Stories of obsession are often about one person being fixated on another person—or, in the case of Captain Ahab, on a whale called Moby Dick—but creepy stalkers and monomaniacal whale-hunters don’t have a monopoly on obsession. People can develop an unhealthy fixation on a huge variety of things, so here are five horror books, including a novella and a manga, that explore obsessions with eyeballs, spirals, horror movies, and more.
The Eyes Are the Best Part (2024) by Monika Kim
The Eyes Are the Best Part opens with Ji-won and Ji-hyun’s Umma deboning a fish for dinner. Once she’s done, she offers up the fish eyes to her daughters, both of whom are repulsed by the idea of eating the slimy orbs. But it isn’t long before Ji-won finds herself becoming obsessed with eyeballs—particularly with the blue irises of her Umma’s new boyfriend, George.
Ji-won’s infatuation with George’s eyes doesn’t come from a place of romantic desire. She utterly despises the man (for good reason—he’s obnoxious, arrogant, and creepy), but he isn’t her only problem. She’s also struggling to deal with her family’s new dynamic in the wake of her Appa taking off, with being a college freshman, and with trying to forge new friendships. In the midst of all this change and chaos, Ji-won’s mind keeps turning to eyeballs.
The Eyes Are the Best Part builds slowly, becoming progressively more unhinged as the plot unfolds. Threaded through this wild narrative are gory descriptions of eyes that are squirm-inducing, along with some razor-sharp commentary on Asian fetishization.
Misery (1987) by Stephen King
Fictional author Paul Sheldon made his name thanks to his series of historical romance books revolving around Misery Chastain. Although the Misery books are a hit, Paul decides to kill off the heroine so that he can move on to less swoonworthy pastures in his career. But just after completing his new crime novel, a drunken Paul crashes his car in the mountains of Colorado during a snowstorm. Thankfully, he’s rescued; not so thankfully, his rescuer is Annie Wilkes, an intense and dangerous woman who just so happens to be his “number one fan.”
But it turns out that Annie is really less a fan of Paul and more a fan of the Misery books, and she’s distraught that the series has come to an end. With the injured author now under her care, she brutally forces him to continue writing the story. Annie—who I can’t help but picture as Kathy Bates thanks to her Oscar-winning portrayal of the character in the 1990 movie—is utterly terrifying, and not afraid to resort to torture in order to satisfy her bookish obsession.
My Heart is a Chainsaw (2021) by Stephen Graham Jones
Jade Daniels is an outcast not only at her high school, but also in general in her rural mountain hometown of Proofrock, Idaho. She fills the hole in her heart and social calendar with horror movies—specifically slasher films—and while these gory flicks provide her with a soft place to land, her fanaticism has developed into a full-blown obsession.
Jade views the real world through a slasher filter (which isn’t always the best thing) and she’s become convinced that a killer is picking off people around Proofrock. With no one else taking the slasher signs seriously, Jade thinks it’s up to her—with her encyclopedic knowledge of the tropes and patterns of slasher movies—to stop the killer.
A lot of the story is spent in Jade’s head, which may put some readers off, but those who click with Jones’ writing style will not only get to know the mind and heart of this damaged but fierce girl, they’ll also be treated to a mayhem-filled and blood-splattered finale.
Uzumaki (1998-1999) by Junji Ito
Obsession is often a solo affair, but in Uzumaki, numerous residents in Kurôzu-cho, a little town on Japan’s coast, become obsessed with spirals. High schooler Kirie Goshima first notices this spiral obsession when she sees the father of her boyfriend, Shuichi Saito, transfixed by the shell of a snail on a wall. She soon realizes that his entire life has been consumed by the shape, leading to horrifyingly body-twisting consequences.
Although the chapters are linked, they often read like short stories, with Kirie witnessing—and herself experiencing—the creative ways in which the people of Kurôzu-cho are infected by the inescapable spirals. Although the idea of supernatural spirals might seem silly to some (I personally love a weird concept!), Junji Ito’s art is grotesquely mesmerizing. I’m pretty sure that many of the imaginative and mind-bending body horror images in Uzumaki are now seared into my mind forever…
A House at the Bottom of a Lake (2016) by Josh Malerman
Seventeen-year-olds James and Amelia are going on their first date, but instead of doing something typical like dinner or a movie, James takes Amelia canoeing on a semi-secret lake he happens to know. While paddling around, the duo spot a tunnel that’s mostly covered over with vegetation and they decide to squeeze the boat through to see what’s on the other side. They discover that lurking below the water line of this hidden lake is a creepy two-story house.
James and Amelia are captivated by the mysterious submerged building. The house soon consumes their thoughts, so they return to the lake whenever they can and even go scuba diving to investigate its interior. Malerman’s novella doesn’t really offer in-your-face horror; instead, it builds a uniquely eerie atmosphere as the two teens indulge their strange obsession.
Have you got any recommendations for books about frightening or disturbing obsessions? Whether the object of attention is animal, mineral, or vegetable, share your favorite examples in the comments below!
