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Scariest Books of All Time
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1. This would have to be It. I was twelve when I read it, and I got through the book in about five days. I loved it, of course, but certain moments did scare me, such as when Eddie meets the leper under the house on Neibolt Street.
Since then, I haven't really be scared by it again; it was a one-time thing, like most of the stuff that scares me.
2. This one's really difficult. Like with 'It', over the years I've stopped being scared by the things that scared me the first time. Now, if you'd said 'scariest short story', my answer would be simple: Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad gets me every time, and I can barely even talk about it.
But book? I don't know. I tend to remember moments in books, not being scared all the way through. For example, the spiders/insects in The Haunting of Toby Jugg were terrifying at the time; 'the thing in the hallway' in Lunar Park was so well done it gave me chills; and the scene in Something Wicked This Way Comes when the boys are being stalked in the library was incredible.
The scariest overall book I've read is difficult to conclude; not only have I read so many, but I've also forgotten what scared me.
The Stepford Wives was thrilling but not scary, the same with Rosemary's Baby.
I'll tell you what: I'll go away and come back; I need to think about this.
Since then, I haven't really be scared by it again; it was a one-time thing, like most of the stuff that scares me.
2. This one's really difficult. Like with 'It', over the years I've stopped being scared by the things that scared me the first time. Now, if you'd said 'scariest short story', my answer would be simple: Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad gets me every time, and I can barely even talk about it.
But book? I don't know. I tend to remember moments in books, not being scared all the way through. For example, the spiders/insects in The Haunting of Toby Jugg were terrifying at the time; 'the thing in the hallway' in Lunar Park was so well done it gave me chills; and the scene in Something Wicked This Way Comes when the boys are being stalked in the library was incredible.
The scariest overall book I've read is difficult to conclude; not only have I read so many, but I've also forgotten what scared me.
The Stepford Wives was thrilling but not scary, the same with Rosemary's Baby.
I'll tell you what: I'll go away and come back; I need to think about this.
i'd have to go for pet semetary, cujo could have been up there but someone ruined it by telling me what was gonna happen
1. Pet Semetery (I read in an interview once, SK said this is the only book he ever wrote that scared even him -- he might have been joking, but I did find it really, really creepy) (2nd Place The Shining)2. Tie for Silence of the Lambs (because it's too real) and Exorcist (only because I read this at a young age and it was terrifying at that age)
1.) Pet Sematary. Zelda, Louis' walk to bury Gage, and the epilogue. 2.) The Shining. Woman in the tub
3.) It. Audrey alone in the hotel room and at least another dozen horrifying scenes.
I enjoy many other authors, but King is the only one ever to scare me.
I gotta go with The Shining for King. But as much as I hate to admit it -- and I do -- the scariest book I've ever read was The Amityville Horror. I'm not kidding. And years later I read it again and it scared me again.
It, nothing will ever be scarier than Pennywise
Meeting Pennywise or Zelda in your closet: Don't know which is worse.
Aaron wrote: "Meeting Pennywise or Zelda in your closet: Don't know which is worse."Watching Pennywise and Zelda making out in your closet, thats the answer
Bobby wrote: "I gotta go with The Shining for King. But as much as I hate to admit it -- and I do -- the scariest book I've ever read was The Amityville Horror. I'm not kidding. And years later I read it again a..."
I read Amityville long ago while in junior high and I was scared throughout the whole thing. I would love to read it again as a much older adult.
I read Amityville long ago while in junior high and I was scared throughout the whole thing. I would love to read it again as a much older adult.
The Shining for Stephen King. Scared the crap outta me in 1981 and gave me the shivers 30 years later. Pet Semetary and Cujo would be close runners up.The scariest book I've ever read is Ghost Story by Peter Straub. I almost didn't finish the book. Freaked me out to no end. And it gave me a serious case of the creeps when I reread it. That was 2 years ago and I still get chills when I think about the Bate brothers.
