# Recommend me some good horror **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 21, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854 "2007-06-21T14:18:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/61 "2007-06-23T17:59:23Z")
…and I have a $100.00 gift certificate to my favourite bookstore. Off to compile A Little List of Summer Spooky Reading. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/62 "2007-06-23T18:04:23Z")
If you like true crime horror, the Likens-Baneszewski murder spawned half a dozen or so fictional treatments, being incredibly horrible. There’s a movie coming out about it in August, ‘An American Crime.’ The actual crime was horrible, the books its spawned were horrifying, and so is the movie by all accounts: [http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious\_murders/young/likens/19.html](http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/young/likens/19.html) ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/63 "2007-06-23T18:25:13Z")
Closing Time and Other Stories (Hardcover) by Jack Ketchum at Amazon.ca – $59.60 :eek: I regretfully, un-added it from cart. Darn, the reviews were intriguing and it sounded like what I tend to like. Ah…_This will be a 500-copy signed numbered edition plus a 52-copy signed lettered edition._ ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/64 "2007-06-23T18:28:04Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] I still don’t believe people who claim that this is a horror novel. It’s interesting in a Pale Fire sort of way, but there’s only one scary scene in the entire book. It would be perfect for a Madness in Literature class, however. [/QUOTE] What?! It’s a freaking haunted house story! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/65 "2007-06-23T18:50:32Z")
[QUOTE=VCO3] What?! It’s a freaking haunted house story! [/QUOTE] Oh come on, to say “haunted house” implies that it’s full of ghosts, and we both know it isn’t. Read the [reviews at Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0375703764/sr=8-2/qid=1182623922/ref=cm_cr_dp_2_1/002-2831313-6993610?ie=UTF8&customer-reviews.sort%5Fby=-SubmissionDate&n=283155&qid=1182623922&sr=8-2), I’m far from alone in finding what it really _is_ about unscary. Though a lot of those readers also hated the book. Me, I gave it a B when I graded it for the 50 Book Challenge because it is so well-written. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/66 "2007-06-23T18:51:10Z")
[QUOTE=Savannah] Ah…_This will be a 500-copy signed numbered edition plus a 52-copy signed lettered edition._ [/QUOTE] Think of it as an investment. There will probably be copies on e-bay for hundreds of dollars. He’s collectible. We’re doing a group read of Ketchum’s **Off Season** in a Yahoo group. It’ll be my first Ketchum. ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/67 "2007-06-24T00:02:25Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] When the tropical fish broke the tank and started to talk, I :rolleyes: and stopped reading. [/QUOTE] The pregnant zombie in the first few pages just about did me in but I plowed on. I just hung my disbelief on the bedpost when I got to the talking fish and after that the book was much easier to take. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/68 "2007-06-24T00:51:06Z")
[QUOTE=slortar] If you want to go old-school, dig up some Lovecraft. And possibly a dictionary to go along with him. 🙂 [/QUOTE] And you can read many of his short stories online for free [here.](http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/) (In white text on black space – 'ware eyestrain!) ---
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/69 "2007-06-24T10:15:46Z")
**World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War** by Max Brooks creeped me right out, but I’m easily unsettled ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/70 "2007-06-24T20:26:51Z")
[QUOTE=manx] **World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War** by Max Brooks creeped me right out, but I’m easily unsettled [/QUOTE] I came in here to recommend the above. And I am not a zombie-fic fan. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/71 "2007-06-25T03:29:58Z")
_Falling Angel_ by William Hjortsberg is an excellent mix of hardboiled detective, occult and horror genres, set in the late 1950s. Blew me away. The movie, _Angel Heart_, moved the story forward a few years and changed some details and locales, but is also, in its own way, very creepy and effective. It stars Mickey Rourke and Robert De Niro, both at the top of their games. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/72 "2009-06-18T06:18:25Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Savor my favorite Bram Stoker short story- > > [The Dualitists; or, the Death Doom of the Double Born > > ``` > By > > Bram Stoker](http://www.geocities.com/psmcalduff/1dual.txt) > > ``` I know this is a long-dead thread I’m zombifying (and what could be more appropriate, really.) I had to comment on this story, however. I found this thread searching for horror recommendations and seeing this suggestion, I downloaded it and read it on my Kindle. OH MY GOD! I may have nightmares tonight! I can’t remember the last thing I read that disturbed me so much! I don’t read much horror because I’m so hard to frighten. I read [Serial](http://www.amazon.com/Serial/dp/B002AJ7X2C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245305519&sr=8-2), about two serial killers doing gruesome things to each other, because it was free and I laughed my way through it. But THIS! Nothing supernatural or creepy, but pure gruesome SHOCK of the worst kind. And with a wit and literary style (some may find it annoying, but I love it) that works brilliantly. I HAVE to read _Dracula_ now. Thanks, **Friar Ted**! If I ever run in to you, I’ll buy you a coffee. Normally I buy my friends beer, but hey, why should YOU be able to sleep? ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/73 "2009-06-18T11:48:39Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > I know this is a long-dead thread I’m zombifying (and what could be more appropriate, really.) I had to comment on this story, however. > … > > Nothing supernatural or creepy, but pure gruesome SHOCK of the worst kind. And with a wit and literary style (some may find it annoying, but I love it) that works brilliantly. I HAVE to read _Dracula_ now. > > Thanks, **Friar Ted**! If I ever run in to you, I’ll buy you a coffee. Normally I buy my friends beer, but hey, why should YOU be able to sleep? Thank you! _takes a bow!_ You know that Stoker had to have been laughing with each horrible description he wrote! ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@Black\_Sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Sunshine)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/74 "2009-06-18T16:13:16Z")
So, can we revive this thread? I’m always looking for new horror suggestions! Here, I’ll trade you for these suggestions of mine: McCammon - _Boy’s Life_. I can’t believe only one person has mentioned this. It’s one of my favorite books. Not exactly terrifying, but just a great, well-written story. Lansdale - Everything, especially his short story collections. F. Paul Wilson - The Repairman Jack series. Jack is a great hero, and a great character. Loads of fun all the way through. For just outright scary, I’d recommend _The Exorcist_ and _The Amityville Horror_. For make-you-feel-kinda-wrong scary, I’d say Picirilli’s _A Choir of Ill Children_ and _November Mourns_. For make-you-wish-you-hadn’t-read-it sick, _The Girl Next Door_, by Jack (jack?) Ketchum The _Borderlands_ series (1-4, forget the more recent #5) are hands-down the best short horror anthologies ever printed. They’re out of print, but you can get them used from Amazon for a decent price. I’m going to try to find _All Heads Turn . . ._ based on recommendations I’ve seen on here. It better be good. I have to say, though, I read “Pigeons from Hell” recently because everyone on here is always oohing and aahing over it, and I wasn’t impressed. I mean, it was OK, just nothing remarkable. Maybe my expectations were too high. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/75 "2009-06-18T17:32:43Z")
> [@Greywolf73](#): > > That would be “Guts” by Chuck Palahniuk. I had the same reaction–most disturbing short story I’ve ever read as far as shock value goes. There’s a lot of rumors of people becoming physically ill after reading it and I felt queasy myself. If you google it you can find it online. If you really, really want to. Think long and hard about it before you do such a thing to yourself. Consider yourself warned. No, really. This is one of the very few stories I can’t finish, and I have a \*very \*strong stomach for literary goriness (not so much for visual stuff). And if you manage to get through it, chew on this: it was based on a true story. The central event in the story really happened to at least one person. BTW, I can’t believe we’ve made it through a horror thread this far without somebody mentioning **Graham Masterton** (unless I skimmed and missed it). He’s a British author, not well known in the US, but he writes extremely good and extremely gory horror (often based on ancient myths, like Native American or Japanese). I highly recommend almost everything of his (except for _Unspeakable_, which was unspeakably bad). I wouldn’t start with his YA series stuff, though. ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@Black\_Sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Sunshine)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/76 "2009-06-18T17:51:12Z")
Ooh yes. Masterton is awesome. Sideshow Press is just now releasing an anthology of three of his stories. I can’t believe I’d not read them until recently. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/77 "2009-06-18T18:06:21Z")
Try something by Brandon “The Black Stephen King” Massey. ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/78 "2009-06-18T22:52:45Z")
I like the horror/thriller/mysteries by Welsh Phil Rickman, especially his \*Merrily Watkins \*series - set on the border of England and Wales, all sorts of ancient celtic mythic shenanigans mixed with the modern day. I’ll chime in for _Boy’s Life_ too, one of my top-ten favorites. ---
**Author:** ![Rainbowthief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4bbf92/32.png) [@Rainbowthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rainbowthief)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854/79 "2009-06-19T01:01:16Z")
I love Kathe Koja’s novels The Cipher and Bad Brains and her short story collection Extremities. Also, Toplin, by Michael McDowell. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-horror/408854.md?page=3)