,

The Most Disturbing Books Ever Written

Did you ever read a book so disturbing that you had to put it down for a week before coming back to it? Are you still grimacing over that book that you read five years ago? If there's a book you've read that you just haven't been able to shake, then let everyone here know!
1

by
3.81 avg rating — 313,676 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2

by
4.19 avg rating — 4,591,611 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
3

by
3.69 avg rating — 2,901,753 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
4

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 711,559 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
5

by
3.88 avg rating — 849,380 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
6

by
4.13 avg rating — 433,921 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
7

by
4.44 avg rating — 292,331 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
8

by
4.14 avg rating — 2,044,508 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
9

by
3.99 avg rating — 903,414 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
10

by
4.24 avg rating — 1,109,459 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
11

by
3.85 avg rating — 213,175 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
12

by
4.04 avg rating — 467,756 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
13

by
3.99 avg rating — 3,879,145 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
14

by
4.08 avg rating — 194,966 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
4.37 avg rating — 1,243,631 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
16

by
4.21 avg rating — 697,316 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
17

by
3.60 avg rating — 104,219 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
18

by
4.27 avg rating — 1,487,042 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
3.97 avg rating — 2,414,198 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
20

by
3.85 avg rating — 2,351,929 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
21

by
3.99 avg rating — 1,853,584 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
22

by
4.09 avg rating — 658,743 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
23

by
3.86 avg rating — 1,055,459 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
24

by
4.17 avg rating — 3,180,525 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
25

by
4.13 avg rating — 3,088,079 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
26

by
4.34 avg rating — 8,656,887 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
27

by
4.07 avg rating — 803,500 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
28

by
3.77 avg rating — 96,743 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
29

by
4.19 avg rating — 3,727,316 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
30

by
4.09 avg rating — 169,835 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
31

by
4.06 avg rating — 590,844 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
4.19 avg rating — 591,201 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
33

by
4.06 avg rating — 145,805 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
34

by
4.16 avg rating — 164,067 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
35

by
3.85 avg rating — 693,024 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
4.02 avg rating — 1,039,324 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
37

by
4.34 avg rating — 3,146,072 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
38

by
4.20 avg rating — 234,301 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
39

by
4.24 avg rating — 547,939 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
40

by
3.94 avg rating — 41,300 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
41

by
3.88 avg rating — 2,543,971 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
42

by
3.08 avg rating — 12,700 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
43

by
4.20 avg rating — 43,899 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
44

by
4.11 avg rating — 60,330 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
3.74 avg rating — 275,290 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
46

by
3.99 avg rating — 720,577 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
47

by
4.26 avg rating — 75,700 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
48

by
4.10 avg rating — 167,060 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
49

by
4.20 avg rating — 732,018 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
50

by
4.05 avg rating — 86,110 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
51

by
4.17 avg rating — 289,387 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
52

by
3.99 avg rating — 89,444 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
4.12 avg rating — 2,475,532 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
54

by
3.95 avg rating — 750,545 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
55

by
3.87 avg rating — 54,864 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
56

by
4.16 avg rating — 829,111 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
57

by
3.46 avg rating — 91,178 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
58

by
3.95 avg rating — 434,846 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
59

by
3.98 avg rating — 79,922 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
3.89 avg rating — 1,803,496 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
61

by
4.27 avg rating — 684,591 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
62

by
3.74 avg rating — 1,705,263 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
63

by
4.06 avg rating — 333,051 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
64

by
3.87 avg rating — 1,595,726 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
65

by
4.08 avg rating — 185,454 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
3.96 avg rating — 67,459 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
67

by
4.02 avg rating — 1,092,127 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 143,452 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
4.27 avg rating — 902,659 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
70

by
3.80 avg rating — 3,520,656 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
71

by
3.57 avg rating — 162,389 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
72

by
3.91 avg rating — 26,392 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
73

