NationStates Jolt Archive

Whats your favorite horror book and why ? Mine is IT . The characters are so real , the writing is great , and it is terrifying.

Not so much a horror, but I read a book sometime back called "Plague" about the US being wiped out by a virus created by mutated crap. :p

Everyone died.

Wouldn't call it horror per se, but I love The Relic.

IT is excellent, along with a lot of King's short stories. I think The Stand is probably my favorite, especially the first part where the superflu wipes out mankind.

IT is excellent, along with a lot of King's short stories. I think The Stand is probably my favorite, especially the first part where the superflu wipes out mankind.

I haven't read any Stephen King, but have heard he is a better storyteller than writer. Is that true?

I haven't read any Stephen King, but have heard he is a better storyteller than writer. Is that true?

sort of. The Bachman books are written pretty well on the whole, but some of his other stuff is not written the best. He tends to be a little too descriptive.

I haven't read any Stephen King, but have heard he is a better storyteller than writer. Is that true?

Since he's a shit writer, yes. But it's setting the bar only about a Palin high.

In his defence, "The Stand" was actually reasonably well written. Which makes me wonder who he got to do the work for him, considering how weak his writing is in... well, everything else.

I haven't read any Stephen King, but have heard he is a better storyteller than writer. Is that true?

I'd have to say so, but a lot of his earlier stuff is also well written; The Stand probably couldn't be much shorter than it was without sacrificing the atmosphere and imagery, especially in the first part of the book. Since the short stories are also within that "storytelling" mode, they tend to be a good deal better than the novels (even though many of them are an excellent read).

IT is my all time favorite but as far as the previous person said about how descriptive King can be. There were like 3 chapters that really didnt even have to be in that book. hell its over a thousand pages..I know I dont mind but some people have a problem with 500 let along a thousand.
Second would be The shining. which is definitly a one sit down session kind of book.

IT is my all time favorite

for some reason...I'm not surprised.

Somtimes IT did get a little boring.

I really love King's The Night Shift (a book of short stories), although it's not really scary, it really makes you think. I liked Strawberry Spring, Children of the Corn:eek:, and Quitter's Inc. You should read all of them, though.http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/a/0/0/e/5/AAAACv82KYIAAAAAAA5arQ.png?v=1156778965000 Krakkagar rox my sox!:D

John Steakley's Vampire$.

Among the most gripping books I've come across in a long time. And believe me, I read a lot.

koontz, in my opinion, is better than King. King's endings tend to be a little... anticlimatic for my taste.

Koontz is very good. Neil Gaimen, who does graphic novels and comics, is also a gifted short story writer in the horror genre.

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro writes well about vampires, though from a completely different perspective than Ann Rice.

Do I have to say?

Do I have to say?to call the stuff that HP Lovecraft writes horror... is like calling the Pacific Ocean a lake.

Koontz is very good. Neil Gaimen, who does graphic novels and comics, is also a gifted short story writer in the horror genre.

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro writes well about vampires, though from a completely different perspective than Ann Rice.

I'd agree with Neil Gaiman. Sherri Tepper isn't a bad horror writer, either.

I read this anthology about Ghost Stories and that almost made crap in my knickers so...

I'd agree with Neil Gaiman. Sherri Tepper isn't a bad horror writer, either.

Neil Gaiman can do some really fucked up things with short stories. He's a seriously messed up British man.

Not sure what you people define as "horror." I personally don't worry about genre, but whether or not I like the work.

The Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton and the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris are good reads.

Neil Gaiman has been mentioned. Some of Tim Power's and China Miéville's sci-fi involves horror elements.

I liked Joe Hill's Heart-Shaped Box.

I've never liked Stephen King in general.

I read this anthology about Ghost Stories and that almost made crap in my knickers so...

Awesome.

Don't suppose you remember what that anthology was called...?

(Most 'horror' just plain isn't scary...)

Neil Gaiman can do some really fucked up things with short stories. He's a seriously messed up British man.

Yeah, I really like what Neil Gaiman does. He's not necessarily the person who makes you sit there with your spine tingling (but, I hardly ever encounter anyone that DOES managae that), but he does create some deliciously dark spaces to explore.

