Scariest book you've ever read
 

I'm trying to come up with some good scary reads to settle down with after I finish the book I'm working on. Anyone have any really eerie or scary books to suggest?

I am a scary book junkie, and one book stands FAR above the rest - "Ghost Story" by Peter Straub. The opening line is "What's the worst thing I've ever done? I won't tell you that, but I will tell you the worst thing that ever happened to me..."

Chills.......

(plus, our avatars almost match)

House of Leaves is way up there, as is The Shining.

I second Ghost Story, and Shadowland by Peter Straub is also very scary.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

Psycho by Robert Bloch

Slightly old news by now, but The Hot Zone had me gagging for a couple days. Richard Preston's true stories with lengthy descriptions of the effects of hemorrhagic fever are gripping. Enjoy bedtime ebola stories? This one's for you.

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I've read 20 Stephen King books, but none gave me bad dreams like "1984" by Orwell. Talk about instilling you with paranoia!

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski by far. I highly recommend it.

Thanks for the suggestions. Keep 'em coming.

for me it was Phantoms by Dean Koontz....

I didn't sleep with the lights off for like 3 weeks, and neither did anyone who I loaned the book to...

of course the movie sucked...

The only book I ever read that gave me nightmares was IT by Stephen King

Stephen King is creepy, and clive barker is transcendental. But I have to throw my vote in with Ghost Story by Peter Straub.

This book actually gave me nightmares. Not ghost nightmares: I had a dream that i was doing homework, I had a climateology course at university and was doing an isobar map. My dream was that the isobars came to life, malevolently, jumping from the page i was working on , wrapping themselves around my neck and attempting to strangle me.

It woke me up from a deep sleep, and I was sweating like crazy and breathing heavy.

I swear, the movie does not do this book justice (and the movie was good)

This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentleman by Tadeusz Borowski.

I have read several books on the Holocaust for my Holocaust class (the joys of being a history major), but this is by far the most graphic and relentless in it's portrayal of the authour's imprisonment. The images rush into your head and don't go away. It is by far more graphic than Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz, The Diary of Dawid Sierakowiak, or Ordinary Men by Christopher Browning. You find yourself both digusted at the things the author does to survive but questioning yourself whether or not you would do the same things in order to survive. A truly sad and horror filled story (collection of his works about his imprisonment to be more precise) from a man who was so haunted by the things he had done in the name of self preservation that he took his own life.

There have been very few books or films that I have had to put down and walk away from for a while to collect myself and my thoughts, but this is one of them.

I wouldn't walk over subway grates for about 2 weeks after reading that book - and it really reinforced my irrational phobia of clowns... :D

If read during a thunderstorm, when you are all alone, and are prone to hearing things.. Amityville Horror made the hair on the back of my neck stand up...

I'm a huge fan of Dean Koontz, and some of his earlier stuff made me jumpy -- Servants of Twilight, Whipers, Phantoms all had that scare factor.

King's Pet Semetary- totally dumb movie.. but creepy book...

The Hot Zone I read when it first came out and it was freaky but in a different kind of way more realistic... in terms of horror when I read the Amytiville Horror when I was in 6th grade everytime I looked out the window I thought I saw Jodie's red eyes. Doesn't help that it's (though this is debatable) 'true' or based on 'fact'

Looks like I'll definitely be picking up Peter Straub's Ghost Story. I've seen "It" named often on other boards too as one of the scariest. As far as myself, I only started reading horror (basically just King and Koontz so far) in the past couple of years. I guess the scariest I can think of off the top of my head was Koontz's Shattered.

When I read this book I was still single, living in a dark, rough, Russian part of town in Tallinn, Estonia which is in Eastern Europe. I had just moved there from Canada 1 month prior. I was already on edge - this book scared the shit outta me. I slept with a rolling pin beside my bed, and I couldnt keep the book face up because no matter where I was in the room the eyes of the clown on the cover looked like they were staring at me. I've read the book like 4 times and I still get chills whenever I read it. Covers torn off now, I wonder how that happened?

It's the only book thats really freaked me out like that.

Salems Lot by Stephen King is a good one.

Also, The Descent, by Jeff Long. Most of the story takes place underground. Waaaay underground. Very creepy and original.

I was going to suggest Salem's Lot but docbungle beat me to it.

Seriously, I don't think I feel asleep for days and I refused to open my windows at all even though it was the middle of August.

Cujo, by Stephen King. Probably because I already have a phobia of dogs, and since it was actually a credible story, it scared the everloving shit out of me. I read it before I had my son, and the thought of having something like that happen to me AND my son...it gives me chills.

I really liked this book-- we had to read it in 10th grade biology and write a paper on it. I thought it was really interesting-- more of a gross out book rather than a scary one.

I can't really think of any books I've read that would be scary. When I was younger, I read one of the Goosebumps series books-- I had to read it all in one night and then sleep in the hallway with the light on because it freaked me out... I was young though.

pretty much king books only:
salem's lot (greeneyes, be careful they can MAKE you open the window!)
it (Daval, i know the feeling with the eyes, would not walk by the shelf in the dark)
the shining (first movie was scarier, nightmares of nicholson chasing me with an axe)
others:
1984 (just being watched...)

sidenote, for all you King and Straub fans try the Talisman and Black House, colaboration between the two authors, both very good.

