Six of the best possession novels

Peter Rosch is the author of multiple dark fictions born from the various addictions he chased while living in New York City as an award-winning writer and creative director. He’s many years sober now but remains an addict’s addict. What the Dead Can Do is his debut novel.

[Q&A with Peter Rosch; My Book, The Movie: What The Dead Can Do]

Rosch grew up in the Southwest, lived in New York for nearly 20 years, and now resides midway between Austin and San Antonio in Wimberley, TX where he works as an author, freelance creative director and copywriter in advertising, and most importantly, full-time dad.

At CrimeReads Rosch tagged six favorite posession novels, stories that show how "we can be possessed by an idea or a relationship (with another human, with a substance, with a home, or even with religion and spirituality itself) that can lead us to act out in a demonic-possession way as well." One title on the list:

Paul Tremblay, A Head Full of Ghosts

Isn’t it surprising that we don’t already have a real-life version of the exorcism show from this book? At least not to my knowledge (go easy on me, I don’t believe in network TV anymore).

Read about another title on the list.

A Head Full of Ghosts is among Steph Auteri's top ten modern horror classics, Heather Gudenkauf's five mysteries and thrillers with a reality TV twist, Lee Kelly's eight fictional dinner parties gone wrong, and Wendy Webb's eight top modern gothic mysteries.

--Marshal Zeringue