5.  IT by Stephen King—Stephen King plus clowns. Need I say more?  You will sleep with the lights on for days.

4. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane—what is real and what is in the mind? By the end of this story set on an island mental institution for the criminally insane, you may not be able to tell reality from insanity. (The movie with Leonardo DiCaprio is also excellent.)

3. Anything by Edgar Allan Poe—Try reading anything by one of the original writers of horror and suspense and tell me that you aren’t creeped out at the end—and wanting more.

2. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous—not your typical ghost story, but terrifying all the same, this is the story of a high school girl who gets hooked on drugs. I first read it when I was 12 and it scared the daylights out of me, to the point where I still shudder and run the other way when I see the cover.

1. Dracula by Bram Stoker—in my opinion, the scariest book ever. I read it for the first time as an 8^th grader at Larson Middle School and re-read it again every few years just for the joy of it.  Forget the vampire movies. When you read this book, you will feel the mist rolling around your chair, hear Renfield’s crazy laugh, and jump at every sound in your house, because you KNOW that the ultimate vampire is lurking just around the corner. For the atmosphere alone, a great read.

How about you? What is your pick for the scariest book ever? All of the titles I’ve listed above are at the Troy Public Library, so if Halloween has put you in the mood for a good scary read, stop by the library and pick one up! Happy Reading!