I loved The Descent! thanks for reminding me of it. is there going to be a sequel at all? I may have to re-read it to get my fix.

i did not find it to be a scary book, more like an exciting adventure story and very original, but leveraging off of Jules Vern and Stephen King/cCive barker.

For Stephen King, I have read just about everything, eg Talisman and Black House. I dont find them scary, just a bit creepy, and fun to read. Salem's Lot is probably the scariest of King's work. Peter Straub's Floating Dragon is another creepy book, very King -like in format.

I'm still looking for another book to really scare me like Ghost Story did.

Intensity by Dean Koontz. I get freaked out about incidents that can actually occur and this was plausible enough to increase my distrust of people that drive old motorhomes around town.

The shining is the only king book that I have read and had to keep the lights on to go to sleep. The woman in the tub.......gah, still gives me the willies. Anyone ever read any Lovecraft stuff?

Seconded, and, while fictional, The Cobra Event is also disturbing in some of the same regards.

heh... as opposed to the rational phobia of clowns?

Personally, after reading The Stand I felt weird for a while. Not only did I notice people being sick a lot more, but started wondering what kind of role I would play in such a situation... and if I'd just be one of the poor dolts who never had a chance...

"Finishing Touches," by Thomas Tessier.

Not a very well-known book, but very unsettling. Sexual and disturbing. Tessier is one of the more literate writers of disturbing fiction I have come accross. This is probably one of my favorite reads of all time.

"Rapture," also by Tessier, is an amazing take on obsession. Don't let the tacky cover fool you.

"The Cipher," by Kathe Koja. This was her first novel and - in my opinion - the only one worth reading. It is amazingly original. After the first paragraph you'll know she has a style and vision all her own. You can't just casually read this book. The abstract style she uses forces you to concentrate on every sentence. If you have the patience, this is one disturbing read.

For some reason, The Stand by Stephen King scared the everloving Shit outta me. It must be the whole apocalyptic feel of it.

Have you seen the movie? I think it is like 6 hours long or something. Does it compare?

It was a made for television miniseries, made back in '94 (if you search on The Stand, you'll find where it's talked about briefly) Yeah, it compares favorably to the book, one ofthe best King book to movie adaptions I've seen (Shawshank Redemption being the best) Casting was very good, and they followed the storyline for the most part. Definitely watch if it you can... It's not a hide under the covers kind of movie but it's still plenty scary.

I've read very little horror. I read "House of Leaves"; I found it fascinating instead of scary, but if that counts, I'll throw in "Silence of the Lambs". I picked it up at my mother-in-law's place, read for a while, then tried to go to sleep. It was so riveting that I could not sleep, so after 3 hours of tossing and turning, I got back up and finished the damned thing.

H.P. Lovecraft can get pretty intense sometimes if you're not put off by the style.

Agreed on Lovecraft, "Herbert West, Reanimator" gave me shivers while I was reading it, movie is hilarious though.

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...

"Herbert West has a good head on his shoulders, and another in a dish on his desk."

I finished Ghost Story recently and really liked it. Thanks for all the recommendations. Definitely pretty creepy with some good scary moments.

I rented the movie from Netflix and, although it's got some big time acting veterans (John Houseman, Melvyn Douglas, Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Patricia Neal), they've changed the story so drastically and thrown in some really cheesy special effects that cause me to wonder if I'll ever finish the movie (I've sat down to watch it 2 times, picking up where I'd left off and still have only been able to stomach sitting through 30 minutes worth). They really need to remake this (maybe as a 2 or 3 part miniseries to accomodate the entire story).

"Rose Matter" by Stephen King scared me when I read it. It is about this woman who is abused and trys to get out but her husband looks for her and then it gets creepy. I have read "House of Leaves" but found the style odd and too distracting to be truly scary for me.

1984 is scary

but Handmadain's Tail is 5 times more so.

I'm new here....so, HI. :)

Looking forward to a good read is one of the greatest anticipations, in my opinion. Most all of the books mentioned, I would agree are scary..especially IT. I've read it several times, and if you haven't read the unabridged edition, well, you owe it to yourself. It came out many years ago and is about as thick as a concrete block.

For myself, I find Thomas Harris' books right scary. :eek: RED DRAGON, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, and there was one earlier one called MAN HUNTER, I think. But, if you haven't read HANNIBAL, this might be the time. You can be scared and grossed out at the same time, but I agree with what Harris said in response to all the readers who bought his book and complained about it being rubbish and beneath garbage; YOU ASKED FOR IT!

And, you get it.

Don't think about the movie. Movies never make the grade compared to the novels. Except for one and I can't think of it. :confused: If you liked Lector as a character, you will really enjoy the tiny bit of insight into his pschye (I can never spell this) and the interwoven details of an actual romance between Lector and Clarisse. :icare: :crazy:

I gotta get an avatar.... :|

Actually, <i>Manhunter</i> was the original movie made of <i>Red Dragon</i> in 1986. I've seen that and the 2002 remake, <i>RedDragon</i>, and they're both excellent in completely different ways.

Loved peeking around inside Hannibal's noggin. The idea of a memory palace is excellent, and I have got to read those books on it that Harris cites. I thought Julianne Morre made a less convincing but, paradoxically, better Starling than Jodie Foster, but then, Julianne Moore makes a better anything than Jodie Foster. *leer*

Me too! I had to turn the book over at night so I did not see the cover. and low flying balloons still give me the chills.