Efan said:

vivid said:

I haven't read any horror since I was a kid - but I used to read a lot of Stephen King and James Herbert. King's The Shining probably is the best, but honourable mention to Herbert's Rats Trilogy - scared me stupid as a little 'un. I also remember getting freaked by The Magic Cottage - can't remember why now though.

Hey, Vivid,

Do you know that if you click the link in your sig, you get taken to a thread from 2003 entitled "My balls itch. If I had no hands, would U scratch them?"

Yup!

minneapolisgenius said:

Number23 said:

Lord of the Flies is my favourite. Stephen King's obviously a mad genius but I don't really rate him as a very incisive chisler of the human psyche - except maybe in Gerald's Game or Pet Cemetery. He's hugely imaginative and devilishly cruela to his characters but continually loses the plot and pace (Tommyknockers/Insomnia) and his endings are generally pretty obvious and saccharine (The Stand/Needful Things). His baddies are always camp as a row of pink tents in Elton John's flower garden too. He's a great pulp writer, but certainly not scary. Philip K Dick's probably the most terrifying motherfucker who ever walked this earth.

some of the dialogue can be truly corny. I've read everything he's ever written. EXCEPT Pet Sematary.

I just thought that's that way folk talked to each other in America. He doesn't do anything silly in Pet Cemetery like going into a hamster's first person narrative or anything - it's actually quite a weighty, serious work exploreing the instinctive reactions of sudden death and mindless desire. Definitely the deepest and least corny thing he's ever done. Even if there is a mound of soil that brings dead things back to life in it.

Number23 said:

minneapolisgenius said:

some of the dialogue can be truly corny. I've read everything he's ever written. EXCEPT Pet Sematary.

I just thought that's that way folk talked to each other in America. He doesn't do anything silly in Pet Cemetery like going into a hamster's first person narrative or anything - it's actually quite a weighty, serious work exploreing the instinctive reactions of sudden death and mindless desire. Definitely the deepest and least corny thing he's ever done. Even if there is a mound of soil that brings dead things back to life in it.

Which is why I moved away. I might have to finally break down and read it now.

at all the Stephen King mentions!

I have read all of his books, except for 2 Richard Bachman books (his other name). I just finished "Under the Dome" , and I'm about to start "Blockade Billy".

I even buy anthologies and magazines if he has entries in them.

• If you guys have read "Desperation", then you need to read "The Regulators" by Richard Bachman. Same evil, same characters' names (in different roles), but a different direction. The evil starts at the other end and works its way back to where it began in "Desperation".
• I don't consider "The Stand" horror either. More fantasy. (But I hate getting stuck in traffic inside the Lincoln Tunnel! )
• "Gerald's Game" was freaky as hell, and so was "Bag of Bones".
• My picks: "Salem's Lot" and "It".

THE BOOK that scared the *ish* out me when I was reading it was "Amityville Horror". That movie was so weak compared to the book.

Right now I'm reading the last installment of the "30 Days of Night" series. Trust me- THOSE vampires don't sparkle!

spacing edit

[Edited 6/18/10 17:56pm]

minneapolisgenius said:

Number23 said:

I just thought that's that way folk talked to each other in America. He doesn't do anything silly in Pet Cemetery like going into a hamster's first person narrative or anything - it's actually quite a weighty, serious work exploreing the instinctive reactions of sudden death and mindless desire. Definitely the deepest and least corny thing he's ever done. Even if there is a mound of soil that brings dead things back to life in it.

Which is why I moved away. I might have to finally break down and read it now.

Where the hell are you now anyway? You look Parisian or someone who'd be running down rainy cobblestones giggling with barefeet and a tutu. I wish I had the gumption to get off the couch. As soon as I hit 30, I started falling asleep with my hands crossed on my chest so they can fit me into my coffin easier. I'm always thinking of others. Except for when think how my hair'll look at my funeral. Now that's terror Stephen King will never understand with his ugly face.

minneapolisgenius said:

Number23 said:

Lord of the Flies is my favourite. Stephen King's obviously a mad genius but I don't really rate him as a very incisive chisler of the human psyche - except maybe in Gerald's Game or Pet Cemetery. He's hugely imaginative and devilishly cruela to his characters but continually loses the plot and pace (Tommyknockers/Insomnia) and his endings are generally pretty obvious and saccharine (The Stand/Needful Things). His baddies are always camp as a row of pink tents in Elton John's flower garden too. He's a great pulp writer, but certainly not scary. Philip K Dick's probably the most terrifying motherfucker who ever walked this earth.

