horror books

[Jewbo]

I just started readin jaws and im not far in and was wondering, how well does horror come across in a book?

[Sam Hain]

it comes across very well.infact jaws,the book,scared me more than the movie.
the shining is another example.

[Fettdog]

If done right, horror in print can be as creepy as horror on screen, sometimes more so, as your imagination is left to fill in the blanks.

Two examples that come to mind are the topiary animals section in The Shining - you could never get across on screen the tension that exists in this chapter of the book, and in a book called Toady by Mark Morriss, there's a scene involving a snowman which really creeped me out!

Long live horror fiction!

[Jewbo]

cool. anyone got any good recomendations 4 me then? im gettin thru jaws pretty fast. been a while since i seen the film so it will b good 2 see after im dun with the book.

[FeydRautha]

A truly good horror author should fill your head with images through his/her prose and text. As Fettdog points out, Stephen King is a modern master of this in The Shining - and other of his works, like Salem's Lot. Peter Benchley's very good (you mentioned reading Jaws), but seems limited IMHO. Read "The Deep" if you don't believe me.

Other not-so-modern legends are Edgar Allen Poe, August Derleth, Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, and my all-time favourite H.P. Lovecraft. To me, modern horror writers like Clive Barker or James Herbert have never drawn me into a story like the grand oldies could.

[Psychocandy]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Fettdog:
If done right, horror in print can be as creepy as horror on screen, sometimes more so, as your imagination is left to fill in the blanks.

Two examples that come to mind are the topiary animals section in The Shining - you could never get across on screen the tension that exists in this chapter of the book, and in a book called Toady by Mark Morriss, there's a scene involving a snowman which really creeped me out!

Long live horror fiction!</font>

I've had Toady sitting on my bookshelf for about five years now and haven't gotten round to reading it. I've read just about every other horror novel by the very talented Mark Morris. Have you read any of his later books and how do they compare to Toady? My favorite was The Immaculate. It was an incredibly creepy ghost story with all the classical trimmings. He's a great writer.

[HalloweenShape31]

It depends on whos the writer is. Stephen King always does a good job of getting the horror across to you. His books have creeped me out on more than one occasion.

[Donnie Darko]

If you want to be scared, really scared, take the time to hunt down a copy of "Off Season" by Jack Ketchum. I took the time to do it this week, and let me tell you... VERY FUCKED UP. It's been out of print for almost 20 years, except for a reprinting that they did of the uncut version of the book in 1999. You can still get the uncut, new, but it's $45. You can track down a used copy of the trade paperback printing (cut version) from 1980 for pretty cheap though.

Oh yeah, the plot. A bunch of upper-middle class twenty somethings go to a cabin in the Maine woods to relax, but little do they know that there is a something waiting in the woods that is more horrifying than anything they've encountered... To give a little direction to what your mind is filling in here, everything in this book could be true. It will definitely mess with you. I've never seen a horror movie that's made me squeamish, and I've seen a lot, but this book just punches you in the gut and drags you over rough terrain.

And Jaws is an okay book, but it is one of the few instances where I liked the movie better than the book.. Benchleys worked focused too much on unnecessary subplots, ie - Mrs. Brody's affair with Dreifuss's character from the movie, his name escapes me at the moment, and then the Brody/Dreifuss conflict. I much preferred the comraderie between them in the movie, and the brody/dreifuss vs. quint plot.

[DeaditeDerik]

Stephen Kings books are great (especially The Shining, a personal favourite). I also just finished reading Rosemary's Baby and loved it.

[DeadByDawn]

H.P. Lovecraft's and Clive Barker's work is fantastic. I highly recommend them, especially their short stories.

[malaria]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Psychocandy:
I've had Toady sitting on my bookshelf for about five years now and haven't gotten round to reading it. I've read just about every other horror novel by the very talented Mark Morris. Have you read any of his later books and how do they compare to Toady? My favorite was The Immaculate. It was an incredibly creepy ghost story with all the classical trimmings. He's a great writer.</font>

Damn that's weird. I too have had Toady (AKA The Horror Club) on my "To read" list for years and am reading it at the moment. I'm a third of the way through. It's really good so far. Quite creepy. I've never read anything else by Mark Morris but I really like him. He's got a very natural writing style. Anything else you'd recommend Psychocandy?

