10 Most Terrifying Books Horror Fans MUST Read

Funnier than most of the entries on this list, but no less scary, The Last Final Girl is a playful horror satire released to critical acclaim in 2012.

Taking the deconstructive approach of Cabin in the Woods and the beloved Scream series into literary territory, this experimental novel sees acclaimed author Stephen Graham Jones parody the tropes of slasher cinema whilst also offering a kinetic and creepy slice of straight horror in the process.

The story concerns a small group of self-consciously cliched teens stalked by a masked murderer, but it's the witty dialogue and inventive delivery of this one which makes it so funny, creative, and at times seriously bone-chilling.

Much like the more wildly experimental House of Leaves, The Last Final Girl never hides its own medium, and instead often focuses on the fact that you, the reader, are currently sitting reading the novel, a creepy bit of meta-fictional play which makes the story's many gory surprises all the more unsettlingly effective when they do arrive.