10 books like Night Shift

By Stephen King,

Here are 10 books that authors have personally recommended if you like Night Shift. Shepherd is a community of 7,000+ authors sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood

William P. Robertson Author Of Ghosts Revisited

From the list on classic horror story collections.

Who am I?

My Swedish grandmother first introduced me to the horror genre when I was a small boy. Her folktales of trolls and witches really fueled my imagination! Then, when I was in junior high, my father encouraged me to read Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. I didn’t get hooked on things Gothic, however, until I heard the lyrics of Jim Morrison and the Doors in high school. After college, I became a freelance writer. I quickly learned that 80% of my spooky stuff got accepted by magazines while only 10% of my general interest work was published. That said, it’s no wonder I became a horror writer! 

William's book list on classic horror story collections

Discover why each book is one of William's favorite books on classic horror story collections .

Why this book?

The Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood features the author’s scariest tales, including “The Willows” and “The Wendigo”. Blackwood piles detail after detail atop one another until the reader nearly suffocates from the gloom and terror they create! He also squeezes much fear from isolated places like Canada and the Danube River.

Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood

By Algernon Blackwood,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A woman of snow . . . a midnight caller keeping his promise . . . forests where Nature is deliberate and malefic . . . enchanted houses . . . these are the beings and ideas that flood through this collection of ghost stories by Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951). Altogether thirteen stories, gathered from the entire corpus of Blackwood's work, are included: stories of such sheer power and imagination that it is easy to see why he has been considered the foremost British supernaturalist of the twentieth century.
Blackwood's ability to create an atmosphere of unrelieved horror and sustain it…


Book cover of Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre: The Best of H. P. Lovecraft

William P. Robertson Author Of Ghosts Revisited

From the list on classic horror story collections.

Who am I?

My Swedish grandmother first introduced me to the horror genre when I was a small boy. Her folktales of trolls and witches really fueled my imagination! Then, when I was in junior high, my father encouraged me to read Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. I didn’t get hooked on things Gothic, however, until I heard the lyrics of Jim Morrison and the Doors in high school. After college, I became a freelance writer. I quickly learned that 80% of my spooky stuff got accepted by magazines while only 10% of my general interest work was published. That said, it’s no wonder I became a horror writer! 

William's book list on classic horror story collections

Discover why each book is one of William's favorite books on classic horror story collections .

Why this book?

The Best of H.P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre showcases some of the weirder stories of the horror genre. “The Rats in the Walls” and “The Thing on the Doorstep” put the “f” in fear! H.P.’s evil space creature, Cthulhu, also makes an appearance in this anthology.

Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre

By H. P. Lovecraft,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“H.P. Lovecraft has yet to be surpassed as the twentieth century’s greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale.”—Stephen King

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”—H.P. Lovecraft

This is the collection that true fans of horror fiction must have: sixteen of H.P. Lovecraft’s most horrifying visions, including:

The Call of Cthulu: The first story in the infamous Cthulhu mythos—a creature spawned in the stars brings a menace of unimaginable evil to threaten all mankind.
The Dunwich Horror: An evil man’s desire to perform an unspeakable…


Book cover of Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

A.M. Dunnewin Author Of The Illusory

From the list on gothic showing the dark side of the human psyche.

Who am I?

I’ve loved Gothic fiction ever since I was young. I grew up around avid murder-mystery fans, but being introduced to Edgar Allan Poe’s work is what started me on a path that led me to become a writer. With a background in psychology, my stories tend to involve dark fantasy settings with an emphasis on Gothic elements, mainly because it often leans into psychology for support. The dark sides of the soul and the way the mind plays tricks are often what bring out the horror that Gothic fiction is known for. This exploration of the human psyche is what both fascinates and inspires me as a writer.

A.M.'s book list on gothic showing the dark side of the human psyche

Discover why each book is one of A.M.'s favorite books on gothic showing the dark side of the human psyche .

Why this book?

Although I saved him for last, I’m a die-hard Poe fan. I was first introduced to his work by my grandfather, who gifted me a leather-bound edition of Poe’s complete collection when I was in middle school. I ate through that book, falling in love with his style, descriptions, and downright passion in his macabre outlook. Each poem has its own rhythm; each story its own moral. While “The Raven” is his most widely known work, my personal favorites are the poem “Annabel Lee” and the short story “The Oval Portrait.” Poe led me in the direction of Gothic literature, and to this day that’s the genre I both love to read and write in. 

Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

By Edgar Allan Poe,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This single volume brings together all of Poe's stories and poems, and illuminates the diverse and multifaceted genius of one of the greatest and most influential figures in American literary history.


Book cover of More Haunted Northern New York

William P. Robertson Author Of Ghosts Revisited

From the list on classic horror story collections.

Who am I?

My Swedish grandmother first introduced me to the horror genre when I was a small boy. Her folktales of trolls and witches really fueled my imagination! Then, when I was in junior high, my father encouraged me to read Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. I didn’t get hooked on things Gothic, however, until I heard the lyrics of Jim Morrison and the Doors in high school. After college, I became a freelance writer. I quickly learned that 80% of my spooky stuff got accepted by magazines while only 10% of my general interest work was published. That said, it’s no wonder I became a horror writer! 

William's book list on classic horror story collections

Discover why each book is one of William's favorite books on classic horror story collections .

Why this book?

More Haunted Northern New York by hometown girl, Cheri Revai, examines the region’s ghostly tales with a journalistic eye. History and horror go hand-in-hand in such stories as “DocRoc’s Z Bar,” “Spanky’s Diner,” “The House at the Racket,” and “Burrville Cider Mill.” Photos of each haunted place help bring these horrors to life.

More Haunted Northern New York

By Cheri Farnsworth,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked More Haunted Northern New York as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Another fascinating compilation of true ghost stories and spirit encounters from around the North Country region. Cheri Farnsworth has done it again, weaving unbelievable bits of Northern New York history into these new chilling accounts of ghostly encounters and deftly illustrating the very personal nature of encounters with the spirits of deceased loved ones in this admirable follow-up to her best-selling book, "Haunted Northern New York."


Book cover of Anton B. Stanton and the Pirats

Sam Gayton Author Of Lilliput

From the list on miniature stories about the miniature.

Who am I?

I grew up in featureless suburbia, where the streets of identical bungalows seemed scrubbed of anything miraculous. Maybe that’s why I came to be fascinated, as a kid, with the idea of tiny things. Here was magic that might exist in my backyard: miniature people trooping through lawns as if they were forests, riding ladybugs, and carrying bramblethorn spears! These daydreams formed some of the first stories I wrote, as a child. And they’ve continued to fascinate me as a reader, and a writer, ever since. I’ve tried to pick stories that might have slipped out of sight amongst ‘bigger’ brethren like The Burrowers and Gulliver’s Travels. I hope you enjoy them!

Sam's book list on miniature stories about the miniature

Discover why each book is one of Sam's favorite books on miniature stories about the miniature .

Why this book?

A Tom Thumb-type fable, and the first story about the miniature that I remember being enthralled by. Anton B. Stanton sails a castle moat like it’s a sea, and gets captured by Pirats (I didn’t get the lame pun until I was a grown-up and buying the book for my own son). It was the first book that held out the promise of tiny, miraculous adventures happening right under my nose. 

Anton B. Stanton and the Pirats

By Colin McNaughton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Anton B. Stanton and the Pirats as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A boy no bigger than a tea cup is forced to walk the plank by his rat captors and then returns to their pirate ship to free the kidnapped water rat princess.


The Toymaker

By Jeremy de Quidt,

Book cover of The Toymaker

Sam Gayton Author Of Lilliput

From the list on miniature stories about the miniature.

Who am I?

I grew up in featureless suburbia, where the streets of identical bungalows seemed scrubbed of anything miraculous. Maybe that’s why I came to be fascinated, as a kid, with the idea of tiny things. Here was magic that might exist in my backyard: miniature people trooping through lawns as if they were forests, riding ladybugs, and carrying bramblethorn spears! These daydreams formed some of the first stories I wrote, as a child. And they’ve continued to fascinate me as a reader, and a writer, ever since. I’ve tried to pick stories that might have slipped out of sight amongst ‘bigger’ brethren like The Burrowers and Gulliver’s Travels. I hope you enjoy them!

Sam's book list on miniature stories about the miniature

Discover why each book is one of Sam's favorite books on miniature stories about the miniature .

Why this book?

I just don’t know why this book isn’t talked about more. It’s so brooding and brilliant and horrifying. Heavily influenced by Philip Pullman’s masterful Clockwork (there’s sinister automata, and creepy clockmakers, and a snow-bound Germanic feel), it contains one of the most awful and terrifying antagonists in all of children’s literature. Nasty and enchanting — the very darkest and grimmest of tales.

