What is the scariest book you have ever read?

[Ardy]

No one gave you a cookie yet, Jon? Based on what I'm seeing, Tressa has a lot of baking to do.

[Jon Recluse]

Nope.

[Ardy]

Well, if we all get together and demand cookies, maybe we'll get some!

COOKIE!

[Jon Recluse]

SALAMI!

[Jason]

MEAT BALLS!

[Jon Recluse]

PIZZA!

[Chris]

Naw...would rather have some of Tressa's cookies...

[Marc-Antoine]

GOURMET SANDWICH!

[Chris]

Mmmmm, beef dip sandwiches...hey, dinner idea for tonight...

[T.]

Jack Ketcham. "The Girl Next Door." Not so much for 'things that go bump in the night' scares, but for what happened to that poor girl and her sister. And mostly because it really happened.

Scary? Jeff Konvitz. "The Sentinel."

[Ardy]

Cookies for dessert, no matter what we end up getting!

[MJ]

Summer Of Night by Dan Simmons
Helter Skelter was creepy add shit reading in a house all alone

The part in The Exorcist where they talk about Reagan following her nanny around licking at her legs is just no! I am so against that.

There is a Ramsey Campbell short that creeped me out so bad where yoooooou aren't supposed to say something name and if you do it become real and gets you. I had to stop reading that shit at 3am and put a comedy on.

[MJ]

Sorry about my stupid comment, I am typing on my phone.

[Liam]

Courtney wrote: "The only author that's made me feel genuinely scared while reading was Lovecraft. After reading The Call of Cthulhu, I had to turn all the lights on in my house.

Other books that I feel have good,..."

I've been a big fan of the works involving the Cthulhu Mythos since I was 11, and still sometimes reread the stories of Lovecraft, Derleth, Howard, etc. Those, I suppose, come closest to having given me chills in my mid-teens. Amongst today's writers, I find nothing that chills/frightens me, but this is due to events in my life over the past 40 years as much as, if not more so, the quality of writing today.

[Tressa]

Zombette wrote: "Sorry about my stupid comment, I am typing on my phone."

So we guessed.

[Eric]

when i was little i read these scary story books that had very disturbing pencil sketches in them. they were kids books but the drawings were soyou vivid and terrifying. gave me bad dreams for months

[Courtney]

Eric wrote: "when i was little i read these scary story books that had very disturbing pencil sketches in them. they were kids books but the drawings were soyou vivid and terrifying. gave me bad dreams for months"

These?
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

[T.]

Was just watching the original 'Salem's Lot miniseries on DVD and (for some unknown reason as the two are not at all related)remembered a book I read years ago that creeped me the hell out:

The Moonchild

I remember there being a mostly forgettable sequel, but I'll have to find the first one and read it again.

[[deleted user]]

Hhmmm, scariest story I ever read? I would have to say Lovecraft's The Haunter in the Dark. It's a great work, but is also unnerves me to no end.

[Larry]

I would say king's Salem's lot or ketchum's the girl next door

[[deleted user]]

Ramsey Campbell's short story The Companion creeped me out.

[Samantha]

Probably my math textbook. Either that or The Amityville Horror, though it didn't really scare me. It was really creepy though.

[Christopher]

Teawench wrote: "It really scared the crap out of me. Still does I don't know how many years later (without a re-read). I swear that Pennywise lives in my basement. If I don't run up the stairs, he'll get me."

Yup, IT can almost be seen as a lesson in horror. I mean it's so much more than that too, but if you want to know how to write a horror novel just read IT. It's jam packed (and not in a forced way) with so many frightening scenes that linger in the memory. Also, with realistic characters, ones you can connect with, it just makes the fear that much more palpable. A very important thing that I think some horror authors forget (or just don't care about).

[T.]

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

Just sayin'.

[Mat]

It has to be Graveyard Shift, and Other Stories from Night Shift from Stephen King. Huge mutant rats? NOPE.

[Melanie]

I remember being terrified at Faerie Tale by Raymond E Feast, but I read it so long ago that I may have only been scared cause I was young. Dunno if it would still scare me now.

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty was also fairly freaksom.

[Jeff]

Melanie wrote: "I remember being terrified at Faerie Tale by Raymond E Feast, but I read it so long ago that I may have only been scared cause I was young. Dunno if it would still scare me now.

The Exorcist by W..."

Have you tried Edward Lee's take on Hell in "City Infernal? The very descriptive details in his novel of Hell makes you want to lead a very virtuous life, so you dont end up there.

