For its October 23, 2026 episode, The Book Review from The New York Times brings together Leigh Bardugo and Paul Tremblay for a conversation about frightening fiction. With host Gilbert Cruz, they explore early encounters with horror, books that linger, and ways into the genre.
Podcast: NYT’s The Book Review
Guests: Leigh Bardugo and Paul Tremblay
Released: October 23, 2026 · 52 minutes
Four books to explore
We chose these four books from the episode’s reading list to offer a range of horror: a Victorian mystery, a haunted-house classic, an Argentine family saga, and a compact possession novel. This is our editorial selection, not a ranking by the guests or a claim that these titles received the most airtime.
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Affinity
A visitor to a Victorian women’s prison becomes drawn to an inmate who claims to communicate with the dead. Sarah Waters entwines a ghost story with secrecy, desire, and confinement.
The Haunting of Hill House
Four visitors arrive at an isolated house to investigate reports of haunting. Shirley Jackson turns their stay into a study of loneliness, fear, and the uncertain boundary between a troubled mind and a hostile place.
Our Share of Night
A Novel
A father tries to protect his son from a powerful family and its occult inheritance. Set against Argentina’s dictatorship and its aftermath, Mariana Enriquez’s novel connects supernatural terror with violence, grief, and power.
Come Closer
Small disturbances begin to unsettle an architect’s apparently ordinary life. As her behavior changes, Sara Gran’s short novel draws the reader into an increasingly intimate story of possible possession.
Books discussed in the episode*
The titles below come from the episode’s published show notes. They include recommendations, formative reading, and other works discussed; inclusion here does not mean both guests endorsed every title.
- “The Boogeyman,” in Night Shift — Stephen King
- Down a Dark Hall — Lois Duncan
- Bunnicula — Deborah Howe and James Howe
- ’Salem’s Lot — Stephen King
- Nightjars — Michael Wehunt
- Affinity — Sarah Waters
- Black Arts — Megan Giddings
- The Reformatory — Tananarive Due
- Mazywood — Tananarive Due
- The Haunting of Hill House — Shirley Jackson
- We Have Always Lived in the Castle — Shirley Jackson
- Carrie — Stephen King
- The Turn of the Screw — Henry James
- “Afterward,” in Ghosts — Edith Wharton
- Interview With the Vampire — Anne Rice
- The Vampire Lestat — Anne Rice
- The Witch of Blackbird Pond — Elizabeth George Speare
- The Invisible Parade — Leigh Bardugo and John Picacio
- Our Share of Night — Mariana Enriquez
- “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” — Joyce Carol Oates
- The Skull — Jon Klassen
- The Nest — Kenneth Oppel
- Come Closer — Sara Gran
- Off the Reservation — Stephen Graham Jones
- She Said Destroy — Nadia Bulkin
- Issues With Authority — Nadia Bulkin
- North American Lake Monsters — Nathan Ballingrud
- Wounds — Nathan Ballingrud
- Books of Blood — Clive Barker
- To Bewitch a Hunter — Luciano Lamberti
- Trad Wife — Sarah Langan
- Desert Radio — Pamela M. Durgin
- The Flayed Man — Chloe Lauter
*We compile this list from the episode’s published show notes and aim to include every book mentioned. Show notes may omit passing references, and our list may contain omissions or errors. A mention does not necessarily indicate a recommendation.
Source: Publisher-supplied notes for NYT’s The Book Review on Apple Podcasts.
This is an independent reading guide, not affiliated with The New York Times or its podcasts.