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February 2014 Discussion Post: Book Recommendations



Estimated reading time — 2 minutes

We’ve compiled our favorite scary movies, the best creepy video games, and a list of paranormal podcasts & radio shows thus far – and now it’s time for creepy/paranormal book recommendations! This has been suggested by a number of people, possibly because it was the obvious next step in our community suggestion series.

So please let us know what creepy/paranormal/horror books that you love! Anything remotely creepy works, whether it’s true crime, horror fiction, paranormal experiences, mysterious ancient cultures, conspiracy theories, etc. Just please make sure that your recommendation falls within the general site feel – this isn’t the post to suggest the Jack Ryan series, for example. We want thematically appropriate book recommendations!

So let’s hear it, and as always – have fun!

Recommendations can be seen by expanding this post (click the title or the read more button); I’ll be periodically updating the masterlist in this post as more books are suggested in the comments.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS: THE BIG MASTER LIST

Ash by James Herbert
Books of Blood 1-3 by Clive Barker
Books of Blood 4-6 by Clive Barker
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Day by Day Armageddon by J. L. Bourne
Everything’s Eventual: 14 Dark Tales by Stephen King
Everville by Clive Barker
Haunted by James Herbert
Invisible Fiends by Barry Hutchison
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
Shadowland by Peter Straub
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
The Ghosts of Stealth by James Herbert
The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers
The Mothman Prophecies by John A. Keel
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Sandman by E.T.A Hoffman
Uzumaki 1-3 by Junji Ito

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GENERAL AUTHOR RECOMMENDATIONS

Clive Barker
Ambrose Bierce
Algernon Blackwood
Neil Gaiman
James Herbert
John A. Keel
Stephen King
Dean Koontz
RL Stein

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CREEPYPASTA-FEATURED WRITERS

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Anecdotes in Ashes from The Assembly
Creepy Romance by Cosondra Sjostrom
On a Hill by Michael Whitehouse
The Story of Her Holding an Orange by Milos Bogetic
Twisted Dark, Volume 1 by Neil Gibson

*Amazon affiliate links are present in most of these links. As always, thank you so much if you purchase anything via our affiliate links, it helps!

**If I’ve forgotten anyone on the Creepypasta-featured writers list, it was not intentional. Please feel free to remind me!

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Copyright Statement: Unless explicitly stated, all stories published on Creepypasta.com are the property of (and under copyright to) their respective authors, and may not be narrated or performed under any circumstance.

94 thoughts on “February 2014 Discussion Post: Book Recommendations”

  1. It may be worth mentioning that currently Wendigo (a collection of stories by Algernon Blackwood), The King in Yellow (a recommended collection of short stories by Robert W. Chambers), and Fifty-One Tales (by Lord Dunsay), are all available for free on Amazon in kindle/e-book form. Even if you don’t have a Kindle device, you can download a free kindle app for a phone or computer and send the books there if you are interested in reading them.

  2. Hi again :)
    I just had to add something:
    I’m an American, but I have to say that you guys from Europe, especially England, really know how to write.You’re something special, in my opinion.
    England gave us 40k…I just can’t find much to compare your style of writing to.
    Just something I have noticed.

  3. I don’t know if anyone is still adding/reading these older posts, but I’ll put my opinions anyway:have any of you ever read Simon R Green? His Nightside books are so cool…full of weird crap, and packed
    full of monsters, myths, legends, demons, ghosts, and even gods and angels living in one supernatural city where it is always dark out.It’s so much fun to read.His Deathstalker books were great, too.There’s a good young adult writer also, if you can put up with it being made for teens, they’re really good.Christopher Pike-I liked Road to Nowhere and Remember Me.Really interesting and a little creepy, even though it’s older YA books.

  4. I’ve already left a comment, but since then I’ve thought of some more books I’d like to recommend:

    Columbine, by Dave Cullen
    The title’s pretty self-explanatory. It’s a book about Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the Columbine shooters; it looks at their motivations, their personal lives, the planning and execution of the attack, the subsequent investigation, the community’s reaction, how their families were affected, etc. It’s very well-presented and I found it fascinating.

