The Scariest Books

Now that we live in a house where the walls are glass and the forest surrounds us, now that it's October and the chipmunks and squirrels are rustling spookily in the fallen leaves, I have the insatiable urge to terrify myself. I don't know if this makes me a sucker for some Vincent Price-esque marketing plan, tempted by plaster busts of victorian vampire ladies for sale at Home Goods and candy corn at the register, but a good fictional scare is what I want, and darn it if I'm not having the hardest time finding it among my shelves.

On Sunday, I read Shirley Jackson's (out of print) Hangsaman in one sitting, wooed by the fifties book jacket promise of suspense, only to discover it was more psychological drama than supernatural thriller (though there were two suitably creepy scenes that had me looking over my shoulder even as I read in the backyard in full daylight), and was only the tip of the Shirley Jackson nightmare genre, which I deeply envy you if you have yet to explore. Unsatisfied by a few spooky scenes at a women's college, I took to the internet and asked:

I received several responses on Twitter and Facebook, many of which I'd already read. Then I remembered that I had put together a list last year of the titles that scared me best, along with an explanation of what I love in a good spine tingle. I'll reprise the list here and add suggestions I received from friends and in the comments:

My original list:

Shirley Jackson - The Haunting of Hill House
Nicola Barker - Darkmans
Haruki Murakami - A Wild Sheep Chase
Jules Verne - Journey To The Center Of The Earth
Flann O'Brien - The Third Policeman
Alasdair Gray - Lanark
Mark Z. Danielewski - House of Leaves (seconded by @jessicaxmaria)
Elizabeth Bowen - "The Demon Lover"

Suggestions I received from others that I've read and can endorse:

Stephen King - It
Shirley Jackson - We Have Always Lived In The Castle (via Paris Review)
Sarah Waters - The Little Stranger (Hanne T)
Daphne du Maurier - Rebecca (Hanne T)*
Chuck Palahniuk - Haunted (Jenny G)

Suggestions I have yet to read:

Stephen King - The Dark Half (Sam)
Gillian Flynn - Sharp Objects, Dark Places (@xtop)
Angela Carter - Burning Your Boats (via Paris Review)
Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan - The Strain (@CMYKaboom)
Tana French - In The Woods (@JunkyardArts)
Ira Levin - Rosemary's Baby (Tracie)*

And I realize at this point that I'm repeating myself, but James Hynes' list and Matthew Baldwin's list are worth investigating too. 

What am I missing? Does this need more Bram Stoker and Poe? Clive Barker's Weaveworld, anyone? Let's make the definitive list and all hide under the covers with our flashlights.

UPDATE: Jessica has posted a fabulously frightful list at lovelyish, and the aforementioned Matthew Baldwin is dedicating October to getting people into Lovecraft. Based on his recommendations, I read "The Dunwich Horror" the other night and was subsequently forced under the covers by a squirrel landing on the roof, that's any indicator.

*Denotes title was added after the original post