Book picks similar to
The House Next Door by Tom Coleman


horror
short-story
short-stories
mystery

Dread


Jeff Wade - 2018
    Frank bolts up in bed. Except he’s not in bed. His head slams into what feels like ten-million tons of solid rock. He rolls right, then left, only to be foiled by more rock. Like a stone coffin. What is this place? How did he get here? Maybe the dream was real, and this is the nightmare. His heart slams with panic as he stares into the darkness. ...the plot twists were so frequent, and so dramatic... Something has happened. Something terrifying. But the harder he strains to recall the event, the deeper it retreats into the labyrinth of his mind. ...an excellent psychological thriller... A stalker in his dreams. Horror when he wakes. A passage. A password. A vanishing snake. What does any of it mean, if anything? ...one of the best horror stories I have read in a long time. No light. No water, no memory. And he's out of time. He must remember. If he wants to live. His amnesia is fading, but so is his hope. And perhaps his sanity.

Sour Candy


Kealan Patrick Burke - 2015
    They take walks in the park together, visit county fairs, museums, and zoos, and eat together overlooking the lake. Some might say the father is a little too accommodating given the lack of discipline when the child loses his temper in public. Some might say he spoils his son by allowing him to set his own bedtimes and eat candy whenever he wants. Some might say that such leniency is starting to take its toll on the father, given how his health has declined.What no one knows is that Phil is a prisoner, and that up until a few weeks ago and a chance encounter at a grocery store, he had never seen the child before in his life.

Fosgate's Game


David C. Cassidy - 2013
    PAWNS OF FATE. LET THE GAME BEGIN.For Chadwick Harlow, a peaceful, easy-going Englishman, after-dinner drinks with his business partner—a ruthless, hard-edged hunter—is a weekly affair. But when casual conversation takes a mysterious and menacing turn into the supernatural, his wits are put to the test in a deadly challenge. Clinging to life but praying for death, Chadwick must summon the will to survive, before all is lost in a terrifying descent into madness.

The Haunting of Thores-Cross: A Yorkshire Ghost Story


Karen Perkins - 2012
    A haunting historical thriller set in Britain's North Yorkshire Moors about isolation, superstition and persecution, The Haunting of Thores-Cross explores 18th century life in a picturesque but isolated village in the North Yorkshire Moors. When a vulnerable young girl is ostracised within her community and accused of witchcraft, the descendants of her neighbours will suffer for centuries to come.*Silver Medal Winner, European fiction - 2015 IPPY Book Awards *#1 Bestseller in 6 Amazon Categories, including Ghost Suspense, British Horror and Gothic Romance*Top 10 Bestseller in 8 more, including Historical Thrillers and Occult Horror*Over 100 5-STAR reviews on Amazon.com Likened by independent reviewers on Amazon to the Brontë sisters, Edgar Allen Poe, Barbara Erskine and Nathaniel Hawthorne, Karen Perkins' novels are filled with unflinching honesty and an acute understanding of human nature. She explores not only the depths of humanity, but the depths of human motivation behind the actions and pain people inflict upon each other, as well as the repercussions of these actions not only in the short term, but also the later generations who live with the implications of the past. Emma Moorcroft is still grieving after a late miscarriage and moves to her dream house at Thruscross Reservoir with her husband, Dave. Both Emma and Dave hope that moving into their new home signifies a fresh start, but life is not that simple. Emma has nightmares about the reservoir and the drowned village that lies beneath the water, and is further disturbed by the sound of church bells - from a church that no longer exists. Jennet is fifteen and lives in the isolated community of Thores-Cross, where life revolves about the sheep on which they depend. Following the sudden loss of both her parents, she is seduced by the local wool merchant, Richard Ramsgill. She becomes pregnant and is shunned not only by Ramsgill, but by the entire village. Lonely and embittered, Jennet's problems escalate, leading to tragic consequences which continue to have an effect through the centuries. Emma becomes fixated on Jennet, neglecting herself, her beloved dogs and her husband to the point where her marriage may not survive. As Jennet and Emma's lives become further entwined, Emma's obsession deepens and she realises that the curse Jennet inflicted on the Ramsgill family over two hundred years ago is still claiming lives. Emma is the only one who can stop Jennet killing again, but will her efforts be enough? The Haunting of Thores-Cross was previously titled Thores-Cross.The Yorkshire Ghost Stories are all stand-alone, complete books, and can be read in any order

