Spooky stories

Here at Explore Essex we’ve picked three of our favourite spooky stories for you to enjoy this season. So as the nights draw in, close the curtains, cosy up under a blanket to keep out the chills and settle down with some of the very best terrifying tales of all time.

The Little Stranger

by Sarah Waters

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize

‘Several sleepless nights are guaranteed’ Stephen King.

In a dusty post-war summer in rural Warwickshire a doctor is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall, home to the Ayres family for over two centuries. The house, once handsome, is now in decline. But is something more sinister haunting the Ayres than a dying way of life?

The Shining

by Stephen King

One of the true classics of the genre, The Shining, chilling and claustrophobic, is regarded as one of Stephen King’s masterpieces and a must-read for any fans of the film.

Danny is only five-years-old, but when his father becomes caretake of the remote Overlook Hotel his visions grow out of control, and somehow the evil force in the hotel is also beginning to shine...

The Lovely Bones

by Alice Sebold

My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.

In heaven Susie watches as her family are torn apart by grief. But Susie comes to realise that even in death, life is not quite out of reach.

An instant classic when it was first published in 2002, this novel inspired the film starring Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz.