I need a scary book to read

[SaltwaterKid]

I'm not much of a reader and i probably just finished reading my first book in over 5 years. The book i read was The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: Red Rose. It's a Stephen King book i believe. They made a tv miniseries out of it and i enjoyed watching it. Now i'm thirsty for more books but i'd like something that will scare the crap out of me. Any suggestions?

[64Ivy]

I believe Rosie O'Donnell has a biography out. :D

[SaltwaterKid]

Haha. I just hope it doesn't have pictures in it.

[Staceon]

While not much of a fiction guy myself, my wife would recommend the Dean Koontz series.

[seasquirt]

I read a book when I was younger called "Black Hope Horror". It was one of those deals where the house is built on an old burial ground (I believe it was a slave graveyard in this book), weird crap happens, someone eventually freaks out. It's all supposedly "true" (not saying these things can't occur, but anyone can write a book). I just remember it scared the bejesus outta me!

Edit: The book's out of print, but you can find a used copy if you're interested. Here's the link to some reader reviews on Amazon...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0688051766/qid=1039210258/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-6997378-7654529?v=glance&s=books

[O'Man]

If you like Stephen King, read his best book..."The Stand"
His book "It" was good also.

Clive Barker's books are scary, but he can get a little yucky. Koontz is always good.

Lastly, "Hostage to The Devil" by Fr. Malachi Martin, is a book about demonic posession. Father Martin was an exorcist.

[pnosko]

I really liked Thinner. The movie was so bad, I counldn't believe it.

[Ace]

Anything by Al Gore.

I'm so happy I'm posting this after pnosko. :)

Stephen King's earlier books are always a good read. Not sure about the later stuff.

Ace

[pnosko]

Originally posted by Ace
Anything by Al Gore. :furious:

OK Ace, I have to admit, that was a good one. I'll get even back in the other forum! ;)

[GreatLakes]

People have named the obvious, King, Barker, and Koontz. They are all good. The Stand by King is masterful. An author that is often left out is McCammon, Robert. His best work, Swan Song, is one of the most most sad, frightening disturbing tales ever told about a post nuclear culture. He also wrote a book called Wolfs Hour, about a werewolf, really cool. And if you are into vampires, Brian Lumley has the Necroscope series. It is about a boy that can speak directly to the dead. He then gets mixed up with vampires and an driving need to end their reign on earth.

[Q-ball]

Originally posted by O'Man
If you like Stephen King, read his best book..."The Stand"
His book "It" was good also.


Agree with the above..."The Stand" is easily one of my favorite books...definately read the unabridged version...I've read both, and the difference is there (300+ more pages I think?) It is another great book. Dean Koontz is good, but has gotten kinda repetitive in his flavor lately imo...

Q!!!

[O'Man]

Hey, one more Great One... "A Boy's Life" The author's name escapes me, if I can locate it, I'll post it.

Definately a wonderful book.

[GreatLakes]

O'man, do you mean "Boys Life"? It is a McCammon book also.

[6-line]

Hmmm.

Now you requested scary.
I see plenty of King and McCammon Titles (Wolves Hour was classic, love the WWII story)...they are in the horror genre, but those titles aren't what i consider scary. The Stand is a great King novel, but not necessarily scary, IMO. I believe Swan Song was similiar in plot to the Stand and it was a decent work.
McCammon also wrote one that kept referencing the "Rendering Truck" and just that concept scared me. McCammon wrote some good ones, but if you really want scary King then you have to journey back to his older novels such as The Shining and others on the tip of my tongue (the vampire one), and It.

IMO, anything by Dean Koontz is junk. I can't stand his carbon copy plotlines and his characterizations. But the man has made millions by becoming a novel factory so it's gotta work...
Dan Simmons wrote an incredible novel some years back but I cannot recall the title, it's about ESP and is mostly WWII era.

Back to the question...One of the scariest I ever read was Peter Straub's Ghost Story.

Of course the novel The Silence of the Lambs was captivating.
I used to be a horror junkie and read them all but titles are escaping me.

Maybe I'll sleep on it and see if any other titles come to mind. but if they do, I might not sleep...;)


6

[O'Man]

GreatLakes, yes and thanks.

That SK Vampire book was Salem's Lot.

[Wolverine]

The Stand was good, but you have to make sure you get the unabridged version. And then make sure you have about 2 months free to read it.

If you want something shorter (and, IMO, better/scarier) go for the Shining. The movie was good (the original), but the book is far better.

Brian Lumley's Necroscope was a good book (though it's been a long, long time since I read it).

Dave

[tiger roach]

I just finished the "Hannibal Trilogy" by Thomas Harris. Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal. Good stuff if you like being disturbed.

[bangbang]

Try the Omen series...........I liked them and I almost never read fiction. Have Fun!

[dendronepthya]

Another vote for "IT." I haven't read The Stand or The Shining, but I heard that both were good. I can't really think of any books that are really all that scary. I get freaked out by movies for weeks at a time, but books don't do it for me.

[6-line]

Dendro...

then maybe you haven't read them in a silent house, at night, only a dim incandecent bulb releasing enough ambiance to create a shadow-- a fraction of light-- in which to read and decipher the print; the silence only magnifying every creak, every shudder, every minutae of movement...perhaps the rustling of sheets or the quick, hastened shuffling of silent footsteps and the wind swaying, contorting branches of a leaf-ridden, winter covered trees....Those sudden sounds/annoyances or interruptions tear your eyes from the page and your heart may hesitate and you glance at the clock and it's getting regrettably late but you cannot resist--what lurks behind the next corner, page or chapter?
Then perhaps they would scare you.
Your imagination has to be ripe; attuned and focused.
Then try it.

You might be surprized.

But then again, if the book is good enough, the writer competent enough, then it'll haunt you in an afternoon train station...


;)


6

[sean buehrle]

probably the best scary book ive read is a book called the demonologist by ed and lorain newman it is a compilation of supposed true ghost and poltergiest stories, it did get me thinkin late at night and home all alone. everyone who i let borrow the book thought it was a decent book.

[ATLANTIS]

Try the Old Testament

Lots of death, pestilence and dismemberment.

The most popular work of fiction ever!!!

[wizardgus®]

Ah, horror, my personal favorite, and yes I have Amazon alerts for all the above: King, Koontz, Barker, McGammon as well as Anne Rice. But if you want wet-your-pants scary pick up Julien Sprung's "Algae, A Problem Solver Guide"

[joeychitwood]

"isle of Dogs" by Patricia Cornwell.....it's really scary to see how a great author has gone over the edge into idiocy.

[Periette]

I picked up Isle of Dogs in the airport needing a good book to pass the time. What a waste of money. I also couldn't believe that a good author could sink so low after turning out so many other enjoyable novels.

[SaltwaterKid]

Well, I got "The Stand" for Christmas. It's the longer version edition and should last me awhile. I'll let you know if it scares me or not. :)

[ecugman]

Another great King book that no one ever talks about is "The Dark Half", one of my favorites!

[Acolin]

"Lovely Bones" is a different kind of scary, it is wonderfully told from the murdered victim's point of view - she is a young child who talks to the neighbor next door ...

[remee]

I read a book a long time ago called 666. As I recall it was about a house. I can't find it anywhere, so I can't say if you can go out and buy it. All I remember was that it scared me!

[SeanT]

Originally posted by 6-line

Back to the question...One of the scariest I ever read was Peter Straub's Ghost Story.

I concur. Great book...it is the one about magic in such in a boarding school right?


Another scary as hell book I read was called The Survivor.
I know that is a generic title. The cover had a half burned doll's head on it and it was about the only survivor of a plane crash.

I was only like 12-13 when I read it but it was so scary I could only read it during the day. lol :D

[Runner]

I would vote for "The Oath" by Frank E. Peretti. It had me looking out the dark windows at night. The following Amazon link shows the book cover and the first few pages:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0849938635/ref=lib_rd_prev_1/002-5668775-6843252?v=glance&s=books&vi=reader&img=1#reader-link

[Digi]

I have a suggestion for you. It's not exactly what you asked for but it is pretty damn scary. Last night I was pretty bored and started surfing one of those web pages that is basically an index of weird stuff on the web. Anyway, I ended up on some page that discussed serial killers and the like and spent about an hour or so learning about Ted Bundy from the factual data and interviews with investigators and head shrinks.

Man that stuff is 10x's creepier than any Koontz or King I have ever read or seen. (Excluding the father in The Shining talking to the axe murderer and being told he was the caretaker, that was scary as hell!)

[SeanT]

Well damn Digi.
Don't give us the web address or anything lol.

[Digi]

Sorry, been away on a ski trip the last few days.
Here is the link and the one that took me to it.

Enjoy


By the way, I read The Sun Dog (King) while on my trip.
It sucked.

http://www.crimelibrary.com/bundy/attack.htm

http://www.algonet.se/~ssk123/gross.html