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Scariest Book Ever?

Jeez, talk about the perfect time to read The Shining.!

I'll have to remember to pick that up. It's a classic. My daughter just discovered King so I'm trying to pick those up for her. (BTW, I should add that my daughter is 21 so please don't think I'm some sort of degenerate making a child read spooky stories. :lol:)

I just read Hell House not too long ago and really enjoyed it although I didn't actually get properly spooked. I have a hard time getting spooked for some reason.
 
angerball said:
The Demon by Hubert Selby, Jnr. It's a very disturbing account of a man's descent into insanity, with a pretty brutal climax. I read it years ago, and have forgotten the details; I'd love to re-read it, and see if it has the same 'shock impact'.
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If you thought that was disturbing, you should read his "The Room". Probably the most disturbing thing Ive ever read, & Ive read some disturbing things!! Cool to see another Selby fan here!
 
Martin said:
I don't read horror novels that often, almost never actually, but there is one that I just have to mention in this thread, considering it's just so scary and so good.

The novel I'm talking about is 'House of Leaves', which is the debut novel of an author named Mark Danielewski. The novel has a very simple and interesting premise. A couple buy a house which turns out to be a hole lot bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outside. Also, these mysterious rooms keep shifting and moving.

Sounds lame, you might say, but the interesting part is the way in which the novel has been written. It's about a guy who finds the written account of this aforementioned couple, and his estrangement from society as he reads all their experiences. The novel also recounts the events caught on several videotapes made in the mysterious rooms, and this is done in a very compelling and scary way. As you further progress through the novel you will actually physically notice the despair experienced by these people, simply because the layout of the pages will start to shift, making it more difficult to follow.

Give this one a go, it gave me quite a scare.

Cheers, Martin :D
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while i was living in a dorm my roommate borrowed a very old, creepy looking copy of this from our campus library and niether of us could sleep while it was in the room, we had to stick it out in the hall! yeah, silly teenage girl stuff! it's a great book though, and, like you said, it's the layout that really gives it extra edge.
 
I actually didn't think The Shining was scaryat all..I own 55 of Stephen King's books and none of them have scared me except for....Bag of Bones...now that has it's hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck-raising moments! Lol. Read that one if u want a scary novel...:D
 
I loved Bag of Bones. It is one of my favorite books by King, though I didn't find it as scary as The Shining. However, I was 14 when I read The Shining and much older when I read Bag of Bones.
 
Granted, I haven't read it since it was first published and I was a teen-ager at the time, but, I remember "Suffer the Children" by John Saul as being terribly scarey.
 
Scariest book I've ever read was Hostage to the Devil. It was written by an ex-Jesuit priest named Malachi Martin. He heavily researched and wrote about the true accounts of 5 contemporary Americans, (supposedly) possessed and exercised by 5 different priests. It is superbly written, and the imagery is what truly twists your perspective as you race through the pages.
 
General Book Discussion > Scariest Book Ever?

Okay, so it is The Berenstein Bears and the Bad Dream. I KNOW it's just a kids book but id DID scare me... when I was a kid. Anyone else remember reading this book back in kindergarten or first grade about Brother Bear and Sister Bear going to see a scary movie and then having nightmares about it? I'll tell you the front cover alone gave me the heebie jeebies and I was watching faaaar worse stuff in movies. The pictures of all those monsters chasing Brother and Sister Bear has still stayed with me even though I haven't seen that book in at least 15 years. Ha ha. It's funny to think about it now actually. Stan and Jan Berenstein scarred me for life! Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.
 
books

The Shining, by Stephen King, which I couldn't read if I was in the house by myself.
Ghost Story, by Peter Straub, ditto
 
RocketSauce said:
Scariest book I've ever read was Hostage to the Devil. It was written by an ex-Jesuit priest named Malachi Martin. He heavily researched and wrote about the true accounts of 5 contemporary Americans, (supposedly) possessed and exercised by 5 different priests. It is superbly written, and the imagery is what truly twists your perspective as you race through the pages.
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that was the scariest book i'd read as well! i don't have a religion and i don't know if i believe there are 'spirits' or not, but i was spooked the few days after i finished the book.
 
1984 has one point which physically made me jump which I think is truly amazing when you think about it.

Kind regards

Louisa
 
Nothing said:
If you thought that was disturbing, you should read his "The Room". Probably the most disturbing thing Ive ever read, & Ive read some disturbing things!! Cool to see another Selby fan here!
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Oooh, I have this book, but have yet to read it. Selby's books are quite heavy, and I usually have to be in a certain mood for them.
 
angerball said:
Oooh, I have this book, but have yet to read it. Selby's books are quite heavy, and I usually have to be in a certain mood for them.
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Youll never be in the mood for the Room. But I suggest you read it anyway. Selby is a depraved madman, & I love him!
 
I didn't find The demon scarry,rather disturbing.I think Carrion Comfort or the Terror by Dan Simmons were really frightening stuff.
 
saliotthomas said:
I didn't find The demon scarry,rather disturbing.I think Carrion Comfort or the Terror by Dan Simmons were really frightening stuff.
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I love these books, my two faves from Simmons. It's been a long time since I've read Carrion Comfort, I need to revisit it.
 
There are too many facets to horror and many different books along each facet to claim a single scariest. The hedge animals in the Shining spooked me but the real-world scenario of Ingsoc in 1984 is VERY disturbing.
 
I think that Pure Murder by Corey Mitchell was pretty scary, in that it's a true story and happened not too far (like yards) from where I work.

I also think that any book by John Saul is scary, my personal favorite being Suffer the Children. It and Pet Cemetery by Stephen King scared me so badly that it took weeks to finish them. And of course, Amittyville Horror, because it "happened" and I was 13. *lol*
 
God's Shrink by MIchael Adamse. Its a fiction book but its highly intriguing. Bit like Bruce Almighty but much more interesting :)
 
Children of Chaos by Greg F Gifune was bout the most horrific book Ive ever read. Now at the top of my favorites too.
 
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