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What's the scariest book you've read?

159 replies

imaginative · 23/01/2015 09:51

My two are 'the woman in Black' by Susan Hill - sooo creepy, and much more recently, and probably frightened me a bit more - 'What Laura Saw' by Sarah King. This one has a couple of really great twists and a very sympathetic lead character.

So which books scared you the most? I am looking for another one to read alongside 'The State We're In'. I like to have a couple of books on the go depending on my mood. Thanks

OP posts:
Ememem84 · 23/01/2015 20:16

Book - needful things Stephen king. I've never Finished it. Too scary.

Film- saw series. Seriously grossed me out.

MrsUnderwood · 23/01/2015 20:16

Scariest book: Probably "House of Leaves" or "It". I also really rate "Heart Shaped Box".

Scariest film: The one I saw recently that really frightened me was an Australian film called The Babadook. I really recommend it.

iklboo · 23/01/2015 20:11

Misery by Stephen King was pretty disturbing. Book and film. Then I got to play Annie Wilkes in am dram. That was FAB!

KneeQuestion · 23/01/2015 20:11

The Amytiville horror.

Made me scared of my own shadow for weeks.

ItsAllKickingOffPru · 23/01/2015 20:08

I used to read loads by Graham Masterton when I was younger. He was like a budget James Herbert, very fast paced and with the requisite number of Scary Moments and Sex Moments Grin

Bentley Little is good for gross out horror and not choosing a favourite character in case a chainsaw falls on them.

ItsAllKickingOffPru · 23/01/2015 20:05

Yes, they are excellent, bakingaddict.

Mocheenee · 23/01/2015 20:04

Bolshybookworm - thanks for the tip re Devilled Backbone ;) - just ordered the DVD off eBay for a mere 1.99 inc delivery !

LegArmpits · 23/01/2015 20:03

Flesh and blood by Graham Masterton. Ugh but brilliant. I still won't let bay leaves in the house!

bakingaddict · 23/01/2015 20:00

Read John Connolly especially the novels that feature the detective Charlie Parker. They are essentially gothic crime novels with a supernatural twist but quite scary

Mintyy · 23/01/2015 19:59

I don't read horror or scary books but the most frightening thing I have ever read was a chapter in Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd, which perfectly and chillingly (as in a this could happen to anyone way) described how a person went from being a regular guy to a tramp on the road with terrible mental health problems and nothing to his name. I was reading it on the beach in southern France and had to keep stopping because I was so utterly creeped out by it. Peter Ackroyd is a fucking good writer, actually.

Bolshybookworm · 23/01/2015 19:55

devils backbone. Devilled backbone sounds like a particularly weird canapé.

SnotandBothered · 23/01/2015 19:55

'House of Leaves'. Just. Oh. My. God
'Communion'. The only book I have ever had to limit to 'daytime reading' only.
Therese Raquin. Unsettling and jumpy.

And YY to Alias Grace.

Enjoy Stephen King and have read all the ones mentioned here but never unsettled me like these.

I am not easily scared by films. Conventional horror is usually too far fetched to really bother me but the original 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' scared me beyond words.

Bolshybookworm · 23/01/2015 19:53

For those who enjoyed the Orphanage, have you watched the Devild Backbone? It's a Spanish ghost film by Guillermo Del Toro and it's very good- poignant like the orphanage.

cosmicglittergirl · 23/01/2015 19:53

Michelle Paver is an excellent author. I highly recommend her Wolf Brother series too. Dark Matter really creeped me out.

FastWindow · 23/01/2015 19:48

Stephen King Cujo. By å country mile.

The stand was awful in parts (where he goes back in to the tent and she's already dead?!...) but that really is just the first quarter. The rest is about rebuilding society.

The dark sweet treat in the bus shelter though... Grøssssss

expatinscotland · 23/01/2015 19:47

The Woman in Black

Mocheenee · 23/01/2015 19:37

Yep - Geralds Game freaked me out too - the guy at the end of the bed scenario......

Mocheenee · 23/01/2015 19:35

Joe Hill - Heart Shaped Box
Terrifying, written by Stephen Kings son. Really creepy - a guy 'buys' a ghost on an ebay type site. This stayed with me for weeks.

Scariest film - The Orphanage , Spanish horror with subtitles but exquisitely scary yet really sad and poignant too.

DustWitch · 23/01/2015 19:27

Another vote for the Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories is a great read and contains some really chilling short stories.

Scariest film is The Orphanage without a doubt!

AgentCooper · 23/01/2015 19:21

I found Salem's Lot very scary, much more so than the (awesome) film with David Soul's glued on hair.

My scariest films are The Blair Witch Project and The Orphanage. Both great, but I always regret watching them later!

Bolshybookworm · 23/01/2015 19:21

Love the sound of Bird Box, that's going on my must read list!

Bolshybookworm · 23/01/2015 19:19

Ooh, I love a scary book! My votes are:

Helen Dunmore- the greatcoat (really loved this, it was also beautifully written)

Michelle Paver- Dark Matter

Shirley Jackson- the Haunting of Hill House

Henry James- the Turn of the Screw

Edgar Allen poes short stories gave me horrific nightmares!

Mo Hayder I find gripping, rather than scary (for me, scary=supernatural), but I love her books. She's really developed as a writer, her books get better and better- I love the jack caffrey series.

BrokenBananaTantrum · 23/01/2015 19:15

The Survivor by James Herbert. I actually had to get up in the night and throw the book in the bin outside. Blush It totally freaked me out.

PsychicCaramel · 23/01/2015 19:13

Gerald's Game by Stephen King terrified me the first time I read it years ago. It was 'The Space Cowboy' that did it. Genuinely had trouble sleeping afterwards, I used to just keep imagining him standing at the end of my bed in the dark, watching me.

GahLinDah · 23/01/2015 19:12

Gerald's Game, I had to force myself to keep on turning the pages, ugh.

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