Spine-Chilling Reads

Nothing says shorter days and cooler weather quite like bundling up in your favourite sweater, sipping on something warm, and reading a good book!

Reading as a refuge

Reading inherently evokes relaxation. The smell of worn pages, the feel of paper beneath your fingers, and the sound of rain through an open window certainly don’t cure all ills, but losing yourself in a book is an excellent way to relax. A study by the University of Sussex found that reading for just 6 minutes can reduce stress by up to 68%.  

Relaxation and horror, a contradiction in terms? Not at all! If you feel anxious while reading, it’s because your body believes what it’s reading and is preparing to face a threat. When it realizes there’s no actual threat, anxiety gives way to great relief and a deep sense of well-being.  

Here’s the Lucilab list of spine-chilling reads: 

In keeping with all the monsters, witches, and ghosts that will be hitting the streets on October 31st, avid readers at Lucilab have put together a spooky list that’s sure to make the hair on your neck stand up!  

Sophie, the marketing and communications manager, recommends Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind. Published in 1985, this German novel follows a murderer with a superhuman sense of smell in his quest to find his own scent and, therefore, his identity. Rumour has it that the descriptions make you feel like you can smell the scents as you’re reading the book! 

Our UX/UI designer Maria has a soft spot for Stephen King’s It. Originally published in 1986, this brick of a book was a best-seller that year. It is a two-part tale that follows the experiences of seven characters who are terrorized by an evil entity that takes the form of its victim’s biggest fears.  

Connie, head of the intervention program, prefers The Shining. Stephen King isn’t known as the undisputed “Master of Horror” for nothing! The Shining was published in 1977 as the author’s third novel, in which he explores alcoholism, domestic violence, and family breakdown through the trials and tribulations of a former teacher turned hotel caretaker. 

Marie-Christine, our writer-editor, recommends the novel Mexican Gothic by Mexican-born Canadian author Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Critically acclaimed and winner of several awards, this novel plunges us into 1950s Mexico as Noemí Taboada rushes to her cousin’s side. The latter, isolated in a spooky mansion, is accusing her husband of trying to poison her.  

Our senior advisor Maude recommends Seven Days, a novel by Quebec author Patrick Sénécal that straddles the genres of horror, psychological thriller, and detective fiction. We are taken through the macabre plan of a surgeon who decides to take justice into his own hands by kidnapping his daughter’s murderer.