The Toymaker

By Jeremy de Quidt,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

What good is a toy that will wind down? What if you could give a toy a heart? A real heart. One that beat and beat and didn't stop. What couldn't you do if you could make a toy like that?

From the moment that the circus boy, Mathias, takes a small roll of paper from the dying conjuror, his fate is sealed. For on it is the key to a terrifying secret, and there are those who would kill him rather than have it told.

Pursued by the sinister Dr. Leiter with his exquisite doll and malevolent dwarf, preyed…


Book cover of The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death

Sam Gayton Author Of Lilliput

From the list on miniature stories about the miniature.

Who am I?

I grew up in featureless suburbia, where the streets of identical bungalows seemed scrubbed of anything miraculous. Maybe that’s why I came to be fascinated, as a kid, with the idea of tiny things. Here was magic that might exist in my backyard: miniature people trooping through lawns as if they were forests, riding ladybugs, and carrying bramblethorn spears! These daydreams formed some of the first stories I wrote, as a child. And they’ve continued to fascinate me as a reader, and a writer, ever since. I’ve tried to pick stories that might have slipped out of sight amongst ‘bigger’ brethren like The Burrowers and Gulliver’s Travels. I hope you enjoy them!

Sam's book list on miniature stories about the miniature

Discover why each book is one of Sam's favorite books on miniature stories about the miniature .

Why this book?

As a writer and a teacher of writing, I’m always on the lookout for writing prompts, which is how I came to own this gorgeous photography book of the Nutshell Studies: eighteen dollhouse dioramas produced by Frances Glessner Lee, a master criminal investigator in the 1940s, for the purpose of training in forensics. The images are captivating as much as they are disturbing, and represent a rare but perfect marriage of the realms of the miniature and criminal deduction. In his essay on the subject, Stephen Millhauser writes that ‘the miniature holds out the promise of total revelation.’ In Glessner Lee’s dioramas of tawdry and violent death, we feel the accompanying prospect of a solution to these crimes, tantalisingly hidden in the smallest of details. All we have to do to perceive it, is look closer; and closer; and more closer still.

The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death

By Corinne May Botz,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death offers readers an extraordinary glimpse into the mind of a master criminal investigator. Frances Glessner Lee, a wealthy grandmother, founded the Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard in 1936 and was later appointed captain in the New Hampshire police. In the 1940s and 1950s she built dollhouse crime scenes based on real cases in order to train detectives to assess visual evidence. Still used in forensic training today, the eighteen Nutshell dioramas, on a scale of 1:12, display an astounding level of detail: pencils write, window shades move, whistles blow, and clues to the…


The Knife Thrower

By Steven Millhauser,

Book cover of The Knife Thrower: and Other Stories

Hugh Sheehy Author Of Design Flaw

From the list on the world as a dream.

Who am I?

I’ve loved fiction that excites my mind and imagination since I was very young. I spent a lot of time in the library growing up, mostly reading horror and historical narratives. Later, I became interested in music, painting, film, philosophy, psychology, cognitive science, religion, and politics. I’m not an expert in anything—I’m too driven to make things to be a good scholar—but these are the subject areas that inform what I write.

Hugh's book list on the world as a dream

Discover why each book is one of Hugh's favorite books on the world as a dream .

Why this book?

Millhauser’s stories are miracles. He combines the wonderstruck imagination of the fairy tale lover with surpassing technical expertise, and the result is beautiful art. This collection’s title story, for instance, is simultaneously a fairy tale, an exploration of group morality, a rigorous demonstration of the Freytagian dramatic structure, and a gripping story from start to finish.

The Knife Thrower

By Steven Millhauser,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Knife Thrower as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Included in this short story collection is "The Sisterhood of the Night", now a major motion picture. From the bestselling author of Martin Dressler, this volume explores the magnificent obsessions of the unfettered imagination, as well as the darker, subterranean currents that fuel them.
 
With the panache of an old-fashioned magician, Steven Millhauser conducts his readers from the dark corners beneath the sunlit world to a balloonist's tour of the heavens. He transforms department stores and amusement parks into alternate universes of infinite plentitude and menace. He unveils the secrets of a maker of automatons and a coven of teenage…


Sycorax's Daughters

By Kinitra Brooks, Linda D. Addison, Susana Morris

Book cover of Sycorax's Daughters

Kenya Moss-Dyme Author Of Daymares

From the list on horror that deliver the most bang for the bite.

