I love me some horror.
But I gotta be honest: I haven’t read much great horror recently. In part because it’s harder to find — like I mentioned yesterday, you don’t see it with its own section anymore.
I want to read some kick-ass horror again.
So, recommend a horror book. Or, if you prefer, the oeuvre of an entire horror author. (I for one will, any day of the week, recommend the horror stylings of Robert McCammon. Uh, SWAN SONG, anyone?)
Here’s the key, though. I don’t want to hear only the recommendation. I want to know why. I want to know why it’s scary and, beyond that, why it works for you as a great story. Let’s crack this nut a little wider. What makes for effective horror fiction? Talk about it. Open up your Hellmouth and belch out some diabolical troofs.
And if you don’t read horror: why not?
Get to it, little monsters.
David says:
N. by Stephen King, in his Just After Sunset collection. Yeah it’s a short story, so what, go jump in a lake.
You ever get a little OCD? I mean maybe you legitimately have obsessive-compulsive disorder, but if you don’t, have you ever had a moment where you suddenly forgot if you locked your car and you need to double-check? And it’s locked, and you turn around and you’ve forgotten again?
Now imagine that sinking feeling when you realize you can’t remember whether your damn car is locked, but multiply it by some Hyperborean number, because if your car is not locked then something horrible is going to come roaring out of your car and do things to you that will make you wish a cougar was gnawing on your intestines.
That’s N.
October 12, 2011 — 1:05 AM
Stephen Geigen-Miller says:
Pretty much everything by Gemma Files, but I’m inordinately fond of ‘A Book Of Tongues’, the first volume of her Hexslinger series. Horror, dark fantasy and weird west all at once. Like Deadwood, but with black magic, Aztec blood gods, fallen preachers, Pinkerton agents and hot gay sex. But I suppose that makes it sound like a goofy genre mashup, and it’s not. It all works, brilliantly. And it’s all horrifying. The writing is evocative and potent and passionate, lush and precise and freaking brilliant.
October 12, 2011 — 1:06 AM
alex quinn says:
I’m currently rediscovering House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. But really I’m just here to see what everyone else recommends. 😀
October 12, 2011 — 1:25 AM
alex quinn says:
Reading comprehension fail. Ugh.
Why I loved House of Leaves: What I consider to be the “horror” aspect of it is so psychological, it almost defies explanation. All I know is that I will forever remember sitting on the cheap-assed futon couch in my apartment and reading a passage that literally made me close in on myself, hairs-standing-on-my-neck-freaked-out paranoia. It was awesome.
October 12, 2011 — 1:28 AM
mythago says:
LOW RED MOON, by Caitlin Kiernan. Not only because it out-Lovecrafts Lovecraft, but because Narcissa Snow is one of the scariest fucking villains ever. I get very tired of horror with Yet Another Crazy Serial Killer, because they’re so often not characters as much as a collection of “can you top the things THIS guy does to his victims?” Snow is….very much not that.
October 12, 2011 — 1:32 AM
Natalie says:
Um, because I don’t like being scared? Because I don’t enjoy nightmares? Not so much of the “why not”, I ask you “why?”
October 12, 2011 — 1:34 AM
Natán says:
You know, saying “little monsters” just made you sound like Lady Gaga, and that was pretty scary.
October 12, 2011 — 4:42 AM
Alexa Muir says:
I recently read “The Woman in Black” by Susan Hill and couldn’t put it down (literally – everyday I read it on the train I nearly forgot to get off for work or home!)
The style was very old fashioned, in the way that traditional ghost stories of the 18th or 19th Century would have been told (though it was written in the 1980’s). And that only adds to the creep factor. The build up is slow and the spooky bits are exactly the kind of thing that crosses your mind when you hear a noise in your house late at night, on your own…
I think I like how simple the story is. While a lot of modern horror focuses on the gore, and massive plot twists, The Woman in Black leaves a lot to your own imagination. It’s not too long either so it’s the perfect kind of book to curl up with on a stormy night, in the glow of a lava lamp, and let the chills begin.
I liked it so much I’m planning on seeing the play of it in London in December – perfect for Christmas scares. Then again I may be the only one who associates Christmas with ghost stories…
October 12, 2011 — 7:14 AM
Foxed says:
20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill.
Hell, I like Hill’s entire ouevre (that would be two novels, Heart-Shaped Box and Horns), but his short story anthology is truly awesome. Everything’s so weird and off-beat.
He’s definitely influenced by his father, but there’s enough Gaiman and Ligotti in there to make him a unique author. You can look up his father, but give him a chance on his own first.
… Oh and if you haven’t read any Thomas Ligotti YOU NEED TO GET ON THAT.
I discovered both authors while reading Poe’s Children, Peter Straub’s anthology of modern horror. A good testing ground to see if you like anyone new.
October 12, 2011 — 8:15 AM
Foxed says:
Duh, forgot why. Hill is very good st fleshing out the characters he puts through the ringer. He feels like you’re inhabiting the character, slipping into their skin.
Ligotti… well. Lovecraft is your Lovecraft. Ligotti is your Lovecraft on drugs.
October 12, 2011 — 8:33 AM
Josh Loomis says:
More often than not, he’s flippant instead of horrific, but every now and then Jim Butcher pulls out something that makes you want to curl up in a corner and cry.
Just another reason to love the Dresden Files.
October 12, 2011 — 9:12 AM
Thomas Barnes says:
I second House of Leaves – that book drives you crazy yet there’s so much depth to it, each time I read it I discover something new.
October 12, 2011 — 9:15 AM
Tony Lane says:
Pretty Dead Things by Gary McMahon freaked me out and I had to put it down for a while. That does not normally happen to me.
October 12, 2011 — 9:16 AM
Thomas Pluck says:
I sort of burned out on horror but still enjoy it. Bentley Little was recommended to me but I haven’t read what I picked up yet.
HOWEVER I will heartily recommend James Blaylock for something quirky and different. His books ALL THE BELLS ON EARTH (a suburban seller of Tiki items and novelties fumbles upon a cursed object that wreaks havoc on his neighborhood) and THE LAST COIN (Leviathan, a devil’s disciple and a PG Wodehouse style bed & breakfast owner hunting the last of 30 pieces of Judas’s silver in a seaside town) were hilarious, horrifying and very compelling.
October 12, 2011 — 9:17 AM
Berin Kinsman says:
Anything from the 80s – early 90s by John Skipp and Craig Spector. Their stuff is probably dated now, but it had well-drawn characters, genuinely disgusting situations, and were a lot of fun to read.
October 12, 2011 — 9:19 AM
Abby says:
I really don’t read horror anymore, but I did when I was younger. I read them through middle school and high school, but it gave me horrible nightmares, so as an adult, I haven’t read them much. I will watch the occasional scary movie (*I am Legend* scared the pants off me.), but books make me imagine worse horrors, because the movies actually show you what you’re supposed to be scared of (which isn’t as frightening for me) and books, they show you with words and your mind has to fill in the gory details. *shivers*
October 12, 2011 — 9:21 AM
Scott Roche says:
Pretty much anything by Paul E. Cooley. His Fiends collection (http://www.amazon.com/Fiends-Vol-Paul-Elard-Cooley/dp/193696001X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2) contains one of the best modern horror stories I’ve read in this decade. Closet Treats is as much about one man’s questioning of his own sanity in the face of some truly horrific events as it is about the events themselves. It’s less about the horror of a serial killer (though that’s in there) and more about the fear that comes from losing your grip on reality. Cooley gets that for something to be “horrific” you really, REALLY need to be able to connect with the main character.
Also I’d like to recommend I Am Not a Serial Killer for much the same reason. http://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Not-Serial-Killer/dp/B0058M77LK/
October 12, 2011 — 9:25 AM
Nathan Crowder says:
A lot of the horror I like lately has been in short form (though I did enjoy Seed by Ania Ahlborn quite a bit…solid demonic possession tale mixed with parental fears), but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one of my favorites.
Flicker by Theodore Roszak is a bit of a more subtle horror novel. People on Goodreads (where I have a review posted), list it as crime, mystery, conspiracy, thriller, as well as horror. In a nutshell, it involves a film student who begins unraveling a conspiracy involving an end of the world cult spreading their message subliminally through film–in particular, the b-films of mysterious silver-age director Max Castle. A must for old film fans, it plays out like a secret history of film with fictional details so intertwined with real movies and figures it’s difficult to distinguish between the two. A great example of creeping dread / down the rabbit hole horror.
