Horror Literature!

AlvaOscar

To one and all, I have a question for you.

I posted a while back one or two things about Stephen King and now was wondering if people could tell me what their favorite horror books are. Im especially interested in any comments about Lovecraft as I have always thought of buying one of his books but never really got round to doing it.

Also anything that you feel maybe interesting or shared here about horror literature is welcome although if such a request violates any rules or if LoLth has a problem with me requesting this information please let me know. Not that I think they would

Btw LoLth thanks for not deleting my King posts. When I saw that there was none here on this board and then I posted mine I was certain that I was posting in the wrong area so thanks again

Anyways enough kissing up . Back to my main request. I hope that people can post valuable information here and that it might remain as the horror literature thread.

Thanks in advance

Sam

Paddy Samurai

Two of my Favourites are

the Necroscope series by Brian Lumley

Harry Keogh (born Harry Snaith) is born with the ability to speak to the dead. As he grows up and his power manifests itself, he befriends the dead.

From them he learns that death is not the end, that once the bodies die the mind goes on, and the dead continue to do in death what they did in life. From him, the once silent Great Majority learns to communicate amongst themselves, and love him for it. In turn, they offer him their knowledge. From a former math teacher he discovers his own mathematical genius, and an ex-ex-army sergeant teaches him self-defense.

This leads to Harry learning to use the Möbius Continuum (from its discoverer, August Ferdinand Möbius himself, at his grave in Leipzig, Germany), which allows him to instantaneously transport himself anywhere in the world, and pits him head to head against Boris Dragosani, a necromancer and fledgling vampire.

Top notch! IMO.

And

Swan Song by Robert McCammon.

Swan Song is rich with such characters as an ex-wrestler named Black Frankenstein, a New York City bag lady who feels power coursing from a weird glass ring, a boy who claws his way out of a destroyed survivalist compound. They gather their followers and travel toward each other, all bent on saving a blonde girl named Swan from the Man of Many Faces. Swan Song is often compared to Stephen King's The Stand, and for the most part, readers who enjoy one of the two novels, will enjoy the other. Like The Stand, it's an end-of-the-world novel, with epic sweep, apocalyptic drama, and a cast of vividly realized characters. But the tone is somewhat different: The good is sweeter, the evil is more sadistic, and the setting is harsher, because it's the world after a nuclear holocaust. Swan Song won a 1988 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel. It's a monster of a horror book, brimming over with stories and violence and terrific imagery--God and the Devil, the whole works.

Great book,IMO its better than the Stand,and thats saying something because I loved the stand:D

Sergeant

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James is a truly chilling novella.

Bearhunter

Ghost Story by Peter Straub, one of my favourite horror books ever.

The short stories of Lovecraft, Poe, M.R. James and Le Fanu.

The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgeson.

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill (Stephen King's son).

TheWarrior

I am Legend by Richard Matheson is truely a fantastic read- not to be mixed up with the film which totally changed the plot & ending.

diddlybit

Carmilla by Le Fanu, Dracula by Stoker, Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice and The Monk by Matthew Lewis.


I know there's more but I just can't think of them at the moment.

MJRS

M. R. James is the only author to ever make me really afraid.. Get a book of his short stories!
Here's my favourite http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/jamesX31.htm

Morlar

I'd second Carmilla by J.Sheridan Le Fanu - haven't read it in years but I remember thinking highly of it at the time. Poe would be another, Lovecraft to a degree. Contemporary wise :
Clive Barker,
Shaun hutson,
Whitley Strieber,
Ramsay Campbell,
& the Anne rice books are worth checking out if you are not already familiar with them. Another which stood out for me, The Tenant by Roland Topor, not strictly horror, more of a psychological horror but worth a read.

tim_holsters

You could do worse than check out Let The Right One In by John Ajivde Lindqvist, a great vampire story.

Or Sarah Waters' The Little Stranger, not really horror as such there's not much gore in it, but it's a really scary atmospheric ghost story.

sxt

'Pet Semetary'- Stephen King
'Woman in the Dunes' - Kobe Abe

ceadaoin.

Some of Lovecrafts stories are really atmospheric and creepy (The Shadow Over Innsmouth, At the Mountains of Madness, and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward spring to mind) others though are a bit long winded and boring. I'm sure a collection of his would include most of the better ones.

I second Let the Right One In, a very unsettling book.

I know they're technically not horror but I'm a fan of John Connollys Charlie Parker novels. His collection of short stories, Nocturnes was also good.

Magic Eight Ball

Stephen Kings 'IT' still has the ability to scare the bejesus outta me.

Psychedelic

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski is very dark and creepy - I highly recommend it. It's a very different type of book too, in terms of the layout and the fonts used. I usually struggle through longer books but I flew through this one, just couldn't put it down.

Edgar Allen Poe has some good horror stories too.

Sergeant wrote: »

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James is a truly chilling novella.

I thought the prose ruined it - the sentences use way too many commas which breaks the flow of reading. There's a lot of sentences that have 6 or 7 commas, and it gets really annoying after a while. Story was only okay I thought.

TheWarrior wrote: »

I am Legend by Richard Matheson is truely a fantastic read- not to be mixed up with the film which totally changed the plot & ending.

That was one of the best books I've ever read, the writing is just amazing.

RachaelVO

Clive Barkers Books of Blood are a total set of short stories and some of them are truly spine chilling, to the point where my stomach was curdling.

The Tommyknockers by Stephen King was a bit yeuch, there is one particular section that is truly sickening, anyone who has read it will probably know what I'm talking about!

jill_valentine

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is a damn near perfect book, and one that unfolds a bit more every time I read it.

House of Leaves is great too. More of a project than a book, but a pretty remarkable work all the same.

angie16ab

Anything by Stephen King is great, but think my faves are:
Pet Semetary
Misery
Geralds Game

Also if you get the chance, check out his short story 'The Jaunt' the end of it gave me the creeps bigtime! :eek: