# Cormac McCarthy writes scarier stories than Stephen King. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 5, 2018, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463 "2018-10-05T00:36:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/1 "2018-10-05T00:36:15Z")
Cormac McCarthy writes scarier stories than Stephen King. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/2 "2018-10-05T00:39:42Z")
A.M. Burrage and M.R. James and L.P. Hartley write scarier stories then Stephen King. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/3 "2018-10-05T00:45:23Z")
Blood Meridian is some of the scariest shit I’ve ever read. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/4 "2018-10-05T01:05:04Z")
Try Hartley’s “The Man From Down Under,” and “The Traveling Grave.” And M.R. James’s “Count Magnus.” Also F. Marion Crawford’s “The Upper Berth.” Stephen King would poop in his pants. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/5 "2018-10-05T01:10:25Z")
For more drawn-out spooks, as in “oh my god, this is EERIE AS HELL.” Try Oliver Onions; “The Beckoning Fair One” Algernon Blackwood; “The Willows” And the most scarifying of all, in my opinion: Arthur Machen; “The White People.” ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/6 "2018-10-05T01:39:00Z")
Yeah, _The Road_ is the most beautiful book I never want to read again. Nothing I’ve read by King comes close in horrifying me. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/7 "2018-10-05T01:56:11Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Blood Meridian is some of the scariest shit I’ve ever read. In his first story about Roland Deschain, as originally published, King nibbled at the edge of what McCarthy showed us in Blood Meridian. He never came anywhere near that close again. The Dark Tower saga was a ripping yarn, but it wasn’t scary. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/8 "2018-10-05T01:57:16Z")
“Near Dark” excels any of King’s efforts as well. Right from the opening paragraphs. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/9 "2018-10-05T02:17:13Z")
Is it because real life is scarier than the supernatural? A lot of what King writes (and is best at) isn’t even horror - like Prison Shank Prevention. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/10 "2018-10-05T02:53:54Z")
No, McCarthy’s work wanders in and out of the fantastic. He does not write about the same world in which we live. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/11 "2018-10-05T13:48:57Z")
I prefer Roald Dahl and Louisa May Alcott’s short stories myself For people known as writers of children’s books, they both can really write a scary story. I sometimes wonder if Stephen King is a reincarnation of Louisa May Alcott. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/12 "2018-10-05T14:09:34Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Blood Meridian is some of the scariest shit I’ve ever read. That book morphed from one that took me three attempts to finish, to being in my top 5 books off all time (along with _The Crossing_). It’s an investment, but man does it pay off when you put the effort in. Two of his earlier lesser-known books, _Outer Dark_ and _Child of God_, have levels of depravity that make _Blood Meridian_ seen quaint. They are well worth reading if you like his stuff, but are not for the faint of heart. ---
**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:** [October 5, 2018, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/13 "2018-10-05T14:52:50Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I prefer Roald Dahl and Louisa May Alcott’s short stories myself For people known as writers of children’s books, they both can really write a scary story. > > I sometimes wonder if Stephen King is a reincarnation of Louisa May Alcott. I’ll have to look into that. I had not associated Louisa May Alcott with “scary” before. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/14 "2018-10-06T04:30:05Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > The Dark Tower saga was a ripping yarn, but it wasn’t scary. I wasn’t ever under the impression that King was trying to be “scary” with The Dark Tower. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/15 "2018-10-06T04:47:15Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I wasn’t ever under the impression that King was trying to be “scary” with The Dark Tower. Fantastic maybe, at least with The Gunslinger. But yeah, not scary. Though there were parts in The Drawing of The Three and The Wastelands where I was scared for the characters. The Gunslinger was just so weird, that I couldn’t connect to what was going on, and therefore wasn’t scared about what might happen to the participants. Drawing and Wastelands, and parts of Wizards and Glass felt a lot more real, and consequently, I felt more of a connection to what was going on. McCarthy writes some disturbing things, that’s for sure. I’d say the events he paints are too fantastic to be real, and then I remember images I’ve seen that are surreal: Nazis dressed in furs and boas on the Eastern Front, prisoners feverishly eating excavated mammoth or saber-tooth cadavers on an Arctic GULAG dig, raping albinos to cure AIDS. Compared to that, the motley that he describes clothing the band that travels with the Kid and Judge Holden is positively ordinary. EDIT: I’d heard that Judge Holden and Anton Chigurh were not really people so much as embodiments of supernatural entities, like Death. Is this a common theme in McCarthy’s work? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/16 "2018-10-06T05:41:33Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > I’d heard that Judge Holden and Anton Chigurh were not really people so much as embodiments of supernatural entities, like Death. Is this a common theme in McCarthy’s work? There are characters in _Outer Dark_ that are even more explicit in their representation of archetypes, to the extent that it’s not clear they are real. In _The Road_, the father and son often talk about “carrying the fire” and are themselves embodiments of goodness. The protagonist in _The Crossing_ is much the same. It’s certainly a theme in his books that characters are strong representations of something. But with the exception of _Outer Dark_, I’m not sure that I’d say they aren’t people. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/17 "2018-10-06T12:44:37Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I wasn’t ever under the impression that King was trying to be “scary” with The Dark Tower. You don’t think all the things that happened to Jake and to Father Callahan, just for starters, weren’t meant to be scary? They are of a piece with such acknowleged King horror novels as It and Salem’s Lot. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2018, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/18 "2018-10-06T15:09:31Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I wasn’t ever under the impression that King was trying to be “scary” with The Dark Tower. The Dark Tower is a mixture of genres, but Horror is definitely one of them. I thought of this thread when I saw who was #1 on this list of [The Most Terrifying Book I’ve Ever Read](https://medium.com/@spencerbaum/the-most-terrifying-book-ive-ever-read-576136a00c52). ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cormac-mccarthy-writes-scarier-stories-than-stephen-king/822463/19 "2018-10-06T15:27:05Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > For more drawn-out spooks, as in “oh my god, this is EERIE AS HELL.” Try > > Oliver Onions; “The Beckoning Fair One” > > Algernon Blackwood; “The Willows” > > And the most scarifying of all, in my opinion: Arthur Machen; “The White People.” It’s worth mentioning that all three are free ebook downloads at [gutenberg.org](http://gutenberg.org) [Widdershins (includes the story _The Beckoning Fair One)_](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14168) [The Willows](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11438) [The House of Souls (includes the story _The White People_)](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25016)