# Any humorous horror novels out there? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 17, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172 "2007-07-17T19:35:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/1 "2007-07-17T19:35:34Z")
D. Adams did humorous science fiction. T. Pratchett does humorous fantasy. Has anyone done humorous horror? Surely there are enough horror cliches to poke at. Titles, authors, cliches, and speculation are all welcome. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/2 "2007-07-17T19:40:41Z")
Neil Gaiman’s books often contain a mixture of humor and horror–they aren’t really about horror cliches though, except maybe Good Omens, which he wrote with Pratchett. Gaiman’s solo work is often much more grisly than that one, though. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/3 "2007-07-17T19:46:50Z")
I suppose you could classify some of Christopher Moore’s novels like that The subtitle of **The Stupidest Angel** is **A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror**. And it is. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/4 "2007-07-17T19:47:30Z")
Mark E. Rogers _Samurai Cat_ series contains a good H.P. Lovecraft parody. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/5 "2007-07-17T20:36:35Z")
[QUOTE=mbh] Mark E. Rogers _Samurai Cat_ series contains a good H.P. Lovecraft parody. [/QUOTE] Not a novel, but terrifyingly [funny](http://www.hello-cthulhu.com/?date=2003-11-30). ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/6 "2007-07-17T20:43:10Z")
I stumbled across a book by A. Lee Martinez called Gil’s All Fright Diner which was a really fun, very funny horror tale. His follow-up book was a send-up of epic fantasy, and unfortunately I did not enjoy it. His third, however, called A Nameless Witch, I’m reading currently and enjoying very much. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/7 "2007-07-17T20:46:49Z")
**Gil’s All Fright Diner** ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/8 "2007-07-17T20:53:54Z")
For older examples (in which the horror is pretty tame by modern standards) you could try Jane Austen’s **Northanger Abbey** , and some of Thomas Love Peacock’s fiction, such as **Headlong Hall** and **Nightmare Abbey** ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/9 "2007-07-17T21:01:33Z")
Can’t think of any novels – when I think “humorous horror” I think of the cartoons of [Charles Addams,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Addams) or, better still, [Gahan Wilson.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gahan_wilson) ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/10 "2007-07-17T21:05:52Z")
_A Night In the Lonesome October_ by Roger Zelazny deals with some fairly horrific events. And characters with good, solid horror cv’s. The book even includes a nod to Lovecraft. But it’s generally light & witty. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/11 "2007-07-17T21:07:11Z")
My favourite in this genre is _Resume with Monsters_. Hilariously funny and wierd. Ever wondered about those “corporate drones” you see at work? What if they really _are_ drones? > **[Resume With Monsters: Spencer, William Browning: 9781565049130: Books -...](https://www.amazon.ca/Resume-Monsters-William-Browning-Spencer/dp/1565049136)** > > Resume With Monsters: Spencer, William Browning: 9781565049130: Books - Amazon.ca ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/12 "2007-07-17T21:12:29Z")
Yes! Ah, now I must read them all. Thanks everyone. (And feel free to keep adding to the list - it will not go to waste.) ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/13 "2007-07-17T21:23:37Z")
Interesting question. I can think of maybe half a dozen decent movies right off the bat that successfully blend humor and horror, but novels? Generally, the two genres seem fairly immiscible in print, especially in the “joke-a-page” style of Adams and Pratchett. It’s not that there aren’t horror novels out there which incorporate humorous elements, but they’re still very clearly horror novels first and foremost. I imagine it’s more difficult in print to build up a reader’s emotional investment to the point necessary for a good scare, while simultaneously keeping up a reasonably steady stream of comedy. Successful horror relies on establishing a visceral link with the reader, to a much greater extent than most science fiction or fantasy. Then too, a lot of humorous fantasy/SF derives its humor from spoofing its target genre, which is probably not conducive to a good scare either-- a haunted house is much less frightening if the performers are cracking up at each other’s antics. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/14 "2007-07-18T00:11:25Z")
[QUOTE=cher3] Neil Gaiman’s books often contain a mixture of humor and horror–they aren’t really about horror cliches though, except maybe Good Omens, which he wrote with Pratchett. Gaiman’s solo work is often much more grisly than that one, though. [/QUOTE] Gaiman’s _Neverwhere_ is the first thing I thought of. It contains definite elements of both horror and humor, though if I had to stick it in a genre, I’d classify it as fantasy. Jasper Fforde has some horror elements in his novels, but probably no more so than Terry Pratchett; they’re certainly not primarily horror novels. As **Terrifel** noted, there are humorous horror _movies_: “Shaun of the Dead,” “Gremlins 2,” and “Scary Movie,” for three. Believe it or not, Edgar Allan Poe actually wrote at least a couple of humorous horror stories: [A Predicament](http://books.eserver.org/fiction/poe/predicament.html/document_view) [Never Bet the Devil Your Head](http://books.eserver.org/fiction/poe/never_bet_the_devil_your_h.html) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/15 "2007-07-18T00:19:52Z")
**Tick Tock** by Dean Koontz. I get the distinct impression from the complaints of some readers that the fact it’s a parody went over their heads, though. ---
**Author:** ![dannyness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b77776/32.png) [@dannyness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dannyness)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/16 "2007-07-18T01:54:05Z")
**The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse** by Robert Rankin might fall under horror-comedy. Think **Seven** meets **Who Framed Roger Rabbit?** ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/17 "2007-07-18T02:59:58Z")
I’m wondering if you just want takeoffs of the horror genre, like Good Omens, or books where the horror is horrific at the same time the humor is humorous. I’m not sure I can think of any in the latter category, but I’m not well-read in the horror genre. While not a novelist, Edward Gorey’s stories and illustrations are pretty hilariously horrific. I’m thinking of The Loathsome Couple and his most famous work, the Gashlycrumb Tinies. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/18 "2007-07-18T05:07:26Z")
Thing is, it’s hard to sustain effective horror writing for the length of a novel, and it’s hard to sustain effective humor writing for the length of a novel, so asking for an effective combination of the two is pretty much an exercise in futility. I think the best humor you can really hope for in terms of novel-length horror is of the “occasional flashes of mordant wit” variety. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/19 "2007-07-18T10:58:41Z")
Possibly _Carpe Demon_ and it’s sequels by **Julie Kerner**. Imagine a Buffy-like character, retired from the trade (as it were) now settled down, married with a couple of kids who ends up being co-opted again in the fight against evil. But she still has to juggle all the ‘soccer mom’ aspects of her life… Or _Lonely Werewolf Girl_ by **Martin Miller** about a misfit in a clan of Scottish werewolves! ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172/20 "2007-07-18T12:48:41Z")
I’ve always found H. P. Lovecraft’s _Herbert West: Reanimator_ to be rather humorous. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-humorous-horror-novels-out-there/412172.md?page=2)