10 Best Creature Horror Books Featuring Unknown Life Forms
For those brave souls out there who like their nightstand reading to venture into the terrifying realms of the unknown, this list is for you. Exploring question of what lurks in the undiscovered corners of the Earth, or even the universe, these creature horror books capture the terror and thrills born out of encounters with unknown life forms.
These aren’t your traditional horror stories with run of the mill vampires or werewolves. Oh no, these novels and comics feature beasts and entities that defy description, pushing the limits of your imagination and fueling your darkest nightmares. We're talking about creatures from unknown worlds, inhabitants of the deepest sea trenches, lifeforms from unexplored planets or even just out of the corner of a paranoid mind.
Each author, with their vivid storytelling, will immerse you in an atmosphere of suspense and dread, meticulously building up to the moment when the true horror is revealed. Be prepared to sleep with the lights on and plenty of check under your bed.
So, ready to take a journey into lands unknown and meet the unthinkable, the unnameable? Let’s dive in. But remember, we warned you.
『Annihilation』
Area X has claimed the lives of members of eleven expeditions. The twelfth expedition consisting of four women hopes to map the terrain and collect specimens; to record all their observations, scientific and otherwise, of their surroundings and of one another; and, above all, to avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.
Author | Jeff VanderMeer |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Macmillan |
Release Date | Feb 04, 2014 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Fisherman』
"In upstate New York, in the woods around Woodstock, Dutchman's Creek flows out of the Ashokan Reservoir. Steep-banked, fast-moving, it offers the promise of fine fishing, and of something more, a possibility too fantastic to be true. When Abe and Dan, two widowers who have found solace in each other's company and a shared passion for fishing, hear rumors of the Creek, and what might be found there, the remedy to both their losses, they dismiss it as just another fish story. Soon, though, the men find themselves drawn into a tale as deep and old as the Reservoir. It's a tale of dark pacts, of long-buried secrets, and of a mysterious figure known as Der Fisher: the Fisherman. It will bring Abe and Dan face to face with all that they have lost, and with the price they must pay to regain it."--Publisher.
Author | John Langan |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | |
Release Date | Jun 30, 2016 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Deep』
"A strange plague called the 'Gets is decimating humanity on a global scale. It causes people to forget--small things at first, like where they left their keys...then the not-so-small things like how to drive, or the letters of the alphabet. Then their bodies forget how to function involuntarily...and there is no cure. But now, far below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, deep in the Marianas Trench, an heretofore unknown substance hailed as "ambrosia" has been discovered--a universal healer, from initial reports. It may just be the key to a universal cure. In order to study this phenomenon, a special research lab, the Trieste, has been built eight miles under the sea's surface. But now the station is incommunicado, and it's up to a brave few to descend through the lightless fathoms in hopes of unraveling the mysteries lurking at those crushing depths..."--
Author | Nick Cutter |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Simon and Schuster |
Release Date | Aug 16, 2016 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Only Good Indians』
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From USA TODAY bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones comes a “masterpiece” (Locus Magazine) of a novel about revenge, cultural identity, and the cost of breaking from tradition. Labeled “one of 2020’s buzziest horror novels” (Entertainment Weekly), this is a remarkable horror story that “will give you nightmares—the good kind of course” (BuzzFeed). Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians is “a masterpiece. Intimate, devastating, brutal, terrifying, warm, and heartbreaking in the best way” (Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts). This novel follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in violent, vengeful ways.
