The reason that horror is your favorite > Likes and Comments

The one story or novel that made horror your favorite genre. At the Mountains of Madness by HP Lovecraft was mine.

Magic Cottage by James Herbert. This book was one of my first Horror novels and since reading it I never looked back. Been reading horror regularly since I was a teenage because of how much I enjoyed this book.

The Mountains of Madness was the first horror novel I can remember reading (3rd grade), but I was a fantasy/sci-fi fan until high school. That was when I read The Shining and I became a fan of the horror genre. I don't read as much horror as I used to, but I still look upon it as my favorite genre.

Graham Masterton's The Manitou. an X-ray-deformed ancient Native American medicine man returns on a girl's back, butchers an elevator of cops, and unleashes demons in a hospital -- how could an eleven year old not get hooked?

Perhaps not "horror" in the truest sense, but "The Hound of The Baskervilles" was a turning point for me as a ten year-old. Then it was on to Robert Bloch's "Psycho" (he can do no wrong!)and his wonderful short stories.

About 15 years ago I wanted a scary book to read around Halloween and came across Summer of Night by Dan Simmons. This book showed me a light scare could be a fun thing so I started searching out more horror and found I liked it.

The first book I ever read on my own at 4 years of age.



I've been hooked on horror ever since. Stephen King's IT was my first adult horror novel (read at age 9), and that cemented horror as my favorite genre for life.

HaHa mine was The Monster at the End of this Book

Tom wrote: "HaHa mine was The Monster at the End of this Book"

lol, good stuff. That reminds me of another childhood favorite:



I've always felt more attracted and more interested in a story with a spooky vibe.

Reading all the replies reminds to say that magic cottage was actual my first adult horror novel as before I use to goosebumps to start with then I moved on to point horror. My favourite of point horror was horrorscope which borrowed from the school library. Suppose with hindsight these naturally led me enjoy horror as a genre when I was older :-)

My love for horror began when I started reading Stephen King.

For me, it was a movie I saw when I was 8 years old -- I Saw What You Did. There's a moment in that movie that I was scared out of my gourd. And I liked that adrenaline rush.

I went from there to the old pulp comics -- Vaults of Horror, Terrors from the Crypt, Eerie, Vampirella, etc.

I used to go to all the different library branches to get books of short stories on ghosts, goblins, witches, whatever. I kept track of all the stories I'd read, since many were in multiple books.

Then, Night of the Living Dead got me hooked on the new definition of zombie, although it was just a small step from Last Man on Earth.

For me it was definitely a Stephen King book, probably The Stand, which I read while home sick a couple of days sometime in my middle school years.

My introduction to horror involved hearing my uncle tell stories from the old radio shows like "Inner Sanctum" and "Lights Out" by flashlight when I was around 12.

My first horror reads were and Algernon Blackwood's THE WILLOWS.

When I was a kid, my father and uncle were always telling me and my five siblings and seven cousins scary stories, local lore, tales of war, and the haunted streets in our home town. I loved it. It felt like it was something of our own.

As far as the written word, when I was eight-years-old, I happened upon my older brother's copy of (though Goodreads does not seem to have listed the precise edition I read) and I devoured it. I was somewhere in The Black Cat when I fell in love.

As far as I remember I've always loved horror movies, and from movies I moved later to books. But, when I was younger I started with Goosebumps, they were pretty cool.

Many decades ago a next door neighbor used to tell the local kids a fantastic ghost story that kept us enthralled and awake all night (he even had the "sound effects" down pat.)
It was years later that I realized that he was re-telling the great film "The Uninvited" almost word-for-word. Still, it had its effect.
It was from this point that I started reading collections such as Alfred Hitchcock's "Haunted Houseful" and "Ghostly Gallery".

That's a tough question. I would have to say that it was Stephen King's Gerald's Game, mostly because it was my first. Before than I was Fantasy junkie, Terry Brooks mostly.

Scott wrote: "Graham Masterton's The Manitou. an X-ray-deformed ancient Native American medicine man returns on a girl's back, butchers an elevator of cops, and unleashes demons in a hospital -- how could an ele..."

Haha, pretty much same for me :)

Hello everyone in Victoria and new to goodreads I'm looking to make friends to share recommendations and comments ect please feel free o add me x

Probably something by Poe, but I was really young when I was turned on to horror, so I don't particularly remember.

My favorite book before I started school was The Haunted Mansion: Read Along. After I stated school, I really enjoyed reading 13 Ghostly Tales.

My favorite animated short movie (before I started school) was Disney's Legend Of Sleepy Hollow.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051850/?...

Hi Victoria.

Horror is my favorite genre primarily for the following three reasons: 1. it helps me deal with my anxiety and depression, 2. it's a phycological purge, and 3. It's realistic (to an extent).

I need a story where the character(s) are dealing with something more difficult than I am dealing with. That perspective helps me to shift focus. No matter what I am dealing with it’s not as terrible as facing off against hordes of the undead (for example). I can also turn off or put down the story if I decide to, which gives me control over the horror when I can’t do that with my real-life circumstances.