Yeah, Tommyknockers was pretty bad, but I still read it 3 times in my lifetime. The problem I have with Stephen King's writing, if any, is that some of the dialogue can be truly corny. I just finished "Under the Dome" and in the first few chapters, I was actually cringing at some of the character's lines. But then I start getting into the narrative and tend to get used to it in time. And because it's him, I let it slide. I've read everything he's ever written. EXCEPT Pet Sematary. I remember the movie and for some reason I have a hard time with stories of his where animals are in the lead. Cujo scared the crap out of me and I'll never read it again. So sad. But then, I read it when I was 11, so maybe I could handle it a bit better these days.

How long did it take you to read "Under the Dome"? I bought it the day it came out, and JUST finished it. I had trouble with the middle of the book.

chocolate1 said:

at all the Stephen King mentions!

I have read all of his books, except for 2 Richard Bachman books (his other name). I just finished "Under the Dome" , and I'm about to start "Blockade Billy".

I even buy anthologies and magazines if he has entries in them.

• If you guys have read "Desperation", then you need to read "The Regulators" by Richard Bachman. Same evil, same characters' names (in different roles), but a different direction. The evil starts at the other end and works its way back to where it began in "Desperation".
• I don't consider "The Stand" horror either. More fantasy. (But I hate getting stuck in traffic inside the Lincoln Tunnel! )
• "Gerald's Game" was freaky as hell, and so was "Bag of Bones".
• My picks: "Salem's Lot" and "It".

THE BOOK that scared the *ish* out me when I was reading it was "Amityville Horror". That movie was so weak compared to the book.

Right now I'm reading the last installment of the "30 Days of Night" series. Trust me- THOSE vampires don't sparkle!

Gurrrl thinkin bout the Regulators makes my nippels ache.

johnart said:

chocolate1 said:

at all the Stephen King mentions!

I have read all of his books, except for 2 Richard Bachman books (his other name). I just finished "Under the Dome" , and I'm about to start "Blockade Billy".

I even buy anthologies and magazines if he has entries in them.

• If you guys have read "Desperation", then you need to read "The Regulators" by Richard Bachman. Same evil, same characters' names (in different roles), but a different direction. The evil starts at the other end and works its way back to where it began in "Desperation".
• I don't consider "The Stand" horror either. More fantasy. (But I hate getting stuck in traffic inside the Lincoln Tunnel! )
• "Gerald's Game" was freaky as hell, and so was "Bag of Bones".
• My picks: "Salem's Lot" and "It".

THE BOOK that scared the *ish* out me when I was reading it was "Amityville Horror". That movie was so weak compared to the book.

Right now I'm reading the last installment of the "30 Days of Night" series. Trust me- THOSE vampires don't sparkle!

Gurrrl thinkin bout the Regulators makes my nippels ache.

I bought both at the same time while on vacation with my family. My Mom took "Desperation" and I took "Regulators". We both finished them in like a day, then switched without talking about them. After we were both done, we were like

Stephen King is NO JOKE!

chocolate1 said:

THE BOOK that scared the *ish* out me when I was reading it was "Amityville Horror". That movie was so weak compared to the book.

Oh man! I remember that too! Totally agree with you, it was scary as hell!

Last book that truly creeped me out was 'House of Leaves' by Mark Z. Danielewski (highly recommend it, it's not so much a book as an experience).

Also highly recommend 'Daemonic' by Stephen Laws. Now out of print, but you can find copies on ebay. Brilliant novel and really well written, guarantee this will creep you out. Great stuff.

Number23 said:

Lord of the Flies is my favourite. Stephen King's obviously a mad genius but I don't really rate him as a very incisive chisler of the human psyche - except maybe in Gerald's Game or Pet Cemetery. He's hugely imaginative and devilishly cruela to his characters but continually loses the plot and pace (Tommyknockers/Insomnia) and his endings are generally pretty obvious and saccharine (The Stand/Needful Things). His baddies are always camp as a row of pink tents in Elton John's flower garden too. He's a great pulp writer, but certainly not scary. Philip K Dick's probably the most terrifying motherfucker who ever walked this earth.

Lord of the Flies [William Golding] is one of my favorite books of all time.

It's absolutely increidble, and is a harsh look at human nature, avarice, and even government. It's a masterpiece.

I never thought of it as a horror, but come to think about it, the themes stay with long after you've read it, and the themes are terrifying.

And I laughed out loud at Number23's description of Stephen King's bad guys because it's so true!

Although he's pretty formulaic, I think Dean Koontz wrote two good ones: The Voice of the NIght, along with one whose name I've forgotten, but it involved a dog that was genetically altered to be far more intelligent than it should have been.

TheVoid said:

Although he's pretty formulaic, I think Dean Koontz wrote two good ones: The Voice of the NIght, along with one whose name I've forgotten, but it involved a dog that was genetically altered to be far more intelligent than it should have been.

Watchers?

the count of monte cristo?

TheVoid said:

Although he's pretty formulaic, I think Dean Koontz wrote two good ones: The Voice of the NIght, along with one whose name I've forgotten, but it involved a dog that was genetically altered to be far more intelligent than it should have been.

that seriously described about 7 Koontz books, no lie.

I think Koontz's best book was Twilight (or whatever name it is under now) I first read it under his pseudonym Leigh Nichols.

King is not really scary to me. And I was a huge King fan growing up!

I think the books that scare me the most are the Twilight series LMAO

minneapolisgenius said:

Number23 said:

Lord of the Flies is my favourite. Stephen King's obviously a mad genius but I don't really rate him as a very incisive chisler of the human psyche - except maybe in Gerald's Game or Pet Cemetery. He's hugely imaginative and devilishly cruela to his characters but continually loses the plot and pace (Tommyknockers/Insomnia) and his endings are generally pretty obvious and saccharine (The Stand/Needful Things). His baddies are always camp as a row of pink tents in Elton John's flower garden too. He's a great pulp writer, but certainly not scary. Philip K Dick's probably the most terrifying motherfucker who ever walked this earth.

Yeah, Tommyknockers was pretty bad, but I still read it 3 times in my lifetime. The problem I have with Stephen King's writing, if any, is that some of the dialogue can be truly corny. I just finished "Under the Dome" and in the first few chapters, I was actually cringing at some of the character's lines. But then I start getting into the narrative and tend to get used to it in time. And because it's him, I let it slide. I've read everything he's ever written. EXCEPT Pet Sematary. I remember the movie and for some reason I have a hard time with stories of his where animals are in the lead. Cujo scared the crap out of me and I'll never read it again. So sad. But then, I read it when I was 11, so maybe I could handle it a bit better these days.

I hate the man because I see flashes of briliance in his writing, especially short storys, and he waters it all down when he sees dollar signs

BklynBabe said:

TheVoid said:

Although he's pretty formulaic, I think Dean Koontz wrote two good ones: The Voice of the NIght, along with one whose name I've forgotten, but it involved a dog that was genetically altered to be far more intelligent than it should have been.

that seriously described about 7 Koontz books, no lie.

I think Koontz's best book was Twilight (or whatever name it is under now) I first read it under his pseudonym Leigh Nichols.

King is not really scary to me. And I was a huge King fan growing up!

I think the books that scare me the most are the Twilight series LMAO

The dog in the ones with the dude who could only go out at night was altered too, wasn't it?

Loved Stephen King but i've went off him a bit.

My favourites are It and Insomnia.I would have loved to see Insomnia made into a film but it probably wouldn't transfer well onto the big screen.Think of The Langoliers lol.

Notable mention to William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist.The book is way scarier than the film.

Try Drawing Blood or Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite.

http://www.fantasticficti...-blood.htm

http://www.poppyzbrite.co...books.html

Or EXQUISITE CORPSE (1996). Andrew Compton, English serial slayer of 23 young men, escapes from prison in order to continue pursuing his "art." He absconds to New Orleans and meets Jay Byrne, who has taken the "art" to a higher level by not just torturing and killing his victims, but consuming their flesh. One potential victim is Tran, a beautiful Vietnamese runaway. Tran's HIV-positive ex, Luke, has an alternate life as Lush Rimbaud, host of a pirate-radio rant show. Readers seem to hate Luke and love Tran, which I'll never understand: Luke strikes me as self-pitying and caustic but ultimately sympathetic, whereas Tran is so incredibly stupid that you can’t understand why somebody hasn’t put him out of his misery. Alternating chapters narrated by Andrew strike me as the book's heart, if it has one. Exquisite Corpse wasn't any fun at all to write, not because of the "horrific, pornographic, unjustifiable" violence (to use some of the descriptions employed by publishers and reviewers), but because I really never warmed up to most of the characters, which is very unusual for me. Andrew, though, always seemed witty and personable despite being a murderer most foul.

[Edited 6/19/10 0:21am]

chocolate1 said:

minneapolisgenius said:

Yeah, Tommyknockers was pretty bad, but I still read it 3 times in my lifetime. The problem I have with Stephen King's writing, if any, is that some of the dialogue can be truly corny. I just finished "Under the Dome" and in the first few chapters, I was actually cringing at some of the character's lines. But then I start getting into the narrative and tend to get used to it in time. And because it's him, I let it slide. I've read everything he's ever written. EXCEPT Pet Sematary. I remember the movie and for some reason I have a hard time with stories of his where animals are in the lead. Cujo scared the crap out of me and I'll never read it again. So sad. But then, I read it when I was 11, so maybe I could handle it a bit better these days.

How long did it take you to read "Under the Dome"? I bought it the day it came out, and JUST finished it. I had trouble with the middle of the book.

I am really embarrassed to admit that it took me almost 6 months. I just finished it last week. I am a REALLY slow reader though, so I guess that was to be expected.

chocolate1 said:

at all the Stephen King mentions!

I have read all of his books, except for 2 Richard Bachman books (his other name). I just finished "Under the Dome" , and I'm about to start "Blockade Billy".

I even buy anthologies and magazines if he has entries in them.

• If you guys have read "Desperation", then you need to read "The Regulators" by Richard Bachman. Same evil, same characters' names (in different roles), but a different direction. The evil starts at the other end and works its way back to where it began in "Desperation".
• I don't consider "The Stand" horror either. More fantasy. (But I hate getting stuck in traffic inside the Lincoln Tunnel! )
• "Gerald's Game" was freaky as hell, and so was "Bag of Bones".
• My picks: "Salem's Lot" and "It".

THE BOOK that scared the *ish* out me when I was reading it was "Amityville Horror". That movie was so weak compared to the book.

Right now I'm reading the last installment of the "30 Days of Night" series. Trust me- THOSE vampires don't sparkle!

spacing edit

[Edited 6/18/10 17:56pm]

Salem's Lot. How could I forget about that one. In my top three for scariness.

I didn't like the Regulators as much as Desperation though. It really gave me an icky, uncomfortable feeling (which was probably the intention) and I hated even reading about that dirty, devil boy.

Number23 said:

minneapolisgenius said:

Which is why I moved away. I might have to finally break down and read it now.

Where the hell are you now anyway? You look Parisian or someone who'd be running down rainy cobblestones giggling with barefeet and a tutu. I wish I had the gumption to get off the couch. As soon as I hit 30, I started falling asleep with my hands crossed on my chest so they can fit me into my coffin easier. I'm always thinking of others. Except for when think how my hair'll look at my funeral. Now that's terror Stephen King will never understand with his ugly face.

In Holland. I love your description of me. I think I need to steal it.

I am a nut for Dracula, but I'm gonna say Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, by Mary Shelley, is my top pick. Not only is it a creepy masterpiece of gothic aesthetic and the MOTHER of all contemporary horror literature, but it remains smart as hell: It touches on domains ranging from religion to foundational Western mythologies to ethics to the state of the art in natural sciences in its time to the study of family dynamics to the psychology of ego to... ad infinitum.

...And a CHICK wrote it!

[Edited 6/19/10 5:12am]

minneapolisgenius said:

chocolate1 said:

How long did it take you to read "Under the Dome"? I bought it the day it came out, and JUST finished it. I had trouble with the middle of the book.

I am really embarrassed to admit that it took me almost 6 months. I just finished it last week. I am a REALLY slow reader though, so I guess that was to be expected.

I'm a super SLOW reader too!!!

This is why I sometimes lose concentration/interest when reading novels. It's not the book, I just get frustrated with myself. I thought I was alone.

All that said, I wouldn't feel bad about Under the Dome. Ron is an AVID reader (if we skip a few shows or movies he easily goes through 2 novels a week...his kindle is on fire!) and it took him two tries (he put the book down because he just couldn't get into it).

