Can’t seem to find any books I like...

[Maribeth]

I made a shift in my reading genre over the past several years from sci-fi and fantasy to horror and suspense. I am not sure what my problem is but I just can’t seem to find any books lately that I enjoy. Nothing really entertains me.

I’ve gone through recommendations and read frequently mentioned books such as The Demonic, Suffer the Children, NOS4A2, The Girl Next Door, Ghost Story, and others and nothing scares me or keeps me on my toes. For the lost part I am finding that people have different definitions of scary books or horror. Most of what I’ve read is just weird or disturbing and not really scary.

I did enjoy The Exorcist and enjoy that even though it wasn’t “scary”. I don’t know if I’m just desensitized or what. People state things like how Stephen King’s It was the scariest book they’ve ever read and I thought it was incredibly boring. I did enjoy Salem’s Lot though.

I have Rebecca and The Haunting of Hill House queued up and I am hopeful I will enjoy them. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks!

[David]

Maribeth, I think horror is subjective. Do you prefer suspense or gore?
Either way, you could do worse than checking these out.

by Greg Gifune

by Richard Matheson

by Kealan Patrick Burke

And if you prefer something a little more slice-an-dice.

by James Herbert

by four decent authors ;)

by Brian Keene

Hope some of these appeal.

[Kenneth]

I think you're doing the right thing by trying different styles and authors until you find one that clicks. What's great to some isn't for others. The same can be said by what you define as scary. For me, I'm mainly desensitized to the point where not much scares me. I do get a shiver every now and then and will also experience a sense of dread. This is mainly achieved if I'm really into a book with great characters, plot and storytelling. If I'm all in, I become more invested in the characters and the more it will affect me if something bad happens to them. I would look for good storytellers first. Something that makes you think about the story when you're not reading it and one that you can't wait to get home to open back up. Those are the ones that, when you least expect it, sneak up and give you a good jolt. For me, those are ones by Robert McCammon, James Newman, Brian Moreland, James Herbert, early Stephen King, Greg F. Gifune, Ronald Malfi, Michael McBride, William Meikle and many others.

[Char]

David and Ken have you pretty well set up for the type of horror that I like, which is more of a quiet and/or atmospheric horror these days.

The only one that I would add that I don't see mentioned here is House of Leaves, which is more of an experience than just a book.
Also, only a small part of it is truly scary, but it scared the crap out of me and I read a LOT of scary books.

Whatever floats your boat, I hope you find it soon. :)

[Latasha]

i'm like you, i don't find much scary anymore. the book that did it for me, that gave me chills and i had to stop reading (i was reading it in bed, before i fell asleep) was The Ritual and i also found Last Days scary. shadows freak me the hell out. i've really enjoyed Grady Hendrix's stuff but it isn't scary. at least not to me. i hope you find something. Rebecca and Hill House are great but i wouldn't call them scary. Either way, i hope you love them ( i do).

[sonya]

Have you tried Patricia. Cornwell? She is suspense/ police procedure. 23 books in the series. I often read out of order.