    The Girl Next Door, by Jack Ketchum
    Not at all a book for the faint of heart. A young girl is sent to live with her aunt and cousins and is tortured brutally by them, and her aunt even persuades other neighbourhood children to join in, which they do. The story is told from the point of view of one of these kids, who is seemingly the only one who feels any guilt. Worst part about this book? It’s closely based on a true story.

    Derp, I’m assuming that the list of CreepyPasta featured stories are only for those that’ve been published on this website? If not you might want to add Dathan Auerbach’s Penpal, and T.W. Grim’s 99 Brief Scenes from the End of the World.

    1. Yes, that last category is just for Creepypasta authors that have made the jump to some kind of published book.

      I need to sit down and update all of our recommendations posts in the next couple days.

  5. “Ashes” by Ilsa J. Bick is an amazing read. I don’t want to say much beacause I will end up spoiling it, but there are cannibals. (My favorite!!)

  6. The scariest book to me, without a doubt, would have to be Johnny Got His Gun. Alright, I’m just going to get this out of the way right now. I have the balls and the mental fortitude to see and deal with a lot of things, but this book left a mental scar on my mind which remained there for weeks. And do you want to know the best part about this book? It’s not even a horror novel. It’s an anti-war novel, and it’s without a doubt one of the most powerful ones ever.

    The book is about a soldier in WWI that got hit by an artillery shell and is laying on hospital bed for the entire story. Doesn’t sound too bad, does it? Well there’s more to this than that. Because of the fact that he got hit by an artillery shell, he had to get his arms, legs, mouth, ears, and eyes amputated. But you want to know the best part? His brain was left undamaged by the blast. So that means he is left to sit in his hospital bed with nothing but his thoughts, because he can’t walk, talk, hear, or see anyone because of the injuries he sustained. He can’t even kill himself because he has a tube attached to his throat that forces him to breathe, and he can’t even communicate with anyone for most of the book because he has no mouth. I won’t spoil the ending, but let’s just say, nothing’s going to get better for him, ever. There was a movie made for this book, and the ending is the most disturbing thing that I’ve ever seen. Ever. The main character gives out the most disturbing monologue that I’ve ever heard in any movie, play, or book. The lack of music and darkness just adds to the nightmare fuel.

  7. I think the best horror book to read, is the cat in the hat. Its the scariest shit ever. These two kids are by themselves and an intruder breaks into there house and does some shit. Its fucking scary man.

  8. I recently picked up Horrific History off of Amazon. It’s a compilation of short scary stories. All the stories in the book are good, and some are just amazing. It also helps that my favorite Cameron Suey (Josef K) story, Dust, is in there as well. Great book. It’s like having a paper form of Creepypasta.com.

  9. The Passage is one of my favourite books of all time. It involves a sort of vampire plague-type event in North America (possibly the entire world – it’s never made clear) that throws the continent into complete chaos. The first half of the book follows a little girl and an FBI agent travelling together, just trying to survive. The second focuses on a colony of human survivors who have adapted as best as they can to life in a post-apocalyptic world. The young girl from part one also features here. Most characters are very likable and the book gets extremely sad at points. The Passage is the first book in a planned trillogy, though book 3 has yet to be released.; You have to read it.

    We Need to Talk About Kevin is a definite must-read. It’s about a nightmare child who the mother never feels any affection towards and the awful, awful shit he does as he grows up. It’s written as a long series of letters from the kid’s mother to his father, so if you’re not a fan of that kind of thing, just be warned.

  10. Johnny the homicidal maniac all the way, heh, i feel sick, squee, everything can be beaten, and The Gashlycrumb Tinies are all creepy yet interesting.

  11. hmmm, as for creepypasta jeff the killer, ben drowned, lavander town syndrome, and slenderman is prety sweet. as for books, ummm err…does johnny the homicidal maniac count, lol

  12. Horns and Heart-shaped box by Joe Hill are great reads and both are dark and chilling and supernatural. Joe Hill is Stephen Kings son. So he’s like the updated version of a master

  13. Maria Doile (The Hulk)

    I Think My Favorite Hope/Scary Books Are The “Scary Stories To Read In The Dark” I Read Them When I Was Younger And Just A Few Years Ago And They Still Give Me The.Chills. Maybe IM Just A Scardy Cat.

