Some literary titles are light and airy; others are as chilling as the spine that binds them.
They say never to judge a book by its cover, but we all gravitate toward titles that reflect what we desire from our next read. Chances are, if you're looking for a fun-loving modern romance read, you might skip The Tomb of Tutankhamen. Similarly, if you're searching for The Haunting of Hill House in all its paranormal glory, you're probably not headed to the library to reserve Monster High by Lisi Harrison.
And then there are titles that imply unsettling themes, but their contents are the exact opposite.
If you're intrigued by darker literary titles, you're likely drawn to headlines that promise to curdle your blood, even if the contents aren't quite as hair-raising as the names suggest. If this sounds like your preferred genre, especially around Halloween, can you finish these spine-chilling literary titles?
Did you guess all the titles before time ran out? Some were more prevalent in modern pop culture, while others were works of centuries past that still hold acclaim. Send this to your friends to see who can name the most nightmarish titles.
SPINE-CHILLING LITERATURE
Literature can be anything from complete novels to poems, plays, and short stories. The spine-chilling sort have a way of cementing themselves in our psyche long after we've watched or read them.
Works like White Fang by Jack London and Gorilla Mist, by Dian Fossey, are examples of books with "somewhat sinister connotations" in their titles, according to Sporcle, but their content is more intense and emotional than it is eerie. Fungus the Boogeyman, by Raymond Briggs, and The Devil Wears Prada, by Lauren Weisberger, are more satirical than scary despite the words in their titles.
Let's examine two literary works with spine-chilling titles to see if they are scary or just easily judged by their covers.
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Published by Gaston Leroux in 1910, this novel centers on a disfigured musical genius (Erik) who lives underground and wears a mask to hide his face. He becomes obsessed with a young singer, Christine, putting her life (and her suitor Raoul) in danger. Erik kidnaps Christine and demands she marry him, threatening to blow up the opera house if she refuses. After Christine shows him compassion with a kiss, Erik lets both her and Raoul go, eventually dying of a broken heart.
While the stage adaptation paints The Phantom of the Opera as more of a romantic tragedy, Gaston Leroux’s original depiction of Erik is more monstrous, making the novel as bone-chilling as its title suggests.
TALES OF THE GROTESQUE ARABESQUE
When one thinks of Edgar Allan Poe, the words melancholy and haunting come to mind. The same is often said for his short stories featured in Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque.
The collection, which includes 25 stories, ranges from works Poe deemed grotesque, absurd, or straight-up strange to those he called arabesque, confronting obsession, spiritual terror, and other gloomy themes. “The Man That Was Used Up,” for instance, is more satirical than chilling, while “The Fall of the House of Usher” embodies true horror and hysteria.
Once again, this literary classic is as bone-chilling as the title suggests.
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