I don't see anyone else mentioning it but Darcy Coates is the QUEEN of cozy horror. I adore the gravekeeper series, it's like reading an episode of Scooby Doo.
Middle grade horror is my go-to for when I need something cozy but creepy. Recently enjoyed Katherine Arden's Small Spaces series and the Lockwood & Co. series. I also like going back and rereading authors from childhood like Lois Duncan.
Thank you for this! I always feel like I want more cozy stories but don't feel right if I'm not reading or listening to something a bit scary or disturbing..
Anything with "Dracula" in the title is automatically campy. The "Bedtime Stories" youtube channel has many very cozy ghost-stories and cryptid stuff. Can recommend the "Happy Kitten" series. The first one is sort of cozy and familiar. Until it suddenly stops being that. The whole ouvre of Clive Barker is rather cozy. For some reason. To me.
Thank you for this video! I love spooky but the older I get, the more I just want a cute cozy spooky mystery or horror. I cannot do gore at all which is sad because most of my fav booktubers love gore or at least don’t mind it
I also enjoy more supernatural stories. I have a BookTube channel and maybe the books will work better for you if you want to check it out @CindyWingetBooks. I don't read extreme horror books
I read Darcy Coates and Jennifer McMahon. Chuck Wendig is another calmer kind of horror. The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Strauss is one I read when I'm feeling down. Love your channel! Greats recs!
I think my Comfy Horror areas is either The Fisherman by John Langan or a new one to me is Fairy Tale by Stephen King. May have to give The Reaping a try!
Thank you Rachel, I need more of these kind of books for when things get too dark. I usually just use fantasy and adventure palette cleansers between all the horror stuff. This is very helpful, thank you! Who knew that a Paperbacks From Hell could be a cozy read. I love Neil Gaiman and plan to focus more on the author this year. I have a Clive Barker YA graphic novel to read this month which fits the bill. I will be giving The Haunting of Hill House a re-read from a different angle, as I was disappointed the first time around, Horror mashup-ups are a great idea.
Fantastic idea! I haven’t heard of cozy horror until about a year or two ago, and i was like, “what the heck is cozy horror?” I’ve gotten a gotten a good idea of what it is since. Great choices here. 👻
I still need to read Cindy Winget's books. I love a good mashup. When I need to read something cozy, I look to Point Horror, Fear Street, or other horror YA series from the 80's or 90's. I like that they are, for the most part, just a trope-tastic, fun time. Most of them deliver on their premise: a slasher is a slasher, a creature feature is a creature feature, a ghost story is a ghost story and not a "humans moving around furniture and making noises" story. They also make me feel nostalgic. Thank you for this video, Rachel.
Please please read The Horizon by Jh and know it is a Manhwa but such short work. It is on Webtoon but also published. It is goood horor and has like 15% dialogs...
With full awareness that he is Bad Racist Man, I still find pretty much anything by Lovecraft to be reliable comfort horror. His prose, which a lot of people can't stand, is to me unfailingly immersive, drawing the reader in to his New England locations and the madness of his protagonists. At the Mountains of Madness never gets old.
You're not alone. I read so many Archies when I was growing up! I loved going to the grocery store and seeing a new one there! They were awesome. I wish I had kept my collection. 😊❤
I tend to go dark and depressing when I need a comfort read, I know it's bizarre. Sometimes with uplifting sides to them if looked at from a different perspective (like The Last Policeman series, for example, or post-apocalyptic stories where things are terrible but people are still working together trying to get through it), but sometimes just something hopeless like Blindsight.
I read Coraline recently and I really enjoyed it! And I loved Afterlife Archie. I have read some the other horror Archie comics as well. They never came out with volume 2 of Afterlife Archie.
Several of these are on my tbr. I never read Archie. It was a little before my time and nobody in my family read comics. Thanks for showcasing my books 😃 i am glad you enjoyed them.
"The Reaping" by Bernard Taylor was a decent read, but his "Sweetheart, Sweetheart" was much better - a ghost story that actually chills....& the chills come steadily throughout the book, which is a heck of an accomplishment - I've read several of Taylor's books, but none of them measure up to Sweetheart, Sweetheart. It's probably the best novel about this theme that I have read, & I've read dozens of them...including "The Turn of the Screw", "Ghost Story"(by Peter Straub), "The Haunting of Hill House", "The Shining", & countless lesser knowns - "Sweetheart, Sweetheart" beats them all out as being the creepiest IMO.
Good memories. My older cousins had tons of comics. Mostly Superman, but some Archie comics as well. I always went straight to the comics when we visited. Speaking of Neil Gaian, have you read “The Graveyard Book”? It’s great!
The Monster of Elendhaven is one of my favorites, though the ending is a bit confusing. Otherwise, for my favorite real cozy horror, I go straight for the Magnus Archives podcast.