by
4.17 avg rating — 228,966 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
4.09 avg rating — 3,222,752 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
75

by
1.94 avg rating — 607 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
76

by
3.65 avg rating — 6,570,642 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
4.04 avg rating — 111,038 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
78

by
4.60 avg rating — 12,970 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
79

by
4.43 avg rating — 1,527,977 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
80

by
3.79 avg rating — 18,463 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
3.60 avg rating — 86,229 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
82

by
4.14 avg rating — 100,281 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
83

by
3.81 avg rating — 106,834 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
4.12 avg rating — 194,768 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
3.78 avg rating — 284,985 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
86

by
4.31 avg rating — 1,210,944 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
87

by
4.07 avg rating — 348,929 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
88

by
4.34 avg rating — 160,199 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
89

by
3.78 avg rating — 32,182 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
3.84 avg rating — 45,882 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
91

by
3.92 avg rating — 27,235 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
3.66 avg rating — 2,604,497 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
93

by
3.99 avg rating — 353,150 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
94

by
4.35 avg rating — 759,910 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
95

by
3.83 avg rating — 130,263 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
96

by
3.50 avg rating — 9,793 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
97

by
4.01 avg rating — 266,305 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
98

by
3.66 avg rating — 21,526 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
99

by
3.30 avg rating — 11,658 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
100

by
3.77 avg rating — 145,421 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
3,045 books · 9,881 voters · list created July 10th, 2009 by Alexander Supertramp (votes) .
56 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Alexander 68 books
2 friends
Matt 540 books
62 friends
Amy 600 books
36 friends
Elizabeth 169 books
7 friends
Deirdre 537 books
39 friends
Bettie 15797 books
20 friends
Lynda 23006 books
297 friends
Lobstergirl 5721 books
155 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-50 of 282 (282 new)


message 1: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl My books are disturbing for very different reasons. Some should not be read, some are amazing and must be read.


message 2: by Bella (new)

Bella I love Night, by Elie Wiesel, but it is disturbing. It is a must read about the Holocaust, and you will remember it...


message 3: by Tess (new)

Tess The Blood Confession should be on this list, that one was quite a ride :)


message 4: by Amber (new)

Amber "Mister B. Gone: A Novel" by Clive Barker




message 5: by jessi (new)

jessi Bella wrote: "I love Night, by Elie Wiesel, but it is disturbing. It is a must read about the Holocaust, and you will remember it..."

If you want to read a disturbing book about WW2, read The Painted Bird. Most disturbing book I have read so far.


message 6: by jessi (new)

jessi Also, I can't believe The Girl Next Door was not on this list until I just voted it on.


message 7: by K (new)

K I love that the lds bible is on here


message 8: by Erin (new)

Erin Haacke I think that it is ridiculous and completely sacrilegious that someone would put the bible on this list! It doesn't matter if you do not agree with their religion or not things like this are just rude.


message 9: by Caroline (new)

Caroline In the Miso Soup should totally be on this list


message 10: by Shalimar (new)

Shalimar Can't believe 'Shutter Island' is not on this list.


message 11: by Eleanor (new)

Eleanor I think 'Diceman' by Luke Rhineheart should be on the list, its pretty screwed up for many reasons.


message 12: by Xenophon (last edited Jun 26, 2010 04:00PM) (new)

Xenophon Hendrix So far as I can recall, The Bible is the only book that has disturbed me badly enough that I had to quit reading for a period of time. (Correction: a guide to The Bible for children had the same effect, but I can't remember its name.) So The Bible being on my list is not a troll, nor is it intended to be impolite.

PS: I don't intend to specifically list the LDS version, but that is the version that is already on the list.

