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13 Terrifyingly True Tales
Even nonfiction can hold the stuff of nightmares. Whether it’s natural disasters, outbreaks of plague, or serial killers hidden in plain sight, there’s no question that reality has its dark moments. Fortunately, there is a silver lining.
This roundup of highly rated true stories shows that there are just as many real-life heroes as there are real-life monsters. Which of these books will you be adding to your to-read list? Share your favorites with us in the comments.
This roundup of highly rated true stories shows that there are just as many real-life heroes as there are real-life monsters. Which of these books will you be adding to your to-read list? Share your favorites with us in the comments.
This story follows the journey of Sarah Graves, a young bride who joined the pioneers of the ill-fated Donner Party as they did the unspeakable to survive.
When an incurable and deadly virus suddenly appeared in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., all that stood in its way was a secret SWAT team of soldiers and scientists.
What drove Charles Manson and his followers to carry out the Tate-LaBianca slayings? Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi gives an inside look at one of the most infamous investigations of the 1960s.
Master scientist Dr. Bill Bass takes readers behind locked doors of "The Body Farm"—a forensic lab unlike any other—to revisit his most chilling cases, including the Lindbergh kidnapping.
This Nobel Prize-winning novel captures the tragic personal accounts of the victims of Chernobyl—the 1986 nuclear disaster that contaminated as much as three-quarters of Europe.
True-crime writer Ann Rule spent months hunting down a brutal mass murderer, only to realize that he was her close friend and colleague, Ted Bundy, all along.
For years, large chemical companies have been using Toms River as their personal dumping ground, causing unfathomable harm and culminating in a decades-long battle for reparations.
Forced by his uncle to take part in the Wineville killing spree, a young boy named Sanford Clark testified against his murderous relative to bring justice to their victims’ families.
This thoroughly researched and richly comprehensive account pieces together the history and legend behind London’s most notorious East End killer.
The 1996 Mount Everest disaster claimed five lives and left countless others in disarray, including journalist/mountaineer Jon Krakauer, who stood on the summit as the storm bore down.
Dr. Pamela Nagami reveals the sobering facts of some of the world’s most horrific diseases, and how it feels to make medical decisions that can mean the difference between life and death.
This acclaimed 1966 classic recounts the gruesome murders of the Clutter family and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of their killers.
In 1894, more than 400 people in Hinckley, Minnesota, perished in the wake of a forest fire so devastating, it created hurricane-strength winds and virtually no means of escape.
Which terrifyingly true tale would you recommend? Let us know in the comments!
Check out the complete coverage of Horror Week:
Let's Play: Conjure Your Worst Nightmare
A Guide to the Ghastly Subgenres of Horror
The Most Popular Book-to-Scream Adaptations
Check out the complete coverage of Horror Week:
Let's Play: Conjure Your Worst Nightmare
A Guide to the Ghastly Subgenres of Horror
The Most Popular Book-to-Scream Adaptations
Comments Showing 1-50 of 58 (58 new)
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Corey
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Oct 01, 2018 09:24AM
Under a Flaming Sky! I read this book because my family survived the fire but I had no idea about the details. The book is absolutely riveting and horrifying.
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Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David GrannThrilling and horrifying.
If I had to recommend one of these truly horror-filled books, it would have to be, INTO THIN AIR by Jon Krakauer. Because it tells about the 1996 Mount Everest disaster and how these people lost their lives because of what they were trying to do. So scary sad.
Night of the Grizzlies by Jack Olsen scared me so bad that I remembered it 30 years later... Two girls were killed, and a man mauled, by bears, in the park one night.
i want to read the «Voices from Chernoby»
Anything by Ann Rule.
Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi & Auschwitz by Miklos Nyiszli
The Devil in the White City by: Erik Larson
I normally enjoy non-fiction books on a wide range of topics. As a fan of horror fiction, I have to say that horrific non-fiction just doesn't look appealing to me.
Michele wrote: "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David GrannThrilling and horrorifying"
Yes! I read this book during the summer and it was absolutely fascinating!
the devil in the white city by erik Larson-terribly horrifying
"The Serpent and the Rainbow" by Wade DavisZombies are real!
Donna wrote: "the devil in the white city by erik Larson-terribly horrifying"Yup. Great book about a truly horrifying story.
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivorsby Piers Paul Read
Not for the queasy. Not a fun read, but really well done.
