“We lie best when we lie to ourselves.”
Stephen King’s It has become one of the most famous horror books in the world, blending childhood nostalgia with terrifying supernatural elements. From the small town of Derry, the explorations of friendship and fear through the Loser’s Club to the unforgettable impact that Pennywise the Dancing Clown has had on the genre, we don’t blame you if you’ve found yourself on the hunt for reads that capture the essence of It. Which is why we here at What We Reading thought we would cover you with some of our favourite horror books like It! Whether you’re a die-hard King fan or a newcomer to the genre brought on the back of the book’s film and television adaptations, these stories feature a blend of haunted towns, terrifying entities and that nostalgic feel that comes from the power of childhood bonds.
The Outsider (Holly Gibney #1) – Stephen King
If you loved arguably Stephen King’s most famous work, where better to kick off a list of books like It than with another one of his best stories, The Outsider? An eleven-year-old boy’s body is discovered in a town park. All fingers point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens: Little League coach, husband and father of two girls, Terry Maitland. Detective Ralph Anderson orders a quick and very public arrest on the back of fingerprints, DNA evidence and witnesses, despite the fact that Maitland has an alibi.
However, as their investigation expands and horrifying revelations are brought to light, King’s propulsive story is taken into another gear. With strong tension and unbearable suspense, the truth behind Terry Maitland and his friendly exterior are peeled away in a shocking blend of crime and horror.
Summer Of Night (Seasons Of Horror #1) – Dan Simmons
It is the summer of 1960 in Elm Haven, Illinois and five twelve-year-old boys are forming bonds that a lifetime of changes will never erode. But, on the last day of school, their classmate, Tubby Cooke, disappears. The group soon unearth other troubling stories of kids vanishing from Elm Haven.
Add to this are a number of other strange goings-on across the town. Unexplained holes in the ground, a stranger dressed as a World War I soldier and a rendering plant truck that appear to be following the five of them. The boys realise there is something terribly wrong with Elm Haven, and they have to be the ones to stop it. Featuring a group of friends investigating an evil presence in their small town, it’s no wonder Dan Simmons’ Summer of Night is considered one of the best books like It.
Check Out Our Favourite Horror Books Set During The Summer
Boy’s Life – Robert McCammon
In 1964 in idyllic Zephyr, Alabama, people either work for the local dairy or in the paper mill up the Tecumseh River. It’s a simple existence, but one that still stirs the imagination of twelve-year-old aspiring writer, Cory Mackenson. He’s certain he’s heard of the strange bootleggers in the dark outside of town, sensed the spirits in the churchyard and seen a flood leaving Main Street crawling with snakes. Then, he and his father witness a car careen off the road and sink into Saxon’s Lake. Inside is a corpse, handcuffed to the steering wheel with copper wire tightened around their neck.
The town soon moves on from the unsolved murder. But Cory and his father are unable to. Similar to It, what follows in Robert McCammon’s Boy’s Life is an investigation where innocence and evil collide. What awaits Cory as he sets off into the deep end of Zephyr is the stuff of fear, awe, magic, madness, fantasy and reality that shows how growing up can be a strange and otherworldly experience.
Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury
One of the iconic Ray Bradbury books, Something Wicked This Way Comes introduces readers to Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow, which has come trundling to Green Town, Illinois, destined to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. The carnival rocks up sometime after midnight, kickstarting Halloween a week early.
For two boys, the lure of dreams fulfilled and unmatched magic will be too much to resist. As they discover the twisted secrets hidden behind the smoke, mazes and mirrors, they will find themselves caught in a dizzying coming-of-age experience of fear and innocence that any fans of It and Stephen King are sure to love.
Check Out The Best Books Like Something Wicked This Way Comes
Ghost Story – Peter Straub
Another one of the best books similar to It comes from Peter Straub and his bestseller, Ghost Story. In it, readers are whisked to the small town of Milburn in New York. There, a group of elderly men form a club known as the ‘Chowder Society’, where they gather to tell ghost stories. However, the biggest haunting that exists around them involves a mysterious woman named Eva Galli.
As strange and harrowing events start to unfold across Milburn, the men realise that the ghost stories that they have been sharing are connected to a very real, very malevolent force tied to their own dark secret. Blending ghost story elements, themes of guilt and fear and making use of jumps forward and back in time, Straub’s work is a must-read for any Stephen King fan.
NOS4A2 – Joe Hill
Written by King’s own son, NOS4A2 is the perfect follow-up to It if you’re looking for more of a similar style of writing with more of a suspenseful crime premise. Victoria McQueen has a knack for finding things: misplaced bracelets, a missing photograph, answers to unanswered questions. Charles Talent Manx has a way with children. He likes to take them for rides in his Rolls-Royce Wraith with the NOS4A2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip out of the everyday world and take them to the astonishing and terrifying playground of amusements he has dubbed ‘Christmasland’.
One day, Vic goes looking for trouble – and finds Manx. Fast forward a lifetime, and she remains the only kid to ever escape him. But, whilst she’s desperate to forget, Manx has never stopped thinking about Victoria. And now, he’s on the road again with a new passenger in his car: Vic’s own son.
The Chalk Man – C.J. Tudor
Eddie and his friends are on the verge of adolescence in the summer of 1986. They spend their days biking around their sleepy English village and have developed a unique way of communicating with each other without anyone else knowing. The little chalk figures they leave for one another serve as messages that only they can decipher. However, when a mysterious new figure appears, they are led right to a dismembered body in the woods. From then on, nothing is ever the same for the boys.
Fast forward to the present day, and Eddie is fully grown and believes that the past is firmly behind him. But, then he receives a letter containing a single chalk stick figure. When one of his friends turns up dead, he realises that saving himself means finally figuring out what happened all those years ago. With nostalgia, mystery and bone-chilling suspense, C.J. Tudor’s The Chalk Man is a great small-town horror read similar to It.
Check Out Our The Chalk Man Book Review
The Boy Who Drew Monsters – Keith Donohue
Ever since nearly drowning in the ocean three years ago, ten-year-old Jack Peter Keenan has been terrified to go outdoors. Refusing to leave his home in a small coastal town in Maine, Jack Peter spends his time drawing monsters. However, when those drawings begin to take on a life of their own, no one is safe from the terror.
His mother, Holly, starts to hear eerie sounds coming from the ocean outside at night. His father, Tim, wanders the beach, frantically searching for the apparition running loose in the dunes. The boy’s only friend, Nick, becomes entangled in the powers of the drawings. But whilst those around him are haunted by what they think they see, only Jack Peter knows the truth behind the chilling occurrences the outside world is slowly delivering.
Black Mouth – Ronald Malfi
For almost twenty years, Jamie Warren has been on the run from darkness. He’s haunted by a traumatic childhood and the guilt of having vanished from his disabled brother’s life. Soon enough, however, a series of unusual events lead to them being reunited, along with their childhood friends. Try as they might, none of them can argue against fate being the reason they have been pulled back together.
Nor can they deny the memories of that one fateful summer. The summer when the strange man taught them all strange magic and the terrible event that has followed them all into adulthood. In the face of a new danger, they all must now confront the past by facing their future and hunting down a man who may very well be a monster. Undoubtedly one of the best books like It, Ronald Malfi’s Black Mouth sees a group of friends return to their hometown to confront a nightmare they first came upon as teenagers.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