[Psychocandy]

I've read all his books in the horror genre except for the last book he released before mysteriously disappearing from the radar (I suspect he lost his contract due to falling sales although I may be wrong).

Stitch was very good but it's been a while since I last read it. The Immaculate is possibly the finest ghost story I have ever read. The Secret Of Anatomy was his next book. I remember enjoying it immensly but feeling that it didn't quite live up to it's potential. This was, if memory serves, mainly because halfway through the book an event occurs that is totally terrifying both in terms of plausibility (within the context of the book) and in terms of the effect the actual event has on the remainder of the narrative. I feel that there is something amiss with the structure of a book if an event midway through is more exciting than the actual conclusion of the book. Still...it was very good. I just felt it had the potential to be so much more. The next book I read was Longbarrow. Very good book. I like books set in small villages where things go disastrously and supernaturally wrong and basically lots of people die. About 99.9% of the locals in the village end up going insane and the final chapters are like a descent into hell as the few survivors try to stay alive. Brilliant. The only other book of his i've read is Mr Bad Face which I honestly don't remember much about although I did enjoy it. He has also written a couple of Dr Who novels which i've heard good things about and his last book was called Genesis and i've not yet read it.

I'll recommend ten books that every fan of written horror should read at some point,

Blood Crazy by Simon Clark
King Blood by Simon Clark
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Swan Song by Robert R McCammon
Stinger by Robert R McCammon
Summer Of Night by Dan Simmons
Song Of Kali by Dan Simmons
Requiem by Graham Joyce
The Tooth Fairy by Graham Joyce
The Fog by James Herbert

All of the above are solid gold. Any book by any of the above authors is worth reading. I could easily make up a list of 100 books and the above list would pretty much change on a daily basis depending on my mood.

[Klownzilla]

Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg was great. It was made into Angel Heart.

[Donnie Darko]

"OFF SEASON"!!!

Anyway, "Swan Song" by McCammon is a GREAT book. Very few readers of it that I've met, but everybody loves it. Haven't read anything else of his though.

[moviebuff86]

steven king is great also thte r 2 books by owl going back tht r suppose to be very good and have won awards and everything
by the way does anyone collect steven king books or have many

[moviebuff86]

those books by owl goingback r crota and darker than night

[RogueSpear]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Psychocandy:


Blood Crazy by Simon Clark
Swan Song by Robert R McCammon
</font>

Definate reads. Blood Crazy is my new favorite book after reading it last month. And anything by McCammon is great. It's not necessarily horror (it does have some horror elements to it) I would recommend Wolf's Hour by McCammon. It's about a werewolf/spy during set in World War II Europe. It's a great read.

[Corpse Candle]

Stephen king is all well and good but he is capable of writing some extremely dull and predictable books.
Then again I think pulp horror is the best side of writen horror.
Graham masterthon
One great example.
Guy.n.smith
My personal favourite and because of his KILLER CRAB books read DEAD MEAT now that is good.

[Psychocandy]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by RogueSpear:
Definate reads. Blood Crazy is my new favorite book after reading it last month. And anything by McCammon is great. It's not necessarily horror (it does have some horror elements to it) I would recommend Wolf's Hour by McCammon. It's about a werewolf/spy during set in World War II Europe. It's a great read.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0709072244/ref=sr_aps_books_1_1/202-0346624-2863003

Does this sound cool or what?

</font>

Trust me. If you liked Blood Crazy you absolutely have to track down a copy of King Blood. Tell you what...I sold my 1st Edition Hardback copy recently because I was broke. However, there is a copy in a 2nd hand book store in the city near the town where I live. If you email me with your address i'll pick it up and mail it over to you next time i'm sending stuff to the US (I sell a lot of stuff on Ebay so i'm always sending stuff). Simon Clark has another apocalyptic horror novel coming out later this year. Check it out.

