Scare up some late nights with 10 recent novels that successfully merge scares and literary chops. All are rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the scariest/best.

"The Passage," by Justin Cronin, 2010, 784 pp.: Vicious vampires who act more like zombies are at the center of this bleak, post-apocalyptic tale, the first part of a planned trilogy. When a government experiment to create superhuman soldiers with death-row inmates goes horrifyingly wrong, it only takes days for the world as we know it to end. But -- flash-forward 100 years -- an innocent young girl and some scrappy survivors are trying to change the course of history. Yes, the elements of this best seller are nothing new, but Cronin's elegantly drawn characters and flesh-ripping, blood-dripping storytelling make it a must-read.

Scary chills: 5

Literary thrills: 4

"The Fall," by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, 2010, 308 pp.: If this high-tech vampire tale -- also part of a planned trilogy -- reads like a movie treatment . . . well, that's no surprise. It's co-penned by director Guillermo del Toro ("Hellboy," "Pan's Labyrinth") and author Chuck Hogan (who wrote "Prince of Thieves," basis for the Ben Affleck movie "The Town"). As in "The Passage," these post-apocalyptic vamps are more like flesh-eating zombies than vampires as we know them. Del Toro and Hogan have created a highly visual, brutal tale.

Scary chills: 4

Literary thrills: 2

"The Little Stranger," by Sarah Waters, 2009, 480 pp.: Twisty psychological drama? Brooding ghost story set in the shadows of decaying post-World War II England? Commentary on changing British society and the evils of war? Sarah Waters' 2009 Poe-ish page turner, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, is all of the above.

Scary chills: 4

Literary thrills: 5

"Drood," by Dan Simmons, 2009, 784 pp.: Is there a mutilated mass murderer haunting Charles Dickens and the British underworld? Is Dickens under the spell of an Egyptian occultist? All that's certain in this spooky, twisty tale is that narrators don't get any less reliable than Simmons' speaker, Dickens' real-life friend and collaborator (and opium addict) Wilkie Collins. "Drood" isn't scream-out-loud scary, but it's great campy fun that delves deep into the dark.

Scary chills: 3

Literary thrills: 5

"The Seance," by John Harwood, 2009, 336 pp.: Harwood's sinuous tale has all the elements of a great ghost story: a crumbling English manor house with a sad history, Victorian moralists, buried family secrets, unsolved murders, howling winds, mysterious men with unknown pasts, a plucky heroine not afraid to go down a dark hallway and, of course, the title s ance. He combines them all in a refreshingly uncliched, compelling and oh-so-surprising way.

Scary chills: 4

Literary thrills: 5

"A Dark Matter," Peter Straub, 2010, 397 pp.: What's scarier? Learning your demons are real or that they're in your head? Horror master Straub deftly deals with that central question in this very writerly tale published last winter. A drug-addled 1960s guru, child killers, forbidden memories unearthed by a novelist and marital secrets mix in this potent, often terrifying novel.

Scary chills: 5

Literary thrills: 4

"Under the Dome," by Stephen King, 2009, 1,074 pp.: As in many King books, the scariest animals in "Under the Dome" are the humans, who act in horrifying ways when a giant, impenetrable dome seals off a small Maine town from the world. A thrilling effort from the King of Horror -- though his 1982 vampire tale "Salem's Lot" still stands as the blood-soaked gold standard of modern horror.

Scary chills: 4

Literary thrills: 4

"Generation Loss," by Elizabeth Hand, 2007, 265 pp.: Though this story of a not-so-gracefully aging punk-rock photographer doesn't contain the usual supernatural elements of a Hand novel, it's achingly scary -- on more than one level. Down-and-out photographer Cass "Scary" Neary couldn't get much more out of control, until an assignment on an isolated Maine island leads to a chance at redemption -- and a run-in with some very scary types as she stumbles onto a horrible secret or two.

Scary chills: 4

Literary thrills: 4

"Horns," by Joe Hill, 2010, 370 pp.: Alternately funny, wry and terrifying, "Horns" is the story of a man who wakes up after a night of "doing terrible things" with horns growing from his head. Not only do they give him some creepy powers and cause those around him to lose their inhibitions; they also help him to investigate the brutal murder of the love of his life as this twisted, sometimes hilarious, absolutely inventive tale winds to its conclusion. (Think Hill looks a bit familiar on the jacket sleeve? He resembles his father: Stephen King. But his talent is all his own.)

Scary chills: 3

Literary thrills: 4

"Let the Right One In" (titled "Let Me In" in paperback), by John Ajvide Lindqvist, 2007, 480 pp.: Not one but two movie adaptations have been made of this creepy, gore-soaked Swedish teen vampire tale. Call it the anti-"Twilight," where humans and vampires do horrible -- really, really horrible -- things to one another. But love of a sort still blossoms between an abused boy and tween vampire girl.

Scary chills: 5

Literary thrills: 3