Shelf Analysis: Covers that freak me out

A word of warning.  This post is going to be completely and utterly devoted to book covers that freak me out.  Scary, scary covers that make me want to hide under my blanket.

I’ve noticed that a few UF/YA covers have taken a bit of an edge to them.  Sure, there are still lots of pretty guys and kick-ass girls, but there are more and more that seem to have use stills from horror films as their cover images.  Perhaps we’ve just gotten darker and love the goosebumps when get when we see a scary book cover.

 

0.4 by Mike A. Lancaster
Eep!  There are wires plugged into his veins.  Seriously, icky icky icky.  Reminds me of that scene in the Matrix when Neo wakes up covered in goo.  Also, the cover reminds me a little of tentacles.  Scary stuff.

The House of Dead Maids by Clare B. Dunkle
OMG those eyes!  I really can’t look at this one too long without feeling like the girl is acccusing me personally.  Talk about wanting to run and hide.

 

The Evil Within by Nancy Holder

Another nightmarish girl on another nightmarish cover.  This practically exudes The Exorisist!
The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
The Replacement cover is probably the scariest on here. This is so effective at unsettling people because it deals in binary oppositions – the safety and comfort of a baby carriage vs. the danger and cruelty of sharp instruments.  Add to that the spooky fog and dead tree: you’ve got the scariest cover known to man.  Whoever made this thing was a disturbed genius, and the UK publishers must have been out of their mind when they replaced it with the blah-cover they’re using now (albeit, less likely to make people want to cry when they see at Waterstones).

 

Rot & Ruin and Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry
I adore these covers – at least in the sense that they seriously freak me out.  They both have that edge to them that screams horror film to me.

So, which is your favourite (i.e. which ones make you want to hide under the covers!)?  Or better yet, have I missed out any truly spooky ones from my list?