X-Files fans rejoice! Mulder and Scully have returned. But if spending every Sunday night in the X-Files isn’t enough paranormal extraterrestrial joy for you, we have eight books for X-Files fans that will satisfy the show’s most hardcore fan base. Yes, even those who dress up as Mulder and Scully every Halloween. We see you.
Whether you’re a fan of The X-Files mythology (Was Mulder’s sister really abducted by aliens? Is the U.S. government in on a plan to colonize Earth with an alien species?) or the stand alone episodes involving all things paranormal (who can forget the terrifying Mrs. Paddock?), one thing is certain: The X-Files have been re-opened. Finally, maybe Mulder and Scully can get it together and put an end to the sexual tension that has plagued fans since the first episode aired in 1993. Fingers crossed.
A Mind to Kill
When a stock trader is murdered by his wife in broad daylight, the event has an office full of eyewitnesses. Imagine their surprise when the wife claims it wasn’t her who murdered her husband, but his first-wife who she claims possessed her body to take revenge on her unfaithful husband. Is she lying or in need of a serious exorcism? Sounds like a case for Mulder and Scully.
House of Leaves
This terrifying maze of a novel tells the story of family haunted by their house—a house that is larger in actuality than it appears on the outside, filled with noises and black holes they can’t explain. With embedded “found footage” like the reports of the police and a paranormal investigator, you could easily find an entry for The House of Leaves in The X-Files.
The Thin Place
Supposedly the membrane between the world of the living and dead, “the thin place” finds itself breeched by a young teenage girl in a close-knit New England town who discovers she has the power to resurrect the dead. And we thought going to high school was hard enough. Does this newfound talent come from a place of good or evil? You’ll have to read to find out. (Side note: Nearly all of Kathryn Davis’ novels come highly recommended for those interested in the supernatural.)
Horror Show
For those who love urban legend, Horror Show is a delightful romp through Old Hollywood and all its spectral charms. During an interview with a cult Horror movie director, a journalist finds himself transported through time to relive all the rumors surrounding his films—even the idea that the use of real corpses may have cursed the director forever.
Magic for Beginners
If the more light-hearted, dark humor episodes of The X-Files are your cup of tea, try the work of Kelly Link on for size. Magic for Beginners, her collection of stories includes the magical realism of a hoard of inexplicably invading rabbits, Zombies working in a convenience store, and a group of teenagers who find their lives in parallel with a fantasy TV series.
Incubus
This novel is about a small Maine town that finds itself in the midst of a disaster of biblical proportions—there’s a heat wave, farms fail, deformed animals are born, and men lose all interest in sexual congress—oh, the horror. Narrated by the preacher’s wife Cora, this novel would appeal to those fascinated by paranormal events of a religious nature.
11/22/63
If the government conspiracy is what interests you about The X-Files, like the grassy knoll and the smoking man, go right to Stephen King’s 11/22/63 which tells the story of a man who discovers a portal back in time and decides to go back to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy. As you can imagine, it’s not that simple to alter the flow of time and history.
The Haunting of Hill House
Shirley Jackson brings new meaning to the term “haunted house” in her classic 1959 horror novel. A psychologist brings a group to a supposedly haunted house in hopes of finding direct evidence of the supernatural. But it becomes terrifyingly obvious that at Hill House the doctor has gotten more supernatural than he—or any of the guests—had bargained for.
