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Looking for a truly SCARY book....

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rocksteady1983

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I got to thinking and I have never read a book that truly scared me. What are some of your recommendations for books that aren't just creepy but really SCARY. The ones that make you have to watch cartoons before you can go to bed type scary lol. Need something to get me into the fall/Halloween spirit.
 
going_rogue_01.jpg
 
Hmmm, now that you mention it, I'm not sure if I've read any like that either.
I'd say that House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski is truly disturbing, but not necessarily hide under the covers scarey.
Some Stephen King novels have kinda made me feel that way before. May check some of those out (Rose Madder, Gerald's Game, Misery, or The Dark Half?).

EDIT: Oh man, starting writing post when no one had responded. By the time I finished, I got beaten like a damn drum!
 
There are some scary 'scenes' in some of the books I have read, and I would hate to imagine what a full on horror novel would be like. It's worse than a scary film for sure imo, I don't want that.

HOWEVER, is there any good SCI-FI scary books? That I might like, I mean even parts of C. Clarkes Childhood's End had me uncomfortable.. in a bit of a good way.
 
I've never read a book that scared me; I have however read many awesome horror novels and short stories. That's probably the best you're going to do. Some of my favorites:

Pet Sematary, Skeleton Crew (Stephen King)
Dracula (Bram Stoker)
Anything by HP Lovecraft
 
Heary Shaped Box - Joe Hill

Come Closer - Sara Gran

Haunted - Chuck Pahlahuink
 
FunkyPajamas said:
I found Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot much more unsettling than IT, but that's probably just me.
Click to expand...

That's because half the story of IT is with school children and it's hard to identify with them. I find intelligent vampires scarier than
aliens that play to your fears
.

Plus 'Salem's Lot's ending is horrifically well done comparably.

Edit: If you want to be haunted, you can read The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum. He's an awful writer, and he took a very famous case of extreme abuse in Indiana and fictionalized it. I honestly couldn't get all the way through the book, the lack of empathy in the characters he was writing is astonishing.
 
Stephen King's "The Shining" is the only book that ever managed to give me the creeps.

Edit: And by creeps, I mean hesitant to open the bathtub curtain for about a week.
 
The%20Haunted%20Mask.jpg

When I was ten this book freaked me the fuck out, more then any other goosebumps book. The only one in the entire series that actually scared me.
 
ChiTownBuffalo said:
Haunted - Chuck Pahlahuink
Click to expand...
The first review on amazon on this book made me giggle....

"Palahniuk, during the current book tour, was reading the first story called `Guts' and to date there have been 63 people who have passed out with many people being injured falling into book cases in book stores. This book will at times, turn your stomach, but will give you an understanding of the darkest side of human nature. "

Is it really that intense? Seem's a bit extreme.
 
coloreds don't like lovecraft? psh.

i dunno, no book has ever really, really scared me. try "the terror" by dan simmons, though.
 
lunar-park1.jpg


Really decent, horror book. Written as part biography, part Stephen King tribute. Really good read even if you don't find it super scary.
 
KAOz said:
http://media.litdrift.com/uploads/2009/12/lunar-park1.jpg

Really decent, horror book. Written as part biography, part Stephen King tribute. Really good read even if you don't find it super scary.
Click to expand...

I was thinking about listing this, but shied away from it because you don't get to the "scary" stuff until well after lots of bio stuff and unrelated things. In a typical (and wonderful) Ellis way, the book can be broken down in to different parts, and getting to the scary part just takes time.
That being said, it's an amazing book, probably in my top 10 or even 5 books of all time, and I'd recommend it to anyone. The end is so sad and beautiful.
 
rocksteady1983 said:
The first review on amazon on this book made me giggle....

"Palahniuk, during the current book tour, was reading the first story called `Guts' and to date there have been 63 people who have passed out with many people being injured falling into book cases in book stores. This book will at times, turn your stomach, but will give you an understanding of the darkest side of human nature. "

Is it really that intense? Seem's a bit extreme.
Click to expand...

I have to admit, I read Guts and it made me really queasy and dizzy afterwards.
 
rocksteady1983 said:
The first review on amazon on this book made me giggle....

"Palahniuk, during the current book tour, was reading the first story called `Guts' and to date there have been 63 people who have passed out with many people being injured falling into book cases in book stores. This book will at times, turn your stomach, but will give you an understanding of the darkest side of human nature. "

Is it really that intense? Seem's a bit extreme.
Click to expand...
just literary gore porn with vapid entertainment value

like everything else palahniuk writes
 
planar1280 said:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Kv1qGuXUL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg[IMG]

because its coming true[/QUOTE]

Brave New World is far closer to the "coming true," if that is how you are going to convince someone that a book is scary.
Click to expand...
 
The most distrubing, unsettling book I'e ever read would be Stephen King's Pet Semetary. Totally outshines the movie - makes me feel a little unsettled in the woods 'til this day.
 
rocksteady1983 said:
The first review on amazon on this book made me giggle....

"Palahniuk, during the current book tour, was reading the first story called `Guts' and to date there have been 63 people who have passed out with many people being injured falling into book cases in book stores. This book will at times, turn your stomach, but will give you an understanding of the darkest side of human nature. "

Is it really that intense? Seem's a bit extreme.
Click to expand...
It's a disgusting story and will make your stomach turn.

As for a scary book, Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill had some decently spooky scenes.
 
Strafer said:
it_flat_book.gif
Click to expand...

I was driving through Seattle a few days ago and I passed a sewer grate that had a single helium balloon tied to it. It was a terrifying moment for a few seconds.
 
Hilbert said:
I was driving through Seattle a few days ago and I passed a sewer grate that had a single helium balloon tied to it. It was a terrifying moment for a few seconds.
Click to expand...

You know what's worse? Being in the hotel in Colorado the the Shining is based on, and seeing a little Japanese boy meow like a cat.

It was not cool.
 
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