(The written equivalent of "Pan's Labyrinth", maybe...)

No one's mentioned Shirley Jackson yet. The Haunting of Hill House was very creepy, probably the only book I couldn't read in an empty house. We Have Always Lived in the Castle was creepy too, but...different somehow. It was more like "The Lottery" in the way the antagonist was the faceless village-tribe, while The Haunting was more about individual demons.

Hmm... I don't read many horror books really. I'm parnoid enough as it is.

"Something Wicked this way comes"
"I am Legend"
There were 3 more but for the life of me I can't remember the names.

I don't like "Jump out at you" horror stories.

I prefer the ones with tons of Ambience before hand.

I like horrors that mess with your mind.
And Scifis that double as horror.

The Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton and the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris are good reads.
Before or after it turned into Vampire porn?

Awesome.

Don't suppose you remember what that anthology was called...?

(Most 'horror' just plain isn't scary...)

No, sorry. I'm trying to remember though. The likes of Jane Yolen and Anne Rice wrote some of the stories compiled there.

No one's mentioned Shirley Jackson yet. The Haunting of Hill House was very creepy, probably the only book I couldn't read in an empty house. We Have Always Lived in the Castle was creepy too, but...different somehow. It was more like "The Lottery" in the way the antagonist was the faceless village-tribe, while The Haunting was more about individual demons.
^^ This.

Also, Ghost Story, by Peter Straub, is one of my favorite horror novels. A seamless modernization of classic evil spirit lore with some very terrifying moments. Sadly, I don't like his other books very much.

In general though, I prefer short horror stories to novels. Fave writers include M.R. James, Joseph Sheridan LeFanu, Algernon Blackwood, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Lovecraft (of course, though a genre-bender), E.F. Benson, and John Collier (another genre-bender).

I cannot tolerate Stephen King -- or quite a lot of other popular horror writers. Go figure.

Can I name Gothic lit books? If I can, Frankenstien, Dracula, and Poes short stories.


If I cant, The Shining.

Somtimes IT did get a little boring.
yeah, it could have done with some decent editing.
Also, I didn't much like the ending
how they all shag the 12 yr old girl, as a way to "strengthen the bond between them". It bordered on just gratuitous paedophilic pornography, meant to shock. Which is a shame because the scene wasn't needed.
Also the the fat clumsy kid was such an obvious characterisation of Steven King himself. Which is why he's the one who gives Beverly an orgasm when they screw as kids and is so handsome and muscular 30 years later, getting the girl in the end. King living out his fantasies there.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote some great short horror stories - worth hunting down and reading.

The Oath by Frank Peretti

Before or after it turned into Vampire porn?

Lol. You know, in real life, no man would stay with a woman who did what she does. It's really more like dark-fantasy porn. I think Hamilton is projecting her own twisted desires on Blake..

I found Salem's Lot and The Shining to be much better and scarier than It. The short story by King, Jerusalem's Lot is also very scary. H.P. Lovecraft's stuff could be scary too, I particularly enjoyed The Rats in the Walls.

I quite like Clive Barker's Books Of Blood. Especially the story called The Yattering and Jack about a demons attempts to drive a gherkin importer insane so that hell can claim his soul..

yeah, it could have done with some decent editing.
Also, I didn't much like the ending
how they all shag the 12 yr old girl, as a way to "strengthen the bond between them". It bordered on just gratuitous paedophilic pornography, meant to shock. Which is a shame because the scene wasn't needed.
Also the the fat clumsy kid was such an obvious characterisation of Steven King himself. Which is why he's the one who gives Beverly an orgasm when they screw as kids and is so handsome and muscular 30 years later, getting the girl in the end. King living out his fantasies there.

That ending is horrible !

The Invisible Man is a good book.Its not that scary though.

I like Anne Rice's vampire chronicles, but I know they're not exactly horror.

Alot of my nations RP culture is based off of things in IT. My national animal is the turtle,pepole in my country worship the turtle , and when they do they put seven candeles around a real turtle.