I don't think I'll be tackling that book again for a loooong time. Sadly, Straub was a one-hit wonder for me. Everything else I've read of his has been utter shite.
I read Amityville long ago while in junior high and I was scared throughout the whole thing. I would love to read it again as a much older adult..."Right? The reason why I'm always embarrassed to admit it is because I think Jay Anson is actually a horrible writer, there is no elegance to his prose, he keeps ending chapters with exclamation points, he's got nothing to say about the human condition -- and still, that book scared the pants off me. That damn pig...
Squire wrote: "The Shining for Stephen King. Scared the crap outta me in 1981 and gave me the shivers 30 years later. Pet Semetary and Cujo would be close runners up.The scariest book I've ever read is Ghost St..."
Even Lost Boy Lost Girl? I liked that book, nothing special but not quite bad. Although it can't be compared to Ghost Story. That one is really creepy.
Bobby wrote: "I read Amityville long ago while in junior high and I was scared throughout the whole thing. I would love to read it again as a much older adult..."Right? The reason why I'm always embarrassed to..."
Oh the pig, he gave me nightmares, I would not look out my window at night!!
Malina wrote: "Oh the pig, he gave me nightmares, I would not look out my window at night!!..."Okay, check this out. After I read Amityville, I'm in high school right, and my bedroom is on the second floor above the front door, so the front door has like, an awning/mini-ceiling over it. One night in the autumn, it's dusk, I look out my window...and there are two eyes staring at me from the shadows. They're just floating there, unblinking, looking right at me. I can't even tell you what I went through. It felt like everything went absolutely cold, still and silent. I didn't even think anything. Then the eyes moved and there was a body attached to the eyes and it was a cat. I swear to god, I collapsed on to my bed and it took me a good long while to recover. All I could think of was Jody the freaking pig.
Omg!! I would've had a heart attack LOL!Salems Lot was another that made me close the blinds :)
I also remember
scaring me a lot, has anyone read it?
i forgot about amityville i was terrifed to the point where i was scared to go to the toilet in the middle of the night and read the rest in the daytime lol still got it gotta.read that again
Personally there are several frightening stories for me, I love King & he's such a wizard making the mundane shriek with darkness, he's genius @ that. I think W.P. Blatty's the Exorcist is a scary read, & for all of us avid, highly comprehensive readers the written word holds more terror than a movie. A simple ghost story like Straub's is trippy to, I forgot about Amityville, I needa re-read it next on my list=+=
Rhian wrote: "i forgot about amityville i was terrifed to the point where i was scared to go to the toilet in the middle of the night and read the rest in the daytime lol still got it gotta.read that again"I read Amityville all in one day. I was home sick from school. I started it that afternoon. By dinner time (which I barely ate) I was riveted. By bedtime, I was too scared to go to sleep and I wound up finishing it like at three in the morning. Needless to say, I did not sleep that night and was still sick the next day.
bobby have you read amityville 2 sorry cant remember proper name, i have it somewhere but have never read it
Rhian wrote: "bobby have you read amityville 2 sorry cant remember proper name, i have it somewhere but have never read it"I have not. I don't know if it was written by Jay Anson but if it was, I read another Jay Anson book, 666 and man, don't bother. And if it wasn't Anson, just a knockoff by someone trying make a buck, well, all the more reason.
I really think Jay Anson just happened to catch lightning in a bottle. But hey, let that be the reason. More power to him.
But what say, Stephen King has, the ability, will and talent to keep going back to the well, time and time again, and come up with something extraordinary, that's unique. The Shining was my favorite, in my opinion, the classic haunted house story of all time, but there have been any number of Stephen King books, It, Pet Sematary, Carrie (yeah, don't forget Carrie!), Night Shift, --among others-- even sections of Duma Key, that have made me sit up in my bed or reading chair with an "Oh shit!" But not everybody in the world, not even every good scary writer in the world, has the ability to do that.
Squire wrote: "The Shining for Stephen King. Scared the crap outta me in 1981 and gave me the shivers 30 years later. Pet Semetary and Cujo would be close runners up.