Thank you Rachel, I always love your recommendations and have downloaded many books you have recommended. I appreciate the great descriptions of each book you give, as it helps me to decide whether or not I may enjoy the book. Have a great day!
what a great list! 👻 t. kingfisher is also one of those authors whose work often has a quirky / cozy vibe to me, whether it's horror or fantasy.
Oh yes T Kingfisher definitely gets cozy
I don't see anyone else mentioning it but Darcy Coates is the QUEEN of cozy horror. I adore the gravekeeper series, it's like reading an episode of Scooby Doo.
I heard one of her books call HAUNTED is good. And is on my list !
@@ShakiLis29 I am reading Dead of Winter right now. Just perfect for the season and a killer using heads to decorate trees. ☺
@@kristiew.7472 oh dang! That sounds something I will read. Is going to be on my list then. Thanks!
I just finished Dead of Winter and I really liked it! Just bought From Below.
🕸️☠️
You've got to read Darcy Coates! I discovered her a year ago and all of her books fit the cozy horror vibe :)
I've read some of her books but her backlist is so huge
Middle grade horror is my go-to for when I need something cozy but creepy. Recently enjoyed Katherine Arden's Small Spaces series and the Lockwood & Co. series. I also like going back and rereading authors from childhood like Lois Duncan.
Yes MG horror is so cozy
Thank you for this! I always feel like I want more cozy stories but don't feel right if I'm not reading or listening to something a bit scary or disturbing..
I feel Something Wicked this Way Comes makes a cozy autumn read
agreed!
Anything with "Dracula" in the title is automatically campy.
The "Bedtime Stories" youtube channel has many very cozy ghost-stories and cryptid stuff.
Can recommend the "Happy Kitten" series. The first one is sort of cozy and familiar. Until it suddenly stops being that.
The whole ouvre of Clive Barker is rather cozy. For some reason. To me.
Thank you for this video! I love spooky but the older I get, the more I just want a cute cozy spooky mystery or horror. I cannot do gore at all which is sad because most of my fav booktubers love gore or at least don’t mind it
I also enjoy more supernatural stories. I have a BookTube channel and maybe the books will work better for you if you want to check it out @CindyWingetBooks. I don't read extreme horror books
Yeah I will admit that I've definitely recommended some rather gory books I some other videos. So glad this topic worked for you
I read Darcy Coates and Jennifer McMahon. Chuck Wendig is another calmer kind of horror. The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Strauss is one I read when I'm feeling down. Love your channel! Greats recs!
Thanks. Agree with your author suggestions
I think my Comfy Horror areas is either The Fisherman by John Langan or a new one to me is Fairy Tale by Stephen King.
May have to give The Reaping a try!
Oh those are good ones
Thank you Rachel, I need more of these kind of books for when things get too dark. I usually just use fantasy and adventure palette cleansers between all the horror stuff. This is very helpful, thank you! Who knew that a Paperbacks From Hell could be a cozy read. I love Neil Gaiman and plan to focus more on the author this year. I have a Clive Barker YA graphic novel to read this month which fits the bill. I will be giving The Haunting of Hill House a re-read from a different angle, as I was disappointed the first time around, Horror mashup-ups are a great idea.
Fantastic idea! I haven’t heard of cozy horror until about a year or two ago, and i was like, “what the heck is cozy horror?” I’ve gotten a gotten a good idea of what it is since. Great choices here. 👻
I wasn't sure if it was an actual thing or just a phrase I made up so that's cool that you've come across it in other places
I think The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher is a great cozy horror! ☺️🧛
I agree
I still need to read Cindy Winget's books. I love a good mashup.
When I need to read something cozy, I look to Point Horror, Fear Street, or other horror YA series from the 80's or 90's. I like that they are, for the most part, just a trope-tastic, fun time. Most of them deliver on their premise: a slasher is a slasher, a creature feature is a creature feature, a ghost story is a ghost story and not a "humans moving around furniture and making noises" story. They also make me feel nostalgic.
Thank you for this video, Rachel.
I never read YA horror as a kid but I can definitely understand them being comfort reads if I had
Lynne speaking here great book haul some of these books look really good have to check them out. Happy Reading :)
Caretaker: I'll put a hold on that book after I finish Little Eyes (Samantha Schweblin) and
The Ritual (Adam Nevill).
My brain will forever associate New Jersey with comic book stores. My grandparents lived in Jersey and we’d always go looking for Archie comics
Please please read The Horizon by Jh and know it is a Manhwa but such short work. It is on Webtoon but also published. It is goood horor and has like 15% dialogs...
I'm reading a 50 yr olds romance between online game players, Role Playing by Cathy Yardley.