Might not be your thing. Very little actual violence/gore. No monsters. But as a movie and conspiracy geek, it had a huge impact on me.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/243162.Flicker
October 12, 2011 — 9:27 AM
Patty Blount says:
OK. To tell you why, I have to reveal spoilers. WHISPERS by Dean Koontz. I read this book about 20 years ago and STILL shiver whenever I think about it. Heroine Hilary is being stalked and hunted by a psychotic killer she recognizes. She evades the first attack but when she reports it to the police, they don’t believe her because the man she accused is a wealthy winemaker quite a few miles away – an alibi easily verified.
Right here, I’m hooked because I read Hilary’s attack. I was right there with her. She’s not crazy.
Psycho killer keeps coming back and poor Hilary takes matters into her own hands – literally stabbing the guy before he can kill her. But, he keeps coming back – apparently, from the dead. Naturally, when the police find no wounds on the man she accused, they’re ready to arrest her.
Okay, the book goes on at length exploring various reasons for the mystery around poor Hilary, who is still being hunted. I’ll tell you this much – it’s the most obvious explanation.
The killer, Bruno Frye, is trying to kill his twisted and abusive mom – who died five years earlier. As the book plods along (It is way too long), we learn just how twisted and abusive she really was – and one of the sickest plot twists is where the title Whispers came from. I think this is why, twenty years later, the book still resonates with me.
By the end of the story, you can’t help but feel sorry for poor Bruno, even though he’s psychotic. I love when authors give even the most evil of characters a reason for their behavior and trust me, when you learn this reason, you almost hope he manages to catch Hilary next time. In this book, we get to climb inside the mind of a true monster and wow – perspective is truly skewed.
October 12, 2011 — 9:32 AM
Ed Kurtz says:
I recently read Ronald Malfi’s BOREALIS, which I greatly enjoyed. Sort of a mash-up of THE THING, THE SHINING and THE TERROR. I’m presently reading Benjamin Ethridge’s BLACK & ORANGE, which I believe won the Stoker for best first novel this year. Also lotsa fun.
October 12, 2011 — 9:38 AM
Amy Eller Lewis says:
I have to second the Joe Hill situation. There was a story in 20th Century Ghosts, called “Best New Horror”. For a full 20 minutes after reading it, all I could do was swat my husband on the arm saying “Dude. That was fucked up. That was FUCKED UP”. And I love horror. And it is hard to actually scare me with books. I never even FINISHED Heart shaped Box because it scared me so bad I wanted to put the book in the freezer, like Joey on “Friends”. But its hard to see through to what is scary about it, because it makes me not want to look. But I have to look. And Hill doesn’t rely too much on gore, but when he uses it, it is chilling.
October 12, 2011 — 9:38 AM
Mike Oliveri says:
One of my favorite horror novels—hell, favorite novels period—is Richard Laymon’s SAVAGE. I’ve always described it as the Huckleberry Finn for the horror genre. A kid gets stuck on a boat with Jack the Ripper, comes to the US, and tracks him across the states and into the Old West. Great read.
October 12, 2011 — 9:47 AM
Colum McKnight says:
We’re running an all-month-long All Hallow’s Read event on our website where we suggest a horror novel for pretty much anything/anyone we can think of. You should check it out. 🙂
If you haven’t read horror in a little while, I’m going to echo Ed’s suggestion of BOREALIS. It was incredible, and absolutely heart-wrenching. And hell, while I’m at it, why don’t you pic up BLEED by Ed Kurtz? Reads like Laymon, but with it’s own wicked style.
October 12, 2011 — 9:48 AM
Tiffany Leigh says:
Laird Barron is fantastic. HIs first short story collection THE IMAGO SEQUENCE pretty much used your “25 Things” post as a checklist. He comes closest to the dread of old and Other that Lovecraft perfected in the present day, without coming off as straight tribute. He’s working on a novel, and his 2nd collection OCCULTATION is also top-shelf.
Another suggestion is to put your hand to Ellen Datlow’s collection INFERNO. 20 contemporary stories of horror and the supernatural which all have a moment of “frisson” (as Datlow puts it in her introduction). Laird Barron’s THE FOREST is included.