  14. I’m surprised H.P Lovecraft hasn’t been mentioned that much. While some of his work is a bit more sci-fi than traditional horror, it is still riddled with a mystery and macabre that few others can pull off well. My favorites by him are ‘The Colour Out of Space’ and ‘The Call of Cthulhu.’
    I would also recommend Edgar Allen Poe and, of course, Stephen King.

  15. Oh wait, I forgot the Hanible Lector books. Red Dragon and Silence of the lambs…sigh, these books are some of the best literary marvels in the world of books.

  16. For a truly creepy read, there’s a book of short stories called ‘cthulu’s reign’. Basically about what happens when spacecraft’s bad guys win…prepare to be both creeped out AND depressed for a month afterward. I have read Stephen king (loved ‘the mist’ in skeleton crew) but cthulu’s reign got me where I lived

  17. I guess I’ll throw in some other not beforementioned authors:

    Robert McCammon: I prefer his first books, but they are not in print anymore, as the author doesn’t like them anymore… My husband loves “Baal”, his first book, I am a little torn on that particular one but it’s ok I guess. My personal favorite of him is “Usher’s passing” with a close second place for “Stinger”

    Joe Donnelly another author who published mainly in the 80s. Unfortunately I don’t have the slightest idea how the books are called in English, I guess I have to be happy to get them in German.

    Shaun Hutson also is one of the authors I am collecting.

    What really surprises me that he wasn’t mentioned before would be Ramsey Campbell. Although for me personally he is a bit of a game of luck. A third of the time I sit there: Wow what a great book (Hungry Moon, The Nameless (also a great movie) ), another third they are okay and one third of the time, well that’s just “what did I just read” sometimes he simply looses me in his writing. Campbell is quite influenced by Lovecraft, so be sure to be not taken aback by some wordiness and an abundant use of adjectives.

  18. Has anyone read The Monstrumologist series by Rick Yancey? Soooooooo good. Amazing characters, serious creep factor. Internal monsters, literal monsters . . . I highly recommend it.

    1. Oh my God, YES!!! I was browsing through the comments to see if anyone mentioned it. I absolutely LOVED The Monstrumologist series. Dark and chilling, who can resist monsters and gore? I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone on this site.

      I am so glad that you mentioned the series, Sara! :)

  19. H.P Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe, as founders of the modern horror genre, of course should be on the list.

    As for others not yet listed, the ineffable Dan Wells has earned a place. His John Cleaver series (starts with “I am Not A Serial Killer,” ends with “I Don’t Want to Kill You”) is an international best seller. “The Hollow City” has one of the best paranoid schizophrenic main characters around.

  20. InfernalNightmare333

    Oh, wow, where to even begin… of course Stephen King and Dean Koontz are both really great horror authors, though King is probably my all time favorite (some of my favorites of his works include It and The Shining, along with most of his short stories).

    In the interest of mentioning some less widely read authors/stories, though:

    ANTHONY HOROWITZ, though best known for his Alex Rider series, has written some pretty good children’s/young adult horror fiction, including the novel Groosham Grange and several short story collections such as Bloody Horowitz and Horowitz Horror.
    — I haven’t read a lot of NEAL SHUSTERMAN’s work, but what I have read, including Unwind and Full Tilt, I’ve really liked.
    DARREN SHAN is also really good, especially if you lean more towards the gory side of horror. He’s most famous for his Cirque du Freak series, but I’ve been most interested in his Demonata series, especially the first few books.
    CLIVE BARKER’s novel Abarat is more of what I’d call dark fantasy than horror, but it’s trippy and creepy like nobody’s business!
    DAVID LUBAR has some wonderful half-creepy, half-hilarious stories in his In the Land of the Lawn Weenies collection and its several sequels.
    A. LEE MARTINEZ leans more towards humor/parody than actual horror, but still deals with some definitely creepy themes, especially in novels such as Gil’s All-Fright Diner, Too Many Curses, and In the Company of Ogres. These are really great for light reads, highly recommended!!
    — If you don’t mind (gratuitous) “adult” humor (and are old enough to be reading it!) CHRISTOPHER MOORE has some great stuff at the horror/humor boundary as well, including A Dirty Job and You Suck!: A Love Story.
    — Finally, I have to put in a mention for a great steampunk horror novel called The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding, as it was the inspiration for my first Creepypasta :)

  21. i totally have to disagree, the game is an adventure threw treachery solving puzzles and survival threw postapocolyptic towns. its not bad at all.

