What is the scariest book you have ever read?

[Robert]

Would Blake Crouch fit into this description ?


Haven't read them yet (heresy, I know!) but how about Barker's "Books of Blood" ?

[Justin]

Rakasha by Robert Davis. I loved it but at the same time I was left mortified. I mean in one chapter this guy has to eat body parts of his family...need I say more?

[sonny (no longer in use)]

twilight for it's god awful writing.

[Ben]

There's a short story by John Shirley called Cram, collected in both Black Butterflies and In Extremis, that I found to be genuinely scary. Cram describes, with unflinching detail and near-overwhelming intensity, a certain type of real-life horror that is hard to even imagine, the strangest and most disturbing reaches of the human experience. What is it? You'll have to read the story to find out.

[Kat]

I apologize for constantly resurrecting these dormant threads, but I am rather new to Goodreads, and I want to chime in! ^_^

Anyway, I have been a Splatterpunk fiend for many years, and although they provide revulsion or disgust, fear itself is often lacking. I do have to admit that I am disappointingly difficult to truly frighten -- I thought that with the exception of "Pet Sematery" when I was 8 years old, I'd never reach the joy of truly having the "wee scared out of me." That was BEFORE I read "Seed" by Ania Ahlborn. I cannot verbalize what in particular it was that frightened me so much, but it sure as hell did! I finally got my pure, unadulterated, no-reading-in-the-dark terror. Give it a shot! ;)

[Lisa]

The Elementals by Michael McDowell. I found it truly scary in the same way that the original B&W version of the movie The Haunting scares me. Not particularly gory, not torture, but man did it scare me. I would say it had "atmosphere" if you are looking for that. It was the first of McDowell's books I ever read, and after that I read ALL of his others.

But The Elementals remains my personal favorite and scariest of the lot, IMHO.

[Michele]

The Entity and The Exorcist are my two scariest reads.

[Nyree]

full dark no stars

[Latasha]

Those sounds good Lisa & Michele!

[Doseofbella]

I would have to say Helter Skelter. I read it when I was very young. So scared I couldn't sleep for many nights. In fact it still bothers me.

[✟Roxanne✟(Death by Book Avalanche) ☠]

One of the scariest books I have read is Naomi's Room...creepy stuff!

[Ginger]

I read 'salem's Lot when I was a teen and it scared me to death.

[Shannon]

The book the seemed to bother me the most was "The Demonologiest " by Ed and Lorraine Warren

[Latasha]

Shannon wrote: "The book the seemed to bother me the most was "The Demonologiest " by Ed and Lorraine Warren"

I've been eyeing that one for a while!

[S.P.]

I loved Come Closer by Sara Gran. Very creepy. And The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters.

[Latasha]

I added both of those to my to read list. They sound great.

[Erin]

S.P. wrote: "I loved Come Closer by Sara Gran. Very creepy. And The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters."

I was pleasantly surprised by The Little Stranger. I saw a copy at a used book store and decided to give it a try, I am glad I did.

[Raúl]

Salem's Lot (Stephen King)
Intensity (Dean Koontz)
The Light at the End (Craig/Spector)
The Night of the Living Dead (John Russo)

[Gertie]

Boy I wish more of you would use book links...

[Holly]

House of Leaves, it played on my mind for days afterwards. It actually made me feel generally weird. It takes a lot to do that for me personally!

[Ashe]

The Tommyknockers was scary for one reason: As I was reading it, I was staying at my grandparents and I am badly allergic to their house. My sinuses were in a constant state of trying to evolve, explode from my skull, and escape. So I have these headaches going on and then the story is talking about headaches. So one night I have a few minutes where I'm freaking out about this cause I'm also exhausted.

And that's the story of how I thought was turning into an alien.

[Joseph]

The Jewel of Seven Stars I saw the horrible ending coming, but it didn't stop it from being the single creepiest thing I've ever read.

[Glenn]

Gertie wrote: "Boy I wish more of you would use book links..."

Heh, tell me about it. Drives me nuts, have to copy/paste, constantly looking up these books.

[Glenn]

I don't know if I was scared per se, but I was definitely freaked the f*ck out by this book: Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk.

[Caroline]

I loved The Ratsby James Herbert. My first real horror and still one of the best. I think they just released a 50th anniversary addition I must get it and see if it is still as good.

[Candace]

The Shining gave me a pretty good fright. I had seen the (Kubrick) movie at a slumber party when I was 13 and thought "that wasn't scary? What's the hype?" so I didn't really know what I was in for when I pick up the book.

It was the scene towards the end of the book when Jack (view spoiler)[ is fighting the possession and turns the roque mallet on himself while Danny watches and beats his own face in that did it to me. (hide spoiler)] What a gem of horror to be left out of the movie!

[James]

IT

[Mauoijenn]

IT by Stephen King, Pennywise lives under my bed. STILL!!

And then not far from the tree The Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill. The hallway light stayed on all night for 3 days.

[Maggie the Muskoka Library Mouse]

The Shining by Stephen King and Intensity by Dean Koontz.

[Ashley]

I wanna say .

[Marie]

Non-fiction:
Amityville Horror by Jay Anson was scary when I first read it years ago and I remember I had bad dreams from it. Also the book "The Haunted" by Ed and Lorraine Warren which I read this year was really spooky.

Fiction:
Ghost Story by Peter Straub was scary to me the first time I read it.
Salem's Lot by Stephen King is a spooky read.