NationStates Jolt Archive

Who's your favortie author of horror stories? I like a fellow named Thomas Ligotti.

Poll to come.

Poe

Peter Straub, probably. But Varley's "Press Enter" also made me crap my pants, especially because the phone rang just as I read the last sentence.

Quiroga's "El Almohadón de Plumas" also assures you'll have trouble sleeping. Sadly I'm not aware of any English translation.

John Saul.

Ellison isn't a 'horror' writer.

Lovecraft was absolutely brilliant.

Poe, his stuff was always entertaining.

Anyone who can't figure out who I voted for fails at life.

Anyone who can't figure out who I voted for fails at life.<clicks on the poll numbers.>

Stephen King is a commercial success, but a damn good writer nevertheless ...

Why isn't Noam Chomsky on the list?:p

Ellison isn't a 'horror' writer.
Some of his shit is pretty creepy.

Terry Pratchett

Poe.

My favourite story is Ligeia.

(Most political blogs are far scarier, though.)

Some of his shit is pretty creepy.
I won't dispute that. I've had more than one restless night after tucking into some HE short fiction.

Most people think of him as a Science-Fiction author, some know him as a comic-book/graphic novel writer. And yes, in some circles he is known for 'horror'. But HE himself brands his work as 'speculative fiction', for the most part.

Just sayin'.

I won't dispute that. I've had more than one restless night after tucking into some HE short fiction.

Most people think of him as a Science-Fiction author, some know him as a comic-book/graphic novel writer. And yes, in some circles he is known for 'horror'. But HE himself brands his work as 'speculative fiction', for the most part.

Just sayin'.
I'm only familiar with a few of his short stories published in anthologies of short horror fiction. That's why I considered him a horror author.

I'm only familiar with a few of his short stories published in anthologies of short horror fiction. That's why I considered him a horror author.
Can I recommend the HE anthology 'Angry Candy'? It's quite good, offers a bit of a mixed bag, and is fairly dark in outlook. A particular fave from that collection is 'The Region Between', influenced in no small part by Alfred Bester, with some pretty damn innovative ideas regarding type to boot.

Can I recommend the HE anthology 'Angry Candy'? It's quite good, offers a bit of a mixed bag, and is fairly dark in outlook. A particular fave from that collection is 'The Region Between', influenced in no small part by Alfred Bester, with some pretty damn innovative ideas regarding type to boot.
If I remember the title next time I go to the book store I might check it out. Thanks.

Nancy A. Collins. I don't know what it was in her writing that really touched me. Nowadays I just can't get what I used to get from horror. Maybe I'm getting old.

Lovecraft, for some reason it isn't scary when you read it, but then you wake up at about 3am and realize you don't want to go back to sleep because his images are running though your head.

The only story by Lovecraft that ever scared me (The only story period for that matter.) was The Colour Out of Space. I spent the rest of the night huddled under the covers. And this is coming from someone who laughed atRingu.

Dean Koontz

Rod Serling.

Lovecraft. So deliciously horrific it gives me the giggles.

I dont read horror stories.

Oh dear. Anne Rice and Stephen King in the same poll?

Of course, for the most part, I wouldn't put Rice's books under the "horror" label, so in that case I'd go for King.

I dont read horror stories.
Not even the news?

Not even the news?
How is that a horror story.
o ya, its not.

Stephen King is so great! Anyone who has read his Dark Tower series can agree with that. :cool:

Of the names on the list I'd say Lovecraft. Original, outrageous, creepy, fabulous in every way.

But I picked other because M.R. James is scarier than Lovecraft. Scarier than just about anyone. He wrote neat, classic, British short stories about curious antiquarians getting tangled up with ghosts or demons. Elegant, amusing, terrifying. Check especially the following stories:

"Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad"
"Casting the Runes"
"A Warning to the Curious"
"An Episode of Cathedral History"

He specialized in little moments of terror in close, intimate conditions. Like a character who gets awakened by strange noises in the night, reaches under his pillow for his watch, but feels something like a mouth with teeth and hair around it instead. Or a character who sits up reading late at night, senses a movement on the floor next to his armchair, absently reaches down to pet his dog's head, only it doesn't feel like his dog, so he looks down and sees that he's petting a human figure -- a ghost entirely covered in human hair -- that has crawled up to him on its hands and knees. Little gems like that.

How is that a horror story.
o ya, its not.
It is when Anderson Cooper reads them. Brrrrr! That guy gives me the creeps!

It is when Anderson Cooper reads them. Brrrrr! That guy gives me the creeps!
who??

who??
Yeah, the Who too, but they don't read news. Although if Roger Daltrey tried to I'm sure it would be pretty scary.

I voted Poe. His writing is timeless.

I voted Poe. His writing is timeless.

Nah ... being prematurely buried is no longer on the national conscious.

I can't believe I'm the only person to say Serling.

Come on ... pure genius! He could embrace people's fear over the Red Menace and turn it into a Twilight Zone about an old woman not answering the door when Death comes knocking. Subtle greatness.

Surely someone else here appreciates Serling's work.

Graham Masterton or Brian Lumley...

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (sp), Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley

Yeah, the Who too, but they don't read news. Although if Roger Daltrey tried to I'm sure it would be pretty scary.
Actually, I am asking who this Anderson Cooper guy is.

Definetly Edgar Allen Poe. The Pit and the Pendulum was genius!

Of those on the list it is without a doubt H.P. Lovecraft. He created a killer mythos with the old ones and Cthulu that is still copied today (Stephen King has a great short story about finding the Necronomicon in an abandoned church in an abandoned village and summoning of a giant, evil worm thing that swallows the church).

However, I have to also agree with the person who named Rod Serling and I would put him on an even par with Lovecraft. He had a knack for making the simple and seemingly innocent bits of the world around us turn out to be really bad - Like living ventriloquist dummies, little girl's talking dolls that said stuff like "I don't like you, you'd better be nice to me." toy telephones that let you talk to the dead, etc. Awesome stuff.