    Jhe:
    That was a good book.

    The game overrated.

  22. One of my personal favorites happens to be the young oxford book of nasty endings. Is by Dennis Pepper.
    As well as Stephan Kings nightmares and dreamscapes.

  23. The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks is one of the more disturbing things I’ve read; The Shining by Stephen King and American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis are also completely scary and twisted.

  24. A good paranormal themed book would be mrs. Peregrines home for peculiar children it starts of slow but leaves you shocked to the end

  25. I think mine would have to be The Ring Trilogy by Koji Suzuki. The movie was okay. The book scared the Hell out of me. Once you start it, you won’t be able to stop throughout the 3 books. Highly recommend!

  26. I would suggest “Deadfall Hotel” by Steve Rasnic Tem. It’s able to maintain a good atmosphere, while at the same time having a compelling and interesting character oriented story.

  27. Darkness creeping

    I recommend Rose Red and The Shining by Stephen King

    Rose Red is based on the past, and is very detailed. It is in first person view , primarily focused on a beautiful lady who is sexually and physicaly abused by her newly wedded husband . I am not giving out any more spoilers.

    Second. The shining. Amazing book , creepy factor is very high Though he beginning is a bit dull. Also , the language is very colorful if you know what I mean.

  28. If creature horror (monsters,deformities,demons) is your thing, I’ve got a decent list.

    For straight up gory horror,I really enjoyed the “Beast House” series by Richard Laymon. Some heavy subject matter in a few of them, but I loved em.

    I like Dean Koontz’s quick pacing as well.
    Recommendations: “Watchers”,”Phantoms”, “Darkfall”

    Some of Lincoln Child’s books are pretty decent, albeit a little slow.
    Recommendations: “The Relic”, “Still Life with Crows”

    I had a great time with Jeff Long’s “Descent” series, the ones the movie was based off of. It gets a little wacky towards the end, but the horror of being trapped in dark caves with creatures was well described throughout.

    Lastly, for horror with a comedic side, David Wong’s “John Dies at the End”, and the sequel, “This Book IS Full Of Spiders” are fantastic. I’ve recommended those to everyone I know. Enjoy.

  29. I love Dean Koontz’s “Darkness falls” and “Tick Tock”
    i recommend everyone on this site to read those books.

  30. “I, Monster” by Tom Philbin would be great for anyone who is interested in serial killers. It has things like interviews, journals, personal tapes, letters to police and everything else that was said/sent by everyone from the Zodiac and Jack the Ripper to Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy. It’s not too long (about 260 pages/20 chapters)but tells you so much about the crimes, confessions and words of some of the scariest and most famous serial killers ever!

  31. I don’t really read books much honestly, i try but often don’t get to finish them in time before having to deliver them back to the library. But, if i am to pick out some i’ve read though, books i’d recommend would be (all of these have also been made to movies, but the books are far far better):

    – The Shining, Stephen King
    – Battle Royale, Koushun Takami
    – The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde(not so much scary, but chilling story anyway)
    – American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
    – The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson
    – We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lionel Shriver (Not a horror story type of scary, but what makes it chilling and what makes the story eerie is the thought that the possibility for this to happen to you some day when you become a parent is there.)

  32. Poe still beats all when it comes to horror. There’s nothing more terrifying than the twisting of one’s own mind, a central theme in so many of Poe’s works. The best one he ever did, imo, was a little-known short story called Berenice. I HIGHLY recommend it, it’s a short read (about typical creepypasta length actually) but it will leave you with chills. Que toutes ses dents etaient des idees…

    http://www.eapoe.org/works/tales/bernicea.htm

  33. I read a book by Avi once, about a photographer who could take pictures of people, and a dead relative will show instead. It’s in the time of the late 1800s. A girl in a black dress continues to show in his photos. Very creepy. It’s called: The seer of shadows. It’s an enjoyable book. It was a sunshine state book in Florida and won an award, I think.

  34. I’m a huge fan of real life pastas, and so I naturally lean more towards sci-fi as opposed to horror. On that note, The House Of The Scorpion by Nancy Farmer is an amazing read, and very chilling. Warning: it’s aimed at adolescents, but still great.

