After
The Organ Donor
Matthew Warner2003
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
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The Manitou
Graham Masterton1975
A woman discovers a growth on her neck that is the reincarnation of a vengeful Native American shaman. It is a story of supernatural body horror.
Same tense register, still body horror
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
In the Dark of the Night
John Saul2006
A family discovers a collection of surgical tools in their summer home, unaware they are being watched by a local killer.
Same tense register, still supernatural horror
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The town
Bentley Little2000
A family returns to a small Arizona town where the residents are being targeted by supernatural violence. The town's history is tied to a curse.
Same tense register, still supernatural horror
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The Exorcist
William Peter Blatty1971
A famous actress seeks help when her daughter displays violent behavior. Two priests perform a ritual to remove a demonic presence.
Same tense register, still possession
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1 more ↓ ↑
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Hell House
Richard Matheson1971
Four people stay in a notorious mansion to prove or disprove the existence of an afterlife. They face violent physical and sexual phenomena.
Same tense register, still supernatural horror
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
tense → dreamlike
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
House of Leaves
Mark Z. Danielewski1998
A man finds a door in his house that should not exist. The story is told through layers of academic footnotes and a decaying manuscript.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
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Ambergris
Jeff VanderMeer2020
This collection follows the history of a city built atop a subterranean race. It uses fake histories, journals, and detective noir.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
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Ghost Stories
Henry James2001
A collection of Victorian tales where the existence of ghosts is often left to the reader's interpretation.
tense → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
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The Golden
Lucius Shepard1993
A vampire detective investigates the murder of a woman bred for her blood. The story takes place within a sprawling castle during a summit.
tense → decadent
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Edgar Allen Poe (Black Cat / Cask of Amontillado / Fall of the House of Usher / Gold Bug / Metzengerstein / Murders in the Rue Morgue / Narrative of Arthur Gordn Pym / Never Bet the Devil Your Head / Pit and the Pendulum / Purloined Letter / Tell-Tale Heart)
Edgar Allan Poe2005
A collection of gothic stories and a novel. Narrators deal with psychological collapse, premature burial, and macabre crimes.
tense → bleak
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
To recover
tense → playful
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
Vampires Are Forever
Lynsay Sands2008
A woman suspects her business partner is a vampire after he attempts to bite her. He tries to convince her they are fated mates.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
The Mane Event
Shelly Laurenston2007
A female cop reunites with a childhood friend who is now a lion-shifter. They navigate a romantic attraction while he pursues her in New York.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
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She Went All the Way
Meg Cabot2002
A screenwriter and an actor survive a helicopter crash in the Alaskan wilderness and must hike to safety while being pursued by a killer.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
Mile High
Liz Tomforde2023
A professional hockey player and a flight attendant clash on the team's private plane during a season-long road trip.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
Behind the Net
Stephanie Archer2024
A former musician becomes the live-in assistant for a professional hockey goalie she knew in high school.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
Flesh
Richard Laymon1987
An eyeless, slug-like parasite enters human hosts and forces them to commit acts of extreme violence and sexual assault.
tense → sardonic, still body horror
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Infected
Scott Sigler2008
Alien parasites burrow into human skin, causing paranoia and violent outbursts while a CDC doctor and CIA agent track the spread.
tense → propulsive, still body horror
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Creepers
David Morrell2005
Five urban explorers break into a long-abandoned hotel in New Jersey and find themselves trapped with a killer.
Same tense register
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Patient Zero
Jonathan Maberry2009
A detective joins a secret government task force to stop a terrorist group using a bio-weapon that reanimates the dead. It is an action thriller.
tense → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
The Rising
Brian Keene2003
A father travels across an apocalypse where the dead are possessed by malevolent, intelligent demons. The world is ending permanently.
tense → bleak
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
Dhalgren
Samuel R. Delany1975
An amnesiac wanderer enters Bellona, a city cut off from the world where time and geography shift. He joins a gang and writes poetry.
tense → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
Gödel, Escher, Bach
Douglas R. Hofstadter1979
An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.
tense → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Ulysses
James Joyce1914
Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.
tense → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
tense → elegiac
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Either/Or
Søren Kierkegaard1992
A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
Heavier
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The Omen
David Seltzer1976
A diplomat secretly replaces his stillborn son with an orphan. As the child grows, violent accidents occur to those who threaten him.
Same tense register, still supernatural horror
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- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Troop
Nick Cutter2014
A scoutmaster and five boys are stranded on an island with a man carrying a parasitic infection. The organism spreads through the group.
tense → bleak, still body horror
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
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The Hellbound Heart
Clive Barker1991
A man opens a puzzle box that summons demonic beings to harvest his soul through sensory extremes. His brother's wife attempts to bring him back.
tense → cold, still body horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
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Geek Love
Katherine Dunn1989
Carnival owners breed their own children into 'human oddities' using chemicals. The story follows the siblings' rivalries and a cult of followers.
tense → sardonic, still body horror
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose-1bleak+1
Black Hole
Charles Burns2005
A graphic novel following Seattle teenagers in the 1970s as a sexually transmitted disease causes physical mutations. It focuses on social isolation.
tense → bleak, still body horror
pace-1·prose-1·bleak+1
