Second the Lovecraft and the King, but Harlan Ellison makes them look like Fred Rogers and Captain Kangaroo. "Deathbird", "Shatterday", "Slippage", "Paingod", all deeply disturbingly horrid. Where Lovecraft and King rely on monsters and boogiemen, Ellison goes more for the horror of situations, or, when he goes for the monsters, chances are they are the main character and you don't kniow about it. Of course, Ellison is all short stories, so there's never a chance to get your feet under you.
I found Dan Simmons', "Hyperion" and "The Fall of Hyperion" hugely frightening too. Not in a "This could happen to you" sort of a way but in a "Jesus Haploid Christ, those poor people," sort of way.
For real, realistic, grotesque horror, the only book that has ever brought me to the edge of vomiting would be Brett Easton Ellis', "American Psycho." Well written, but I gave away my copy and will never read it again. Made me sick. Meticulous descriptions of sexual torture involving nail guns, jumper cables, habitrails, and a live rat, and glowing if completely incorrect reviews of Whitney Houston, Genesis, and Huey Lewis. *shiver*
Or, there is that Reagan biography...
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Originally Posted by bigbad
Agreed on Lovecraft, "Herbert West, Reanimator" gave me shivers while I was reading it, movie is hilarious though.
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"Herbert West has a good head on his shoulders, and another in a dish on his desk."