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Give me your scariest books ever


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I have a 7 week old and I can barely get a shower these days, or time to myself.. but I am DYING to read something. Im an avid reader but havent read anything since my pregnancy (with the exception of Hunger Games series.)

 

With October coming, I really want to read something scary. Ive checked listopia on Goodreads and Ive requested from the library:

 

It

The Exorcist

Feed

Hell House

The Haunting of Hill House

... and a few others.

 

So... what did you read that REALLY scared you?:001_smile:

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I've tried House of Leaves twice & was so creeped out by page 20 that I had to return it to the library both times w/out finishing. :lol: Of course, I'm kind of a wuss on that, so take that for what you will. It sounds like your reading choices are much braver than mine....

 

I recently did a couple of threads about spooky October reading, so you may want to read them to get some book ideas....

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=426500

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=424055

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The Historian. I could never even finish it because it freaked me out too much. And I'm a big Anne Rice/Stephen King/etc. reader.

 

See, I loved The Historian & didn't find it scary. I've read a lot of Anne Rice (years ago) & enjoyed it -- sort-of scary. I've never read Stephen King because I'm too afraid to even try reading him! :tongue_smilie::lol:

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Thanks everyone!

 

Ive heard of House of Leaves.. definitely gonna have to try that one!

 

I just started Anne Rice's Tale of The Body Thief tonight but I don't find her books scary. Im picking up my library finds in the morning:)

 

The only book of King's I found to be creepy was Salem's Lot. I loveeeed it!

 

Ive never heard of The Historian.. Ill have to check it out.

 

I have Dracula on my shelf, Ive just never read it! That will be an October must:D

 

Amityville Horror kind of creeped me out.. I wish I could find something like it.

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I've tried House of Leaves twice & was so creeped out by page 20 that I had to return it to the library both times w/out finishing. :lol: Of course, I'm kind of a wuss on that, so take that for what you will. It sounds like your reading choices are much braver than mine....

 

 

House of Leaves COMPLETELY freaked me out... I did manage to finish it though. Eeeek. Just thinking of that book gives me the willies!

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I LOVE Dean Koontz. His books have varying levels of scary but they are almost all thought-provoking and a good read.

 

I much prefer him over Stephen "50% of people in Maine are pedophiles" King. I think King's best works are his non-supernatural novellas.

 

Koontz has gotten a little formulaic, but I like that his heroes are good people and his villains are completely depraved.

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William Sleator's House of Stairs. It's a YA novel, and is very different from the typical horror, but is one of the few books that has stuck with me as truly horrific and chilling.

 

http://www.amazon.com/House-Stairs-William-Sleator/dp/0140345809/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348319620&sr=8-1&keywords=House+of+Stairs

 

Ohhhh, I felt so sick when I finished that book. The final image... shivers.

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The only book of King's I found to be creepy was Salem's Lot. I loveeeed it!

 

Amityville Horror kind of creeped me out.. I wish I could find something like it.

 

These were going to be my suggestions, but you've already read them! I generally don't read scary books, but I read these two when I was in high school. I couldn't sleep well for weeks after reading Salem's Lot. Of course it didn't help matters that my brother went outside one night when just the two of us were home and scratched on our big picture window while kind of bobbing up and down. (If you've read the book you'll know what I'm talking about!)

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These were going to be my suggestions, but you've already read them! I generally don't read scary books, but I read these two when I was in high school. I couldn't sleep well for weeks after reading Salem's Lot. Of course it didn't help matters that my brother went outside one night when just the two of us were home and scratched on our big picture window while kind of bobbing up and down. (If you've read the book you'll know what I'm talking about!)

 

:lol:Oh you poor thing. lol That would have scared me too!

 

I wish you had another suggestion since we agree so much on those! :D Great taste!

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Well, I have returned from the library. Most of my requests aren't in yet but I came home with:

 

It

The Stand

The Shining

The Historian (which was only in Large print so its like.. a million pages)

 

(And A Love That Multiplies by Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar but thats not for a scare:001_smile:)

 

So Ive come home with 3/4 scary books written by King, which is an author Im iffy about. I either love it or am just blah over his books. I also love that I stated I have no time to read.. and most of these books are huge. lol

 

We shall see....

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I also love that I stated I have no time to read.. and most of these books are huge. lol

 

We shall see....

 

:lol: Well, I guess it's good you're 10th on the list to get House of Leaves, huh? That gives you time to read the others. But, you may get House sooner than you think. When I've checked it out (& then gotten promptly freaked out), I wanted the book OUT of my house too. (Is that unreasonable or what?) So, both times I've made a special trip to return it because I didn't even want it sitting around near me. (See, told you I'm a wuss for that stuff.)

 

Thought of another possibility -- author Peter Straub. I've read his book Koko. I think others books of his are also scary.

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I know a lot of people who say It is the scariest book they've ever read, but it didn't do a thing for me. It's probably my least favorite Stephen King book. I thought Pet Sematary and The Stand were much scarier and much better written.

 

Ugh. Pet Sematary is the worst. I was okay reading the book even though it is very very scary but I should never have watched the movie. When my kids were little I would have nightmares about the scene with their little boy and the truck. :crying:

 

William Sleator's House of Stairs. It's a YA novel, and is very different from the typical horror, but is one of the few books that has stuck with me as truly horrific and chilling.

 

http://www.amazon.com/House-Stairs-William-Sleator/dp/0140345809/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348319620&sr=8-1&keywords=House+of+Stairs

 

This book is AMAZING!! I read it for the first time in junior high and dug up a used copy a few years back. Amazing imagery and very thought-provoking.

 

Thought of another possibility -- author Peter Straub. I've read his book Koko. I think others books of his are also scary.

 

I like Peter Straub too. He was the co-author of The Talisman with Stephen King.

 

Other possibilities coming to mind based on some of the suggestions:

 

Congo - Micheal Crichton

Robin Cook

 

The Amityville Horror was the first horror novel I ever read, way back when I was 12. If you liked it, you should look at some other "oldies" - The Omen, Rosemary's Baby.

 

If you like post-apocalyptic, alternate reality type books, you should check out F. Paul Wilson. I read one of his books a long time ago and just recently found out he finished his Secret History of the World series.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by dottieanna29

I LOVE Dean Koontz. His books have varying levels of scary but they are almost all thought-provoking and a good read.

 

__________________

Saint Augustine Classical Academy

I much prefer him over Stephen "50% of people in Maine are pedophiles" King. I think King's best works are his non-supernatural novellas.

 

Koontz has gotten a little formulaic, but I like that his heroes are good people and his villains are completely depraved.

 

We always refer to DK as Stephen King on prozac.

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I also love that I stated I have no time to read.. and most of these books are huge. lol

 

We shall see....

Probably why you love Dean Koontz, his books are fast!

I like him too. I don't really like Stephen King at all, there's so much blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... get on with the story already!

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King does have a lot of blah blah blah.. 1200 pages in this case, and 1500 in The Stand. Even though I really dont care for him as a writer (with the exception of Salems Lot-I cant say enough how much I enjoyed it) Im still excited to read the 3 I checked oiut today.

 

Sorry for any typos.. typing one handed feeding baby... it all got deleted so I had to retype it all:glare:

 

Oh, and yes I LOVE DK, even if after 55 or so of his books he has started to get a little predictable;) still love him!

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House of Leaves COMPLETELY freaked me out... I did manage to finish it though. Eeeek. Just thinking of that book gives me the willies!

 

I wish my library carried it.

 

The only relatively scary book I've ever read is Dracula. I loved it, but I did have to push myself through several chapters before getting hooked.

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