[RogueSpear]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Psychocandy:
Trust me. If you liked Blood Crazy you absolutely have to track down a copy of King Blood. Tell you what...I sold my 1st Edition Hardback copy recently because I was broke. However, there is a copy in a 2nd hand book store in the city near the town where I live. If you email me with your address i'll pick it up and mail it over to you next time i'm sending stuff to the US (I sell a lot of stuff on Ebay so i'm always sending stuff). Simon Clark has another apocalyptic horror novel coming out later this year. Check it out.

</font>

Thanks for the offer. I'll get back to you about it though. I'll check my local used book store first.

Anyway, what's King Blood about? I have Nailed By the Heart but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Have you? If so, is it any good?

[Psychocandy]

Nailed By The Heart is the other side of Simon Clark. On one hand he is a master of epic, apocalyptic horror while on the other hand he is also a dab hand at smaller scale chills.

The apocalyptic horror novels he has written are as follows,

King Blood, Blood Crazy and the forthcoming Stranger

The smaller scale stuff he has written is,

The Judas Tree, Vampyrrhic & Nailed By The Heart.

He has also written a couple of novels that straddle both styles,

The Fall & Darker...

I have yet to read his sequel to Day Of The Triffids...Night of the Triffids because I want to read the John Wyndham classic first.

I have also yet to read Darkness Demands or his collection of short stories Salt Snake & Other Bloody Cuts. I intend to read them both...soon.

He is one of the most exciting writers currently working in the horror genre and deserves the kind of success and critical praise that has been levelled at the other great British horror novelist James Herbert.

Hope this helps.

He has a semi-official website. The url is,

http://www.bbr-online.com/nailed/

It hasn't been updated in a while though.

[malaria]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Psychocandy:
Nailed By The Heart is the other side of Simon Clark. On one hand he is a master of epic, apocalyptic horror while on the other hand he is also a dab hand at smaller scale chills.
</font>

I'd just like to say you have officially got me interested in Simon Clark. I've been looking at his books in the shop. When I've finished Toady by Mark Morriss I'm reading SleepyHead by Mark Billingham but as soon as I've read that one I'm gonna read a Simon Clark.
Which do you recommend as a good starter Psychocandy? I've been thinking of Nailed by the Heart. Which one got you hooked?

And by the way, just read Once by James Herbert. I have yet to read his previous one Others (I've read everything else by him) but I have to say I think the guy's lost it completely. It was so saccharine it made me wanna kill someone.

[Corpse Candle]

Just purchased THE RATS and a new copy of LORD OF THE FLIES (the copy I nicked from school had been lost).
I still have a whole load of books that I picked up at car boot sales (like flea markets) that I haven't read yet.
In fact car boot sales are one of the best places to pick up great horror books for dirt cheap.

[spacemonkey]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Jewbo:
cool. anyone got any good recomendations 4 me then? im gettin thru jaws pretty fast. been a while since i seen the film so it will b good 2 see after im dun with the book. </font>

Dude read The Regulators by Sthephen King it was preatty creapy. Another good one is Desperation. I read these back to back and both had a scaring the hell out of me effect. The Regulators being the most effective at that.

If you can get them, check out the Books of the Dead...a bunch of zombie stories put together in one book. Thingsgoingon was good enough to send em to me (for free how cool was that?) in the mail and they kick major ass!

Spacemonkey over and out. http://www.joblo.com/ubb/biggrin.gif
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[This message has been edited by spacemonkey (edited 08-16-2002).]

[Psychocandy]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by spacemonkey:
Dude read The Regulators by Sthephen King it was preatty creapy. Another good one is Desperation. I read these back to back and both had a scaring the hell out of me effect. The Regulators being the most effective at that.

If you can get them, check out the Books of the Dead...a bunch of zombie stories put together in one book. Thingsgoingon was good enough to send em to me (for free how cool was that?) in the mail and they kick major ass!

