Anyone read horror literature?

[Kyriakos]

I read a little, only that which i consider to be high art. So Poe, a bit of Lovecraft, all of De Maupassant, some stories by Machen, and then bits and pieces from other authors (a notable example is E.T.A. Hoffmann's The Sandman).

I am of the view that horror literature, if one is a really talented writer, can be extremely interesting, if for no other reason then because it is a success in itself to actually provoke a strong emotion such as horror. Most authors fail to do that, but some can achieve it.

My own literature has mostly been described by others as "urban fantasy". However almost in all of my work there is a dark atmosphere, often nightmarish, other times mostly a feeling of isolation, helplessness, a struggle to overcome problems with thought. So not only do i read such literature, but i produce it as well :D

Pieces of literature which today are seen as horror, but when they were written they were fantasy, have influenced very famous authors, such as Dostoevsky (for whom Hoffmann was an early idol). In my view the ends of such a literature are not very different from non-horror one, one tries to write something interesting and captivating, and only the good writers produce anything which will become immortal. I fear that horror literature today has a bad name, because of so many writers who will be utterly forgotten in an aeon, but currently sell a lot of books.

[dfloyd]

by Bram Stoker, Hoffman, Walpole etc. What's really a horror story is the popularity of Anne Rice and the new teeny bopper horror stories.

[Kyriakos]

In all periods there were bad writers who sold a lot of books. Now no one remembers them. It will be the same with the bad writers of today.
Perhaps what is a bit different is that today the industry behind mediocre or bad writing is massive compared to the past, where literary circles were playing a more important role. But this might change as well in the future :)

[Genocide]

I'm really into the "darker" literature. I started reading kind of crappy gorey stuff when I was younger, mostly Darren Shan. Pretty bad. I guess I moved up to Poe and De Maupassant... but I was wondering....

Is Stephen King any good as far as horror lit goes? I hear a lot of bad things about him yet there's so much hype.

[DonovanTalbot]

Is Stephen King any good as far as horror lit goes? I hear a lot of bad things about him yet there's so much hype.


There is alot of hype surrounding Stephen King because of his meteoric rise to fame. His earlier works are must reads for horror fans. Books I recommend are The Shining, Salem's Lot, IT, Pet Sematary, Cujo also Night Shift, Different Seasons, Skeleton Crew, and Nightmares & Dreamscapes. Read these books but remember these are works when he was writing in his peak form.

The Shining being my favorite, a must read. I haven't liked many Stephen King novels he has written in the last 25 years and I have read about 40 of his books to date. His characterizations and stories aren't as strong nor as scary as they used to be. His increasing verbosity and pages of filler (King needs a better editor) can be a chore to slog through.

[Genocide]

I have both The Shining and 'Salems Lot. I'll have to read them. Ever since "The Langoliers" I've been skeptical....

Thanks for the advice.

What have you read that you couldn't stand?

There's something about books that freak me out more than movies.... they stay with you longer.

[Helga]

only if Frankenstein counts.... I scare easily

[Lost_Souls]

In my view the ends of such a literature are not very different from non-horror one, one tries to write something interesting and captivating, and only the good writers produce anything which will become immortal. I fear that horror literature today has a bad name, because of so many writers who will be utterly forgotten in an aeon, but currently sell a lot of books.

I too read Gothic literature, from both the 1st wave (1790s) and the 2nd wave (1890s), and in studying its progress from Romance to horror tale, I think that your fears are unfounded. The writers of yesteryears sold an awful lot (Radcliffe, Lewis and Stoker and Richard 'The Beetle' Marsh) but were derided for being shilling shockers and untalented hacks. In fact the latter has been largely forgotten, and Lewis and Walpole are hardly household names now, but they were litearary celebrities in their own time.

In regards to the function of horror in art, I think there is a far more worthy cause than just interesting mysteries and emotional punch, and that is the horror that is explored in such books is often something deeply feared by the contemporary society, which is hidden from view and is only revealed (in monstrous forms) through horrific art. It allows the 'unspeakable' a platform for discussion and puts it in plain view, although disguised. For example, what happens if science replaces faith? Read Jekyll and Hyde... what happens if science becomes God? Read Frankenstein... Terrified of the breakdown of all reason entirely? Lovecraft shows us this dark future...

Of course that sounds like a lot to measure Meyer's twinkly vampires against, but then again, that is not truly horror. Something that makes you genuinely shudder in terror is a valuable thing.

[Dekarto]

Read Frankenstein...

Funny thing ... the newest Frankenstein book by Dean Koontz has the same title as your name: Lost Souls.

[de Renal]

I am a big fan of horror literature, it's just that I so much don't like the idea of Stephanie Meyer and similar stuff-crap! Is the publishing business nowadays really so down, so they can't think of nothing else to sell to people but stories about vampires who look like they were cut out of the fashion magazines??
Anyway, I find gothic literature rather engaging - my personal favourite is Edgar Allan Poe, but writers like E.T.A. Hoffman, W.W. Jacobs, H.P. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker, Sheridan Le Fanu, Horace Walpole and others also kept me quite awake and tense while I was reading some of their works. For example, Le Fanu's Carmilla is one of the novels which gave me such creeps that I wasn't able to go to pee at night, and I'm 33 years old :cool:

[Kyriakos]

E.T.A Hoffmann is really great, i agree :) Also he doesnt appear to have had any forerunners, at least immediate. And he has influenced a lot of other famous writers, like Dostoevsky and Theophile Gaultier.

As for Stephen King, well i tried to read some of his works, in english, but i disliked them immediately :(

[Biefall]

I grew up reading Lovecraft and King, nothing classic besides Poe… and I have to admit that after The Dark Tower saga Stephen King trolled me hard and I don’t want to ready anything King-related for a while…

[Genocide]

Really? I heard that was actually a good series by him. Hm. What is it that he does so differently now than he tends to, excuse my language, suck?

[manolia]

As for Stephen King, well i tried to read some of his works, in english, but i disliked them immediately :(

Hmmmm that's too bad :smilewinkgrin:
Well he is certainly not as good as some of the authors mentioned here but there are a few of his books that i consider really good (or at least i was too young when i read those books and if i was to read them now i might think otherwise..not sure)..although he seems to have an issue with endings.

[Biefall]

Really? I heard that was actually a good series by him. Hm. What is it that he does so differently now than he tends to, excuse my language, suck?

To put it simple, the 70% of his works are Dark Tower related so if you have read things like Insomnia or Salem's Lot you'll understand him better... but to know that his lifetime's work was THAT saga you expect it to be the best thing ever wrote. Its a huge mix of steam-cyber punk that lacks deludes the mysticism and horror he always created to open doors and answer question about many enigmas left in previous books.

Dont get me wrong, the Gunslinger's universe and culture is truly amazing and very capturing, but it wasnt... very... Stephen King like at the end.

and

*SEMI-SPOILER ALERT*

He warned me about the epilogue and i didnt listened, but what was seen cannot be unseen.

[Biefall]

Hmmmm that's too bad :smilewinkgrin:
Well he is certainly not as good as some of the authors mentioned here but there are a few of his books that i consider really good (or at least i was too young when i read those books and if i was to read them now i might think otherwise..not sure)..although he seems to have an issue with endings.

YES HE DOES... thats why I prefer his short stories, they are more satisfying than reading a 1000+ pages and find an unpleasant ending.

[Kyriakos]

Do you have any short (up to 40 pages?) horror stories to suggest i should read :)

I got the Wordsworth book of horror stories (in english) so i have enough from there that i havent yet read. Someone suggested The Moth, by H.G.Wells.

ps Hi Manolia, it is good to see other people from Greece here :)

[Karol Stapledon]

Great Short Horror Story!:ack2:

[mtpspur]

If you have a taste for OLD literature by all means try Camilla by Sheridan le Fanu. An early entry into a certain currently popular horror icon. I don't wish to spoil it--it is a mood piece.

[de Renal]

[QUOTE=Kyriakos;920382]Do you have any short (up to 40 pages?) horror stories to suggest i should read :)

W.W. Jacobs wrote good short horror stories, and you can find them on these pages! I've read The Toll House and The Monkey's Paw, and I can tell you - that man knew how to make a shivering atmosphere! :yikes:
Have fun!

[Kyriakos]

I know of the Monkey's paw, and i consider it to be a quite unique masterpiece :)

I will seach for those other stories, such as the Toll House and Camilla :)

Btw is Green Tea considered to be a horror story? (also by Le Fanu)


Great Short Horror Story!:ack2:

Is it cyberpunk? I havent read anything of that genre.

[Biefall]

Do you have any short (up to 40 pages?) horror stories to suggest i should read :)

I got the Wordsworth book of horror stories (in english) so i have enough from there that i havent yet read. Someone suggested The Moth, by H.G.Wells.

ps Hi Manolia, it is good to see other people from Greece here :)

I would recommend The Call of Cthulu from H.P. Lovecraft but i bet you've already taken a look at it. Probably Nightmares and Dreamscapes (sp? sorry, I read it on spanish so I am not entirely sure if the name is correct); its a short story compilation from King and you can find a couple of good stories there.

[de Renal]

@kyriakos

http://www.online-literature.com/lefanu/

http://www.online-literature.com/ww-jacobs/

[de Renal]

I would recommend The Call of Cthulu from H.P. Lovecraft but i bet you've already taken a look at it. Probably Nightmares and Dreamscapes (sp? sorry, I read it on spanish so I am not entirely sure if the name is correct); its a short story compilation from King and you can find a couple of good stories there.

I agree with you about Lovecraft, and recommend The Reanimator.

[de Renal]

And, can anyone tell me (totally offtopic), how to highlihght quotes? What do I do wrong %/mthrfck%#"?G#!#
:confused:
:smilewinkgrin:

[Kyriakos]

@kyriakos

http://www.online-literature.com/lefanu/

http://www.online-literature.com/ww-jacobs/

Thank you for the links :)

Yes, i have read the call of Cthulhu. My favourite piece by Lovecraft is The Outsider, and also the Music of Erich Zahn :)

[DonovanTalbot]

I have both The Shining and 'Salems Lot. I'll have to read them. Ever since "The Langoliers" I've been skeptical....

Thanks for the advice.

What have you read that you couldn't stand?

There's something about books that freak me out more than movies.... they stay with you longer.

"The Langoliers" is the only decent story in the Four Past Midnight novella collection. Stephen King is a great short story writer, tho, some collections should be avoided like FPM and Everything's Eventual. They're horrid reads.

I still need to read about a dozen of his newer works he has written in the last 25 years and read all but 1 or 2 of his earlier books (dating 1985 or earlier). I generally consider the vintage books to be the best. Stephen King was an excellent writer (awesome even) between 1974-1985. Otherwise, I have only enjoyed 5 books*** he has penned in the last 25 years with some decently fair ones I would be quite reluctant to recommend.

*** Nightmares & Dreamscapes, The Drawing Of The Three, The Waste Lands, Wizard & Glass, The Green Mile.

But the books that Stephen King wrote I think deserves a place on horror fans' bookshelves or for an introduction to SK for new readers are the following (I loved everyone of them!!!!!):

1. The Shining
2. Salem's Lot
3. IT
4. Cujo
5. The Green Mile
6. Pet Sematary
7. Night Shift
8. Different Seasons
9. Skeleton Crew
10. Nightmares & Dreamscapes
11. The Long Walk
12. The Gunslinger
13. The Drawing of the Three
14. The Waste Lands
15. Wizard & Glass

The Stand? Despite it's popularity, I am not a fan and probably one of the few SK readers that really can't stand it (pardon the pun).

[DonovanTalbot]

The scariest horror novels I have ever read are (that deliver genuine tension and terror):

Dracula by Bram Stoker
Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Hell House by Richard Matheson
Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney
The Other by Thomas Tryon
Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon
Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco
The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons
Lovers Living, Lovers Dead by Richard Lortz
The Shining by Stephen King
Salem's Lot by Stephen King
IT by Stephen King
Cujo by Stephen King
Pet Sematary by Stephen King

[joebob]

Anyone read House of Leaves? How was it?

[Lost_Souls]

Do you have any short (up to 40 pages?) horror stories to suggest i should read :)

I got the Wordsworth book of horror stories (in english) so i have enough from there that i havent yet read. Someone suggested The Moth, by H.G.Wells.

ps Hi Manolia, it is good to see other people from Greece here :)

Some amazing and truly unnerving classic short horror stories:

'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1892)
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1952/1952-h/1952-h.html
A very subtle tale of isolation and madness brought about by sinister interior design decisions.

'The Willows' by Algernon Blackwood (1907)
http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/11438/pg11438.html
This story actually makes me feel a bit shaky thinking about it, atmospheric and ambigous (and therefore terrifying) - like Lovecraft but with nature and more emotional.

'The Jolly Corner' by Henry James (1908)
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1190/1190-h/1190-h.htm
A better tale than Turn of the Screw IMO. This one, like the longer tale, is all about perception and just what are we afraid of in the dark? As with most James, extremely self-conscious, but a display of a master of language at work.

[Kyriakos]

Thank you for these, Lost Souls :)

By the way is your usename influenced by the eponymous novel by Nikolai Gogol?

edit: Nevermind, that was "Dead souls" :)

[Lost_Souls]

My name was actually influenced by Poppy Z. Brite's Lost Souls, which is kind of embarassing now as its about very angsty young vampires (sounds familiar?). It used to be my favourite book a long, long time ago. Actually it's still not that bad from memory, and it is a horror novel.

[Jassy Melson]

There is a difference between horror and science-fiction. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is not horror; it's science-fiction; in fact, it's the first science-fiction novel. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is not horror; it's science-fiction.

If you want to read great horror read Poe, Stoker, Le Fanu, Maupassant, Bierce, Lovecraft, Blackwood, Machen, Shirley Jackson, and Stephen King.

[LuggageFan]

I'm not as into horror as I used to think I was - or maybe, as much as I used to be. Most of the horror books on the shelves at B&N are essentially, Stephen King or Dean Koontz (with a token selection of others), neither of whom are really my cup of tea. I like some of the older horror stuff, but contemporary stuff just goes for the gore, and I mean, EVEN I could write that kind of schlocky stuff. So I stick to authors I know will entertain me, like Terry Pratchett or Agatha Christie.

[DonovanTalbot]

I'm not as into horror as I used to think I was - or maybe, as much as I used to be. Most of the horror books on the shelves at B&N are essentially, Stephen King or Dean Koontz (with a token selection of others), neither of whom are really my cup of tea. I like some of the older horror stuff, but contemporary stuff just goes for the gore, and I mean, EVEN I could write that kind of schlocky stuff. So I stick to authors I know will entertain me, like Terry Pratchett or Agatha Christie.

That pretty much echoes my sentiments, I love the horror genre both in film and literature. However, many of today's writers are simply a dime-a-dozen that write horror stories that contain no greater meaning or interesting human conflict or commentary or deeper relevence. It is purely hokey schlocky escapism.

With the likes of Stephen King especially his vintage works, he gave readers interesting characterizations, developed his characters and plots, and offered a story readers could latch some thought onto. These are rarer today.

[LuggageFan]

With the likes of Stephen King especially his vintage works, he gave readers interesting characterizations, developed his characters and plots, and offered a story readers could latch some thought onto. These are rarer today.

One contemporary author who seems to have real 'horror' talent is Brian Keene, of "The Rising". But from what I've heard, his subsequent stuff isn't as good, though I honestly haven't had time to get around to any of it yet. I'm working on Neil Gaiman and going to try to work through some of Frank Herbert's old stuff like The Fog and The Rats.

[Kyriakos]

I am not familiar with the contemporary horror authors.

I tried to read King and Barker, but disliked both...

Thus i am sticking to the classics :)

[DonovanTalbot]

One contemporary author who seems to have real 'horror' talent is Brian Keene, of "The Rising". But from what I've heard, his subsequent stuff isn't as good, though I honestly haven't had time to get around to any of it yet. I'm working on Neil Gaiman and going to try to work through some of Frank Herbert's old stuff like The Fog and The Rats.

I tried a couple of Herbert's works and was left unimpressed likewise Ramsey Campbell both from across the pond, I love Campbell short stories tho and recommend Alone With The Horror compilation. However, with Campbell it is a probably a matter of personal tastes.

I have read Keene too, yawn, I am sorry I wasn't even impressed with The Rising and prefer Max Brooks zombie works. Much better. Keene strikes me as yet another contemporary horror writer with the hack potboiler writer's ethic.

One popular contemporary and very prolific horror writer might be worth a look is Richard Laymon (whom is deceased now, RIP), he intentionally writes trash but reputedly makes it quite entertaining. I hear his books are like immersing one's self in 80s stylized cheesy b-grade horror movies that have warmed the hearts of legions of horror afiscionados and fanatics. But on the flipside I hear he can be formulaic and tiresome. Not all his books hold up to the rep. Anybody have any recommendations to start with? Beast House trilogy? The Island? Anything else?




I am not familiar with the contemporary horror authors.

I tried to read King and Barker, but disliked both...

Thus i am sticking to the classics :)

With the popularity of King brought an explosion of imitators publishers basically flooded the market of mass paperback horror fiction in the 80s and suffered a terrible crash.

Sticking to the classics up til the 80s influx of hacks is a wise choice. You are getting quality rather than several publishers capitalizing on a popular market in order exploit the huge success of King and his ilk.

But there are exceptions to the rule. And they frequently garner enough attention to become known to popular fiction readers. Or remain undiscovered except to genre readers.

[Kyriakos]

I have heard that Ligotti, another contemporary horror writer, is quite good. Unfortunately there was only one publication of a collection of his stories in greek, and it is currently out of print. But i have it in english, and from what little i read it seems interesting- although you should note that i didnt finish a single story, so my first impression might be misleading.

I was told that his "Teatro Grotesco" story was good, and i will probably get roung to reading it. The beginning seems like something Kafka might have written, at least a first glance :)

[DonovanTalbot]

I have heard that Ligotti, another contemporary horror writer, is quite good. Unfortunately there was only one publication of a collection of his stories in greek, and it is currently out of print. But i have it in english, and from what little i read it seems interesting- although you should note that i didnt finish a single story, so my first impression might be misleading.

I was told that his "Teatro Grotesco" story was good, and i will probably get roung to reading it. The beginning seems like something Kafka might have written, at least a first glance :)

You know, I haven't read Ligotti either (to my shame) but definitely heard of him and one of his biggest influences is Lovecraft and weird fiction writers are his biggest influences.

I believe The Nightmare Factory collection is considered his magnum opus.

[DonovanTalbot]

I edited my last two posts because I felt I was being condescending to horror lit. And I am a reader.

My point is modern horror fiction could use a great deal more character and plot development (c.f. King, Simmons, Lansdale) and substance. Too often modern horror novels rely upon the same token cracker jack characters suffering the same perplexing cracker jack scenarios over and again. It feels like a bad case of deja-vu.

Yes, horror literature can enjoy substance, if the classic masters of the genre and Stephen King (who deservedly himself immortalized in that same pantheon) can do it. Why not more modern horror writers?

[Kyriakos]

I think that there are many types of horror, and thus we have the decadence of horror lit of today, because it fits in none of the positive types.

You have writers like De Maupassant, who didnt write horror exclusively; in fact he only came to have such themes in the end of his life, mostly due to his own mental (and somatic) illness. So the stories have at least some degree of realism in them.

Then you have writers like Lovecraft, who write about something supernatural, but seem to be conscious of the symbols at play here below the work. Therefore they can create sentences that do provoke emotions of horror, because they are exploiting the power of such symbols.

And, finally, you have writers who neither know of madness, nor know of the depths of the psyche, but have an instinctive ability- at least to some degree- to write horror literature. These are, in my view, the weakest of the three types, and most modern writers of horror- if not all- are of this type. Sad, but it seems true to me... :)

[DonovanTalbot]

I think that there are many types of horror, and thus we have the decadence of horror lit of today, because it fits in none of the positive types.

You have writers like De Maupassant, who didnt write horror exclusively; in fact he only came to have such themes in the end of his life, mostly due to his own mental (and somatic) illness. So the stories have at least some degree of realism in them.

Then you have writers like Lovecraft, who write about something supernatural, but seem to be conscious of the symbols at play here below the work. Therefore they can create sentences that do provoke emotions of horror, because they are exploiting the power of such symbols.

And, finally, you have writers who neither know of madness, nor know of the depths of the psyche, but have an instinctive ability- at least to some degree- to write horror literature. These are, in my view, the weakest of the three types, and most modern writers of horror- if not all- are of this type. Sad, but it seems true to me... :)

Even better said.

[LuggageFan]

One popular contemporary and very prolific horror writer might be worth a look is Richard Laymon (whom is deceased now, RIP), he intentionally writes trash but reputedly makes it quite entertaining. I hear his books are like immersing one's self in 80s stylized cheesy b-grade horror movies that have warmed the hearts of legions of horror afiscionados and fanatics. But on the flipside I hear he can be formulaic and tiresome. Not all his books hold up to the rep. Anybody have any recommendations to start with? Beast House trilogy? The Island? Anything else?

I've read a couple of his books - The Beast House and also Among the Missing. Missing was more of a thriller, and the better of the two, IMO.

Anyway, if these two are good indicators of his style, seems like he had a lot of potential that he didn't actualize. By that I mean, his stuff is readable and engaging, so he had creativity, but then he relied on a lot of hack horror cliches, instead of doing things differently. You say that was intentional, so maybe I'm just stupid and missing the point, but I just wouldn't go out of my way to find his books.

[nandakishore]

I am a fan of classic horror, but I've stopped enjoying horror since the early works of Stephen King. Of his later works, only The Green Mile worked for me.

It's a bit sad to see that M.R.James is not mentioned by anybody: he's a quintessential British writer, and he writes in a unique reportage style which nevertheless gives one the heebie-jeebies. Casting the Runes was one of the most frightening stories that I've ever read.

Horror is selective: whatever frightens one can fall flat for another. The ghost that really scares you is the one hiding in the closet of your childhood. That is the function of all great horror literature: bring the ghost out and stand it in front of you.

That said, I'll list out a few of the horror stories which worked for me.

Novels:

Dracula by Bram Stoker

I read it when I was eight, in translation into my native language, and I was frightened out of my wits. Especially the scene when the three sisters almost make a meal of Jonathan and the slow decay of Lucy. I re-read it in English as a teenager and was still impressed. I don't know whether it'd touch me now.

The Shining by Stephen King

This I consider a masterpiece, a ghost story with genuine literary merit. Some scenes like the firehose in the hotel corridor, the dead woman in the hotel room and the topiary animals still gives me shivers.

Short Stories:

Casting the Runes by M.R.James

This one, I still read once in a while, and it frightens me every time. James writing style is anything but atmospheric: but his flat prose itself gives a terrifying edge to the horrific events it relates.

Pickman's Model by H.P.Lovecraft

The premise is creepy, the tempo slowly rises, and the last line will hit you like a tidal wave.

The Janissaries of Emilion by Basil Copper

The nightmare, taken to its frightening extreme. The sense of impending doom is terrific.

How Love Came to Professor Guildea by Robert Hitchens

The atmosphere is cloying and claustrophobic, and stays with you long after the story is over.

Nandakishore.

[LuggageFan]

The Shining by Stephen King

the dead woman in the hotel room

That passage sealed it for me, too. I don't know how King did it, but that has got to be the creepiest thing written in the last 50 years. :D


Short Stories:

Read King's "The Boogeyman".

[DonovanTalbot]

I've read a couple of his books - The Beast House and also Among the Missing. Missing was more of a thriller, and the better of the two, IMO.

Anyway, if these two are good indicators of his style, seems like he had a lot of potential that he didn't actualize. By that I mean, his stuff is readable and engaging, so he had creativity, but then he relied on a lot of hack horror cliches, instead of doing things differently. You say that was intentional, so maybe I'm just stupid and missing the point, but I just wouldn't go out of my way to find his books.


Laymon wrote 39 books and 5 collections over a 20 plus year period. Like much of horror literature today, I know there are plenty of boxes of cracker jacks in that bibliography. By "box of cracker jacks" I mean horror novels written with the cookie cutter efficiency and tenacity of a sweets factory.

The popular novels of Laymon that receive alot of attention by fans appear to be The Cellar (Beast House 1), In The Dark, The Travelling Vampire Show, and The Woods Are Dark. He also wrote under a pseudonym Richard Kelly but Leisure publishing has published all or some of these under Laymon in recent years.

I am definitely interesting in reading his works but how much depends on the impression the first few perhaps several books make on me. I am not one to enjoy multiple boxes of cracker jacks.


I am a fan of classic horror, but I've stopped enjoying horror since the early works of Stephen King. Of his later works, only The Green Mile worked for me.

It's a bit sad to see that M.R.James is not mentioned by anybody: he's a quintessential British writer, and he writes in a unique reportage style which nevertheless gives one the heebie-jeebies. Casting the Runes was one of the most frightening stories that I've ever read.

Horror is selective: whatever frightens one can fall flat for another. The ghost that really scares you is the one hiding in the closet of your childhood. That is the function of all great horror literature: bring the ghost out and stand it in front of you.

That said, I'll list out a few of the horror stories which worked for me.

Novels:

Dracula by Bram Stoker

I read it when I was eight, in translation into my native language, and I was frightened out of my wits. Especially the scene when the three sisters almost make a meal of Jonathan and the slow decay of Lucy. I re-read it in English as a teenager and was still impressed. I don't know whether it'd touch me now.

The Shining by Stephen King

This I consider a masterpiece, a ghost story with genuine literary merit. Some scenes like the firehose in the hotel corridor, the dead woman in the hotel room and the topiary animals still gives me shivers.



Nandakishore.

You have excellent taste in horror, Dracula and The Shining are my two favorite horror novels too.

I'll list some of my favorite horror short stories pretty soon. Just kinda being lazy about flipping through my anthologies. Ones that definitely gave me great impressions are A Rose For Emily by William Faulkner and Emma's Daughter by Alan Rodgers.

That Rodgers tale is not for the squeamish and is singlehandedly the best short zombie tale I have ever ever read. It is touching and compassionate well worth reading for anyone and everyone. But once again, not for the squeamish.

[Kyriakos]

It is worth noting that there are some excellent horror stories by authors who you wouldnt normally associate with the genre.
For example i loved Hesse's "The end of Dr. Klelge" and some other story about the first hominids. Both are very unussual stories for this writer to write, especially the latter one. They should be available online as public domain writings :)

[nandakishore]

That passage sealed it for me, too. I don't know how King did it, but that has got to be the creepiest thing written in the last 50 years. :D

Actually, I found the topiary animals more frightening. Our local park had an area similar to the one described in the book, and after reading it, I could not stay in that area alone at dusk! It used to creep me out.


Read King's "The Boogeyman".

I have read that story, and it is an excellent one. If I have to list all the horror stories that worked for me, I'd have to fill a book, I think! :D Another story that comes to mind immediately is Brian Lumley's "No Sharks in the Med".


You have excellent taste in horror, Dracula and The Shining are my two favorite horror novels too.


Thanks for the compliment, but what it really means is that we have the same ghosts hiding in our childhood.

I look forward to the list of your favourite horror stories. They should work for me too.

[Kyriakos]

I decided to have a look at Ligotti tonight.
I will report back what i thought of his work :)