Love Dark Entries? Readers share 88 books like Dark Entries...

By Robert Aickman,

Here are 88 books that Dark Entries fans have personally recommended if you like Dark Entries. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Haunting of Hill House

Mia Dalia Author Of Haven

From my list on renting a haunted house for vacation.

Why am I passionate about this?

My name is Mia Dalia. I write dark speculative fiction across genres. A lot of it is psychological horror, which I love! My latest novel features a rather unique haunted house and a family who spend their summer vacation there. Hauntings are a theme I have visited before in shorter forms and were very excited to explore in full. My goal here was to deconstruct the myth of an all-American happy family within the frame of a classic may-or-may-not-be-haunted house. Those who have dared to stay in Haven have been profoundly unsettled. It is a hungry house, always looking for more visitors. I hope you’ll come for a stay!

Mia's book list on renting a haunted house for vacation

Mia Dalia Why did Mia love this book?

It is impossible to talk about haunted house books and not mention the foremother of them all, The House of the Haunted Hill. I love everything about it from its brilliant use of setting as a character to its tone of creeping unease to the way the readers are slowly drawn into its madness.

This book is a UR-text in the genre and quite revolutionary for its time in many ways: being authored by a female writer, featuring a queer icon of Theodora, etc. But most of all, it’s just a really great read and a true classic. Granted, the characters in it are not exactly on vacation, but all the same, in the end they probably wish they had spent their summer in a different house.

By Shirley Jackson,

Why should I read it?

38 authors picked The Haunting of Hill House as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Part of a new six-volume series of the best in classic horror, selected by Academy Award-winning director of The Shape of Water Guillermo del Toro

Filmmaker and longtime horror literature fan Guillermo del Toro serves as the curator for the Penguin Horror series, a new collection of classic tales and poems by masters of the genre. Included here are some of del Toro's favorites, from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Ray Russell's short story "Sardonicus," considered by Stephen King to be "perhaps the finest example of the modern Gothic ever written," to Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and stories…


Book cover of The Bloody Chamber: And Other Stories

William Orem Author Of Miss Lucy

From my list on both literary and gothic.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was six years old, and already a lover of Hallowe’en, when the special joy of stories took hold of my mind. It has never left. By the time I was an adult, I had come to value finely crafted fiction, the beautiful nuances of thought and expression possible in the hands of the greatest writers. At the same time, I never lost my youthful enthusiasm for the ghost, the deep forest just at twilight, the unused room at the back of the house where no one goes. To my delight, I have found there is an entire tradition of such work—gothic shapes rendered by the highest quality writers.

William's book list on both literary and gothic

William Orem Why did William love this book?

I am a huge fan of the very-brief gothic. It’s so hard to do well; trivial jump-scares are easy, but to produce a meaningful effect in only a few pages takes real precision. Shirley Jackson holds the crown with "The Lottery," but my second favorite instance of a surprisingly quick read that produces a real gasp is Angela Carter’s mini-treasure, "The Werewolf."

It manages to be a fairy tale, feminist critique, a witch, and a werewolf story all at once—and, like the beast in the title, it may not be what it appears. Also wonderful to me are "The Company of Wolves," "The Snow Child," and the eponymous "The Bloody Chamber," that one a revisioning of "Bluebeard"—essentially, Carter updates all kinds of dark fairy tales, bringing out their subversive shadows for a savvy reader. Still so fresh to this day.

By Angela Carter,

Why should I read it?

15 authors picked The Bloody Chamber as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With an introduction by Helen Simpson. From familiar fairy tales and legends - Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots, Beauty and the Beast, vampires and werewolves - Angela Carter has created an absorbing collection of dark, sensual, fantastic stories.


Book cover of Ghost Stories of Henry James

William Orem Author Of Miss Lucy

From my list on both literary and gothic.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was six years old, and already a lover of Hallowe’en, when the special joy of stories took hold of my mind. It has never left. By the time I was an adult, I had come to value finely crafted fiction, the beautiful nuances of thought and expression possible in the hands of the greatest writers. At the same time, I never lost my youthful enthusiasm for the ghost, the deep forest just at twilight, the unused room at the back of the house where no one goes. To my delight, I have found there is an entire tradition of such work—gothic shapes rendered by the highest quality writers.

William's book list on both literary and gothic

William Orem Why did William love this book?

Are there any ghosts in the most famous ghost story of all time, "The Turn of the Screw"? Fans have been debating that for over a century. I am awed and frequently challenged by James’ prose style, in which so much is rendered carefully ambiguous.

In his greatest offerings—"The Jolly Corner," "The Real Right Thing," and, a personal fave, "The Friends of the Friends"—he was able to elevate Gilded Age ghost stories to the realm of high art. Among his most central gifts was a Hawthorne-inspired interest in the nature of guilt, self-deception, and the spectral world inside our minds.

