I want to read a really really scary book/story, any recommendations?

[Danielle The Book Huntress]

So far, Manchester House by Donald Allen Kirch, is pretty scary. I had to stop reading it last night, because I didn't want to have bad dreams when I went to sleep.

[Russell]

Try mine!

It's a great one called "Bumble Bee." Good reviews so far. Those who've read it say it scares the hell out of 'em, but they can't put it down.

Sample chapter and downloadable copy at www.jackofallpipes.com/kainebook.html

Try it, you'll like it!

[April]

I'm on the third one, it's pretty good so far, after Hell's Heroes, the last book in the series, he's coming with another book called The Thin Executioner

[Patrick]

I would like to suggest Williams Golding's Lord of the Flies. That book is scary with its subtle details and very beautifully written. Also Mark Danielski's as I mentioned earlier.

[Panda]

Wait till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn is a really creepy and quick book to read. Its about a family who moves into a church [the people before they had it built living quarters] that has a graveyard in the back yard and the snobby little step sister Heather talks to this goast named Helen and Helen drowns little girls into the Harper Pond and tries to get Heather to stay with her also but even though the other siblings don't like her they have to save her.

[C.]

Panda wrote: "Wait till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn is a really creepy and quick book to read. Its about a family who moves into a church [the people before they had it built living quarters] that has a gra..."

OMG,I love her books!I am another who wants Spooky/Creepy/Supernatural... but absolutely NOT real life horror,or profanity filled books with graphic sex and gruesome gore!

Would love to find more authors like Mary Downing Hahn.

[M.D.]

So nice to know that I'm not the only one who likes Supernatural horror but not real life horror.

[Rachel]

I'm reading Superstition at the moment and about half way through and it's getting pretty creepy. All about ouija boards and communicating with the other side.

[Carly]

IT by Stephen King (clowns creep me out, the clown in the story eats children and lives in the sewers)

Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker (the origins of pinhead, it's a short story so you could read it in one day)

[C.]

Really creeped me out!

[Rachel]

If you haven't read anything from James Herbert yet i would definitely read some of his books. Haunted is one of my favourites. The David Ash series are pretty creepy too.

[[deleted user]]

I would highly recommend anything by Sarah Rayne. Very enjoyable. Not "BOO" scary but more of a creeping dread. I'm currently reading Tower of Silence and it's a page turner!!

[Michael]

The Amityville Horror scared me half to death!

[Nesar]

My favorites are Pet Sematary, Salem's Lot, IT, The Shining, The Exorcist, and The Books of Blood.

Please also try my horror novel: DEMONS By N. N. TALUKDAR. The monsters in it are based on something I saw in a nightmare last year. Plus, I had a terrifying experience with sleep paralysis for months during 2003, so I incorporated that into the story (eg. the instances where people get possessed).

Kindle version: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UJGT6HI

It's the first English-language horror novel in Bangladesh. Daily Star Books, Bangladesh will publish a print version this month (June 2015).

Many thanks for your interest.

Nesar

[Werner]

Nesar, it's okay to mention your book on this thread if you think it's really, really scary. But a more practical way to publicize it might be to start a thread for it in the "Group Members Who Write/Publish" folder. That's designed to be a kind of clearinghouse where all members know to look for information about the work of our group's many authors. And best wishes for success with your writing!

[Nesar]

Thanks Werner. I do believe my book is really, really scary. It's not just the horrific things the monsters do in the story. It's the darkness inside ordinary people that can take over and make them do terrible things.

But thanks a lot for the suggestion and for wishing me success with my writing. I will start a thread for it in the "Group Members Who Write/Publish" folder.

Best,

Nesar

[Werner]

You're welcome, Nesar!

[Lisa]

Read Bird box it was really original and scary

[Denise]

I must really not scare easily. Some books listed here like Pet Sematary, The Shining, most Clive Barker stuff, are things I don't find scary at all.

I was hoping to get some good ideas for scary reads but none so far seem like it is up to the task. Not saying they're not good. Just not scary.

The only book, EVER, to have scared me (and I mean really scary, couldn't read it at night) is Jay Anson's book The Amityville Horror. Totally creepifying! That should do it for you. I didn't even keep a copy of the book in the house after I'd read it!

Clare McNally's books scared me years ago as a kid but going back to it now, the writing isn't great. I have yet to read Salem's Lot, though...

[Rachel]

Hi Denise i agree with everything you say. i love to be scared but as yet have never found a book that could successfully do so. i have most of care mcnally collection and found them a bit creepy but never really scary. I own loads of Stephen King and james herbert too but as much as I love both writers I am still yet to be scared. If you have any recommendations of a really scary book I'd love to hear it.

[Sean Kerr]

I am about to read Dracula's Demeter which has fab reviews xx

[Denise]

Rachel wrote: "Hi Denise i agree with everything you say. i love to be scared but as yet have never found a book that could successfully do so. i have most of care mcnally collection and found them a bit creepy b..."

Hi Rachel. As I mentioned, the one book that really scared me was The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson (famous for being based on a true story but actually is complete fiction). It was scary enough that, shortly after starting it at night, I stopped and continued the following afternoon in the garden as it totally gave me the creeps! Recommended if you want a scare.

I love Stephen King. The man has serious storytelling talent. My dad said he was reading Salem's Lot at night once, and he could feel the hairs at the nape of his neck rise. So I'm going to give that a go. Duma Key gave me a bit of a creepy feeling with regards to the painting, so there's two more to recommend if you haven't read them.

But yeah, those books that advertise themselves as 'scary' or 'horror' usually don't deliver. Having said that, I've always got a book on the go. Just not one that'll disturb my sleep. :)

[C.]

[Marie]

This book is pretty scary and I just finished reading it about a month ago. by Lee Mountford

[Jay]

"Mamma Durtt" by Michael Shea.

[Werner]

To my surprise, Shirley Jackson's classic novel, The Haunting of Hill House hasn't been mentioned on this thread yet. We did a common read of that one in this group back in 2009, and I wound up giving it five stars.

In message 61, Rachel mentioned the David Ash series, by British writer James Herbert. In 2015, we did a common read of the trilogy opener, Haunted, and it got four stars from me. Personally, I definitely did find it scary!

[Werner]

There are undoubtedly other members of our group who've read a lot more of King's short fiction than I have. But with that caveat, I found both his "One for the Road" and "The Mangler" to be among the scarier short stories I've read.

The fear evoked by reading fiction has to be a vicarious fear for the characters, IMO; unless you're VERY suggestible, you know that what you're reading is completely make-believe and poses no real threat to you. That's why, for me, character-driven stories and fear go hand-in-hand; to be afraid for the characters' sake, I have to care what happens to them. If I don't give a care (or if, as with some stories, I'm itching to see a creep get his/her supernatural come-uppance), there's no scare factor as such.

[Jack]

Larry, I wrote a book called The Haunting at Ambleside. I don't know if it is really scary, but someone who read it said they felt there was something else in the house the whole time they were doing so. In the end they had an alarm fitted and one night the sensor fell off the wall (it was only stuck on with the supplied adhesive). They heard a bang and the house alarm went off. There was nothing sinister about it, but they gifted the book to a friend the next day :). The other person has had no 'problems'. . . . .so far.

[Marie]

This book is scary and it is a "leave the lights on" kind of book:

Hell: The Possession and Exorcism of Cassie Stevens by Tom Lewis

[M.L.]

Amongst The Mists

[Sara]

Legion I loved this book more than the exorcist

[Georgann]

The Silent Companions This totally creepy story scared me so badly I could barely even ... It was weeks and weeks 'til it finally stopped haunting me!!