Horror Aficionados discussion
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Your scariest, skin-prickling, spine-tingling books.
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Kevin
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Aug 31, 2010 06:52PM
I'm always on the search for a book that will actually scare the crap out of me. That type of fear that I haven't experienced since I was a kid. With the coming fall I'm getting in that mood again. Any suggestions?
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Hmmmm, it's actually pretty hard for an author to scare jaded, cynical grownups. However, these books shivered me timbers: Naomi's Room and Prey.
Tressa, that is so true..hard to scare jaded, cynical grownups. I get the same way now also when it comes to scary movies.I'm definitely going to write down your book suggestions.
Graham Masterton's THE MANITOU creeped me out when I first read it, but I was ten at the time.
For me, the scariest was The Damnation Game by Clive Barker.
I would say Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door.
Nice!! I'm gettn a good list...so far 2 hits for The Girl Next Door.THX
What about the Dean Koontz thrill/scare factor? I see there is a thread on him but it's pretty drawn out. Have never read his books before so what's a good one to start with?
I liked Phantoms for scares. Todd tells me The Taking is also a good one for this. Most Koontz novels are thrillers though.
Heart-Shaped Box For some reason this book scared me so much I couldnt sleep. There was just a visual I couldnt get out of my head.
The Heart Shaped Box audio is coming to me sometime today or tomorrow.
For gore and thought, I really enjoyed Mark Mirabello's The Cannibal Within. I'm starting Let's Go Play At the Adams. I'll have to take HP Lovecrafts Ultimate collection one short story at a time. Archaic writing gets tedious after a while.
oh good choice, Lovecraft is fantastic.
So many books! Love it. Do you know what I've been into lately? I've downloaded years worth of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater stories onto my Ipod. I love them, so freaky and deranged. I blame my nightmares on them. AHAH!
when i was a kid 2 books scared the shit out of me,The Wicked,Wicked Ladies in the Haunted House and Jane-Emily. i think they are still in print.
I am gonna recommend Summer Of Night by Dan Simmons, that book really scared me at times.
i love that book! good choice bob!!
Bob, you stole my recommendation. I seriously can't express how much I love this book.I feel like I pimp it like Tressa pimps Naomi's Room......which if I don't read soon I may scalp a child!
I'm a vicious pimp. I pimp Naomi's Room, The Cannibal Within AND The Summer I Died. Read them, ho's!
Okay, I did 1 of 3. I have to get the other two, although Naomi's Room is hard to find.
Oh, I meant I'd like to read Summer of Night by Dan Simmons.
Aloha was the first ho to respond, haha.
Tressa wrote: "Hmmmm, it's actually pretty hard for an author to scare jaded, cynical grownups. However, these books shivered me timbers: Naomi's Room and Prey."I haven't been able to find Noami's Room in epub format. Does anyone know if it's available for ebooks?
No, I searched. But I'm not always the best searcher.
Tressa wrote: "No, I searched. But I'm not always the best searcher."Thanks for trying. Maybe others will have better luck.
I'm a great searcher and it's not available as an eBook.
Not many books scare me anymore but here's a short list of the ones that really did.Gerald's Game by Stephen King
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordan by Stephen King
Prey by Michael Crichton
Survivor by J. F. Gonzalez
and most recently, Endurance by Jack Kilborn. That book was just ridiculous but it actually gave me chills in one part that I will never forget.
Savanah wrote: "Heart-Shaped Box For some reason this book scared me so much I couldnt sleep. There was just a visual I couldnt get out of my head."
I agree.....the creepy old man ghost sitting in a chair wouldn't leave my head either.
Well I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought so lol
Endurance and Trapped didn't scare me, but I enjoyed them. Endurance was a little more affective for me because the thought of getting trapped in a redneck B&B in the middle of nowhere scares me to hell.
You getting trapped in a redneck B&B is hell? Imagine an Asian chick trapped there.
Dean Koontz hasn't written much horror worth talking about, but don't miss out on Intensity - I would recommend that book to anyone looking for a truly gripping read!!
Tammy wrote: "Savanah wrote: "Heart-Shaped Box For some reason this book scared me so much I couldnt sleep. There was just a visual I couldnt get out of my head."
I agree.....the creepy old man g..."
Sometimes when I walk around the house in the dark I look at the chair in my living room just to make sure Cradock isn't there.
HSB was preety nerve wrecking.
Martha wrote: "For me, the scariest was The Damnation Game by Clive Barker."Seconded.
As much as I've read horror fiction my whole life, I can count the stuff that's actually scared me on one hand. Or thereabouts. 
The scariest/creepiest thing I've read lately was the short story "Not From Around Here" by David J. Schow.
Will wrote: "The scariest/creepiest thing I've read lately was the short story "Not From Around Here" by David J. Schow. "Ooh, I'll have to look for this. Since short stories have to make the most out of their length, the scare can be more affective than in a book.
Pet Sematary scared the do-do out of me when I read it as a teen-ager.
Pet Semetary, Salem's Lot, The Demonologist, some of the short stories in Night Shift are the first that come to mind.
The Boogeyman from Night Shift scared me.
This isn't going to be the best recommendation b/c I just feel like there is scarier stuff out there, but Brian Keene's Darkness on the Edge of Town really scared me. I really can't tell you why. But there were several points where I had to set the book down and take a breather. Not overtly gory, nor macabre, just scary.
The one that was an offshoot of Salem's Lot was particularly creepy for me. Also, really liked Sometimes They Come Back.
Horror Aficionados
Books mentioned in this topic
'Salem's Lot (other topics)Pet Sematary (other topics)
Prey (other topics)
The Ruins (other topics)
The Damnation Game (other topics)
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