The scariest book I've ever read is Ghost St..."
Ghost Story would probably be my second scariest book. I loved it and I was so disappointed when I watched the old movie based on the book.
The scariest book I've ever read is Ghost St..."
Ghost Story would probably be my second scariest book. I loved it and I was so disappointed when I watched the old movie based on the book.
Bobby amityville 2 is by someone else which is probably why i never bothered to read it i may read it after i read the 1st one again
i'm loving this thread lots of ideas for books to look out for i may do a round of the charity shops this week see what i can find
Rhian wrote: "i'm loving this thread lots of ideas for books to look out for i may do a round of the charity shops this week see what i can find"Me too! Though I'm already loaded up on books for October. Hoo boy!
just found my amityville books part 2 and 3 are by john g jones if you want to look them up bobby, the book i'm reading is almost finished am i brave enough to start amityville tonight? watch this space ha ha
The Shining and IT, both of them scared me good when I first read them. Nothing else comes to mind as far as fiction is concerned.
I think IT takes the prize for me.I remember reading it during the advert break of a tv show. Looking up briefly to see whether the show was back on, the grinning face of Ronald McDonald greeted me.
I threw the book clear across the room. :P
When I was in high school, one of my friends had a Halloween sleep-over. Her mom insisted on watching Amityville because it was the scariest movie of all-time to her. She remembered when it came out she and her friends were so scared. My friend and I watched it, and yeah...it wasn't too scary to us. But, I could see how the book would be. I haven't read it, but maybe one day if I find it, I'll give it a go. :)
Cujo for Stephen King.Tales for the Midnight Hour short stories (at 8 years old in 1980, scared me good and I started reading more horror).
The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson and Hell House by Richard Matheson were also very influential.
1. IT2. The Call of Cthulhu - technically a short story, but honestly the scariest thing I've ever read.
Scariest novel I've ever read would probably be Hell House by Matheson.
Its a tie between Pet Sematary and The Shining for me.Both unputdownable, both terrifying!So much so I have only read them once, which is very unusual for me, especially with King books.
Non King; Intensity by Dean Koontz (it lives up ti its title) Maybe Quake by Richard Layman (shudders!)
Even though it is a collection, I have to go with Night Shift as my King book. For my non King book, it is A Winter Haunting by Dan Simmons. Scared the crap out of me
Courtney wrote: "2. The Call of Cthulhu - technically a short story, but honestly the scariest thing I've ever read."Have you ever read King's homage to Lovecraft, "Crouch End"? Excellent.
Gerald's Game for me in response to both questions.King perfectly tapped into that fear we all have of those night time shadows in the corner of the room.
Also, books that have the potential to actually really happen, always scare me more than aliens or zombies etc.
King = IT.Non King = Darkfall (Koontz)
i really need to read geralds game again i read it such a long time ago but i remember the absolute horror and the feeling this could really happen
Bobby wrote: "Courtney wrote: "2. The Call of Cthulhu - technically a short story, but honestly the scariest thing I've ever read."Have you ever read King's homage to Lovecraft, "Crouch End"? Excellent."
Yes, I have, and I actually think Crouch End is King's scariest work, but I didn't want to list two short stories :)
Courtney wrote: "I actually think Crouch End is King's scariest work..."I agree one hundred percent! And I love Stephen King. But shit.
For scariest King short story, Crouch End is a great choice, but I would have to pick The Bogeyman. That freaked me out real good.
Adam wrote: "For scariest King short story, Crouch End is a great choice, but I would have to pick The Bogeyman. That freaked me out real good."Forgot that one, I wish it would have remain forgotten, I agree 100% with you, specially for the ending.
Stephen King Fans
Books mentioned in this topic
Gerald's Game (other topics)The Call of Cthulhu (other topics)
Hell House (other topics)
Night Shift (other topics)
Pet Sematary (other topics)
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1 - Which book is the scariest Stephen King book you have read?
2 - What is the scariest book you have ever read from any author.