Madeline


Craig McGray - 2012
    A shed full of macabre secrets... A wife gone crazy... A nine-year-old girl that must die.Jonah fights for his life while trying to stop his deranged wife from killing their daughter in the name of the Lord.Sometimes, the Devil truly is in the details.**Warning** Madeline is a short horror story not intended for anyone who may be offended by graphic language or scenes of violence. Don't read this story if you are squeamish or easily offended because you won't like it.

Louisiana Blood (A Chandler Travis and Duke Lanoix Mystery Thriller)


Mike Donald - 2019
    When the remains of Jack the Ripper’s first five victims are discovered in present day Louisiana, an English detective and a local sheriff form an unlikely alliance to unravel the mystery…and find themselves caught up in a modern-day conspiracy.

Adrift


K.R. Griffiths - 2014
    The ship is a perfect floating paradise, but when Dan spots what he thinks is a body being thrown overboard, he begins to suspect that not everybody aboard the Oceanus is there for a vacation.Soon, Dan will discover that there are some things worse than murder, and the body he saw is just the beginning. Because something is coming for the passengers on the Oceanus. Something that isn't supposed to exist...

The Dead Girls Club


Damien Angelica Walters - 2019
    Obsessed with the macabre, the girls exchanged stories about serial killers and imaginary monsters, like the Red Lady, the spirit of a vengeful witch killed centuries before. Heather knew the stories were just that, until her best friend Becca began insisting the Red Lady was real--and she could prove it.That belief got Becca killed.It's been nearly thirty years, but Heather has never told anyone what really happened that night--that Becca was right and the Red Lady was real. She's done her best to put that fateful summer, Becca, and the Red Lady, behind her. Until a familiar necklace arrives in the mail, a necklace Heather hasn't seen since the night Becca died.The night Heather killed her.Now, someone else knows what she did...and they're determined to make Heather pay.

Little Darlings


Melanie Golding - 2019
    And they’re right; with newborn twins, Morgan and Riley, she’s never been more tired in her life. But she knows what she saw: that night, in her hospital room, a woman tried to take her babies and replace them with her own…creatures. Yet when the police arrived, they saw no one. Everyone, from her doctor to her husband, thinks she’s imagining things.A month passes. And one bright summer morning, the babies disappear from Lauren’s side in a park. But when they’re found, something is different about them. The infants look like Morgan and Riley―to everyone else. But to Lauren, something is off. As everyone around her celebrates their return, Lauren begins to scream, These are not my babies.Determined to bring her true infant sons home, Lauren will risk the unthinkable. But if she’s wrong about what she saw…she’ll be making the biggest mistake of her life.Compulsive, creepy, and inspired by some our darkest fairy tales, Little Darlings will have you checking―and rechecking―your own little ones. Just to be sure. Just to be safe.

The Sensitives


Rick Wood - 2017
    "It's just a little girl..." Oscar is a loser, living with his parents, with no ambition and no friends. Enter April and Julian. They, like him, are Sensitives – a person who is paranormally gifted. Together they show Oscar how he could finally do something amazing with his life. Then there's Kaylee. She may be ten years old, but there is nothing sweet or innocent about her. She reeks of evil, with eyes of fire and a smile that makes hardened police officers run with terror. As Oscar enters a full-on battle with the demon possessing this girl’s body, he discovers that the use of his gift will require him to go through more terror, and face more evil, than he could ever have possibly imagined… Discover the first instalment of the compelling horror series from the next big name in horror, Rick Wood, and experience a new level of fear in the world that he has created…