The caretaker of the Lorne field sounds interesting ❤ TBR keeps growing longer everyday 😂
🛸
I haven't got to it yet but was thinking maybe The Woman in Black falls into this category.
afterlife with Archie remake of Sabrina the TA witch is really good too, the netflix series is also well done.
Coraline and Afterlife with Archie are both top-notch.
Ahh so good! Shirley comments were spot on.
I used to love reading the Archie comics
With full awareness that he is Bad Racist Man, I still find pretty much anything by Lovecraft to be reliable comfort horror. His prose, which a lot of people can't stand, is to me unfailingly immersive, drawing the reader in to his New England locations and the madness of his protagonists. At the Mountains of Madness never gets old.
You're not alone. I read so many Archies when I was growing up! I loved going to the grocery store and seeing a new one there! They were awesome. I wish I had kept my collection. 😊❤
Glad you also loved Archies
I tend to go dark and depressing when I need a comfort read, I know it's bizarre. Sometimes with uplifting sides to them if looked at from a different perspective (like The Last Policeman series, for example, or post-apocalyptic stories where things are terrible but people are still working together trying to get through it), but sometimes just something hopeless like Blindsight.
Oh those are bleak!
Great for the super freezing temperatures we are about to have ❤❄️
The Graveyard Book is cosy and the graphic novel is amazing
Oh that's a good one
Have you tried Kim Neumann's Anno Dracula series?
No I haven't yet
I like how your idea of "cozy" involves decapitation. He he.
Haha yeah... 😄
🤗I read Afterlife with Archie in Oct I plan on moving on with the books😊
Yay! I love Archie Horror
I read Coraline recently and I really enjoyed it! And I loved Afterlife Archie. I have read some the other horror Archie comics as well. They never came out with volume 2 of Afterlife Archie.
I'm so sad they never continued it
Hello there hey
Thank you 😊
My comfort reads are zombie books. I really need to read more of them🧟🧟♀️🧟♂️
Yes! Same!
Several of these are on my tbr. I never read Archie. It was a little before my time and nobody in my family read comics. Thanks for showcasing my books 😃 i am glad you enjoyed them.
Happy to find an excuse to highlight them again
#hood 🐺
"The Reaping" by Bernard Taylor was a decent read, but his "Sweetheart, Sweetheart" was much better - a ghost story that actually chills....& the chills come steadily throughout the book, which is a heck of an accomplishment - I've read several of Taylor's books, but none of them measure up to Sweetheart, Sweetheart.
It's probably the best novel about this theme that I have read, & I've read dozens of them...including "The Turn of the Screw", "Ghost Story"(by Peter Straub), "The Haunting of Hill House", "The Shining", & countless lesser knowns - "Sweetheart, Sweetheart" beats them all out as being the creepiest IMO.
I prefer The Reaping over Sweatheart but I see the appeal
@@TheShadesofOrange All good. Different tastes.
🧛🏻♀️👻📖
👻 🧛♀️
👻 🧛♀️
🧟♀️
🐱🐱🐧👻
👻 🧛
⚛😀
🧛
💀
Is the ghost tree the book where the 3 kids hide in a tree house or is that another book?
That’s another book. I’m pretty sure. It’s been a bit since I’ve read it, but I don’t remember a treehouse at all.
Thanks for the recs! I just added several of these to my neverending tbr... 😁
A Boy's Life. And December Park even though it's about a child killer. The ending was sooooooo dumb though😢
The ending jumps the shark a bit. I didn't mind it so much until rereading it
Good memories. My older cousins had tons of comics. Mostly Superman, but some Archie comics as well. I always went straight to the comics when we visited.
Speaking of Neil Gaian, have you read “The Graveyard Book”? It’s great!
Oh yes Graveyard Book would be a good addition to this list
The Monster of Elendhaven is one of my favorites, though the ending is a bit confusing.
Otherwise, for my favorite real cozy horror, I go straight for the Magnus Archives podcast.
I still need to read that story
"Something Wicked This Way Comes" is one of my favorite cozy autumn reads. Bust out the apple cider and sit by the fire with my dog. It's go time!
Oh yes that is a good cozy one!
Because of your earlier recommendation, I bought The Caretaker of Lorne Field, and absolutely loved it!
Yay!
Thank you Rachel, I always love your recommendations and have downloaded many books you have recommended. I appreciate the great descriptions of each book you give, as it helps me to decide whether or not I may enjoy the book. Have a great day!
Thanks! You too!
Love the channel, only place for some comfy horror recommendations that start off with here’s a story that begins with some girls’ heads cut off.
Lololol... just a cozy beheading 😅 ... I didn't even think about that
Downton Abbey is wonderful, you should check it out (not downtown lol ❤)
I literally thought it was Downtown Abbey... whoops 😅
I love Archie Horror!
❤
Yes, I started reading Archie digests when I was about six years old because I had to go to the hospital and spent my sixth birthday there
Aw that's quite the memory