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13 of the Scariest Lines from Our Favorite Horror Books

by  | October 24

Halloween is quickly approaching, and to tell you guys the truth, it doesn’t take much to scare me. Even a few lines are enough to send a shiver down my spine.

Looking for some horror reads? Here are a bunch of quotes to get your hearts racing. Of course, I had to pick 13 of them.

It (Media Tie-In)

It (Media Tie-In)

by Stephen King

“Smells of dirt and wet and long-gone vegetables would merge into one unmistakable ineluctable smell, the smell of the monster, the apotheosis of all monsters. It was the smell of something for which he had no name: the smell of It, crouched and lurking and ready to spring. A creature which would eat anything but which was especially hungry for boymeat.”

—It, Stephen King

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Something Wicked This Way Comes

Something Wicked This Way Comes

by Ray Bradbury

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes. So vague, yet so immense. He did not want to live with it. Yet he knew that, during this night, unless he lived with it very well, he might have to live with it all the rest of his life.”

—Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury

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The Shining

The Shining

by Stephen King

“Wendy? Darling? Light of my life. I’m not gonna hurt ya. I’m just going to bash your brains in.”

—The Shining, Stephen King

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American Psycho

American Psycho

by Bret Easton Ellis

“I tried to make meat loaf out of the girl but it becomes too frustrating a task and instead I spend the afternoon smearing her meat all over the walls, chewing on strips of skin I ripped from her body.”

—American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis

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Blood Meridian

Blood Meridian

by Cormac McCarthy

“When the lambs is lost in the mountain, he said. They is cry. Sometime come the mother. Sometime the wolf.”

—Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy

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The Troop

The Troop

by Nick Cutter

“How could you hide from a murderer who lives under your skin?”

—The Troop, Nick Cutter

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The Haunting of Hill House

The Haunting of Hill House

by Shirley Jackson

“God! Whose hand was I holding?”

—The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson

Now a Netflix series!

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Pet Sematary (Audio)

Pet Sematary (Audio)

by Stephen King

“A cold hand fell on Louis’s shoulder. Rachel’s voice was grating, full of dirt. ‘Darling,’ it said.”

—Pet Sematary, Stephen King

Check out the trailer for the new movie, coming to theaters April 2019!

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The Woman in Cabin 10

The Woman in Cabin 10

by Ruth Ware

“What was going to happen to me? There were only two possibilities—they were going to let me go at some point. Or they were going to kill me.”

—The Woman in Cabin 10, Ruth Ware

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Ink and Bone

Ink and Bone

by Lisa Unger

“Never talk to strangers. If someone ever tries to take you, fight with everything you have. Scream as loud as you can. (He’d never told her what to do if the man was too strong and there was no one to hear her screaming.)”

—Ink and Bone, Lisa Unger

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Little Heaven

Little Heaven

by Nick Cutter

“Have you ever heard a newborn cry as it awakes from a nightmare?” the Long Walker asked. Petty was too stunned by its question to reply. “A newborn, only a few days old,” it went on. “They have nightmares, but not as you would understand. Their minds are unformed, as was your own at that age. A newborn baby can still see the world behind the world, you see? The world where my daddy lives, and me and a few others like us. They can still see us. That’s why they scream as they do.”

—Little Heaven, Nick Cutter

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Coraline

Coraline

by Neil Gaiman

“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” asked Coraline.
“I swear it,” said the other mother. “I swear it on my own mother's grave.”
“Does she have a grave?” asked Coraline.
“Oh yes,” said the other mother. “I put her in there myself. And when I found her trying to crawl out, I put her back.”

—Coraline, Neil Gaiman

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The Exorcist

The Exorcist

by William Peter Blatty

“But I’ll tell you something, Father; you give me Regan’s identical twin: same face, same voice, same smell, same everything down to the way she dots her i’s, and still I’d know in a second that it wasn’t really her! I’d know it! I’d know it in my gut and I’m telling you I know that thing upstairs is not my daughter! I know it! I know!”

—The Exorcist, William Peter Blatty

After you read the book check out the horrifying movie!

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Estefania Acquaviva is currently an MFA-Fiction student at Columbia University. She recently graduated from Villanova University with a bachelor’s degree in English and Spanish Literature, with minors in Creative Writing and Business. Although she was born in Quito, Ecuador, she moved to the United States when she was in second grade. Away from her home country, she began to write stories to blend her Spanish and English lingo. Though she left Ecuador at a relatively early age, she never stopped loving the culture of her roots. The more she read, the more she wanted to share her own writing, book reviews, and book suggestions. You can find more of her work at www.estefania-acquaviva.com.
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