Apocalypse Island


Mark Edward Hall - 2012
    Is it a serial killer, someone with a penchant for the macabre and a need to destroy? Or is it a darker force, an ancient legend from a mysterious Island come ashore to wreak havoc upon the unsuspecting?Amid the backdrop of Portland's burgeoning night scene, Police Lieutenant Rick Jennings discovers that no one is safe, and that evil has many faces. Danny Wolf, a gifted musician with alcohol problems is witnessing brutal murder in his dreams. Someone is carving a cross on each of the young female victims before crucifying them. Newly released from prison for a crime he did not commit, Wolf is having trouble adjusting to civilian life. He believes the dreams are a symptom of his adjustment until he discovers that they are real and that the victims are his own groupies. He soon begins to doubt his sanity. Could he be a homicidal madman? Wolf has no memory of his early childhood but discovers that he spent his first eight years in a Catholic orphanage on a mysterious island off the coast of Maine. Is it possible that his early life and the murders are somehow connected? Soon the killings become more bold and gruesome, as members of the church begin to die. Enter Police Lieutenant Rick Jennings and his young assistant Laura Higgins. They discover a government conspiracy involving the Catholic Church, and a cold war CIA mind control program known as MK-Ultra where children were used as test subjects. Danny Wolf becomes the number one suspect in the murders, but no one, not even Wolf, is prepared for what they discover on Apocalypse Island, a mind blowing secret that was supposed to stay hidden forever.

The Night Sister


Jennifer McMahon - 2015
    The three played there as girls until the day that their games uncovered something dark and twisted in the motel's past, something that ruined their friendship forever.Now adult, Piper and Margot have tried to forget what they found that fateful summer, but their lives are upended when Piper receives a panicked midnight call from Margot, with news of a horrific crime for which Amy stands accused. Suddenly, Margot and Piper are forced to relive the time that they found the suitcase that once belonged to Silvie Slater, the aunt that Amy claimed had run away to Hollywood to live out her dream of becoming Hitchcock's next blonde bombshell leading lady. As Margot and Piper investigate, a cleverly woven plot unfolds—revealing the story of Sylvie and Rose, two other sisters who lived at the motel during its 1950s heyday. Each believed the other to be something truly monstrous, but only one carries the secret that would haunt the generations to come.

Ultimate Thriller Box Set


Lee Goldberg - 2012
    Konrath, Blake Crouch, J. Carson Black, Lee Goldberg, and Scott Nicholson—were asked to choose their favorite novel to include in a groundbreaking box set, which is bursting with chills, thrills, laughs, scares, and hours of page-turning, thrill-a-minute reading pleasure.If thrillers are your passion, this is a must-have for your Kindle Library.CONTENTS:Origin by J.A. KonrathDesert Places by Blake CrouchDarkness on the Edge of Town by J. Carson BlackWatch Me Die by Lee GoldbergDisintegration by Scott NicholsonTogether, these novels have accrued over 250 5-star reviews and sold hundreds of thousands of copies. We hope you enjoy!

The Last Witness


Claire McFall - 2015
    But when the two of them disturb a pagan burial site above the beach, she becomes certain that they have awoken a malevolent spirit. Something is alive out there in the pitch-black dark, and it is planning to seek deadly revenge.One year later, Heather knows she was very lucky to escape Black Cairn Point, but she is still waiting for Dougie to wake up from his coma. If he doesn't, how will she prove her sanity—and her innocence?Additional Praise for The Last Witness:"A taut story of survival...a fast-paced tale that is hard to put down." -  Booklist "This psychological thriller slowly ratchets up the tension to a nail-biting degree." -  The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "A page-turning tale with just the right amount of creepiness for readers who enjoy suspense and dark evildoing." -  School Library Journal

The Servants of Twilight


Leigh Nichols - 1984
    To the Servants of Twilight, however, he is an evil presence who must be destroyed - an Anti-Christ who must die.The terrifying ordeal for Joey and his mother begins in the supermarket car park where an old woman accosts them and pursues them with her terrible threats. Christine's world is turned into a nightmare of terror. Only her love for her child, and the support of the one man who believes her, gives her the chance to survive the Servants of Twilight...This book was originally published under the pseudonym Leigh Nichols.