Truth Can Be Scarier Than Fiction: 6 Scary Nonfiction Books

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is one of my favorite horror novels, so of course a modern look at that story was going to make this list. Roseanne Montillo explores the science and real-life horrors that may have inspired Shelley’s famous story—body snatching, cutting up dead bodies, alchemy and more. She also shares Shelley’s story, connecting her to other authors and thinkers of the time to contextualize her story even more.

Although we tend to think first about Zora Neal Hurston’s famous novels, she was also an accomplished anthropologist and essayist. Hurston writes about visits to Haiti and Jamaica in the 1930s where she participated in voodoo practices and rituals. The book is a travelogue “into a dark world” that offers an authentic and thrilling look at the ceremonies and superstitions of voodoo.

This book is another travelogue, this time exploring some of the most haunted places in the United States in an effort to “decode and unpack” the history of these places. Colin Dickey visits some of the most famous haunted places you may recognize, as well as other lesser-known destinations. Through these explorations, he’s able to explore other sides of American history and uncover “the past we’re most afraid to speak of aloud.” 

When she was a 23-year-old forensic anthropologist, Clea Koff was chosen as one of 16 scientists sent by the United Nations to go in search of evidence of the 1994 Rawandan genocide. In this book, she writes about seven different missions on behalf of the U.N. to uncover evidence of genocide in Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, and Rwanda. She shares what she uncovered, the impact it had on her personally, and how the evidence she gathered was used to prosecute those who committed these atrocities.

You could pick up many books about the Salem Witch Trials, but I think this is a really good one that explores the full story of how 14 women, five men, and two dogs could be executed for witchcraft. Stacey Schiff tries to recreate the hysteria of the time, presenting the supernatural and realistic elements side-by-side, showing how easily the story spun out of control in a world that was already pretty terrifying.

For a decade in the 1970s, a serial rapist turned serial killer eluded law enforcement across California. And then the Golden State Killer disappeared as quickly as he arrived. Michelle McNamara chronicles her quest to find him, while also offering a genuinely scary recounting of his crime spree. This book is one of the creepiest books I’ve ever read, made even more impressive by the fact that McNamara is entirely empathetic and thoughtful in the way she portrays the victims.