I recently visited Henry James’ grave in Cambridge and found that anonymous fans continue to leave him little tributes to this day.

By Henry James, David Stuart Davies (editor),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Ghost Stories of Henry James as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With an Introduction and Notes by Martin Scofield, University of Kent at Canterbury.

Henry James was arguably the greatest practitioner of what has been called the psychological ghost story. His stories explore the region which lies between the supernatural or straightforwardly marvellous and the darker areas of the human psyche. This edition includes all ten of his ghost stories, and as such is the fullest collection currently available.

The stories range widely in tone and type. They include 'The Jolly Corner', a compelling story of psychological doubling; 'Owen Wingrave', which is also a subtle parable of military tradition; 'The Friends…


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Book cover of The Ballad of Falling Rock

The Ballad of Falling Rock by Jordan Dotson,

Truth told, folks still ask if Saul Crabtree sold his soul for the perfect voice. If he sold it to angels or devils. A Bristol newspaper once asked: “Are his love songs closer to heaven than dying?” Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard it…

Book cover of Ghosts

William Orem Author Of Miss Lucy

From my list on both literary and gothic.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was six years old, and already a lover of Hallowe’en, when the special joy of stories took hold of my mind. It has never left. By the time I was an adult, I had come to value finely crafted fiction, the beautiful nuances of thought and expression possible in the hands of the greatest writers. At the same time, I never lost my youthful enthusiasm for the ghost, the deep forest just at twilight, the unused room at the back of the house where no one goes. To my delight, I have found there is an entire tradition of such work—gothic shapes rendered by the highest quality writers.

William's book list on both literary and gothic

William Orem Why did William love this book?

She’s more famous for novels like Ethan Frome and The Age of Innocence, but I love Edith Wharton above all for her ghost stories. I especially admire "Afterward," which, for my candy corn, is the greatest literary ghost story ever written. It both chills me and makes me ponder; the emotions inside this complex tale of secret lives are so real that, after I’ve put it down, I find I want to talk to anyone else who has read it about what just happened.

Wharton handles both language and imagery with a deft touch, all while drawing the reader into a haunting that has more than one dimension.

By Edith Wharton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ghosts as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An elegantly hair-raising collection of Edith Wharton's ghost stories, selected and with a preface written by the author herself.

No history of the American uncanny tale would be complete without mention of Edith Wharton, yet many of Wharton’s most dedicated admirers are unaware that she was a master of the form. In fact, one of Wharton’s final literary acts was assembling Ghosts, a personal selection of her most chilling stories, written between 1902 and 1937.

In “The Lady’s Maid’s Bell,” the earliest tale included here, a servant’s dedication to her mistress continues from beyond the grave, and in “All Souls,”…


Book cover of Creatures of Will and Temper

Kater Cheek Author Of Mulberry Wands

From my list on real-world fantasy with a unique and creative premise.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started writing urban fantasy because that’s what I wanted to read more of, and at the time there wasn’t much on offer. I started the Kit Melbourne series with the aim of creating a world in which magic was real, but most people don’t believe in it. I aim for believable, realistic characters with plausible relationships. I’m not a fan of prophets, noble bloodlines, or destiny; magic in my worlds are much more egalitarian. Vampires are not sexy superheroes. Faeries are more like aliens than pinup girls. My inspirations are mystery, true crime, anthropology, psychology, history, natural sciences, ecology, and neo-Paganism—and books like those on this list!

Kater's book list on real-world fantasy with a unique and creative premise

Kater Cheek Why did Kater love this book?

Molly Tanzer came up with one of the cleverest “magic” tropes ever and I wish I’d thought of it myself. Her Victorian London “diabolists” engage with demons in a way that felt so logical that it seemed 100% plausible. It involves specific plants, for example, ginger. These demons are more like sentient aliens that enter into a (permanent) symbiotic relationship with a human host, upon which they confer benefits.

It made me go, “I mean, getting into devil worship like this may not be my thing, but yeah, I get why people could be into it.” It’s not all gushing balls and gaslit concerts either, since our protagonists are much more middle class. There’s danger here, because not all of these diabolists are harmless. I craved ginger for months after this book.

