“Recovered, in recovery, or struggling, we are still people. Sometimes that truth can feel like a fever dream.”
Hailed as ‘The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar’. The Lost Village by Camilla Sten is a spine-tingling Scandinavian psychological horror novel. If you found yourself hooked by this story of filmmaker Alice Lindstedt and her investigations into a mysterious old mining town, you’re likely the sort of reader who loves similar tales featuring abandoned settings, unsettling disappearances and dark works which thrive on suspense, isolation and the fear of the unknown. Whether you’re looking for horror books like The Lost Village or thrillers with supernatural twists, we here at What We Reading have you covered with this list. These books explore creepy small-town mysteries, missing people cases, and dark secrets buried in forgotten places. Some blend psychological horror with supernatural elements, while others rely on eerie atmospheres and unsettling tension, but all of them promise to keep you on edge!
The Lost Village Summary
In The Lost Village, documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt is obsessed with discovering the mystery behind Silvertjarn, a remote Swedish mining village where nearly all of its residents vanished without a trace in 1959. The only clues left behind were an abandoned newborn baby and a brutally murdered woman tied to a post. Determined to solve the decades-old enigma, Alice brings together a small group to visit the desolate town and capture footage for her documentary.
As they explore the ruins, eerie occurrences begin – strange noises, missing equipment, and an overwhelming sense that they are not alone. Paranoia and tension soon start to build as the team turn on one another, mirroring the descent into madness that plagued the lost villagers. Blending psychological horror with supernatural suspense, The Lost Village is a chilling, atmospheric thriller that unravels themes of obsession, trauma, and the dangers lurking in forgotten places.
Episode Thirteen – Craig DiLouie
Kicking off our list of books like The Lost Village is Episode Thirteen by Bram Stoker award-nominated novelist Craig DiLouie. Led by husband and wife duo Matt and Claire Kirklin, the story follows the crew of Fade to Black, a reality TV ghost-hunting show, who receive an offer of exclusive access to the infamous Foundation House, a long-abandoned mansion linked to disturbing paranormal experiments.
As they document their experiences for what they assume will be their most successful episode to date, they encounter eerie phenomena that defy explanation. Their scepticism soon turns to terror as the house’s dark past begins to unravel – bringing psychological torment, time distortions, and escalating supernatural encounters. Told through transcripts, diary entries and video footage logs, Episode Thirteen is a terrifying slow-burn horror story that blends supernatural dread with psychological unravelling.
Hex – Thomas Olde Heuvelt
In Hex, the town of Black Spring, New York, is cursed – haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a seventeenth-century woman with her eyes and mouth sewn shut. She appears anywhere and everywhere, standing silently in homes, schools and streets, watching. The local townsfolk, bound by the curse, must never leave Black Spring permanently, or they will die. To keep the outside world from discovering their terrifying secret, the town enforces strict surveillance and control over the witch’s movements.
While most residents have learned to live with the horror, a group of rebellious teenagers, frustrated by their isolated existence, decide to expose the town’s dark truth. However, their reckless actions upend the fragile balance, unleashing the full wrath of the Black Rock Witch and sending Black Spring spiralling into chaos. Similar to The Lost Village with its supernatural small-town setting, Hex is a story about paranoia, mob mentality, and the horrifying consequences of dabbling with force beyond human understanding.
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The Toll – Cherie Priest
Newlyweds Titus and Melanie Bell set out for a quiet honeymoon in the Okefenokee Swamp, but their trip takes a terrifying turn when they encounter an eerie, one-lane bridge deep within the wilderness. Titus drives across, only to wake up alone, lying on the side of the road with no sign of Melanie or their car.
Desperate for answers, he stumbles into the nearby town of Staywater, a place full of unsettling locals who appear to know much more than they are letting on. As Titus searches for his wife, he learns of the town’s dark history – one tied to disappearances, whispered legenda and the mysterious bridge that appears and vanishes at will, similar to The Lost Village. Meanwhile, strange forces are at play, watching and waiting. With time running out, Titus must uncover the truth before he becomes the latest victim of whatever it is that plagues Staywater.
The Hunger – Alma Katsu
In The Hunger, Alma Katsu reimagines the infamous Donner Party tragedy with a supernatural twist, blending historical fiction with slow-burning horror. The novel orbits around a group of pioneers travelling westward in 1846, determined to reach California before winter. But, as their journey progresses, misfortunes pile up – wagons break, supplies dwindle, and tensions grow. Then, members of the party begin to vanish.
As fear spreads, whispers of something unnatural haunting them grow stronger. Some believe it’s bad luck; others blame a curse, but a more sinister truth lurks in the wilderness – something is hunting them, something that hungers. As starvation and paranoia grip them, the line between human desperation and monstrous forces blurs. Similar to The Lost Village, The Hunger is an unsettling tale of vanishing communities that blends real history with supernatural horror.
Little Eve – Catriona Ward
Catriona Ward’s Little Eve is a psychological horror novel set on a remote Scottish island, where a tight-knit religious cult’s dark secrets slowly unravel. The story switches between two perspectives: the eerie, unsettling memories of young Eve and the disturbing investigation of a brutal murder in the present day.
As a child, Eve was raised within the cult by her charismatic and manipulative father, who believes in the purity of sacrifice and survival through extreme devotion. Under his influence, Eve and the other children are taught to embrace violence and obedience, and her growing attachment to her father soon leads to a chilling turn. After a series of violent events, Eve finds herself thrust into a twisted reality where the line between victim and perpetrator blurs. Like The Lost Village, Little Eve is a dark, gothic and profoundly unsettling tale of obsession, faith and the horrifying effects of manipulation.
Near The Bone – Christina Henry
Near the Bone by Christina Henry is a gripping psychological horror novel set in the frozen wilderness of a remote mountain. The story centres around Mattie, a woman trapped in an isolating and abusive relationship with her husband, William. Stranded in a cabin nestled deep within the mountains, Mattie is forced to confront her traumatic past while enduring William’s cruelty.
Mattie’s entire world is shaken when an unexplained creature – something monstrous and terrifying – appears near their lodge. Desperate for survival, she is confronted with impossible decisions as she wrestles with both her violent marriage and the deadly predator lurking in the woods. With a chilling atmosphere and harrowing suspense like The Lost Village, Near the Bone is a powerful tale of survival, strength and the horrors that reside both in the natural world and deep in the human heart.
Dead Silence – S.A. Barnes
In Dead Silence, S.A. Barnes offers readers a chilling space horror that follows Claire Kovalik, a salvage operator working on a dilapidated space station in deep space. When she and her team are sent to investigate a mysterious distress signal from the luxurious spaceship Aurora, believed to be lost for decades, they discover a haunting scene aboard the massive vessel.
The Aurora is eerily deserted, its crew and passengers gone without a trace, and the ship itself seems to be trapped in some kind of supernatural grip. As Claire and her crew explore, they begin to discover dark secrets within the ship’s past. The deeper they venture, the more they realise that something sinister still lurks within the Aurora’s corridors, and it may have followed them back. With paranoia, supernatural elements and a fresh take on the abandoned place trope, Dead Silence needs to be on your TBR pile if you loved The Lost Village.
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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).