Who am I?

Like most writers, I’ve been a voracious reader since I was a child; but my preferences were witches and haunted houses, rather than princesses and talking frogs. As I developed my own writing, I wanted to tell stories that were reflective of my world but with a dark twist. My first completed story was "Patchwork", about a woman emptying the marital home after the breakdown of her marriage. I went on to participate in several popular horror anthologies. I really enjoy the challenge of writing a great short story because you have to get the reader in a chokehold early and then deliver that gut punch sooner than later.

Kenya's book list on horror that deliver the most bang for the bite

Discover why each book is one of Kenya's favorite books on horror that deliver the most bang for the bite .

Why this book?

This was an obvious pick. As a Black girl who grew up loving zombies but could never find girls who looked like me slaying and slashing through hordes of monsters – this book cover had me at ‘hello’. Inside is all of the magic you could ever dream in color. And the title is explained in the introduction: Sycorax was the deceased African sorceress referenced in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Demons, vamps, witches (oh my!), and more compiled into more than 500 pages of both stories and poetry. I was floored to discover so many more Black women writers of dark and speculative fiction! I can’t pick a favorite but ‘Kim’ by Nicole Sconiers always comes to mind first when I talk about this collection.

Sycorax's Daughters

By Kinitra Brooks, Linda D. Addison, Susana Morris

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sycorax's Daughters as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A 2018 Bram Stoker Award Finalist! Thought-provoking, powerful, and revealing, this anthology is composed of 28 dark stories and 14 poems written by African-American women writers. The tales of what scares, threatens, and shocks them will enlighten and entertain readers. The works delve into demons and shape-shifters from "How to Speak to the Bogeyman" and "Tree of the Forest Seven Bells Turns the World Round Midnight" to far future offerings such as "The Malady of Need". These pieces cover vampires, ghosts, and mermaids, as well as the unexpected price paid by women struggling for freedom and validation in the past.…


The Savage B's

By David O'Hanlon, Mya Lairis, Killian Crane, C. Courtney Joyner, Zame Hill, Bert Edens, Bret Bouriseau, Jay Wilburn, Dennis Freeman, Christopher Dowell

Book cover of The Savage B's: A Tribute to B-Horror

Kenya Moss-Dyme Author Of Daymares

From the list on horror that deliver the most bang for the bite.

Who am I?

Like most writers, I’ve been a voracious reader since I was a child; but my preferences were witches and haunted houses, rather than princesses and talking frogs. As I developed my own writing, I wanted to tell stories that were reflective of my world but with a dark twist. My first completed story was "Patchwork", about a woman emptying the marital home after the breakdown of her marriage. I went on to participate in several popular horror anthologies. I really enjoy the challenge of writing a great short story because you have to get the reader in a chokehold early and then deliver that gut punch sooner than later.

Kenya's book list on horror that deliver the most bang for the bite

Discover why each book is one of Kenya's favorite books on horror that deliver the most bang for the bite .

Why this book?

I’m a big fan of themed anthologies! Most horror anthologies I find are similar to Night Shift in that they are all random stories of dark fiction but with no recurring theme. It’s extra fun for the reader (and the writer) when all of the stories reverberate around a single topic or scenario. The Savage B’s: A Tribute to Horror is a proclamation of love for B movies. I remember the fun and splashy gore of movies like The Blob or Swamp Thing. You were horrified at the splatter of brains but also tickled by the sheer absurdity of the splatter of brains. From flesh-eating monsters to toxic spills, each of these stories is finely crafted by authors with their own B movie-style spin. 

The Savage B's

By David O'Hanlon, Mya Lairis, Killian Crane, C. Courtney Joyner, Zame Hill, Bert Edens, Bret Bouriseau, Jay Wilburn, Dennis Freeman, Christopher Dowell

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Savage B's as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Join 13 authors as they take you on a gory stroll down Memory Lane in this anthology inspired by B-Horror! Relive the good old days of picking up bad movies from your local video store. We've got killer dolls, killer sludge, killer firemen, killer amphibians. This book should come narrated by Joe Bob Briggs if we weren't too low budget to afford him. Buy yourself a copy, because this is one you'll want to rewind and enjoy again!


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