PPS: After letting it stew in my subconscious for a while, I remembered the name of the Bible guide: Listening to the Great Teacher.


message 13: by Ana (new)

Ana I personally liked the Twilight Saga.. but it's just my opinion, of course ;)


message 14: by [deleted user] (new)

Its listed as disturbing because of how old fashioned it is that's why the King James bible is listed and not a book that just says bible on it or the story of Jesus


message 15: by Lance (new)

Lance Baker nice list


message 16: by [deleted user] (new)

Monkeypaw wrote: "nice list"

couldn't agree more with you :)


Devan, Sarcasm Expert The only book I was displeased with seeing on here was Go Ask Alice because well she was on drugs so there's not much to expect. Ok so drug addicts do act like Alice, but I didn't find it surprising. Maybe I don't find this book disturbing because I live in a city, but I could also be that maybe some people have forgotten a few things from highschool health class.


message 18: by Arne (new)

Arne No 'Blood Meridian'? In my opinion there are more disturbing books than the ones to be found in this list. At least 'Cows' is on it.


message 19: by Jackie (new)

Jackie Posek So much Paliniuk (or however you spell his name). Couldn't we just put all his works as one? They're all the same anyway. Nihilism bores me after awhile.


message 20: by Amanda (new)

Amanda what the french toast is the ENTIRE twilight series doing on here? Ugh these books are getting so annoying I think I want to sell my copies.


message 21: by Spooner113 (new)

Spooner113 The Twilight Series. Needs.To.Get.off.This.List.


message 22: by Xenophon (new)

Xenophon Hendrix I've noticed that some Twilight fans have become unusually irrational and believe that their opinions about the quality of their favorite should carry more weight than the opinions of others. They even appear to be worse than Harry Potter fans in that way.


message 23: by Chris (new)

Chris Johnson American Psycho, Sections of Toni Morrison "Beloved", Dracula Bram Stoker, and Schindler's List.


message 24: by Storm (new)

Storm American Psycho is f***** brilliant!!!!


message 25: by Chase (new)

Chase Erin wrote: "I think that it is ridiculous and completely sacrilegious that someone would put the bible on this list! It doesn't matter if you do not agree with their religion or not things like this are just rude"

the description is most DISTURBING books ever written. And I gotta say the bible definitely belongs up there. This isn't about sacrilege. I mean, Have you ever read it? Genuinely disturbing.

On a loosely related sidenote: Not that I give two shits what people say about the Bible, There are some pretty awesome books that are extremely disturbing. Though the bible isn't one.


message 26: by Chase (new)

Chase Xenophon wrote: "I've noticed that some Twilight fans have become unusually irrational and believe that their opinions about the quality of their favorite should carry more weight than the opinions of others. They..."

Amen to that. I mean I definitely liked them but even I can admit that it was A: diturbing, B: cliched, C: Very sappy, and D: many other things causing others to dislike it (not the least of which being annoying and overrated).


message 27: by Kevin (new)

Kevin Loader Hi.I dont understand why American Psycho is number 1.I found less than zero to be far more disturbing.


message 28: by Ellie (new)

Ellie I found In the Cut by Susanna Moore to be deeply disturbing. It's been years since I read it and it continues to haunt me.


message 29: by Carla (new)

Carla Amanda Pearl wrote: "what the french toast is the ENTIRE twilight series doing on here? Ugh these books are getting so annoying I think I want to sell my copies."

HaHa! I liked the series but wouldn't call them disturbing.


message 30: by Carla (new)

Carla Helena wrote: "Erin wrote: "I think that it is ridiculous and completely sacrilegious that someone would put the bible on this list! It doesn't matter if you do not agree with their religion or not things like th..."

Thankfully, being sacrilegious is a choice.


message 31: by Ellie (last edited Apr 12, 2011 07:43AM) (new)

Ellie I would agree that Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West is a disturbing book.

I think (as a Christian) the Bible should be disturbing-it should make people stop & think about their lives & maybe question everything they thought they knew!

Disturbing doesn't have to mean "bad" or "gross." That which disturbs water makes it move.

