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Every book Victor LaValle recommended on podcasts
Victor LaValle appeared on The Book Review to offer expert insights into horror literature, discussing classic tropes, foundational texts, and his own creative inspirations. As an acclaimed author working within the horror and speculative fiction genres, LaValle shared a deep appreciation for the works of Shirley Jackson and Stephen King. He recalled discovering the horror field through Stephen Kings 1980s non-fiction summary Danse Macabre, which served as a bibliographic guide for his early reading and eventually led him to Shirley Jackins The Haunting of Hill House. LaValle frequently recommended Jacksons later masterpiece, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, praising its concrete beginning and the striking, unforgettable voice of its protagonist, Marycat. When exploring the architecture of fear, LaValle compared haunted house tropes across generations, drawing connections between Jackson's work, Stephen Kings The Shining, and Mark Z. Danielewskis House of Leaves, a novel about a mutating structure that grows larger on the inside. Furthermore, LaValle reflected on how his own novel Lone Women drew direct inspiration from these classic traditions, noting that the opening escape sequence in his book shares thematic and narrative beats with Jackson's enduring contributions to weird fiction.
Books recommended by Victor LaValle
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The Shining
The Shining by Stephen King is a classic horror novel about a struggling writer and recovering alcoholic who takes a winter caretaker job at an isolated, haunted mountain hotel with his family.
Discussed“And then the other thing that she does that to me is even more rarified within the haunted house field, although certainly anyone who's read The Shining will understand it is that a lot of haunted house stories turn out to be that there's an entity there that is the cause.”
Where to get it
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We Have Always Lived in the Castle
We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a chilling psychological thriller novel by Shirley Jackson, published in 1962, that follows the isolated and eccentric Blackwood family following a tragic arsenic poisoning.
Discussed“And I also read her the book that came after this. We have always lived in the castle which is as much as I love this book that's her masterpiece I would say.”
Where to get it
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Danse Macabre
Danse Macabre is a non-fiction critical overview of the horror genre by Stephen King that surveys horror across literature, film, and television from the mid-twentieth century through the 1970s.
Discussed“It actually begins before Shirley Jackson. It begins with Stephen King and his book Dance Macabra, which was his 80s summary of the horror field in general.”
Where to get it
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The Haunting of Hill House
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is a celebrated classic horror novel about a haunted mansion and psychological isolation.
Discussed“And as a kid who was in love with Stephen King at the time, but who was not supremely well read, I treated that book like, as many people did, I'm sure, like a just a list, a bibliography. Here's everything you got to read. And for better or worse, Shirley Jackson's Haunting of Hill House was one of the”
Where to get it
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Different Seasons
Different Seasons by Stephen King is a celebrated 1982 collection of four distinct novellas that showcases the author's range far beyond traditional horror.
Recommended“well I would say for if it's a teenager there's a book of novelas called different seasons an early one”
Where to get it
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House of Leaves
House of Leaves is a complex postmodern novel by Mark Z.
Discussed“If you think about books that came decades later, like House of Leaves, which is about a house that keeps mutating, growing bigger on the inside.”
Where to get it
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Lone Women
Lone Women is a historical horror novel by Victor LaValle that follows a woman escaping her past with a heavy trunk in early twentieth-century Montana.
Discussed“Have you ever borrowed anything from this book for your work? A character name, a beat, a motivation, a tone. What have you pulled out of it? Well, actually, I mean, rereading it again just over the weekend, the opening bits, I realized the beginning of Lone Women is Eleanor's escape”
Where to get it
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Night Shift
Night Shift is a celebrated collection of horror short stories by Stephen King that explores profound fears, supernatural phenomena, and the dark corners of the human psyche.
Discussed“I think my first I was probably 10 or 11 and it was his a book of stories night shift and um that sort of segwayed to”
Where to get it
Books Victor LaValle wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Hill's Scary Book Recs and Victor LaValle on "The Haunting of Hill House" (Rerun) | The Book Review | 2025-10-24 | 7 |
| Dinosaurs, the Master of Horror and Philip Roth | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 3 |
| Victor LaValle Talks About Horror and ‘Lone Women’ | The Book Review | 2024-07-18 | 5 |
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“and so for me I think regardless of if it's deeply historically researched like this or if it's something that might be a little bit Wilder like my novel big machine”
“so my first two books were literary realism and then my third big machine was the beginning of me writing into genre”