And one other standout story in it – that turned me on to a little-read author, and still scares the living daylights out of me even thinking about as I write this – is called GHORLA. Samuels has written small collections/chapbooks, and has one collection out via Amazon etc, but he’s very much in the weird tales tradition of Robert Chambers or Lovecraft.
October 12, 2011 — 9:56 AM
Kent Gowran says:
The short novels WILDEST DREAMS and DARK HARVEST by Norman Partridge (along with everything else Norm has ever written). WD is something akin to an old Gold Medal crime novel colliding headfirst with a supernatural chiller. DH is a great Halloween novel with an original take, and has, over the last several years, become an annual October read for me. Norm’s writing, like most of the best out there, gives the illusion of being simple while putting the deathgrip on your spine.
October 12, 2011 — 10:00 AM
Patrick Regan says:
There’s the classics, obviously (King, Poe, Lovecraft, Barker), although like you I’m honestly interested in more new horror, because I don’t know where to start. I tried Joe Hill, but I’m kind of stuck somewhere in the last third of Heart Shaped Box without a lot of interest in continuing. Not sure why.
Anyway, want I really wanted to come here to pimp is a podcast: Pseudopod: http://pseudopod.org/ .
A weekly short horror fiction magazine. Generally really good quality and professional readers. It’s not always on, but when it is, it has genuinely terrified the poop out of my sphincter.
October 12, 2011 — 10:00 AM
Christine Dougherty says:
Try “The Girl in a Swing” by Richard Adams (yes, “Watership Down” Richard Adams). I read this book when I was fifteen or sixteen and have never been able to forget it. It has remarkable tension and is such a heartbreaker of a book. I learned a lot from it regarding the complexity of human nature and what ‘horror’ actually was. As a young adult, I think you have a tendency to see the black and white of of the world and this book was one of the first things that opened my eyes to the grays.
October 12, 2011 — 10:08 AM
Kate Miffitt says:
I’ll third (can you third something?) Joe Hill. I read Heart-Shaped Box, and what drives the story is a believable main character who is flawed, and who has to face his own shortcomings in order to overcome the ordeal he faces. Even the protagonist’s dogs are richly developed characters. What makes it scary is the use of simple, but vivid devices – a razor on the end of a chain, squiggly lines over eyes – that continue to terrify throughout the story.
October 12, 2011 — 10:15 AM
Folly Blaine says:
I just finished “Song of Kali” by Dan Simmons. You’ve probably read it since it’s been out awhile. Holy cow, does that book kick you in the teeth. Intense, visceral — it takes you places you don’t want to go but can’t look away. I loved it.
October 12, 2011 — 10:28 AM
Timothy Asher says:
I really enjoyed GHOSTWRITER by Ravis Harnell. Even if you’ve never been to St. Pete, FL, the imagery used makes you feel like you have. Also, it’s a slow build of creepiness that gives you the sense of “there is someone watching me.” I jumped at a lot of shadows in my peripheral vision while reading it.
I was never much of a horror fan until someone told me NEVERWHERE by Neil Gaiman was a horror story. Since then I’ve been reading more into the genre and enjoying it thoroughly.
October 12, 2011 — 10:42 AM
Michael Montoure says:
Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House.” Robert Wise’s 1963 adaptation of it is my favorite horror movie ever, and is a good and faithful adaptation — both the novel and the film set up a terrible feeling of dread and inevitability.
The novel has what many people (myself included) think may well be the best opening paragraph of any novel, regardless of genre:
Practically every haunted house story written since has been influenced, whether directly or indirectly, by “The Haunting of Hill House.” Stephen King cites it as the inspiration for “The Shining.” Find out what the modern American horror novel is all about — go back to the source.
October 12, 2011 — 10:49 AM
Oliver Gray says:
One no one seems to have mentioned: Robert Bloch.
While I’ve read a lot of his crime fiction too, something about Psycho always stuck with me. I read it as a teenager, and it was my first experience with something truly terrifying that wasn’t supernatural. Since then, I’ve always appreciated that you don’t need ghosts or monsters to be scary, sometimes the human mind is enough.
