I keep seeing "The Stand" by Stephen King on the list.

And "KOKO" by Peter Straub.

I've read Koko and didn't like it (but I was young and didn't get it then. Maybe I'll like it now).

I also haven't finished the Stand despite trying at least 4 times now. I'm only halfway done.

So....... what are the best horror novels?

The Stand is indeed good. I enjoy a lot of Stephen King's stuff. Pet Sematery is good too. The Shining will make you shit a brick.

Stephen King's "It". And "The Shining".

I don't really consider The Stand horror actually.

Yeah, "Bag of Bones" was creepy. "Gerald's Game" really freaked me out.

minneapolisgenius said:

Yeah, "Bag of Bones" was creepy. "Gerald's Game" really freaked me out.

I LOVE Gerald's game.

I also enjoyed Insomnia (though I don't really know what genre to give it.)

The Talisman was really good too, but I don't think I'd call it horror either. More fantasy maybe. The Dark Half was chilling as well.

Dracula.

I read it when I was in my early 20s and it gave me nightmares. (But I also hate horror films and scary stories.)

minneapolisgenius said:

Yeah, "Bag of Bones" was creepy. "Gerald's Game" really freaked me out.

I loved Bag of Bones. I actually thought it was kind of...beautiful.

I'm surprised it hasn't been turned into a movie.

Geek Love by Katherine Dunn (not sure if technically horror, but definately creepy). One of my favorite stories ever. Might have to re-read.

johnart said:

zaza said:

johnart said:

I loved Bag of Bones. I actually thought it was kind of...beautiful.

I'm surprised it hasn't been turned into a movie.

And Duma Key would be a great movie too.

Never read that one.

I have to get back into reading. I've found my concentration is not there for it the way it once was. i have to stick to shorter things.

johnart said:

zaza said:

johnart said:

Never read that one.

I have to get back into reading. I've found my concentration is not there for it the way it once was. i have to stick to shorter things.

It's about a painter. You might like it

OOH!

Richard Laymon is a good horror writer. One of my faves.

Confessions of an Heiress by Paris Hilton

You mean like... books?

Dunno about that.

The Exorcist is a really terrifying and well-written book.

I loved The Shining too. And I'd also say The Turn of the Screw and Dracula.

More recently, The Historian had one or two good moments and could have been quite good if it had been half as long and not quite so damn boring.

Efan said:

The Exorcist is a really terrifying and well-written book.

I loved The Shining too. And I'd also say The Turn of the Screw and Dracula.

More recently, The Historian had one or two good moments and could have been quite good if it had been half as long and not quite so damn boring.

I've tried to read The Turn of the Screw about five times -- I just couldn't get through it. British lit isn't really my thing.

zaza said:

Oh and don't forget the "Desperation"!

That scene when the couple get pulled over by the state trooper actually made my heart almost jump out of my chest and it continued racing as the scene went on. Terrifying!

johnart said:

zaza said:

johnart said: And Duma Key would be a great movie too.

Never read that one.

I have to get back into reading. I've found my concentration is not there for it the way it once was. i have to stick to shorter things.

Duma Key is good.

johnart said:

minneapolisgenius said:

Yeah, "Bag of Bones" was creepy. "Gerald's Game" really freaked me out.

I loved Bag of Bones. I actually thought it was kind of...beautiful.

I'm surprised it hasn't been turned into a movie.

That's interesting that you describe it in that way, because it really was.

TheVoid said:

minneapolisgenius said:

Yeah, "Bag of Bones" was creepy. "Gerald's Game" really freaked me out.

I LOVE Gerald's game.

I also enjoyed Insomnia (though I don't really know what genre to give it.)

I can actually still freak myself out if I wake up in the middle of the night and picture that guy with his doctor's bag of bones lurking in the shadows in the corner.

and Insomnia was cool. I loved the whole concept, and sort of believe it to be true in real life.

[Edited 6/18/10 13:42pm]

Efan said:

The Exorcist is a really terrifying and well-written book.

I loved The Shining too. And I'd also say The Turn of the Screw and Dracula.

More recently, The Historian had one or two good moments and could have been quite good if it had been half as long and not quite so damn boring.

I read The Exorcist when I was about 12 because we had it in the house for some reason. I think it was my mom's. VERY scary and so much more in-depth than the movie. I need to read it again, if I can summon the courage.

Amityville Horror is really creepy too. Also better than the movie, which is usually the case.

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.

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.

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?"

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.

Phantoms

Dean Koontz