  35. My favorite book has to be Misery by Stephen King. It’s his best book. While I see all the problems point out about Stephen King most of these problems are solved here. The big set piece of an ending that he’s famous for is much shorter. And here’s the kicker there is Subtle. Yes! I know truly shocking from Mr.King. It’s just a good book.

    While personally I would not say it’s scary but, it falls in the category. World War Z. This book is great. I don’t want to ramble but I love this book. The amount of chacter development Brooks can get done in 20 pages is a feat in itself. Sure we never see that chacter again but, hey it still makes you care for them.

    Marvel Zombies by Robert Kirman. This is a bit of a cheat but, this book is the best comic I have read since Watchmen.(No small feat) It’s a great comedy that works really well. And even has some serious moments. Also this is all you need to know. Zombie Ghost Demon Motor-Cycle enthusiast.

    I’d feel bad if I didn’t put this DreamCatcher by Stephen King. I like this book, I have no idea why but, I do. It’s a good book. When ever I start thinking to hard about I just don’t know what to think. But it’s a fun book that kinda turns to self-parody but not that long. Gun Phone. And have read some of Stephen King’s worst(Pet Semmatary) this is much better than that.

    I recently got a very nice commenvarty edition of a collection book contain a lot of H.P. Lovecraft’s stories. And so far most his stories have been disappointing. A lot of his stories feel to clogged with to many adjectives. Some times I just feel like I’m reading a long list of adjectives. Except a poem by him Night Gaunts. Which is really good. He actually seems better at poems than Stories.

    1. Lovecraft is a difficult read. Most of his stories are filled with tedious and atmospheric gothic prose that probably doesn’t speak well to today’s younger readers. But without his genius, (as well as Poe’s) most of the well known horror writers (including King) would have never been inspired to create the stories we enjoy so much today.

      1. I’ll second that mad. And yeah I had to reach about the middle of my twen years to begin to really appreciate Lovecraft.

        And after all the lovecraftian world is the first open source writing project I know of… “here I’ll give you some structure make the best of it” and so many writers MADE the best of it

  36. When talking about general authors I really would like to add John Saul to this list. His books were my “goosebumbs” back in the early 90s. Although the older books (which I prefer) have a quite generic plot (kid or teenager gets posessed by something evil) he still manages to make them quite unique every time.

  37. I really recommend the LockDown series by Alexander Gordon Smith. While it is a YA book, It is VERY well written and nearly everything is downright terrifying, from the premise, A young teen framed for murder by unnatural “Black suits” is sent to literally the highest security prison, to the monsters that will give a friggin’ marine nightmares.the character writing is amazing as well; even the villain is likable.If you haven’t read them, pick up the series. They’re awesome.

  38. “Shadowland” by Peter Straub

    A tale of horror and adult fantasy where two boys go to spend the summer at a magician’s lakeside estate, and come to learn the true terror of magic.

    With the success of Harry Potter and the Hobbit series, I’m surprised no one has bought the rights and made this book into a movie.

    1. hey please be careful what you wish for.. I really don’t want to see this book as a movie. Good read though, I’ll second that

        1. or “Haunting of Julia” for another measure – which reminds me did you already read “A Dark Matter”? was quite interesting although not something I would run to the store for… more like “oh the library has it ok Ill give it a try

  39. This isn’t really a novel, but my all time favourite horror story/comic is “Uzumaki” by Ito Junji. Honestly, I love everything and anything written by him; his comic anthology easily contains a few of the most unsettling pictorial tales I have ever read- often featuring bizarre, sprawling plot lines coupled with commendably frightening imagery to accompany them. He seems to write with a recurring theme of unwarranted manifold suffering directed upon one or several characters for no discernible reason, and for some reason I just really jive with that kind of creepy. My top five favourites by Ito include: Uzumaki (of course,) the Enigma of Amigara Fault, Tomie, the Town without Streets, and the Scarlet Circle (Mimi No Kaidan).
    Seriously awesome, creepy work; I definitely suggest checking a few of those out if you’re a manga lover!

  40. I read a great book called invisible fiends, a guys childhood imaginary friend comes back as a psychopath attempting to murder him. Its a very simple casual read, I read it when I was thirteen so anybody would understand it. Definitely reccommend!