According to Aristotle, horror stories allow people to purge negative feelings and emotions in a socially acceptable way. Horror also appeals to the sensation-seeking part of the brain.

We live in a scary world. Maybe zombies (for example) aren’t real, but they represent real horrors. And for those of us who are not easily fooled, horror provides a convincing escapism.

Hayley, I can totally relate. Especially with "control". If I don't want the horror anymore, just shut the book! Im glad Im not the only one that feels this way!

I love it so much, I find myself contemplating it from time to time and what I think is, I just came in this way! It's my preference! As a kid I was terrified , had nightmares, but totally compelled to keep reading and watching. Still reading and watching!

The reason I love horror is because it's one of the most popular genres, the essence of what makes it so good is the scare and fear factors and it's just really interesting in all forms. Whether it's books, movies, shows, podcasts, etc its all good when it comes to horror.

I grew up with it, as long as i could remember. My father is a huge lover of horror and it probably rubbed off on me.I remember being 6 or 7 and bringing home ghost stories and stories of the occult from the library (my Mom used to freak) to read them and scare my self. When I was in my late teens me and my dad used to swap the horror novels we were reading then have conversations about them afterwards it was nice bonding moments for us I guess ( I do that with my wife now as she is a huge horror lover as well). I find reading horror cathartic, and I love a good story and scary one at that. I mean Nothing beats reading a horror novel in a thunder storm in the evening in bed with the window open and only the side light on.

I find it oddly cathartic. I've been reading it for years but after Iraq and Afghanistan it's been a way for me to reach an emotional release tbh. I love to write and read something that makes my heart pump and blood flow. I do read many other genres but my preference is the intense craziness that controls my fear or I guess my response to it!

Oh my first was Interview With the Vampire but Pet Semetary was the hook that got me

As a child it was the Goosebumps books and the scary stories my dad would tell me. I read quite widely but always enjoy coming back to Horror for an exciting read.

Before my teachers got around to Poe, whose stories cemented my enjoyment of the macabre, one of them assigned Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game." Well, that was it.

For me it was Goosebumps. I had issues with reading comprehension in school but I saw Goosebumps books, probably at a scholastic book fair, and picked them up and read them. They showed me reading could be fun and I could get it. I'm not sure which one I started with exactly.

I also watched horror movies my older stepsisters would watch. The original IT, Poltergeist...those are the ones I remember. I absolutely loved them even though I was a young child and probably shouldn't have been watching them lol. I also caught some episodes of Goosebumps which would have been more age-appropriate lol.

I've never really analysed why horror is my favorite, it just is. I did read a study where apparently horror is good for people with anxiety issues, like myself. It trains the brain to be able to handle it better because you know the movie/book is fictional, you're not in any actual danger. I have no idea if that's why I love horror or not but it did make me think.

I read widely and love many genres but horror is where it all started for me and it will always have a special place in my heart.

Love supernatural horror movies and books, and used to sneak in the old horror comics without my Mum knowing when I was young(er). Supernatural has always fascinated me - it's the unknown, the boogeyman under the bed, the nail-biting, the shivers, the delighted dread - it's hard to describe. I just love it.

Jess wrote: "As a child it was the Goosebumps books and the scary stories my dad would tell me. I read quite widely but always enjoy coming back to Horror for an exciting read."

I loved the Goosebumps series as a kid.

Well.... I grew up with horror being an every day thing, so it was always more odd when there wasn't any horror!

First, I was born and raised in New Orleans where as a kid I hung out in the ancient cemetery near by and really It's hard not to find the beauty in creepy stuff in that city. My house was over 100 years old, along with just about everything there, if not older. My house was defiantly haunted, again, like basically everything in that city. Wonderful spooky and creepy is everywhere in New Orleans. (Anne Rice lived just down the street from where my house was and on her porch she used to have this life size werewolf made of cement and realistically painted. it was epic. I stared longingly at it every time we passed it!). The supernatural and the occult is everywhere down there and it was hard not for it to be a part of your life. At least for me it was. I found it fascinating and beautiful. Never scary.

Second, my b-day is halloween, so it was a holiday that my family always celebrated the way most people celebrate christmas!

3rd, my mom grew up reading EC horror comics and going to the creature features and b-movies of the 50s, and she raised me on those things as well. My bed time stories where those comics of vampire mermaids or man eating slime, or as a family event we would listen to a Stephen King audio book together. My first memory of a movie was watching night of the living dead somewhere under the age of 5 and that was also when I made my first zombie survival plan. I was raised on old Vincent Price and movies like Them or the original The Thing. I was reading King before I was even out of grade school. My mom used to work haunted houses in Oct. and I always went with and hung out with all the cool stuff in the haunted house when it was before or after it opened or closed. My dad liked the new horror. We watched all kinds of 80s b-movies as soon as they came out on VHS. The Stuff, Basket Case, Frogs, Night of the Lepus, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and so on.

