Look. I love the 90s, you love the 90s. We all love the 90s. Nostalgia is so in right now, and naming your favorite 90s movie, song, or fashion trend is no problem. But what about horror novels? The 90s was an awesome decade for horror books, and have you ever pondered which books had the most iconic moments? Throw on some Zubaz, crack open a Crystal Pepsi, and let’s dive right into the madness!
Road to Nowhere (1990) by Christopher Pike
The covers of Christopher Pike’s books are iconic in their own right. The designs just scream 90s, and the original 1990 Road to Nowhere cover is no exception. In the book itself, readers meet 18-year-old Teresa Chafey, who hits the road in the middle of the night after an incident with her boyfriend. The young woman picks up two hitchhikers, and the trio passes the time by telling stories of “love gone wrong” while driving along the California coast. Pike doesn’t shy away from the tough stuff–the novel tackles sex, abortion, drug abuse, infidelity, suicide, and murder–and the story is packed with swerve after swerve (at one point you might think, wait, is this a book about vampires?). But the major twist eventually drops, and you might see it coming. It’s an iconic twist, and not just because of its use in this book–the well worn plot device has its own entry on TV Tropes, and I recommend checking it out. Pike still has a few more tricks up his sleeve after the big reveal, so make sure to stick around to the last page.
Jurassic Park (1990) by Michael Crichton
Neither Michael Crichton’s 1990 novel Jurassic Park nor Steven Spielberg’s 1993 adaptation are technically classified as horror. But horror moments? Absolutely! Few moments are more ingrained in popular culture than the Tyrannosaurus rex storming past the paddock fence and attacking our characters in the stalled vehicles during a rainstorm. The moment occurs in both the novel and the film, although Spielberg subs out Crichton’s Land Cruisers for Ford Explorers. In the book, the scene is largely played for horror, with Crichton writing, “When the tyrannosaur roared it was terrifying, a scream from some other world. Ed Regis felt the spreading warmth in his trousers. He’d peed his pants.” Can you blame the guy?
Ring (1991) by Koji Suzuki
You’ve probably seen the movie, but have you read the book? Before The Ring hit theaters in 2002, it was a Japanese novel published in 1991 by Koji Suzuki simply entitled Ring. Suzuki’s book and Gore Verbinski’s film follow the same trajectories–a group of teens mysteriously die, and a relative of one of the teens searches for answers–but there are differences abound between the two (the novel takes place in Japan, for example). One big difference is what exactly appears on the haunted videotape that curses whoever is brave enough to press Play on their VCR. In an iconic scene in Suzuki’s novel, our protagonist Kazuyuki Asakawa watches the tape for the first time, and on the screen he sees hands holding a newborn baby–but he hears cries from under his own chin. His hands now feel warm and wet, “and he brought his palms close to his face. A smell lingered. The faint smell of blood–had it come from the womb, or…?” Creepy stuff.
Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones (1991) by Alvin Schwartz
What else is left to be said about Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark book series? They are a rite of passage for elementary and middle school readers, and Stephen Gammell’s illustrations are memorably horrifying. The ALA lists the book series at #1 on their list of “100 most frequently challenged books” of the 1990s, and does it need a more ringing endorsement than that? The third book in the series, Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones, was published in 1991, and is stuffed with so many iconic tales and moments that it’s tough to pick just one. Let’s go with “The Dream”, in which a traveling artist, Lucy Morgan, dreams about a bedroom at the top of a “dark, carved staircase” where she encounters “a woman with a pale face and black eyes and long black hair” who warns her of the place being evil. Interpreting the dream as a premonition, she changes her plans and heads to a different town, only to wind up in the literal nightmare room with the same creepy woman. It’s delightfully eerie, not just because of the satisfying and short payoff, but also due to Gammell’s absolutely GOAT drawing of a pale-faced woman, faithfully recreated for the 2019 film based on the book series.
The Haunted Mask (1993) by R.L. Stine
R.L. Stine is an absolute legend of horror, and for many young readers, Goosebumps was their gateway into the genre. Take your pick from Stine’s body of work, but few titles are more iconic than The Haunted Mask, the eleventh entry of the Goosebumps series. In the book, an 11-year-old girl named Carly Beth buys a Halloween mask, and the mask then fuses to her face. She becomes violent, her voice changes, and she discovers that she is unable to take the mask off. It’s a breezy, dark tale. The real gasp! moment occurs in the last few lines, and, no spoilers here, you’ll have to read the book to find out (suffice to say Carly Beth has some fresh family drama to chew on). Stine certainly ends the story on a high note, no doubt fueling the imaginations of kids everywhere.
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Jimmy Juliano is a writer and high school educator. Several of his stories have gone viral on the Reddit “NoSleep” forum, and his debut novel, Dead Eleven, is currently in development at A+E Studios. He lives outside Chicago with his wife, daughter, and miniature Goldendoodle.