  41. I think the only book that I ever read that really scared me was Salem’s Lot by Stephen King. I kept a tiny cross by my bed for weeks because I kept reading it late at night. (And, while not really creepy, I would recommend the Gunslinger series to anyone who is a fan of King and hasn’t read them.)

    I also have really enjoyed reading Neil Gaiman. I read Neverwhere years ago, and while I would not classify it as a horror novel, it definitely has a creepy air about it. I loved it. Sadly, I realize most of what I read are (textbooks) fantasy novels, so I don’t have too many more recommendations. :( I look forward to this list though so I can add some additional items to my Reading Wishlist!

    1. Katherine, try American Gods and the Anansi boys by Gaima, about as creepy as Neverwhere but still a very very good read

      1. My best friend is trying to get me to read american gods…. Had him howling with laughter…. Not sure if it would qualify as creepy

        1. it does have some creepy bits – and if you are into mythological creatures you also have a lot to laugh about yeah.

      2. I would also recommend Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book.” It takes some of the basic plot structure of Kipling’s Jungle Book, but has it set in an old cemetery with a boy raised by ghosts. Fantastic read all around.

    2. InfernalNightmare333

      Have you read The Graveyard Book? I think that was the first Neil Gaiman book I ever read and it’s still one of my favorites :)

  42. Robert W Chambers’s THE KING IN YELLOW is an unusual anthology of short fiction that mixes horror, fantasy, and romanticism. Chambers is one of H P Lovecraft’s main sources of inspiration as a landmark horror/fantasy author. Sadly this anthology has been out of print since…um…circa 1895. You’ll have to find a reprint by the Forgotten Books company online.

    The titular “King In Yellow” is a fictional play that’s counted among the Cthulhu Mythos’s forbidden tomes: a play that bends time and space and spreads madness and chaos wherever it is performed or read.

    1. It’s also available as an audio book in the project Gutenberg. That’s quite a good source for this old anthologies/stories

  43. Any Bradbury fans out there? I definitely recommend “Something Wicked This Way Comes” if you’re looking for something dark, macabre and spooky. It essentially follows two boys on the border of becoming teenagers, in a small Illinois town who are caught up in a sinister plot when a carnival arrives: Cooger and Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show. It’s very subtle – I wouldn’t say it has any outright scares, but it’s dropping with atmosphere and vibrancy, and it has this great sense of nostalgia and the pain of growing older and leaving childhood innocence behind. Absolutely recommend it.

    Likewise, for a non-fictional read, “The Devil in the White City” is another favorite of mine. It gives perspective of both the man in charge of setting up the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and America’s first well-known serial killer, who used the fair to get at his victims. The book was cited by the dev team of “BioShock Infinite” as a major inspiration, and I can’t think of a better endorsement than that.

  44. Thanks Len – I had an eye on “The Road” for some time, but have not bought it by now because the reviews are so mixed …. I guess I’ll get it now

    My recommendations mhm, difficult. I am not a big fan of Horror in the Laymon sense of it although when I do have a little lust for Splatterpunk it normally goes down to the classic Books of Blood from Barker. From this author I also love “The great and secret show” and “Everville”and yeah if this guy would finally get the third part of this trilogy finished that would be great – I am waiting for it since 1995…

    What I also reread a lot are “Haunted” “The Ghosts of Sleath” and “Ash” from James Herbert. More or less Haunted House stories from the viewpoint of a not so willing medium – I simply like Herbert’s writing style.

    Also the stories from Algernon Blackwood and Ambrose Bierce are in my point of view always a good read – if one can cope with the writing style from that period.

    A not so common book would be “The Sandman” from E.T.A Hoffman – it has everything alchemy, robots and lunacy – on the downside it was written 1816 and the language is something you have to get used to – plus I can’t say anything about the translation. Still a quick search in Project Gutenberg or something like it would not be totally unrecommended.

    1. I’m a big Clive Barker fan and feel that his “Books of Blood” helped to pull horror fiction from out of the nadir of hackneyed antagonists that Stephen King forced the reading world into. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll ever see a 3rd “Book of the Art” or a follow up to “Galilee”. I did hear a rumor that a new book is coming out next year that will pit Harry D’Amour against the Cenobites.