Spacemonkey over and out. http://www.joblo.com/ubb/biggrin.gif
}{

[This message has been edited by spacemonkey (edited 08-16-2002).]</font>

All of his books are worth reading. The real standouts thus far have been Blood Crazy and King Blood. Follow those with Nailed By The Heart then give either Darker or Vampyrrhic a spin. The Fall and The Judas Tree should be next on the agenda. I've still not read Darkness Demands or Salt Snake but have read nothing but praise for them both. I would suggest reading Day Of The Triffids before touching Simon's sequel Night of the Triffids. By all accounts though Night is a very worthy sequel to a classic horror novel. After you have ploughed through that lot you have his upcoming novel Stranger to read. From what i've read about Stranger I have been left very intrigued and intend to buy it in hardback soon as it hits the stores.

Oh...and btw. If you haven't read I Am Legend by Richard Matheson...do so right now. Seriously...it's the best horror novel ever written. You will be turning the pages so fast they will be in danger of igniting. Trust me. It's wonderful and has one of the most thought provoking conclusions i've ever read in a genre book.

[Evil Spike]

I collect Stephen King novels. The Jaws book was way different than the movie, tho!!

[This message has been edited by Evil Spike (edited 08-16-2002).]

[Adrian4712]

There's this place Spookyworld that opens every Halloween around here. And I couldn't find it anywhere else, but there they have Child's Play 3: The Book. It must be incredible rare cause I just can't find it anywhere else. Spookyworld is incredibly cool. Haunted houses and horror movie prop rooms and gift shops. SWEET!

[malaria]

The best recent book I've read is House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski and I recommend it to anyone who likes creepy Haunted House books. You've never read anything else like it I guarantee!!!!!!!!!!

On a basic level it's about a documentary film-maker who buys a house and then discovers that the inside dimensions of the House are quarter of an inch larger than the outside dimensions. He becomes obsessed with this creepy physical anomaly and sets about creating a documentary about it. He brings in the most esteemed scientists and architects he can find, to check his findings. And together they all become embroiled in a surreal nightmare beyond imagining.

I say "on a basic level" because this novel is so much more complicated and deeper than that and at times it's a complete mental mindfuck!
It's the most remarkable and accomplished debut novel I've ever read.

The text in the book is the most remarkable thing. It's nothing short of a work of art. Many typfaces are used in the book and the lines 'literally' skit all over the place the illustrate the events of the book.

Also:
I've heard some recent good stuff about The Mothman Prophecies which has apparently been re-released on book to coincide with film release. I've heard that it's the scariest book around and so have decided not to watch it till I've read it. Any thoughts?

[horror junkie]

I heard that the Last House on the Left was based on a book or something called The Virgin Spring. Does anyone know??

[ParileseMonster]

I think that the novel of the movie goes into more detail and explains more. Also the characters are more in depth and if you know more, basically you care more and that is important. I enjoy actually reading book adaptions of movies. Like in the book
Dawn Of The Dead or example the mall featured a pet store and our four mall inhabitant heros take care of them. Probally not needed for the movie but in the book it adds more to the characters and to the story of their days in the mall. I just went to the Fangoria Weekend Of Horrors In Pasadena this past Saturday and I bought a copy of the book Phantasm and I think there are only 500 copies or something? Anyway I am looking forward to this read because everyone I talked to even Reggie Bannister and they have all said that the book will explain more and the characters will have more detail and depth and I love Phantasm the movie but it also confuses the hell out of me in parts. I also love the book The Fan
(Lauren Bacall movie) Wow what a great read the whole story is told through nothing but letters of correspondence through the characters it is like snooping through a diary or someones drawer and is it ever suspensful. The Hellbound Heart ( hellraiser ) is a good read but I felt it was too short. Steven King books are great but they have been covered by other comments already. Ghost Story is a good book, The howling, the beast within, The Amityville horror all of which great books to read.

