Andrew Pyper picks his scariest reads

If you want to get scared — really scared — here are the books the Canadian horror writer recommends

Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

Floating vampire kids outside your window, scratching, scratching.

A Face at the Window by Dennis McFarland

More windows, this time of the more psychological variety. McFarland’s novel about a haunted hotel in London isn’t in the least gory or even particularly eventful, but it is genuinely disturbing, subtly revealing, thought-clinging.

Come Closer by Sara Gran

A short, often funny novel about a woman’s mental breakdown (or demonic possession). For me, the really frightening parts involve the main character’s contacts with the antagonist in her dreams. Hypnotic, convincing, scary as hell — the best written dream scenes I’ve ever encountered.

The Troop by Nick Cutter

Body horror at its absolute best. Canadian writer Cutter takes a group of boys on a camping trip and introduces a threat that’s hideous, relentless and completely believable.