Just a gruesome story.
Read Into Thin Air . Everest is not for everyone.
Arpit wrote: "Read Into Thin Air . Everest is not for everyone."Oh I did. I'm happy at sea level.
Into Thin Air tops the list for me, nothing more terrifying than an adventure turning to disaster, someone leaving his home for the adventure of his dreams, only to perish, in the harshest manner.The worst death is when you know you will die, and you can do nothing about it except to wait for the inevitable, knowing that there are billions of lives on the same planet going their way, and no one can help you, you will die alone.....
MiM
It's hard to make me scared when reading a book any good ideas???
Many years ago I read a book by Tom Tryon titled "The Harvest" or Harvesttime, not sure but it was the scariest book I ever read !I must find it again
The Stranger Beside Me is unbelievable, and yet it really happened. Classic true crime. Ann Rule was actually friends with Ted Bundy before anyone knew he was a serial killer, and then she began writing stories about young women disappearing in the Seattle-Tacoma area.... A coincidence of a lifetime for the true-crime author. Fascinating to read her account.
Katy wrote: "Night of the Grizzlies by Jack Olsen scared me so bad that I remembered it 30 years later... Two girls were killed, and a man mauled, by bears, in the park one night."Night of the Grizzlies scared me too. I picked it up in the St. Mary Gift Shop on the east side of Glacier National Park and read it while staying in the park lodges. Needless to say, when night time came each night I had a hard time sleeping. Great book!
Michele wrote: "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David GrannThrilling and horrifying."
Yes!! Just finished this. Also 'I'll Be Gone in the Dark.'
any Lizzie Borden or Jack the Ripper books.Anne Marie West's memoir "Out of the Shadows: Fred West's Daughter Tells Her Harrowing Story of Survival". He murdered a few of their family members. A very disturbing book.
I read the the hot zone a few years back and loved it-so informative and scary truth!
Alexis wrote: "It's hard to make me scared when reading a book any good ideas???"Intensity - Dean Koontz
Katy wrote: "Night of the Grizzlies by Jack Olsen scared me so bad that I remembered it 30 years later... Two girls were killed, and a man mauled, by bears, in the park one night."One of my hubby's favorites! Terrifying!
Candace wrote: "Many years ago I read a book by Tom Tryon titled "The Harvest" or Harvesttime, not sure but it was the scariest book I ever read !I must find it again"I read The Other when I was young, scary! I looked him up on google
there is one called Harvest Home?
Candace wrote: "Many years ago I read a book by Tom Tryon titled "The Harvest" or Harvesttime, not sure but it was the scariest book I ever read !I must find it again"Harvest Home! Also his book The Other was TERRIFYING.
Katy wrote: "Night of the Grizzlies by Jack Olsen scared me so bad that I remembered it 30 years later... Two girls were killed, and a man mauled, by bears, in the park one night."That’s one of my favorites. Truly scary.
I'll Be Gone in the Dark really needs to be added to this list!
Marguerite wrote: "The Devil in the White City by: Erik Larson"That was SUCH a good book! I recommend it constantly!
Cas wrote: "Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest"An excellent account of a psychotic Doctor practicing her brand of medical treatment and nutrition. She also charges as much as she thinks she can get away with. Her clients are in most cases affluent and gullible.
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Haven't read any of these, interested in nearly all. Haha
listened to The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women yesterday and what those women went through was horrifying
The Stranger Beside Me is one of my favorite books...and also the reason I have trust issues.
((( Silver O. Smith - "Snug as a bug on a drug. (We Happy Few)" . . . What the hath... ))) wrote: "13 choices...I get it."I do too, just wish I also knew the reasons why.
Devil in the White City is a real horror story. I highly recommend it!
Sarah wrote: "Anything by Ann Rule."I enjoy her books too
I've read two books of this list: In Cold Blood and voices from Chernovil. Both are amazing. The last one, I loved it. I highly recommend Them.
"Miracle in the Andes" is definitely missing from this list!
Garden of Last Days by Andre Dubus III has to be the most ominous of all true crime novels that I have read!! It is set in the week before the 9/11 terrorist attack and tracks the actions of the group of terrorists responsible. It is written as fiction but is completely plausible in its details!! I highly recommend it! And not just at Halloween!
Great list! Currently listening to Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders and am loving it - so creepy and weird...