[Edited 6/19/10 6:22am]

johnart said:

minneapolisgenius said:

I am really embarrassed to admit that it took me almost 6 months. I just finished it last week. I am a REALLY slow reader though, so I guess that was to be expected.

I'm a super SLOW reader too!!!

This is why I sometimes lose concentration/interest when reading novels. It's not the book, I just get frustrated with myself. I thought I was alone.

All that said, I wouldn't feel bad abotu Under the Dome. Ron is an AVID reader (if we skip a few shows or movies he easily goes through 2 novels a week...his kindle is on fire!) and it took him two tries (he put the book down because he just couldn't get into it).

[Edited 6/19/10 6:22am]

I got into it about a quarter of the way through, that wasn't my problem, but when I read, my mind always wanders off to something else...the ADHD in me. I'll be reading something and that will remind me of something else and I'll drift off thinking, "oh yeah that's totally like that one time when I..." or something like that. So it takes FOREVER for me to get through anything.

One of the problems I had with "Under the Dome" is the fact that he tried to cram too many backstories in. It was tedious.

I read slowly, also, which made it worse because I had so many things to read....

I taught Contemporary Lit and American Lit this past year, so I'd have to keep stopping to read for those classes. I also kept getting distracted by things like the "30 Days of Night" series.

chocolate1 said:

One of the problems I had with "Under the Dome" is the fact that he tried to cram too many backstories in. It was tedious.

I read slowly, also, which made it worse because I had so many things to read....

I taught Contemporary Lit and American Lit this past year, so I'd have to keep stopping to read for those classes. I also kept getting distracted by things like the "30 Days of Night" series.

SPOILER ALERT for anyone who might want to read "Under the Dome", or is currently reading it:

Yeah, I agree. I also didn't like the ending. I mean, I knew they'd get out, but then it just...ended. And they walked off into the sunset or some stupid shit like that. I wanted more follow-up! ANd the struggle with Julia and the Leatherhead kids was way too short. I thought there should have been some more mind games involved, (like there usually are in his books with the big show-downs at the end) but then again, I guess she was dealing with "kids" afterall.

And Rennie should have gone more spectacularly than he did, although the madness at the ending of his life was a nice touch. He deserved it.

minneapolisgenius said:

chocolate1 said:

One of the problems I had with "Under the Dome" is the fact that he tried to cram too many backstories in. It was tedious.

I read slowly, also, which made it worse because I had so many things to read....

I taught Contemporary Lit and American Lit this past year, so I'd have to keep stopping to read for those classes. I also kept getting distracted by things like the "30 Days of Night" series.

SPOILER ALERT for anyone who might want to read "Under the Dome", or is currently reading it:

Yeah, I agree. I also didn't like the ending. I mean, I knew they'd get out, but then it just...ended. And they walked off into the sunset or some stupid shit like that. I wanted more follow-up! ANd the struggle with Julia and the Leatherhead kids was way too short. I thought there should have been some more mind games involved, (like there usually are in his books with the big show-downs at the end) but then again, I guess she was dealing with "kids" afterall.

And Rennie should have gone more spectacularly than he did, although the madness at the ending of his life was a nice touch. He deserved it.

I didn't like the ending, either. I felt unfulfilled after over 1100 pages.

I wish Rennie had lived... it would have made a great "sequel", starting over in the new town.

The Ring By Koji Suzuki.

although he's a mangaka

i would recommend

Kazuo Umezu.

chocolate1 said:

minneapolisgenius said:

SPOILER ALERT for anyone who might want to read "Under the Dome", or is currently reading it:

Yeah, I agree. I also didn't like the ending. I mean, I knew they'd get out, but then it just...ended. And they walked off into the sunset or some stupid shit like that. I wanted more follow-up! ANd the struggle with Julia and the Leatherhead kids was way too short. I thought there should have been some more mind games involved, (like there usually are in his books with the big show-downs at the end) but then again, I guess she was dealing with "kids" afterall.

And Rennie should have gone more spectacularly than he did, although the madness at the ending of his life was a nice touch. He deserved it.

I didn't like the ending, either. I felt unfulfilled after over 1100 pages.

I wish Rennie had lived... it would have made a great "sequel", starting over in the new town.

Ah, interesting. Yeah, had most of the town somehow adapt to the conditions under the dome and have him be the dictator. No fire. That's how I thought it was going to go actually. I was hoping for some resorting-to-cannibalism scenes to happen.