The Bible should move us to change.


message 32: by Amanda (new)

Amanda How is twilight disturbing? More annoying than anything.


message 33: by louise (new)

louise "Of Mice and Men"? That never seemed disturbing to me.


message 34: by Lulu (new)

Lulu Amanda wrote: "How is twilight disturbing? More annoying than anything."

Possibly it is disturbing that it is so popular?



I think it says a lot about how inaccurate this list is by the fact The End of Alice is #38. Or perhaps just means that more people should read it.


message 35: by Carla (new)

Carla Lulu, prompted by your comment, I have started reading The End of Alice and YES! It is actually the most disturbing book I have ever read. It is disturbing in ways I never imagined possible.


message 36: by Shacoria (new)

Shacoria I actually found Animal Farm to be somewhat humorous and not disturbing at all. Living Dead Girl was very disturbing.


message 37: by Storm (new)

Storm I agree with what some of you are saying, American Psycho was not as disturbing as it was shocking; though I deeply enjoyed it. I'm actually starting to read "In The Cut" and putting off Anna Karenina lol.


message 38: by [deleted user] (new)

I don't see why some of the dystopian novels are on here. Disturbing? Not really... well, I suppose I can see where some people are coming from with most of them, but really, they aren't that bad. Now, the ones that definitely DO NOT BELONG is the Twilight saga.


message 39: by Jessie (new)

Jessie Why is The Hunger Games on here?


message 40: by Emy (new)

Emy The book I found the most disturbing is one that people have rarely heard of, so I thought I'd share it here for fans of the genre who might be interested:
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories That Scared Even Me
by Alfred Hitchcock


Lἕè   ƐӜӞ    ♥ finding it very disturbing that twilight books make it onto every f######g list available on good reads. i liked the books but come on!


message 42: by Storm (new)

Storm Ellie wrote: "I found In the Cut by Susanna Moore to be deeply disturbing. It's been years since I read it and it continues to haunt me."

i read it and i felt it was pretty weaksauce. still entertaining, but nothing i have read has disturbed me yet.


message 43: by Carla (new)

Carla Storm - have you read The End of Alice?


message 44: by Lulu (new)

Lulu Clawde wrote: "Storm - have you read The End of Alice?"

Haha, you jumped in just before I could! Exactly what I was going to say - together, we'll up it's popularity as a truly disturbing book, clearly!


message 45: by Storm (new)

Storm Lulu wrote: "Clawde wrote: "Storm - have you read The End of Alice?"

Haha, you jumped in just before I could! Exactly what I was going to say - together, we'll up it's popularity as a truly disturbing book, cl..."



Clawde and Lulu, no i havent even heard of it, but i will definitely check it out and add it to my list to-read. I have 3 library books to get through atm but i'll read it eventually.

Thanks!!


message 46: by Brandon (new)

Brandon Jessi wrote: "Also, I can't believe The Girl Next Door was not on this list until I just voted it on."

I agree. By far my top vote for most disturbing book. The things they do ti her are just wrong, man.


message 47: by Teresa (new)

Teresa Some of these books are disturbing in a good way...they make you think. Others are just sick. I could not finish Dave Pelzer's book.


message 48: by Gabriel (last edited Feb 06, 2012 10:36AM) (new)

Gabriel Spooner113 wrote: "The Twilight Series. Needs.To.Get.off.This.List."

Twilight seems to be on almost every list here on Goodreads. Apparently, the Twihards have infiltrated our ranks.


message 49: by Shawnthered (new)

Shawnthered The Twilight series is disturbing only because of it's popularity. The Hunger Games? Come on. Try Babi Yar or the White Hotel. Disgrace or hell, even Perfume. The Hunger Games is NOT disturbing. It's a kids book.


message 50: by Shawnthered (new)

Shawnthered Mein Kampf anyone?


« previous 1 3 4 5 6
back to top



Related News

Those with a serious book-reading habit can tell you: Sometimes, you’re in a dark and moody place and you just want a dark and moody...

Anyone can add books to this list.