Author | Stephen Graham Jones |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Gallery / Saga Press |
Release Date | Jan 26, 2021 |
Source | Google Books |
『THE CIPHER』
Kathe Koja's classic, award-winning horror novel is finally available as an ebook. Nicholas, a would-be poet, and Nakota, his feral lover, discover a strange hole in the storage room floor down the hall - "Black. Pure black and the sense of pulsation, especially when you look at it too closely, the sense of something not living but alive." It begins with curiosity, a joke - the Funhole down the hall. But then the experiments begin. "Wouldn't it be wild to go down there?" says Nakota. Nicholas says "We're not." But they're not in control, not from the first moment, as those experiments lead to obsession, violence, and a very final transformation for everyone who gets too close to the Funhole. THE CIPHER was the winner of the 1991 Bram Stoker Award, and was recently named one of io9.com's Top 10 Debut Science Fiction Novels That Took the World By Storm. Long out-of-print and much sought-after, it is finally available as an ebook, with a new foreword by the author. "An ethereal rollercoaster ride from start to finish." - The Detroit Free Press "Combines intensely poetic language and lavish grotesqueries." - BoingBoing "Kathe Koja is a poet ... [T]he kind that prefers to read in seedy bars instead of universities, but a poet." - The New York Review of Science Fiction "Her 20-something characters are poverty-gagged 'artists' who exist in that demimonde of shitty jobs, squalid art galleries, and thrift stores; her settings are run-down studios, flat-beer bars, and dingy urban streets [a] long way from Castle Rock, Dunwich, or Stepford, that's for sure." - Too Much Horror Fiction "This powerful first novel is as thought-provoking as it is horrifying." - Publishers Weekly "Unforgettable ... [THE CIPHER] takes you into the lives of the dark dreamers that crawl on the underbelly of art and culture. Seldom has language been so visceral and so right." - Locus "[THE CIPHER] is a book that makes you sit up, pay attention, and jettison your moldy preconceptions about the genre ... Utterly original ... [An} imaginative debut." - Fangoria "Not so much about the vast and wonderful strangeness of the universe as it is about the horrific and glorious potential of the human spirit." - Short Form
Author | Kathe Koja |
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Price | $3.99 |
Publisher | Roadswell Editions |
Release Date | Aug 21, 2014 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Loop』
"A small town in Western Oregon becomes the epicenter of an epidemic of violence as the teenage daughters and sons of several executives who happen to work at the biotech firm nestled in the hills have become ill, and oddly, aggressively, murderous"--Provided by publisher
Author | Jeremy Robert Johnson |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Simon and Schuster |
Release Date | Aug 10, 2021 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Ritual』
A horror debut by one of Britain's most celebrated up-and-coming writers, in which four friends get lost in a forest in Sweden, to find their lives are in mortal peril... as something evil lurks.
Author | Adam Nevill |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Macmillan |
Release Date | Feb 14, 2012 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Mist』
#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King’s terrifying novella about a town engulfed in a dense, mysterious mist as humanity makes its last stand against unholy destruction—originally published in the acclaimed short story collection Skeleton Crew and made into a TV series, as well as a feature film starring Thomas Jane and Marcia Gay Harden. In the wake of a summer storm, terror descends...David Drayton, his son Billy, and their neighbor Brent Norton join dozens of others and head to the local grocery store to replenish supplies following a freak storm. Once there, they become trapped by a strange mist that has enveloped the town. As the confinement takes its toll on their nerves, a religious zealot, Mrs. Carmody, begins to play on their fears to convince them that this is God’s vengeance for their sins. She insists a sacrifice must be made and two groups—those for and those against—are aligned. Clearly, staying in the store may prove fatal, and the Draytons, along with store employee Ollie Weeks, Amanda Dumfries, Irene Reppler, and Dan Miller, attempt to make their escape. But what’s out there may be worse than what they left behind. This exhilarating novella explores the horror in both the enemy you know—and the one you can only imagine.
Author | Stephen King |
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Price | $9.99 |
Publisher | Simon and Schuster |
Release Date | May 23, 2017 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Hatching』
"The first in a horror trilogy about an ancient race of carnivorous spiders who emerge from the center of the earth after being dormant for over ten thousand years"--
Author | Ezekiel Boone |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Simon and Schuster |
Release Date | Feb 14, 2017 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Loch』
Marine biologist Zachary Wallace once suffered a near-drowning experience in legendary Loch Ness, and now, long-forgotten memories of that experience have begun haunting him. The truth surrounding these memories lies with Zachary's estranged father, Angus Wallace, a wily Highlander on trial for murder. Together the two plunge into a world where the legend of Loch Ness shows its true face. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Author | Steve Alten |
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Price | $12.99 |
Publisher | Tor Books |
Release Date | Aug 03, 2010 |
Source | Google Books |
In conclusion, if you're a true blue fan of the creature horror genre, the novels on this list will not leave you disappointed. They will take you on a riveting ride into unknown territories, introducing life forms stranger, scarier and more thrilling than whatever your imaginations could possibly conjure up. The authors of these books masterfully play with aspects of fear and curiosity, sending shivers down your spine while ensuring that you're glued to your seat, unable to put the book down. The intoxicating allure of the unknown, the inherent fear of what lurks in the dark, and the mind-blowing plot twists are all masterfully woven into these narratives. These novels are not just about the horrors that emerge from the murk, but also about how people react when faced with the extraordinary. So, whether you're a seasoned horror lover or just a curious newcomer, there's no doubt that these novels will pump your adrenaline and make your heart race. Grab one, switch off the lights, and dive right in...if you dare! Embarking on this literary journey promises to be an experience you won't forget any time soon.
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