By Molly Tanzer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Creatures of Will and Temper as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Victorian London is a place of fluid social roles, vibrant arts culture, fin-de-siecle wonders ... and dangerous underground diabolic cults. Fencer Evadne Gray cares for none of the former and knows nothing of the latter when she's sent to London to chaperone her younger sister, aspiring art critic Dorina. Unfortunately for Evadne, she soon learns too much about all of it when Dorina meets their uncle's friend, Lady Henrietta "Henry" Wotton. A semi-respectable aristocrat in public, in private she is secretly in the thrall of a demon obsessed with beauty and pleasure. When Lady Henry and Dorina immediately hit it…


Book cover of Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs

Raven Digitalis Author Of A Witch's Shadow Magick Compendium

From my list on magick for new & developing witches.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started studying and practicing Witchcraft in high school. It was an honor to become trained in the Georgian tradition of Wicca by its founding Priestess, Zanoni Silverknife. From there, I branched out to study other branches of Western Paganism as well as metaphysical and mystical systems ranging from Hermeticism, Tarot, and esoteric Qabalah (Kabbalah) to traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Over 20 years and 10 traditionally published books later, I’m as Witchy as ever and am thrilled to share a list of essential books that aided in my early development as a Neopagan Witch. Enjoy!

Raven's book list on magick for new & developing witches

Raven Digitalis Why did Raven love this book?

A modern Witch should never be without this book! This was the first-ever published encyclopedic reference of herbs, trees, and flora in an exclusively magickal context. The author researched herbal folklore and cross-cultural histories far-and-wide to discover this glorious list of classic esoteric correspondences and practices. I continue to find the book useful, practical, and educational.

The historical uses of the herbs presented in the encyclopedia are fascinating, and many of them are downright hilarious! That aside, I love this book because it’s filled with practical information and correspondences for modern magickal practitioners of all varieties. If I had to pick only three books about magickal herbalism, it would easily be this one, alongside The Master Book of Herbalism by Paul Beyerl and Hoodoo Herb & Root Magic by Catherine Yronwode. We Witchy types need our reference books, and this one is hugely important!

By Scott Cunningham,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Expanded and revised, this comprehensive guide features magical uses of over 400 herbs and plants from all parts of the world. With over 500,000 copies in print, this reference book is a must for all who perform natural magic. It features illustrations for easy identification of every herb, in addition to common names, use, and rulership.


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Book cover of Shadow of the Hidden

Shadow of the Hidden by Kev Harrison,

It’s Seb’s last day working in Turkey, but his friend Oz has been cursed. Superstition turns to terror as the effects of the ancient malediction spill over, and the lives of Oz and his family hang in the balance. Can Seb find the answers to remove the hex before it’s…

Book cover of Lectures on Ancient Philosophy

Keefe R.D. Author Of Royal Arcanum

From my list on veracious fantasy and strange reality.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an Indonesian writer who loves the idea of supernatural fantasy. I’ve always liked daydreaming. It started when a story suddenly kept playing inside my head like a movie. And that story now became my first fantasy book, Royal Arcanum. Never I imagined I’ll be a full-time writer now. I feel blessed that my family supported my writing career.

Keefe's book list on veracious fantasy and strange reality

Keefe R.D. Why did Keefe love this book?

Hey, this non-fiction book I’ve read has a lot to offer. Great study for those who wants to understand more about metaphysical world!

This is his fourth book that I’ve read besides Reincarnation, The Secret Teaching of All Ages, and The Wisdom of the Knowing Ones. I love his books, because can I learn a lot of mystical things which is related to the fantasy series that I’ve been working on. And it has a great impact on my writing for the first book in my series.

It taught me that we are not alone in this world. There are a lot that we don’t know about spiritual dimension that can’t be seen with our mundane eyes. As within, so without. Our inner wisdom creates the reflection of our reality.
I feel contented with the knowledge shared in this book. It helped me to enlighten my perspective…

By Manly P. Hall,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lectures on Ancient Philosophy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Complete in itself, this volume originated as a commentary and expansion of Manly P. Hall's masterpiece of symbolic philosophy, The Secret Teachings of All Ages.
In Lectures on Ancient Philosophy, Manly P. Hall expands on the philosophical, metaphysical, and cosmological themes introduced in his classic work, The Secret Teachings of All Ages. Hall wrote this volume as a reader's companion to his earlier work, intending it for those wishing to delve more deeply into the esoteric philosophies and ideas that undergird the Secret Teachings. Particular attention is paid to Neoplatonism, ancient Christianity, Rosicrucian and Freemasonic traditions, ancient mysteries, pagan rites…


Book cover of Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century England

Larry Silver Author Of Europe Views the World, 1500-1700

From my list on values in European historical periods.

Why am I passionate about this?

A retired professor, an art historian who taught at Berkeley, Northwestern, and the University of Pennsylvania. Since my main interest is the emergence of Europe from the late Middle Ages and into the Early Modern period around 1500, I naturally gravitate to non-fiction books that engage with the shifting interests and values of that era, and my own books include similar efforts to discuss visual art in relation to religion, literature, politics, and wider contemporary cultural movements. Among my own books I would cite: Rubens, Velázquez, and the King of Spain (with Aneta Georgievska-Shine); Europe Views the World, 1500-1700; and the forthcoming Art and Dis-Illusion in the Long Sixteenth Century.

