This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius. Or the season, at least. From January 20th to February 18th, it is the time of the Water Bearers. And though their name and symbol may feel highly aquatic, this is an air sign through and through, lending to a highly intelligent, independent, and social personality. They can seem untouchable—but we at The Lineup know what gets them shaking in their boots.
Whether you're a Water Bearer who loves a good scare or just someone looking to deliver a real fright to an airy friend, here are eight horror books perfect for an Aquarius.
October
Aquariuses are a surprisingly sensitive bunch for how aloof and independent they come off. And since they don't tend to express their emotions very well, any inner turmoil can lead to some very disturbing choices to make it all go away...
Mikey Childress isn't like the other 16-year-old boys in Auburn, Ontario. His skinny frame is wrapped up all in black, and he spends his time flipping through horror novels, jamming out to Madonna, and idolizing Hollywood actresses. The bullies at school never let him forget just how different he is, and only his best friend, Wroxy, knows just how much he's hurting.
When the bullies go too far one night, no one is prepared for what Mikey is truly capable of. All of the hurts warring inside of him propel him to make a pact with pure evil. He wants to get revenge on anyone who ever caused him pain, but the nightmare of adolescence gets all the worse when Mikey unleashes hell on Earth.
Father of Lies
Aquariuses are uncompromising in their values and pursuit of the truth, and nothing horrifies them more than the thought of a broken promise. Brian Evenson's dark tale of religious hypocrisy will send chills through any Water Bearer.
Eldon Fochs is a happy husband and a father of four. He's an integral provost in the church. But his disturbing dreams imply he may also be a sex criminal...
As readers are guided through the perspectives of Fochs himself, his therapist, Dr. Alexander Feshtig, who has doubts about the truth behind these dreams, and a church which is determined to protect their reputation at all costs, a chilling fable of power and obedience unravels on the page. Just how far will an institution go to protect themselves from the suffering of their innocent victims?
Jack of Spades
These air signs are highly intellectual individuals, and when it comes to horror, they really get a thrill out of twisted, psychological reads.
Commercial and critical success is nothing new to Andrew J. Rush, with 28 mystery novels under his belt. He's got a top agent, a top publisher, and it seems like the only person doing better than him is Stephen King. But underneath it all is a deep, dark secret.
Less palatable than his wildly popular mysteries, Rush writes violent noir novels under the pseudonym "Jack of Spades." These novels are so masochistic and vile Rush wouldn't even want to be caught reading them, let alone penning them. But when his daughter stumbles across one of these books, she starts to ask questions. And a court summons arrives in the mail from a local woman accusing him of plagiarizing her self-published fiction.
With his reputation, writing, family, and entire life in danger, he begins to lose the last thing he really has: his mind. The voice of Jack of Spades creeps in, taunting and cruel.
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Doppelgangers
Humankind had its consciousness elevated by a psychological revolution. Not long after this new form of consciousness was born, society split in two. Alpha rules the Earth's surface, a benevolent dictator who has cultivated happy subjects who question nothing. But beneath the surface is the kingdom of the Mole.
The ruler of this gloomy underground domain is bitter, dark, and cruel. He rallies his people to revolt against those who live above them. And they have the perfect weapon: a genetically and psychologically crafted double of the Alpha. This doppelgänger is a covert agent who can slip in and change humanities fate forever.
The rebellious and revolutionary nature of Aquariuses will be drawn to this dark dystopian read, flipping pages through a gripping exploration of human identity.
Carrier
Ruled by the planet Uranus, Aquariuses tend to have a deep fascination with innovation and space travel. So what better to get their hearts pumping than some grade A sci-fi horror?
With resources depleted and a global war teetering in the balance, Earth's people turned to the stars for salvation. The lifeless planets floating around in space held vital resources beneath their surfaces. More than the people of Earth could have ever needed.
New Earth agent Adelynn Skinner boards a peaceful carrier craft called the Atlas, ordering it to dock on the uncharted territory of a dying planet. The unknown material there may be the key to ending New Earth's civil war. Then again, it may be the end of everything.
As the crew breaks protocol and begins to mine the planet, Atlas's chief security officer, Stellan Lund, is faced with a rising number of disturbances. There are a number of concerns over cases of black madness, a condition brought on by deep space travel. And when the crew is exposed to the alien substance, reports of this madness escalate. But the madness is spreading, and it is unlike any case Lund has ever seen...
Rabbits in the Garden
Aquariuses are independent yet highly social creatures. There's nothing worse to them than losing control or slipping through the cracks...
Avery Norton had the best life a 12-year-old could have. Her boyfriend was her best friend. She had all of Martha's Vineyard at her disposal. And she had a garden all of her own to tend to. But it all fell apart by the time she was 13.
When a secret crypt is found in the basement of her family home, Avery is arrested for murder. Found to be insane, she's locked away at the Taunton State Lunatic Asylum. She fights to prove her innocence and her sanity, but as she disappears amongst the crows of the insane, she starts wonder if everything they say about her could be true...
Frankenstein in Baghdad
The sign of the Water Bearer, Aquariuses are typically regarded as humanitarians. They love social issues, especially on a global scale. So why not dive all in with some socially conscious horror?
Hadi is a scavenger. Not of food or useful scraps of electronics. He collects human body parts from the rubble of U.S.-occupied Baghdad. It's for a righteous goal. He stitches these parts together to create one corpse, a cry for the government to recognize these pieces as people and give them a proper burial. And then the corpse goes missing.
A string of terrible murders ripple through the city, and witnesses report a terrifying looking criminal. A criminal who is not killed by bullets. Hadi has created a monster that requires human flesh to live. And when the monster is through collecting it from the guilty, it will seek flesh from anyone it its path.
House of Leaves
Call Aquariuses what you want, but you can't say they're boring. They're the innovators of the zodiac. They love breaking the mold—and they love horror that shatters it.
House of Leaves is a surreal and immersive read. It's bizarre formatting has gained a loyal and devoted cult following. It is rife with footnotes—which often have their own footnotes attached—multiple appendices, varying fonts, different colors, and text that must be rotated in order to be read. But while this claustrophobic read is largely about an impossible house, it is, at it's heart, a love story.
Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson moves into a little house on Ash Tree Lane with his partner, Karen Green. The young family is baffled to discover that the home is bigger on the inside. But how could they have predicted the horrors that would come with such a ridiculous thing? When their two small children disappear into their home, their distant voices echoing back an eerie story about a dark creature and an endless abyss, suddenly nothing feels impossible to this young family.
Find more horror books to read based on your zodiac sign—don't forget to pick books for your sun, moon, and rising signs!:
8 Fiery Horror Books to Read if You're an Aries
8 Extravagant Horror Books to Read if You're a Taurus
8 Depraved Horror Books to Read if You're a Gemini
8 Emotional Horror Books to Read if You're a Cancer
8 Sizzling Horror Books to Read if You're a Leo
8 Disorienting Horror Books to Read if You're a Virgo
8 Unnatural Horror Books to Read if You're a Libra
8 Dark Horror Books to Read if You're a Scorpio
8 Fierce Horror Books if You're a Sagittarius
8 Relentless Horror Books to Read if You're a Capricorn
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