Additionally, I’ll say that Danielewski’s House of Leaves is a fabulous read, if you’re into super dense, super complicated, super abstract, super creepy, super awesome kind of stuff. The layers of narrative and his connection between the emotions of the family and the history of the house are so well developed. The formatting oddities and loose allusions to other, deeper mysteries make the whole book very surreal. Surreal = good horror, in my world.
October 12, 2011 — 10:49 AM
Allen Sale says:
Horror takes many forms. I have personally been disturbed by all of Scott Sigler’s in the horror genre. Whether it’s the self-mutilation that sometimes takes place, the knowing that your favorite character may not survive, the corruption of the innocent, it all makes for wonderful treks into uncomfortableness.
I won’t dwell on one of the Future Dark Overlord’s tales though. Instead, I’ll mention John Saul. I’ve only read two books by him, “Darkness” and “Perfect Nightmare”. The one that stood out was Perfect Nightmare thanks to the realism involved. Basic plot, someone is taking girls and women and hiding them somewhere. What makes this interesting is the fact the person scopes out the places by going to open houses. Saul takes the fear of people being in a place that you lived, have felt safe all your life, and wields it like a red-hot poker targeting both eyes. I’ve read the book multiple times and still get freaked out by some of the scenes.
October 12, 2011 — 11:03 AM
Joe says:
The Red Tree, by Caitlin Kiernan. It’s a great read because it’s fantastically subtle (it has a lot in common with House of Leaves, in that respect). Everything is vaguely out-of-kilter, sometimes in hard-to-describe ways, and the first person perspective means the reader can’t know what is real and what is a figment of the narrator’s imagination.
It’s the kind of book that kicks out the struts holding up reality, but it does it in such a subtle way that it’s hard to laugh off, and leaves you uneasy for the rest of the week.
October 12, 2011 — 11:07 AM
Tom says:
Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons. One of my favorite horror novels. The opening scene with uber-powerful nazi mind vampires playing chess with jewish prisoners as the pieces was intense, and it just gets better from there.
October 12, 2011 — 11:25 AM
Tanya says:
yes absolutely wowed me that book, first horror novel i ever read and i finished it off( i seem to remember it was a very long book) in about two days flat! I also love all the Richard Laymon books and how his protagonists fight back in ways sometimes far nastier than the fiends who are after them.
June 19, 2014 — 4:56 PM
Leo Godin says:
Swan Song is fantastic. One of my top three favorites.
Seed by Ania Ahlborn is fantastic. The best horror I’ve read this year. She does a great job of using little cues to enhance the setting. You really understand the characters and their motivations.
October 12, 2011 — 11:35 AM
Travis cole says:
Shadows – John Saul. I read it when I was very young, and in a gifted program. Scared me to my very core.
October 12, 2011 — 11:40 AM
Ahimsa says:
It’s only a wee novella, but George Martin’s The Skin trade is one of the creepiest things I’ve read. Good horror to me, like all good writing, descends way past where you’d expect/be comfortable with. It’s just as well-written as his fantasy, but it captures that eerie, everything is fucked vibe that is crucial to successful horror.
October 12, 2011 — 11:54 AM
DeAnna says:
Joe Hill — for you, Horns.
House of Leaves — meh. It’s kind of like The Blair Witch Project. Neat idea, good moments…payoff vs. time spent wasn’t high enough.
I liked Drood by Dan Simmons – Wilkie Collins relates the tale of how Charles Dickens is a right bastard and may have been Jack the Ripper – but that may not be for you. If you like writers involved, definitely.
Now, John Dies at the End by David Wong might be more your thing. It reels from one fucked up situation to the next, making you shudder with horror and black humor by turns.
And Joe Lansdale in general, although I don’t know that he’s 100% horror.
October 12, 2011 — 12:29 PM
Vivi Anna says:
I will agree with Swan Song. Love that book. One of my faves.
I’m also a big Richard Laymon fan. My first and fave has to be Bite. It’s so insane and over the top, and it is like horror on crack, it moves at lightning speed. From page 1 you are on the move into a messed up world.
I also highly recommend the Gone series by Michael Grant, it is YA and it is amazing. His writing reminds me a bit of Stephen King, he created an amazing freaky scary world. It’s got monsters in it, but the scariest part is what lengths the kids will got to to survive.
