I’m just back from our family vacation, which was a trip to Disney World. As I’m sure you know, Disney World is located in Florida, which is much warmer than the Midwest even in winter, and now that it’s June, the heat and humidity are practically unbearable. Did I mention there’s not much shade at Disney World?

Even with my mistrust of Disney in general, I will say we had a good time. Of course, it’s a lot easier to look back on it and say that now, when I’m no longer dragging two sweaty kids through 98 degree heat only to find that the Haunted Mansion is ‘temporarily unavailable’. It is a relief to be back in cooler temperatures (relatively speaking– it was in the high 80s here yesterday). When it’s this hot, all you can do is flop down with a good book. Looking for chills? Here’s a list of books that take place at least in part in cold or frozen climates. I can’t guarantee quality or availability, but you should find a title here that will give you the shivers.

Cool Reads for Summer Heat: Chilling Tales of Horror

 

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe

The Wendigo by Algernon Blackwood

Lovecraft Unbound edited by Ellen Datlow

Dead of Winter by Brian Moreland

Wood by Robert Dunbar

The White Faced Bear by R. Scott McCoy

The Perils and Dangers Of This Night by Stephen Gregory

A Winter Haunting by Dan Simmons

December by Phil Rickman

The Well by Jack Cady

Ghost Story by Peter Straub

Dead White by Alan Ryan

The Island by T.M. Wright

30 Days of Night: Rumors of the Undead

30 Days of Night: Immortal Remains

30 Days of Night: Eternal Damnation

Thing from Another World: Climate of Fear by Chuck Pfarrer

The Shining by Stephen King

Misery by Stephen King

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Harbor by John Ajvide Lindqvist

The Final Winter by Iain Rob Wright

Blizzard by Michael C. Norton

Sun Bleached Winter by D. Robert Grixti

White and Other Tales of Ruin by Tim Lebbon

Midsummer by Matthew Costello

Icebound by Dean Koontz

The Terror by Dan Simmons

Blood and Ice by Robert Masello

Who Goes There? by John Campbell

The Ice Limit by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Terminal Freeze by Lincoln Child

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

Carnivore by Leigh Wright

Winter Wake by Rick Hautala

White by Tim Lebbon

Midnight Sun by Ramsey Campbell

Ice by Anna Kavan

Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon

Icefire by Robert C. Wilson

The Ice King by Michael Scott Rohan

Frankenstein: The Legacy by Christopher Schildt

Underworld by Mike Farren

Deep Current by Benjamin Miller

Cold Skin by Albert Sanchez Pinol

Hive by Tim Curran

Deadfreeze by Anthony Giangregorio

Blood Farm by Sam Siciliano