[Scully1888]

If you haven't seen Pet Sematary, I suggest you read the book first, so the movie doesn' waste your imagination when reading it.

Then go see the film and have it wasted. http://www.joblo.com/ubb/smile.gif
They even cut a whole damn character out of it!

[Beowulf]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Off Season!</font>

Great to hear that there are more Ketchum fans out there! While his writing isn't as detail intensive as Stephen King he definitely delivers a greater amount of raw horror.

If you haven't read it I would definitely recommend picking up Ketchum's "The Girl Next Door". It's the only book that I've read where I had to stop every once and a while simply to regain composure. And the fact that it is based on a true story makes it all the worse. Definitely goes to show that human nature can sometimes be more frightening than any fictional cannibal family or maniac hockey player. http://www.joblo.com/ubb/frown.gif

I paid about $150 for it in hard cover but "Overlook" just released a new printing, so you can pick it up for about $40. (To the chagrin of the entire Ebay community I'm sure.) http://www.joblo.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

http://ketchum.dangermedia.org/images/smalloffs.jpg


[This message has been edited by Beowulf (edited 08-20-2002).]

[malaria]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by ParileseMonster:
I also love the book The Fan
(Lauren Bacall movie) Wow what a great read the whole story is told through nothing but letters of correspondence through the characters it is like snooping through a diary or someones drawer and is it ever suspensful. </font>

That was a GREAT book!!! I never saw the film but can't imagine how they would translate it for the screen and do it justice? Was it any good ParileseMonster? That story just has to be READ! "Ever been fucked by a machete?" Brrrrr!!!!!!!

[ParileseMonster]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by malaria:
That was a GREAT book!!! I never saw the film but can't imagine how they would translate it for the screen and do it justice? Was it any good ParileseMonster? That story just has to be READ! "Ever been fucked by a machete?" Brrrrr!!!!!!! </font>

Yeah that was a great line! Scary!
I think the movie was done very well!
Lauren Bacall ( Sally Ross ) and Michael Biehn( Douglas Breen )did a really great job acting and brought the characters to life in a way that I would say gave them substance and served justice. The letter writing is evident throughout and stayed as a main focus plot point of the film and stayed pretty true to the book. I really like this movie alot and I watch it often. The music is really good in this film as well. The only thing I didnt like was the crappy broadway songs Lauren sang they are funny
"Get off your ump and go!" lol. http://www.joblo.com/ubb/tongue.gif
Watch this film!!!!! The book is the best but the makers of this movie had their hearts in the right place!


By the way if anyone is interested copies of this book are very cheap at Half.com - Read It and Watch the Movie!!!!



[This message has been edited by ParileseMonster (edited 08-20-2002).]

[APzombie]

I just finished reading Red Dragon, bloody brilliant thriller~!

[MotorizedInstinct]

The Shining scared the Poo out of me.

If you guys want to read something REALLY SCARY. Read Lovecraft's "The Horror in the Museum". It will give you the pure He Bee Ge Bees!

[This message has been edited by MotorizedInstinct (edited 08-21-2002).]

[malaria]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by ParileseMonster:
[B] Yeah that was a great line! Scary!
I think the movie was done very well!
Lauren Bacall ( Sally Ross ) and Michael Biehn( Douglas Breen )did a really great job acting and brought the characters to life in a way that I would say gave them substance and served justice. The letter writing is evident throughout and stayed as a main focus plot point of the film and stayed pretty true to the book. I really like this movie alot and I watch it often. The music is really good in this film as well. The only thing I didnt like was the crappy broadway songs Lauren sang they are funny
"Get off your ump and go!" lol. http://www.joblo.com/ubb/tongue.gif
Watch this film!!!!! The book is the best but the makers of this movie had their hearts in the right place!

By the way if anyone is interested copies of this book are very cheap at Half.com - Read It and Watch the Movie!!!!</font>

Cheers ParileseMonster. I'll add that to my "To Watch" list.


[This message has been edited by malaria (edited 08-21-2002).]