Halloween Horrors and Thrillers

There are novels about the dark underbelly of small towns, and then there’s It, which puts an ancient shape-shifting monster in the sewers beneath Derry, Maine and has it terrorize a tight-knit group of children. It is one of King’s creepiest novels (it has evil clowns, how can it not be?) but it’s not just effective in its scares. It’s also an accomplished look at troubled kids coming of age and the non-supernatural darkness that can lurk behind the innocent facades of some towns. By the way, now’s a good time to check out It before the upcoming film adaptation hits theaters this year.

The first horror film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, The Exorcist is not just a terrific horror movie—it’s a terrific movie, period. The same can be said for its inspiration, the novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty (who, it should be mentioned, also produced and wrote the screenplay for the big screen adaptation). When sweet little 11-year-old Regan MacNeil is possessed by a demonic entity, her mother Chris calls on Father Damian Karras to expel the darkness and save her daughter’s life. So much more than a simple made-you-jump shocker, this listen is also a thoughtful meditation on crises of faith and what it means to be human. And if that endorsement isn’t enough to convince you, trust on this: you’re going to want to hear Blatty’s absolutely impeccable performance of his own triumph. Not only is this the scariest author narration of all time—there, we said it—it’s also among the best ever.

The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when 14-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia....