Yes I agree with that as well, it is largely the modern culture that has made the books less terrifying than I imagine they must once have been.
I can imagine for instance back in the days, reading Edgar Allan Poe by candellight could have been in its time quite terrifying.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. ~ Edgar Allan Poe
'Thurnley Abbey' by Perceval Landon is a good, scary short story, as is 'To Let' by B.M. Croker. They were Victorian authors.
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That's how I read most of my scary stories. Closed door, the AC recreating the 3rd ice age, dark as night, silent save for every little thing that creaks.Originally Posted by Dark Muse
When you're in the right mood, that's when you crap the most bricks.
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Sounds nice, I loved love to read huanted, scary tales by the hearth fire on some stormy winter night.
I have been reading Dr. Jeykell and Mr. Hide, in the wee hours of the night, every night right before going to bed. That is kind of fun.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. ~ Edgar Allan Poe
I like to read horrors. But not these which donīt have imagineable involution in them.It loses my time.I prefer horrors with dull and freezy story of the great involution in them. A lot of movies were books before.Those ones have story mostly other atmosphere than when you read books with same story. You can reading a book, and being perfectly relaxed, but scary. However, you watch a movie, you can be cofused and perplexed, because you donīt know, for example, something about someone, what is not explain it in the movie.
there isn't too much these days that can be deemed that scary with modern horror movies desensitising us to a good dark book. Yet you have to go with Poe, the Raven gave me chills on a warm day when i picked it up in a bookstore. Though i find his detective writings a tad tedious. Lovecraft is the other suggestion but you already said you didnt dig him too much. Try searching about for some fantasy fiction or sci/fi. You might find something...
I scared myself silly reading M R James in a public library with other borrowers too-ing and fro-ing beside me and the August sun streaming in through the windows.
A good writer can set the scene no matter where you are reading but perhaps we as readers have been de-sensitised by tv or films, as one poster has already suggested, or perhaps the constant images of war-time horror on news channels or detailed reports of the (fortunately rare) monsters who commit multiple atrocities (the Yorkshire Ripper or the Wests in the UK for example) have made horror an everyday sensation. Which makes me wonder - why do we read Horror nowadays?
Even more, Johan, is there nowadays any really scary movie, apart from The Exorcist? And that's not really a modern film.... he he
To the point, I agree with GothMan, LeFanu is a must when dealing with horror stories, take In a Glass Darkly, where you'll find such pieces as Carmilla, Green Tea or Mr Justice Harbottle...
There are some -lesser known- interesting horror stories by Edith Wharton -the female Henry James as I personally reckon her- ... yes, the same one who wrote The Age of Innocence or The House of Mirth...
By the way, I remember taking a compilation of some of her horror stories -I'm sorry, I can't remeber the name- in whose preface she stated that with the invention of electricity, ghosts somehow disappeared....
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I've been reading a bit of Lovecraft these past couple days, and have been surprised at what different styles he took on during his career. As far as his earlier stories go, 'The Rats in the Walls' and 'The Music of Erich Zann' are the only ones I really care for. I was getting fed up reading about 'unspeakable horrors' and madness in these stories that are pretty unbelievable as it is. But as he matures, he develops a really fascinating and much more realistic method before introducing the frightful and unnatural. It's fantastic, really. Looking forward to more.
If you like Stephen King why not try one his own favorite writers, Dan Simmons if you haven't already. Night in the Lonesome October by Richard Laymon is probably my favorite horror novel.
My mother is a fish.
I enjoy his fantasy and surreal writing. I like the wierd and the bazzar, I just haven't found the stories to be truly "horror" by my estimation. But I still find them interesting.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. ~ Edgar Allan Poe
I recomend you "Books of Blood" by Clive Barker. These books are a collection of short stories combining horror and fantasy. I like these stories very much because in many cases you donīt know how the story ends and in other cases there are twist in the stories.
I second the Books of Blood, also I'd reccomend anything by Laird Barron.
The Wine-Dark Sea by Robert Aickman, 11 tales from the master of the strange!
The October Country by Ray Bradbury
The Dark Side by Guy de Mauppasant (warning some of these 31 tales are abit repetitive or similar themed, but his explorations into madness and the macabre is truly inspired if not abit leaning towards Poesque)
Didnt want to toss out the usual lists.
Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson.
Scary without resorting to graphic
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