liz is blissfully happy—at first. But she feels increasingly uneasy in her lavish new home. Huntington House and its staff still seem to be in the thrall of David’s first wife. In fact, the housekeeper, Mrs. Hoffman, has made it clear that Liz can never measure up to the stunning, sophisticated, deceased, Dominique. Though Dominique drowned in a yachting accident, Liz still senses her spirit in the house. She hears unexplained noises…sees shadowy figures vanishing down the long corridors. The scent of Dominique’s favorite flowers fills the air. But Liz’s fears are more than insecurity. Two young women connected to Huntington House have already met terrible deaths. More will die—and soon. Because behind the house’s polished façade is an unimaginable secret and a love turned to twisted, unnatural obsession…Praise for William Patterson’s The Inn "The Conjuring meets The Shining in William Patterson's deliciously creepy thriller.  Fast-paced, horror-filled, clever and impossible-to-predict, this heart-pounding tale will leave you breathless." --Kevin O’Brien, New York Times bestselling author