October 12, 2011 — 12:38 PM
HJR says:
Hell House by Richard Matheson is a brilliant horror novel. Actually, so far, I’ve liked everything I’ve read by him.
Shirley Jackson is another I adore.
Also, most chain bookstores have phased out the Horror section and disseminated it into the Literature section. I tend to like that it appears to add legitimacy to the genre, but I am inclined to believe it’s more a space/shelving issue than that they have any great respect for the authors and their works.
October 12, 2011 — 12:53 PM
Alyn Day says:
As a writer, I love to read, and I read what I love to write… thus horror flows through my veins like blood onto the pages of my many messy, scattered notebooks. Well, not actual blood. Metaphorical blood. Unless (End plugging) So yeah, I have some reccomendations:
For good old fashioned horror, I like Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived In The Castle. A unique cast of characters, genuinely creepy and shocking without ladling on the blood, gore, and violence, all in all, a good read.
For literary junk food, I like Brian Keene, especially The Conqueror Worms, Dead Sea, and Gathering Of Crows. J.F. Gonzalez is also good for that, especially the Clickers series. Good reads that can be enjoyed single serving without a whole lot of emotional investment. Just like junk food, sometimes it’s just exactly what you need.
For “horrific fiction” that’s not quite horror, check out Six Days by the amazing Kelli Owen. Also, her new novella “The Neighborhood”. She’s not exactly a horror writer per se, and she’d tell you that herself, but her work does comprise certain horrific elements, and her style is worth the slight genre cross step.
For classics, you just can’t beat Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Edgar Allen Poe’s Rise and Fall Of The House Of Usher.
October 12, 2011 — 12:57 PM
Tiffany Leigh says:
Adding another post with some more stellar recommendations I can make. Also adding that the author that wrote GHORLA (found in Ellen Datlow’s INFERNO anth) is named Mark Samuels):
PETER CROWTHER – he’s written one or two SS collections, and is more known as an editor, but his books are all fantastic. His short story collection THE LONGEST SINGLE NOTE is one of the creepiest, most terrifying books I’ve ever read, and re-read, and re-read. Channels the grisliest, most dreadful, and squickiest moments of 80’s vintage Clive Barker and Stephen King. He’s also co-written a great book that drops Ray Bradbury’s nostalgic look at small-town America crossed with Stephen King’s “huge collection of characters facing good vs. evil in a fishbowl” narratives called ESCARDY GAP. Thankfully Angry Robot is republishing his King-esque “Stand”-type apocalyptic adventure/trilogy DARKNESS FALLS.
Stephen King’s non-fiction book DANSE MACABRE is ostensibly a modification of a survey course that King taught in ME in the 70’s, and is a great reference when hunting for horror fiction. King references dozens of authors and titles and in an extensive laundry list of works cited. Many of the books he mentions are no longer in print, and he also gave serious love to contemporary authors like James Herbert, Thomas Tyron. He didn’t just trot out the progenitors of the form.
Another great survey/reference book is David Hartwell’s THE DARK DESCENT. The 1000+ page omnibus is an anthology and history of horror fiction. It originally came out in the mid-80’s as three separate volumes that covered the genre historically (much like Straub’s recent American Fantastic Tales for the Library of Congress). Hartwell’s long-form essays about the history of the genre are of academic quality, and his taste favors the more obscure gems of horror fiction.
October 12, 2011 — 1:19 PM
Elizabeth Poole says:
First I will fourth the recommendation on anything by Joe Hill. I didn’t even know he was Stephan King’s son until someone mentioned it on a forum. The influence is there, but he is definitely his own person. The thing about “Heart Shaped Box” is that it’s at once instantly relatable, but there’s a fresh taste to everything. The main character is a burnt out rock and roll singer with a fascination for macabre things. Every detail feels fresh and creative, yet perfectly fits with the story.
Also, it’s creepy as hell.
@ Amy: it took me days to finish Heart Shaped Box because it just got under my skin so badly, but it was WORTH it. I highly recommend you try to finish it.
I will vehemently second the John Dies at the End. Any chance I get to pimp this book–especially to a horror fan–I will.