I read a couple of really good zombie books recently. Brian Keene's 'The Rising' and the sequel 'City of the Dead'.

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro writes well about vampires, though from a completely different perspective than Ann Rice.

I like Anne Rice's vampire chronicles, but I know they're not exactly horror.

Other than Interview with the Vampire (and yes I have read them ALL) they are little more than homo-erotic crap with whiny sissy vampires who spend as much time crying themselves to sleep in the morning as they do nipping each other to show affection...

BTW, I liked Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart", "The Pit and the Pendelum", and the one where he buries his best freind in his basement by bricking him into the wall while he's alive.

Dean Koontz is good too but I like his lighter hearted stuff like "Odd Thomas" the most.

BTW, I liked Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart", "The Pit and the Pendelum", and the one where he buries his best freind in his basement by bricking him into the wall while he's alive.

Great stuff that...The Cask of Amantiado (sp?) one of my fav's too...

As far as twisted sci/fi/horror, Brian Lumley's Necromancer series is the best vampire tales I have ever read, it throws in multi dimentions and other wierdness as well, real page turners!!

Since he's a shit writer, yes. But it's setting the bar only about a Palin high.

In his defence, "The Stand" was actually reasonably well written. Which makes me wonder who he got to do the work for him, considering how weak his writing is in... well, everything else.

He's got a few gems in what is otherwise a prolific career of cowplops. Which makes me think that he can actually write, when he actually puts his mind to it...and the rest of his effort is just on making money.

Before or after it turned into Vampire porn?

:D

Vampire porn is not without merit. ;)

But I do find that the quality of the books decreases as the focus is increasingly placed on sex rather than the horror/mystery/fantasy plots.

For that reason, I would recommend the earlier books in the series over the more recent ones.

:D

Vampire porn is not without merit. ;)

But I do find that the quality of the books decreases as the focus is increasingly placed on sex rather than the horror/mystery/fantasy plots.

For that reason, I would recommend the earlier books in the series over the more recent ones.
I have serious problems with the Anita Blake books because -- leaving aside the question of whether they are good goth vamp porn or not -- our heroine is specifically described -- more than once!! -- as wearing tight lace tops and sequined black miniskirts with RUNNING SHOES!!!

WHAT THE FUCK??? Can we say "buzzkill"? Ugh.

And those alluring oversized t-shirts she sleeps in. How gothic. How porny.

I wouldn't mind so much if Hamilton was playing that shit for laughs, but I have never detected the slightest hint of irony. I have never been able to get through one of her books without launching into my own inner episode of "What Not To Wear." It really does interfere with the mood.

I have serious problems with the Anita Blake books because -- leaving aside the question of whether they are good goth vamp porn or not -- our heroine is specifically described -- more than once!! -- as wearing tight lace tops and sequined black miniskirts with RUNNING SHOES!!!

WHAT THE FUCK??? Can we say "buzzkill"? Ugh.

And those alluring oversized t-shirts she sleeps in. How gothic. How porny.

I wouldn't mind so much if Hamilton was playing that shit for laughs, but I have never detected the slightest hint of irony. I have never been able to get through one of her books without launching into my own inner episode of "What Not To Wear." It really does interfere with the mood.

:D

I have to admit I haven't always focused on the descriptions of what shoes Blake was wearing during the porn scenes.:$;)

Anything by Lovecraft.

I was also once a big fan of Anne Rice. Until she found Jesus. (I'm quite serious here. Realistically Blood and Gold shouldn't have been the last Vampire Chronicles book, but she stopped writing Vampire novels altogether and is now, by all accounts, doing something more Jesusy.)

Man there are soooo many good horror stories, from Stephen Kings 'The Shining' to Mary Shelly's 'Frankenstien'

Too many to aggggghhhh name my fave! Argggghh!

:D

I have to admit I haven't always focused on the descriptions of what shoes Blake was wearing during the porn scenes.:$;)
What, does it take you like 10 minutes to read one of her books? :tongue: I have trouble finding the porn hidden in her voluminous, shopping-list-style descriptions of the ridiculous get-ups her characters are kitted out in. Do you get one of your law school interns to scan the books and highlight the good parts for you? ;)