Have you ever stumbled upon a book cover that sends shivers down your spine? You know, the kind that just feels off - creepy, unsettling, or downright bizarre? You catch a glimpse and suddenly you can’t shake that haunting image from your mind, no matter how hard you try to do the little wiggle to rid yourself of it. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about.

Today, we’re diving into those weird/creepy/scary covers that leave us feeling a bit uneasy. I’ll be honest: I often steer clear of books with covers like this. If there’s a less graphic version out there, I’m going with that. I like to avoid nightmares if at all possible. But there’s something oddly fascinating (and quietly horrifying) about them - and so today, I am sharing 10 of the creepiest covers I have personally come across. I know there are SO many hundreds out there, so please feel free to drop any that make your list in the comments below.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle:

I had to share two for this novel - and there are a dozen more that are all terrifying in their own way - but these are the ones I find to be the most disturbing. For the first cover, it’s the quietly menacing townspeople in the background that really creep me out (especially the two young boys in the bottom right and left - kids can be downright horrifying, iykyk). For the second cover, it’s just the bizarre, abstract nature of it. And is it just me or is an eye looking at you through a peephole, like, super scary? I hope to live the rest of my life without encountering an eye looking at me through a keyhole.

Hell Bent:

It’s the albino bunny with the red eyes. I mean, do I need to say more here? It’s unfortunate for me that this is one my favorite urban fantasy series.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children:

Okay, we are back to the creepy kids again. What is super fascinating about this cover art is that it, as well as the other photographs found in the book, are all real vintage photographs. And the other crazy thing is that these books are for children. There is no wayI would have ever picked up this book and read it as a kid. I shudder to think of the nightmares this would have brought eleven year old me.

Diary of a Haunting:

A demon/ghost girl climbing a wall? No freaking thank you. I rarely watch horror movies but this cover is giving me Paranormal Activity vibes and I am not here for it.

The Little Friend:

What is worse than creepy kids? That’s right: creepy dolls. What are those eyes even looking at? I don’t want to know. The day my daughter outgrew her dolls was a joyous day in my house and I happily boxed them up and donated them to a consignment store. We are not going to risk a Chucky-like scenario in my house.

American Psycho:

I cannot pinpoint exactly what it is about this cover that unnerves me. I think it might have to do with the fact that I know of some of its content (never read it) and that is compounding the effect of the creepy mask plus the red saturation, which is also unsettling.

Appointment With Death:

A spider coming out a head? Sick. And then the fact that she seems to be totally chill with it. Extra sick. Also, is anyone else shocked with they come across the old Tom Adams covers for Agatha Christie books? The contents of her books don’t exactly match that level of horrifying, in my opinion.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth:

The order of these covers are in no particular order, but if I had ranked them, this one would have been in the top three for sure. I don’t even want to know what is going on in this picture, but it absolutely terrifies me. Sometimes the image just skitters across my brain, out of nowhere, and then I have to watch videos of cute, fluffy puppies for a while.

1. Stephen King, *It;* Viking, 1986 2. Berkley, 1987

It:

I know I am not the only one with an irrational fear of clowns, so I really don’t think I need to explain much here. The first is the original cover and the second is from the mini-series tie in. It’s extra creepy because he looks just like your average, old school clown, who are creepy looking in their own right. But Pennywise murders children. And the way Tim Curry is looking at me on that cover - hard pass. I want to move past this section and never look at it again.

The Exorcist:

More creepy children. Are we sensing a theme here? If it works it works, I guess. I don’t even want to talk about the black eyes on the more recent green cover. I will be seeing those in future nightmares. And then the original cover - it just feels evil. I have to really focus on the cover photo and then when I do, it just freaks me out. And again, puppy videos to the rescue.

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