I was just born with horror in my veins. It's what I've always known and I have always loved it. I was never uncomfortable or scared by it. Not even when I was little.

And because I grew up like I was in the Adams family, it has actually had the opposite effect on me. I'm perfectly fine with having a real skull in the china cabinet, but white picket fences, smiling, waving neighbors, little suburban houses that all look cheerfully normal and the same..... that shit is CREEPY AF. D: Do not like it. It's like freaking Stepford Wives or something.

Eric wrote: " I find reading horror cathartic, and I love a good story and scary one at that. I mean Nothing beats reading a horror novel in a thunder storm in the evening in bed with the window open and only the side light on".

Oh, this is SO true. Nice imagery!

I grew up with an older brother and sister who loved all things horror. Now that I think about it, most of my childhood memories involve the theme! We'd watch all kinds of tv and movies, then discuss them to no end. Our favorite was watching Chiller Theatre on NY channel 11 on Saturday nights. And those wonderful made-for-tv movies like "The House That Wouldn't Die and "Crowhaven Farm" and "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" (My earliest TV recollections also include watching Scooby Do on Saturday mornings with my bowl of Count Chocula and Frankenberry.) And I loved playing the board game Which Witch. And my father taking me up to the neighborhood market where I could pick out a comic book...oh, such wonderful memories!

My absolute favorite film as a kid was Hound of the Baskervilles. Still to this day, I most enjoy reading horror books filled with atmosphere and a sense of dread.

I loved the times spent with my brother listening to the radio: Mystery Theater with E.G. Marshall (what a perfect voice!) and Coast to Coast, and when my brother would read horror stories to me. (Poe, Lovecraft) and from strangely enough! (anyone remember that one?!). As far as reading myself, I remember my first horror were short stories by Poe.

I love horror because it is not boring and there are many books that I do find boring. Tame and lame is just not my thing. ;D

It’s hard to identify exactly where my love of horror began, but it was probably in the kids/teen section of the library with the Dark Forces book series, followed closely by the series Twilight: Where Darkness Begins. Then it was on to Christopher Pike and R L Stine’s Fear Street and other Point Horror books. Nowadays Stephen King is my favorite author but I enjoy a wide variety of horror.

I remember Stephen King being my favorite from Day 1, way back in the late seventies (I know, showing my age :)

I love horror. I enjoy the type of stories that give you a visceral response, stories that make your face reflexively grimace or scowl, the type of stories that stick in your head for days AFTER you're finished with them.

Joshua wrote: "Oh my first was Interview With the Vampire but Pet Semetary was the hook that got me"

Pet Semetary is the one that got me as well.

The original "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark."

I couldn't explain why I found it so fascinating. I just kept reading. When that ran out, I found Poe and a few YA novels. Found Lovecraft from there...and off in the head I became!

It was Zoltan Hound of Dracula and the old Dracula film with Bela Lugosi that had me hooked.

Then I watched The Exorcist aged 11 which is still my favourite film of all time. I couldn't sleep for months but the adrenaline rush it gave me over and over again was fantastic.

Ever since then I mainly read and watched horror as I love being scared!

Alissa wrote: "The one story or novel that made horror your favorite genre. At the Mountains of Madness by HP Lovecraft was mine."

In answer to the reason: Because horror taps into that "fight or flight" that is innate.

The first horror novel was Carrie. Being a bullied teen, depressed, an only child, etc., etc.; the novel tapped into all those emotions and gave me payback at the same time. I was hooked from that point on. Always trying to up the ante.

Lucky me, I grew up in a home full of books, luckier still, some of those books just happened to be horror. I found a paperback copy of Cujo in my brothers room and devoured it in a day. My parents had some type of book subscription at that time and would get current best sellers delivered once a month. When I saw "It" laying on the living room table I think I was the first to snatch it up. That was the book that made me fall in love with horror and Stephen's writing in particular.

I grew up at the tail end of the Golden Age of Television....I used to watch "Twilight Zone" and "Outer Limits".....the "Alfred Hitchcock" program, with its theme, and Aflie walking into his silhouette....scared the beejsus out of me...

Started reading the various Hitchcock anthologies.....started reading ghost and horror stories, and the rest is history...

Jeff McIntosh

Alondra wrote: "Alissa wrote: "The one story or novel that made horror your favorite genre. At the Mountains of Madness by HP Lovecraft was mine."

In answer to the reason: Because horror taps into that "fight or ..."

Very good point Alondra. We live in the safest time known to human history. Real, visceral threats to life no longer lurk just beyond your vision, every minute of every day. We have conquered most of the dangers which infest Earth.

(Except those inside us, but I digress...)

Any tickling of those base instincts, the primeval whispers ever-lurking within our thoughts, stirs them eagerly to life again. The animal must feed.

Sorry if that derailed the thread a bit.

I became hooked on the horror genre after reading Charlie Higson's 'The Enemy' series. That was when I discovered my love for post-apocalyptic stories (especially regarding zombies).