Larry's book list on values in European historical periods

Larry Silver Why did Larry love this book?

An unlikely complement to Huizinga tracing the overlap between magical beliefs in religion as well as astrology and the emerging accusations of witchcraft. Deeply immersed in research about 16th-17th century England, this book offers a form of historical anthropology for baseline views of the strange ideas that drove spiritual life.

By Keith Thomas,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Religion and the Decline of Magic as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Witchcraft, astrology, divination and every kind of popular magic flourished in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, from the belief that a blessed amulet could prevent the assaults of the Devil to the use of the same charms to recover stolen goods. At the same time the Protestant Reformation attempted to take the magic out of religion, and scientists were developing new explanations of the universe. Keith Thomas's classic analysis of beliefs held on every level of English society begins with the collapse of the medieval Church and ends with the changing intellectual atmosphere around 1700, when science and…


Book cover of Alchemy

G.J. Williams Author Of The Conjuror's Apprentice

From my list on tempestuous times and crimes of the Tudors.

Why am I passionate about this?

I studied the Tudor era in high school and have been hooked ever since. It was an era of enormous change. The world was opening up, science was advancing, religion was losing its grip over people, and new ideas were challenging every level of society. Discovery was everywhere–new planets, lands, theories, foods, and trading routes. Society was changing, and women were beginning to have a voice and education. It was also an era of characters–men and some women who made a mark on the world through their wit and wisdom–and some just by being rogues. There are no dull moments in Tudor times.

G.J.'s book list on tempestuous times and crimes of the Tudors

G.J. Williams Why did G.J. love this book?

There are so many reasons to love this book.

First, the main character is compelling–intelligent, strong, flawed, and courageous. Second, excellent research takes you into the difficult politics of medieval Europe, the tensions between religions, and the madness of European Courts. Third, it takes you into the dark world of medieval alchemists and their dangerous competition to find the Philosopher's Stone.

The crimes make your skin crawl. I also love it because my very own detective, Doctor John Dee, is ever present but never seen.

By S. J. Parris,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Alchemy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The new historical crime thriller, a Sunday Times bestseller, perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom and Hilary Mantel

Prague, 1588.

A COURT IN TURMOIL

The court of the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II, is a haven for scientists, astrologers and alchemists. The dream - to discover the philosopher's stone and attain immortality. But now there are rumours of heresy.

A MURDERED ALCHEMIST

Giordano Bruno is sent to Prague as a spy for Elizabeth I. He arrives to find the palace in uproar - an alchemist has been murdered.

AN UNFORGIVING ENEMY

Ordered by the emperor to uncover the killer,…


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Book cover of The Nightmarchers

The Nightmarchers by J. Lincoln Fenn,

In 1939, on a remote Pacific island, botanical researcher Irene Greer plunged off a waterfall to her death, leaving behind a legacy shrouded in secrets. Her great-niece Julia, a struggling journalist recovering from a divorce, seeks answers decades later.

Tasked with retrieving Dr. Greer’s discovery–a flower that could have world-changing…

Book cover of The Compleat Crow

William Meikle Author Of Carnacki: Heaven and Hell

From my list on occult detective collections.

Why am I passionate about this?

Even before I found Lovecraft and Stephen King and my world turned, I was raised on Doyle, Wells, Hodgson, and Robert Louis Stevenson which gave me both a love of the "gentleman detective" era and a deep love of the late Victorian/early Edwardian historical period in general. Once you merge that with my abiding interest in all things weird and spooky, you can see where a lot of my stories come from. There seems to be quite a burgeoning market for this kind of mixing of detection and supernatural, and I intend to write more... maybe even a lot more.

William's book list on occult detective collections

William Meikle Why did William love this book?

Lumley is steeped in both the occult detective and the Lovecraftian tradition, and it shows most clearly in this set of pulpy occult detective stories featuring his cerebral-yet-tough Titus Crow, and involving wild flights of fancy in time and space that also arguably show some influence from Doctor Who. We get a lovely creepy origin story here, and several vignettes, but the highlight is the longer tale of the mysteries of the wyrm, and festering, crawling things in an ancient manor house and its library. It fairly oozes supernatural evil and is one of my favorite things.

By Brian Lumley,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Compleat Crow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Titus Crow is an occult investigator, psychic sleuth and cosmic voyager. In this book 11 short stories featuring Crow are brought together. These stories were written before the "Cthulhu Mythos" novels and follow Crow as he explores beyond the frontiers where mortal man is not meant to tread.


Book cover of The Haunting of Hill House
Book cover of The Bloody Chamber: And Other Stories
Book cover of Ghost Stories of Henry James

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