Can you recommend some unsettling horror novels?

There are many. 'The Masque of the Red Death' by Poe is an example. The vivid descriptions of the plague and the prince's attempt to escape it while holding a party are very unsettling. Also, 'The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas' by Ursula K. Le Guin is a thought - provoking and somewhat disturbing story about a utopian society with a dark secret.

Sure. One incident was a yacht that started taking on water mysteriously. The crew couldn't figure out where the leak was at first. They were constantly bailing water out while trying to find the source. It was a race against time as the water level kept rising. Another was a crew member getting sick with a very contagious disease. The rest of the crew was terrified of getting infected, and they had to isolate the sick person as best they could in the tight quarters of the yacht.

A group of friends got together for Thanksgiving in a rented cabin in the woods. At night, they heard howling and scratching at the doors. They thought it was just wild animals at first. But then they saw a figure outside that looked human but moved in a very strange way. They were so scared that they barricaded themselves inside the cabin until morning and left as soon as they could, abandoning their Thanksgiving celebration.

Some readers like the adrenaline rush. Unsettling horror novels can make their hearts race and give them a sense of excitement. It's like a thrill ride.

You need to play with the unknown. Don't explain everything right away. Let the reader's imagination run wild. Use elements like strange noises, unexplained shadows, and a sense of being watched. In the story, you could have a character constantly feel a cold breath on their neck but when they turn around, there's nothing there. Another important aspect is to build tension gradually. Start with small, creepy incidents and escalate them to something truly horrifying.

One unsettling true story is about the Donner Party. In the 1840s, a group of settlers got trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains during a harsh winter. They faced extreme starvation and resorted to cannibalism to survive. It's a harrowing tale of human desperation.

'Tomie' can be considered highly unsettling as well. Tomie is a character who has the ability to regenerate and drive people insane with her beauty and charm. Her constant return, no matter how many times she is killed, and the way she manipulates those around her, especially men, into doing horrible things, makes for a very disturbing horror story.

The use of the supernatural is a big factor. Ghosts with long, black hair covering their faces, like in many Japanese horror stories, are immediately creepy. They often appear in ordinary, domestic settings, which makes the horror more relatable.