Best Horror Novels
146 books |
245 voters
book data
454 ratings,
3.98
average rating, 101 reviews
(more data...)
edit
published
May 31st 2005
(first published 1989)
by Leisure Books
binding
Mass Market Paperback, 370 pages
isbn
0843955430
(isbn13: 9780843955439)
description
Features a 3,000 word Introduction by Stephen King!
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Next Best Boo...: Your Latest Splurge | 5984 | 6345 | 6 hours, 50 min ago | |
| Horror Aficionados : Your favorite book cover? | 64 | 77 | 18 days ago, 08:01AM | |
| Consensus: Most disturbing book ever? | 8 | 112 | 03/31/2009 02:41PM |
friend reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 689)
All ratings
|
5 stars (177)
|
4 stars (144)
|
3 stars (91)
|
2 stars (31)
|
1 star (11)
|
avg 3.98
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
This is one of the leanest, nastiest books I've ever read. I consume a good deal of horror fiction, but this one really took some fortitude to get through certain sequences. It tells a fictionalized account of the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens. Here's something from the wikipedia entry on the case:
Sylvia Marie Likens (January 3, 1949 - October 26, 1965) was tortured to death by Gertrude Baniszewski (née Van Fossan), her children, and other children from their neighborhood. Her...more
Sylvia Marie Likens (January 3, 1949 - October 26, 1965) was tortured to death by Gertrude Baniszewski (née Van Fossan), her children, and other children from their neighborhood. Her...more
Like this review?
yes
(4 people liked it)
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
Rating this book is one of the most difficult ratings I've done. On one hand, this is an extremely well written book. The characters feel real, you care about the ones you are supposed to care about, and genuinely loath those you aren't. The scenes are set well and it is very clear as to what is happening. Your mind will have no trouble picturing exactly what is transpiring, and that is precisely why this book is so hard to rate.
You don't want to picture what transpires in this book...more
You don't want to picture what transpires in this book...more
Like this review?
yes
(3 people liked it)
add a comment
Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
eh... no one. Ted Bundy, maybe?
Why is it always so hard to admit that I like Stephen King? (You see that? Right there! Even then, when I did kind of admit it, I made sure to censor myself, and under-exaggerate how I really feel...)
All right, fine. I love Stephen King. And I promise to spare you any rantings and ravings about how I think he's one of the most underrated writers of our time (nevermind that he's the bestselling novelist in the world), because this is not his book. I'll save it for "The Stan...more
All right, fine. I love Stephen King. And I promise to spare you any rantings and ravings about how I think he's one of the most underrated writers of our time (nevermind that he's the bestselling novelist in the world), because this is not his book. I'll save it for "The Stan...more
Like this review?
yes
(4 people liked it)
2 comments
In reviewing "American Psycho," all the other reviews from folks who said they wished the book did not exist struck a chord within me. AP never affected me that strongly, but I knew there was a book I felt that way about...oh yes!!! GIRL NEXT DOOR.
I wish this book did not exist. I wish all the people associated with its publishing had never been born. I almost considered ending my friendship with the guy who lent it to me just because I did not want to know a person who own...more
I wish this book did not exist. I wish all the people associated with its publishing had never been born. I almost considered ending my friendship with the guy who lent it to me just because I did not want to know a person who own...more
Like this review?
yes
(2 people liked it)
add a comment
Read in July, 2008
recommended to Patrick by:
Stephen King
Finally something that lives up to the hype! This book has a reputation as being one of the most disturbing things ever and did not disappoint. Ketchum begins by expertly crafting the idyllic world of 1950's suburbia as seen through the eyes of the white, preteen boy. All of the horrific scenes throughout the book only have their impact because of how authentic of a world he creates initially, the way young boys think, talk, and act. The story is about two sisters who lose their parents in a...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in August, 2005
Behold, the holy grail of horror novels is back in print. The Girl Next Door has been on my to-read list since forever, but good luck finding a battered paperback on Ebay for less than $60.
Well, May 2005 it was re-issued. And good thing too. Because this is not a $60 read. The Girl Next Door has gained infamy over the Internet as being the one novel that, no matter how prepared you are for it, it will still shock you.
The violence in this novel is well over the top. And the storyline ...more
Well, May 2005 it was re-issued. And good thing too. Because this is not a $60 read. The Girl Next Door has gained infamy over the Internet as being the one novel that, no matter how prepared you are for it, it will still shock you.
The violence in this novel is well over the top. And the storyline ...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
About 3/4 of the way through...
I have read a lot of disturbing books, this is definitely one of the most disturbing, it almost makes you feel guilty by even reading it. Wonderfully written & grips you the entire way, even though you are distraught through every page.
Ok I'm finished now. This book was amazingly captivating & wonderfully written, I felt like I was there watching it all. That said, this is officially the MOST disburbing book I have ever read.
I am still...more
I have read a lot of disturbing books, this is definitely one of the most disturbing, it almost makes you feel guilty by even reading it. Wonderfully written & grips you the entire way, even though you are distraught through every page.
Ok I'm finished now. This book was amazingly captivating & wonderfully written, I felt like I was there watching it all. That said, this is officially the MOST disburbing book I have ever read.
I am still...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
1 comment
This may be the saddest, most depressing book I've ever read. It reminds me of films like The Grey Zone or Grave of the Fireflies, that are masterfully crafted and emotionally powerful, but so oppressively grim that I hesitate to recommend it.
It's a story about the imprisonment and torture of a young girl by the family she's living with, as told from the point of view of a friend who was forced to witness and participate in the torture. I'm going to spoil the ending because I think i...more
It's a story about the imprisonment and torture of a young girl by the family she's living with, as told from the point of view of a friend who was forced to witness and participate in the torture. I'm going to spoil the ending because I think i...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
horror fans
I've been reading books since I was five years old. I'm 35 now. And during my thirty year-long love affair with books, none have been as sadistic and horrifyingly grim as this one.
Imagine a story that reads like "To Kill A Mockingbird", except with heaping amounts of child abuse and torture.
"The Girl Next Door" grabbed me by the guts and made me watch the hideousness between its covers, much like its protagonist was forced to watch the brutal degradati...more
Imagine a story that reads like "To Kill A Mockingbird", except with heaping amounts of child abuse and torture.
"The Girl Next Door" grabbed me by the guts and made me watch the hideousness between its covers, much like its protagonist was forced to watch the brutal degradati...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in June, 2007
I read this on a camping trip this summer and am still, to this day, not sure how I feel about it.
It is NOTHING of what I expected it to be. And I just read the other day that someone is picking up the rights to turn it into a movie. It's a little disturbing.
I feel like if I said it was a good book then I would be an extremely dirty and bad person. I want to say it was bad but it was written well and not cheesy or corny or anything of that nature.
I'm confused...
It is NOTHING of what I expected it to be. And I just read the other day that someone is picking up the rights to turn it into a movie. It's a little disturbing.
I feel like if I said it was a good book then I would be an extremely dirty and bad person. I want to say it was bad but it was written well and not cheesy or corny or anything of that nature.
I'm confused...
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
3 comments
This was quite possibly one of the most vile and disturbing stories I've ever read. It's a testament to how well Ketchum writes that I didn't simply put it down. I felt a little better after reading the note from the author at the end of the book -- apparently he had taken parts of a true life story he'd read about and made a fictional story from it. On one hand, I'm glad this sick story wasn't the invention of someone for entertainment purposes. On the other hand, it makes me question human...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2007
Given the subject matter, the story is told as tastefully and respectfully as I think it ever could be. Oddly enough, the true case this story was based on, is more disturbing than this book, and that says a LOT. Any closer to reality, it would be un-readable... I've been fascinated several times now with Ketchum's ability to really get inside the heads of his villains, this book is no exception.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
1 comment
Read in July, 2004
recommends it for:
Anybody that can handle it
Not much really needs to be said about this book that other's have not already said over and over. It is simply put the most disturbing book I have ever read and it bothered me for a long time. Nobody can write as simple as Jack Ketchum and still hold your attention. For a five start book and one of my favorites ever, I will probably never read it again, once was enough but it was worth the ride.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in September, 2008
This book had me feeling like I did when I read Stephen King's novella, The Body, when I was a teen. Ketchum places readers in a bucolic 1950s small-town setting, where the doors are always open and unlocked and how adults treat children is considered private business. It's this sense of privacy and adult superiority over children where the evil and horror is cultivated within TGND.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
My absolute favorite book, ever! This book is not for the faint of heart. It has many scenes that are offensive and sometimes even disgusting. Ketchum writes horror books that portray how evil humans can be. Anyone who loves horror and has a strong stomach should read this book. But beware, it stays with you long after you finish it
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
4 comments
Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
no one
A friend was talking about this book over dinner and saying how much he liked the writing style as well as the book in general. I didn't see it. In fact, it was nothing more than graphic abuse and torture...written by a male, but about a female. So it felt more like some perverse fantasy than a real book. No more books by this guy. Ugh!
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
4 comments
This book was well written, but I could barely bring myself to get through it. I'm a chicken when it comes to watching or reading about people being physically, mentally and verbally abused, and no one stepping in to stop it. What makes it worse is that this book is based on a true story.
The ending made gave me a tiny sense of satisfaction.
The ending made gave me a tiny sense of satisfaction.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
2 comments
Read in February, 2009
First, I feel a need to say that the violence in the book, while extreme, is not the reason for the low rating. I've read much, much worse (Hogg by Samuel Delaney), and I can deal with it. What I take issue with here is the amateurish writing, the frustratingly stupid narrator, and the predictable plot.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
2 comments
By the time I reached the epilogue, I was shaking and crying uncontrollably - that's how strong this book impacted on me. I don't think I've ever had such a strong reaction to a novel. Probably not best to read if you want to continue wearing your rose-coloured glasses. But, my God, I'm so glad I read this.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
A decent book, but I was confounded throughout most of it due to its distinct similarity to the film An American Crime, which is based on a true story. The details were virtually identical. This irritated me, until I found out it was a literary adaption of the case. Someone should have told me sooner, because this huge, nagging suspicion that I had been here before sort of ruined the experience for me. It was written well for what it is & moved along at a nice pace. This is definitely an uncomfo...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment











