[Robert]

I'm going to have to be predictable here and say Lovecraft's Call of Cthulhu. The sense of cosmic inevitability he evoked in that story was terrifying when I first read it in the 90's, and still is.

[Christine]

Misery by Stephen King

[Jo Ann]

The Omen but I was about 11 or 12 then, as an adult I haven't read a horror book in years that I could say has scared me.

[Mike]

Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates, The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum & Survivor by J.F. Gonzalez . Not so much scary, but will creep you out. Subject matter is the key here. Alot of people will not read these type of books because of what they are about.

[Cindy]

I must say Survivor freaked me out the most...

[11811 (Eleven)]

Cindy wrote: "I must say Survivor freaked me out the most..."

I'm afraid the content of Survivor is permanently fixed in my subconscious and will never completely let me rest.

Gonna go watch a Disney cartoon now....

[Jason]

11811 (Eleven) wrote: "Cindy wrote: "I must say Survivor freaked me out the most..."

I'm afraid the content of Survivor is permanently fixed in my subconscious and will never completely let me rest.

Gonna go watch a Di..."

Now I'm really interested in reading this if it did that to you! lol

[11811 (Eleven)]

After Survivor, The Girl Next Door was best compared to The Little Mermaid. Survivor is more than shock value though. It has substance and it will leave a lasting impact. It did for me, anyway. Highly recommended, followed by a Disney cartoon, of course, to maintain emotional balance.

Looking forward to your thoughts if you decide to pick it up. ;-)

[Cindy]

lol You couldn't be more correct!!! You gonna need some sort of Muppet charcter to come to your house and give you a hug!!

[Cindy]

11811 (Eleven) wrote: "Cindy wrote: "I must say Survivor freaked me out the most..."

I'm afraid the content of Survivor is permanently fixed in my subconscious and will never completely let me rest.

Gonna go watch a Di..."
oh yeah!!! And I read that book years ago...that is never going away..every once in a while I think about it...some things you just can never unread...

[11811 (Eleven)]

I read it it last year and still cry out in my sleep for that ambiguous Muppet character to come hold me and make all the bad things go away.

And yes, once read, it can never be unread.

[Brandy]

House of Leaves freaked me out really bad too. It's one of those books that is so well constructed and just so...strange...I'll never get it out of my head.

[David]

11811 (Eleven) wrote: "I can't believe no one mentioned The Exorcist"

***
I am with you. I read this book back in the mid-70's one night what on duty (Coast Guard). I had the midnight to 06:00 shift. The ship was in port, everything was quiet and dark and I sat in the messhall reading this book. Made my rounds thru the ship very spooky, every little sound had me jumping. I woke up my relief at 5:30 and continued to read until 08:00. One of the rare times I ever read a book from start to finish in one sitting.

[Andy]

Definitely for me. One of the only books that ever gave me nightmares.

[11811 (Eleven)]

Andrew wrote: "Definitely for me. One of the only books that ever gave me nightmares."

The 90's were a weird time for horror. It was always labeled 'thriller' or 'satire' but it never stopped being horror.

[[deleted user]]

Without a doubt for me it's The Exorcist. I just read it for the first time this month and it definitely lived up to that fear factor.
Before that? Has to be King. Pet Cemetery or The Shining.

[Cindy]

I looooove !!! And jeez now, apparently, I have to read this House of Leaves book..people are always talking about it. and oh yeah, I had no bejeeesus left after I read the Exorcist!!!

[Cindy]

11811 (Eleven) wrote: "I read it it last year and still cry out in my sleep for that ambiguous Muppet character to come hold me and make all the bad things go away.

And yes, once read, it can never be unread."

Have you ever seen the movie 8mm?? It is along the same lines. The big guy in the movie is called Machine too!! Coincidence??? who knows...

[11811 (Eleven)]

In honor of you all, I may have to pop in my old 20th anniversary DVD of The Exorcist tonight. It's for a good cause.

[Jason]

That's a great idea, 11811. I was just trying to figure out what to watch tonight...

[11811 (Eleven)]

I wish I could stream it to Goodreads.. We could order some pizzas and everything would be just dandey.

[Jason]

That would be pretty cool!

[Cindy]

The only thing they have on dvd is the "version you have never seen"!! which freaks me the efff out and I cannot watch it...pathetic..I know...but my gosh when she comes down the stairs all backwards, sounding like a bunch of rats...well...I can't take it!!! lol