What was the scariest/most chilling book you read as a child?

On Amazon Marianne Dreams and Charlotte Sometimes are "frequently bought together". Is it a bunch of MNetters who are buying these en masse?

I've never read either but am seriously considering buying them!

It. Gave me a fear of clowns that has never really gone away.

The film that claims to be of "The Dark Is Rising" is best avoided, though. As one reviewer commented at the time, they only changed three things from the book: 1. They made the hero American rather than British; 2. They made him 13 rather than 11; 3. They changed the whole of the rest of the plot.

And they did it for reasons that showed they'd never understood the bloody books in the first place (Grrrrr).

Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath (?) were both good although I wasn't too scared. I think I read The Owl Service too young as most of what it's actually about went completely over my head and I just found it dull. I should read it again now that I'm more capable of following the nuances.

'The Weirdstone of Brisingamen', anyone? Alan Garner again and MUCH scarier than The Owl Service.

Also the 'Dark is Rising' series by Susan someone. The first one is particularly good.

A Graham Greene short story, "The End of the Party", that I read when I was twelve or so. It scared the crap out of me (it's the one with the twins playing hide-and-seek, for anyone else who's read it. I have been roundly castigated on message boards before for reminding other posters of its existence and hence scaring the crap out of them once more by reviving the memory... )

Read and loved Charlotte Sometimes and The Chrysalids (although my sister and I appeared to be in a minority in thinking that the society they were "rescued" by at the end was Not All That Great, actually, which I think is Wyndham's intention). Didn't read Marianne Dreams until I was an adult but can see how it would stay with you (it's one of the most asked-about books on the Abebooks BookSleuth forum).

BalloonSlayer - you remember it much better than me. Scary scary story.

Visitor at Green Knowe.
Grinny - holy mamoly that was terrifying.

Does anyone remember the Gerald Durrel story (he tells it as if it's true) about the man staying in a chateau? There is a monster in the mirror which kills the reflections of the cat, dog and parrot. And then the man's reflection. And then it notices him in its mirror and tries to come through to get him. He has to run around breaking all the mirrors.

I only knew one other person who had read it, and he would never have a mirror in his bedroom, or if he did he had to have it tilted so he couldn't see it from his bed. (And he was grown up by then.)

tothesea,
Think it might have been 'chocky' rather than 'enoch' - another John Wyndham classic about a boy who is 'posessed' by an alien voice - it's sooooooo good!

There is a short story by Gerald Durrell (yes really) about a thing coming out of the mirror, absolutely terrified me for years. I think the worst thing was I read a lot of Gerald Durrell books and they are autobiographical so I found it very hard not to think that this story must be true too. Was in a book of short stories but can't remember the title of the book or the story now. Not sure I could face reading it again even now.

I loved Charlotte Sometimes. The Cure did a record with the same title and I'm sure the video echoed the story. I thought it was such a cool thing to happen, swapping with someone from the past, and it was very poignant.

I also loved all the Wyndham books, but was terrified by nuclear bombs (guess that was just indicative of what was affecting our generation) so I hated The Chrysalids. It was a bit too close to the truth for comfort...I could imagine us all blowing ourselves to bits, then regressing into old fashioned, God Fearing communities who had no tolerance. Scared the wits out of me.

So does no-one recognise the story about the child that had a something in his brain that spoke to him and it was called Enoch?
I read it at school, have never quite forgotten it but because it was read in class I don't remember what it was called/author.
tothesea wonders if perhaps was a dream

Oh yes, Marianne Dreams is the first one that springs to mind.

I was completely freaked out by The Moomins for some reason - not the story, just the pictures - I had to read it with my hand over the illustrations.

My sister was terrified of Roald Dahl's The Witches. I had an audiobook and she used to sneak up and sit outside my bedroom door to listen - not so bad as long as you're not actually in the room apparently.

And Baba Yaga!

The colour out of Space

I went crying into my parents room aged 7 after reading half of The Witches.

I spent ages 7-14 in Germany and they have an author called Gudrun Pausewang who wrote loads of books aimed at teens about war and surviving nucleur holocausts. I read 2 of her books called Die Letzte Kinder Von Schewerbon (The Last Children of Schewerbon) and Die Wolke (The Cloud). The former was about 3 sisters who survived a nucleur attack and detailed a few years after. It ended with the lead sister, the narrator talking about her hair falling out in chunks, so she knew she had radiation sickness. Chilling.
The latter I vividly remember the opening chapters where two children hear of this cloud which is heading for them, which is some kind of poison gas. The older sister tells her brother that they'll be ok as its smelly and looks like a black cloud, when she really knows its odorless and clear. It also deals with their parents being stuck on on the autobahn in the path of the cloud who die in their car.

I also read Point Horror books (90's teen) and there were some called Point Horror Unleashed which were meant to be scarier. One of those gave me chills...think it was called The Watchman...?

I loved Marianne's Dreams! Occasionally have a look at Amazon and wonder if I should buy it again.

Our teacher read it to us when we were in Yr 4. It has always stuck with me.

I always wanted to know exactly what was wrong with Marianne that necessitated her stayingin bed for so long.

I also read The Rats and other James Herbert books as a young teen. I really liked it but I still don't like rats just in case you accidentally corner them and they go for your jugular which realistically is very unlikely I know!!