ONTD original: 5 creepiest horror books that have not been adapted

This is a list with superb representatives of the genre, the only rule is to not have received the TV or movie adaptation treatment.

Naomi’s Room – Jonathan Aycliffe

1991 horror novel from the Northern Irish author, the story follows academic Charles Hillenbrand and his wife Laura. When Charles took his four-year-old daughter Naomi on a shopping trip from Cambridge to London, the girl disappeared in toy shop, and later her mutilated body was discovered. But Naomi’s spirit seems to not be resting, as a series of murders follow the couple.

Duma Key – Stephen King

King’s first novel to be set in Florida and in Minnesota. After a horrible work accident where he lost his arm and suffering mental health problems, Edgar Freemantle is encouraged to rent a beach house in Duma Key, Florida, where he starts developing psychic powers through his drawings and somehow his newly awakened powers are linked to a vengeful spirit of the waters.

At the Mountains of Madness – H. P. Lovecraft

It narrates an expedition to Antarctica in 1930, and what is found there by a group of explorers led by Dr. William Dyer. Dyer details a series of untold events in the hope of deterring another group of explorers who wish to return to the continent. These events include an ancient civilization older than the human race, and realization of Earth’s true past told through sculptures and murals. On July 28, 2010, Guillermo del Toro announced he would direct a film adaptation of it, with James Cameron producing. On 2010, del Toro said that the adaptation would not happen at all

House of Leaves – Mark Z. Danielewski

Written as an epistolary fiction and metafiction focusing on a fictional documentary film titled the Navidson Record, presented as a story within a story discussed in a handwritten monograph recovered by the primary narrator, Johnny Truant. The narrative makes heavy use of multiperspectivity as Truant’s footnotes chronicle his efforts to transcribe the manuscript. While the book is heavily lauded, it is incredible hard to read, with the reader having to constantly be jumping from chapter to chapter to comprehend the story, additionally the format does not lend itself to adaptation.

Heart-Shaped Box – Joe Hill

From the pen of Stephen king’s son. Old rock star Judas Coyne collects morbid memorabilia, like a witch’s confession, a real snuff film and, his most recent acquisition, a dead man’s funeral suit. Jude is informed by the dead man’s daughter, that his spirit is attached to the suit. The suit arrives in a heart-shaped box, causing odd occurrences to those around him and seeking revenge for certain affront, against Jude.

Sources 1 2 3 4 5 Google images and me