This book is just plain fucked up. The main characters are often in physical danger, fighting monsters, but there’s also a lot of existential horror a la Lovecraft. Horror is coming at you on all levels, but there’s also a lot of black humor in it as well. As you said yesterday, it’s hard to explain exactly why this book is so terrifying, but it is. It’s insidious. It gets under your skin. It made me believe during and after reading the book in the horrible things that existed in the pages, and I’ve tried to block some of it from my memory since then, just because it’s so fucking terrifying.
So there. Get thee to a bookstore or Amazon and read this book. It will scar you for life.
October 12, 2011 — 1:40 PM
Scooter Carlyle says:
Favorite horror author of all time? Dean Koontz. Especially the Odd Thomas and Frankenstein series.
October 12, 2011 — 1:41 PM
Mike says:
I recently read and enjoyed Southern Gods by John Horner Jacobs. Southern gothic by way of Lovecraft with a touch of the blues thrown in.
The Painted Darkness by Brian James Freeman for a taught, albeit quick, meditation on horror and artistic expression.
The Lucid Dreaming by Lisa Morton was another short and fascinating take on the end of the world with a strong and interesting female lead.
Neverland by Douglas Clegg was rereleased in 2010. Another great children versus unspeakable evil tale drenched in the nostalgia of lost summers.
I also absolutely loved The Red Tree (and just about everything else) by Caitlin Kiernan. Questionable narrator, slowly dawning dread, and a visceral setting made for a splendid read.
Also if you haven’t read John Dies at the End do yourself a favor and do so! It is everything awesome about the crazy horror films of the 70s and 80s rolled up into a delightful little package.
October 12, 2011 — 2:15 PM
Emma Arnold says:
“Inside the Outside” by Martin Lastrapes is an excellent, very creepy book about a teenage cannibal coming of age in a secret California cult. It’s simultaneously horrific and sweet, it filled me with delicious Hitchockian dread while allowing me to fall in love with its characters. Unlike anything I’ve ever read, tight literary prose with a spooky story, it belongs in a genre all its own. Horror doesn’t quite do it justice.
October 12, 2011 — 3:41 PM
Jeremy Morgan says:
*House* by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker
It wasn’t scary, but it certainly nailed unsettling for me. The entire book has that feeling of dread / foreboding. I can’t give it a sterling review, but I think it’s a decent example of horror without blood and gore.
October 12, 2011 — 4:57 PM
Dave Turner says:
I’ll offer you some “philosophical horror” (and I don’t mean Foucault’s “Discipline & Punish”). I’m going with “Neuropath”, by R. Scott Bakker. “Neuropath” is loosely set in a near-future when neuroscientists have achieved a complete understanding of the brain. Specifically, a group of secret government scientist-types have learned how to use physical surgical techniques to manipulate minds. The government uses this technology to interrogate terrorists, but one rogue, unbalanced scientist uses it for much more than that. Imagine Hannibal Lecter if he had the power to literally control your mind, rather than merely suggesting it with words. Our hero is a childhood friend of Rogue Scientist/Crazy Person and works with an FBI agent to find our killer.
That all sounds relatively pedestrian and I suppose it is. But the horror in “Neuropath” attacks what readers love most: themselves. In another life, Bakker was a doctoral candidate in neuroscience and neurophilosophy. Through the book’s protagonist, Bakker whispers some of the tamest truths in those academic fields with chilling effect. Both the protagonist and the Rogue Scientist subscribe to a sort of self-extinguishing nihilism that goes to seemingly absurd lengths. Gradually, however, the story begins to convince you that these characters are RIGHT. As the protagonist’s worldview crumbles, YOUR worldview crumbles. It’s like reading a post-apocalpytic horror novel, only the apocalypse involves your own mind, not a fictional world.
Bakker certainly exaggerates the science for dramatic effect, but what an effect! He doesn’t neglect the form of a horror novel. There are a few moments of gruesome death and torture. It’s got bits of the Squick Factor, but they’re not (too) gratuitous. The cherry on the sundae is that Bakker is an accomplished writer of obvious gifts and craft.
October 12, 2011 — 5:32 PM
Hillary says:
Anno Dracula, Kim Newman.
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780857680839
Fan-fuckin’-tastic read. After looking at the re-release cover, I want to read it again!
October 12, 2011 — 6:56 PM