      1. I don’t know how much you can trust facebook sites but he DID say he was working on the third book and you know how they say: Hope dies last…On the other side… if I had to choose whether he should finish the Abarat series or the arts series… well I couldn’t say which is more “important” to me… (yeah I know I am 32 and Abarat is a kids’ book… so who cares)

        Harry D’Amour against Cenobites sounds really interesting although Hellraiser is my second least favorite book from him (the least favorite definitely being Imajica… my old nemesis)

        What do you think about Coldheart Canyon? I liked this one a lot as well

        1. If I had to guess, I’d say Barker will finish the Abarat series before anything else because YA fantasy sells more and I think Disney is looking to buy the movie rights. Personally, I don’t believe Facebook, so I think Tesla and Kissoon are gone for good.

          I was actually disappointed with Coldheart Canyon. It was readable, but I’d never recommend it due to the sell-out cheesy ending.

        2. that would be a shame when they really are gone for good. Never again such life important questions as whether there are gay apes (right word? Unfortunately I never read it in english before).

          I guess you are right about the ending of coldheart canyon as I dont remember it anymore… which is a bad sign

          If I remember correctly disney already has the rights to abarat I (a movie I definitely WON’T see… )

  45. I know it might sound cheesey but coralline is a very scary book, the movie is creepy but the book has a different kind of creep factor in my opinion

  46. Well, I’d be interested in seeing other peoples’ responses. As for me, I haven’t really found any good horror stories. I’ve read some Stephen King, and I appreciate his skill in writing the climactic parts of his stories, but the build-up is too long. That said, I enjoyed It for the premise and the awesome antagonist.

    I also enjoyed Day by Day Armageddon by J. L. Bourne, a which is a Zombie novel told in journal style. It’s been a while since I read it, but I remember enjoying it.

    To be honest, I’m looking forward to the responses to this question the most. Horror stories are my favorite style, though I admit that games have their own charm.

    1. Unfortuantly, I disagree… King is fatnastic with horror. His short fiction series and his originality is a testiment to that.

      Stein just sorta has a cookie cutter formula,that waters down all his work.

    2. I have to agree with Anon.
      R.L. has some good stuff, but it’s not really scary as much as it is…interesting, a brain scratch at most.

  47. One of my absolute favorites is a collection of short stories by Stephen King, “Everything’s Eventual”. The short story “The Road Virus Heads North” creeped me out so much the first time that I read it, I ended up avoiding yard sales for a while!

    1. Oh my God, I freaking love you, now! XD Everything’s Eventual is a MASTERPIECE among short fiction collections! :D

    2. Yeah Stephen King is great. he’s a classic horror writer. No one can say he isnt one of the most popular horror writers in history. if you say “Stephen King” people automatically think ‘scary’ or ‘horror’. hes great.

  48. Hooray! I’m an avid reader, and find books can relay a more hopeless and gruesome sense of dread and terror than most other things, which is why I love this site so much. But as I’ve said in the movie post, whenever this discussion finally comes, I will “shit on all of you” with one amazing book.

    That would be Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road,” what I consider to be the absolute pinnacle of everything the horror genre stands for. It’s a heavily emotional investment, focusing on the journey of a father and son through a post-apocalyptic U.S., attempting to escape the horrors of the wasteland. It is a heavy study of the human condition, never once pretending the current world or the one before was anything but ugly and twisted, amplified by the fact that whatever destroyed the world is never explained or even mentioned by the characters. Instead it puts a magnifying glass on how the world is and how we as individuals respond to crisis – the father and son cling desperately to hope, others devolve into basic animalism to survive, and others simply give up. I recommend this as a horror book but ironically what makes it truly something special is that its horror comes not from slashers and jump scares, but that it forces us to look at ourselves and our inner demons. Also there are cannibals… very scary cannibals.

    On a related note, a certain video game came out after its discussion post that I think is as close to this book as anything else out there (besides that really really depressing movie), and that is “The Last of Us.” For any if you PS3 owners, I’m sure you’ve heard of it and if you’ve only heard of it than I strongly recommend you play it, immediately. For all of you Xbox owners, sucks to be you.

    1. That part in the sewers was the only actually frightening part in the game (in my opinion), but it is an amazing apocalypse game.

      I realize It’s nine months too late to reply to this, but who cares?

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