# Recommend me some horror writing (not King or Lovecraft) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 11, 2017, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322 "2017-11-11T13:36:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/1 "2017-11-11T13:36:44Z")
Every now and again I realize that there are whole genres of literature that I have fully skipped over. The horror genre is one of these for me. As a kid and even a young teen I was very easily frightened so I always avoided horror at the point when my other friends were devouring Dean Koontz and Stephen King. Since I have become an adult I have read and enjoyed most of Kings books (movies and non horror fiction from him got me over the edge) but still never branched out (other than Lovecraft who I have read also) beyond. I found myself last night feeling like I needed a good horror novel or 3 in my life. It started because I stumbled across a review of some Clive Barker stuff, but honestly, approaching an whole genre from scratch is intimidating and I have a feeling that there is (like most genre fiction) a lot of not good horror novels out there. Also, I’m probably not going to head to the library and pick up 20 books, I need a way to narrow things down. So I turn to the SDMB, what do you suggest? In general I like fantasy more than reality. True Crime thriller stuff doesn’t do it for me. Real horror is still a bit too scary for me. But ghosts, monsters, etc? Yeah, I’m down. So where do I start? Short stories and novels are both equally welcome. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/2 "2017-11-11T13:44:26Z")
I am not a big horror reader, although I love horror films, so I’ve read some of the books behind my favorite films. I have tried to read King. I think I should like him, but I never get past the first chapter. I read his non-fiction book about horror, and loved it, and I read _Dolores Claiborne_, and the short story “Survivor Type,” but that’s it. I’m here to recommend _The Haunting of Hill House_ by Shirley Jackson. Scariest thing I ever read. I read it on a bright, summer day, and it had me feeling so dark and gloomy, I felt like I was down a hole; it surprised me every time I looked up from the book. I also read it, IIRC, cover to cover. Couldn’t put it down. It doesn’t have any gross-out monsters-- it’s just creepy as hell. I know you said no true crime, but another very scary book that isn’t fiction is Vincent Bugliosi’s _Helter Skelter_, the account of the Manson crimes. It’s very literary, and not as sensational as most true crime. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/3 "2017-11-11T15:41:15Z")
I liked [Scott Sigler’s _Infected_](https://www.amazon.com/Infected-Novel-Scott-Sigler/dp/030740630X) quite a bit, but the subsequent novels were less horror and more science fiction. It’s a quick read, being focused more on the story and the characters than on being a literary masterpiece (by which I mean we don’t have page-long descriptions of ordering pizza, for example). It’s a body horror theme, btw. [_The Girl With All The Gifts_ by M. R. Carey](https://www.amazon.com/Girl-All-Gifts-M-Carey/dp/0316334758/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510414523&sr=1-1&keywords=the+girls+with+all+the+gifts&dpID=51an6r%252B508L&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch) is awesome. And I’ll throw one in that’s not really a horror novel. [Richard K. Morgan’s _Thirteen_](https://www.amazon.com/Thirteen-Richard-K-Morgan/dp/0345485254/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510414371&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=morgan+thirtten) is more of a mystery novel and a detective story, but it is suspenseful, intense and full of interesting ideas, characters and settings. And there’s plenty that will squick you out, I promise. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/4 "2017-11-11T15:42:52Z")
Richard Laymon wrote some very intense horror novels. (But some of his books are non-supernatural or “real horror” as you put it.) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/5 "2017-11-11T17:13:26Z")
You can try Arthur Machen’s books “The Great God Pan” and “The Three Impostors”. His books clearly inspired H. P. Lovecraft, if you’re into that. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/6 "2017-11-11T17:22:00Z")
Edgar Allan Poe: > **[Edgar Allan Poe: the master of horror writing](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/edgar-allan-poe-the-master-of-horror-writing/)** > > The Murders In The Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe, considered to be the first modern detective story, was published in the USA on April 20, 1841. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/7 "2017-11-11T20:46:36Z")
Pick up a copy of “The Tomb” by F. Paul Wilson. If you don’t like it, fine. If you do, there’s many more where that came from. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/8 "2017-11-11T21:12:20Z")
Now I see that in the OP you mentioned Clive Barker. Wonderful, imaginative horror and more. Start with Books of Blood. Also, Ghost Story by Peter Straub is very good. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/9 "2017-11-11T21:17:53Z")
ETA: I see you also mentioned Fantasy. Clive Barker’s Weaveworld is one of my favorites, and is more fantasy than horror. > **[Weaveworld by Clive Barker book review - Fantasy Book Review](https://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/Clive-Barker/Weaveworld.html)** > > Weaveworld is a true epic of a story – a whirlwind of base instincts and heights of imagination that brings together \[...\] ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/10 "2017-11-11T21:28:44Z")
Try Kings sons; Owen and Joe. They are talented young writers. ---
**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:** [November 11, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/11 "2017-11-11T22:10:32Z")
The New Weird subgenre is my favorite horror; authors don’t rely on hoary old tropes like vampires or werewolves, instead create bizarre new things to freak you out. Jeff Van der Meer is a master of the form. His book **Borne** would be a great place to get started. Here are some spoilers that cover the first chapter or two: In a postapocalyptic city ruin, a woman plucks a sentient purple blob off the fur of a sleeping five-story-tall golden bear who when awake flies over the city killing and devouring its inhabitants. And then things get strange. A short story that still freaks me out when I think about it is “Singing My Sister Down,” which [you can read online](http://will.tip.dhappy.org/blog/Compression%20Trees/.../book/by/Margo%20Lanagan/Singing%20My%20Sister%20Down/Margo%20Lanagan%20-%20Singing%20My%20Sister%20Down.html). It’s short enough to read in a half hour or so. A longer story, a novella, that may be of interest is [The Other Side of the Mountain](http://weirdfictionreview.com/2011/11/michel-bernanos-the-other-side-of-the-mountain-sin-destruction-and-forgiveness/). (This links to a review, not the story). Deeply unsettling. In fact, if you think you might like this sort of stuff, you could do worse than pick up [The Weird](http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2011/08/30/table-of-contents-the-weird-edited-by-ann-and-jeff-vandermeer/), an anthology of such stuff edited by Ann and Jeff Van der Meer. Of course, maybe you want werewolves. Glen Duncan’s book [The Last Werewolf](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9532302-the-last-werewolf) is a delightfully raunchy take on the genre, with an unrepentantly canine attitude toward hunting and sex. Or you could go more refined, with the book-length prose poem [Sharp Teeth](https://www.amazon.com/Sharp-Teeth-Novel-Toby-Barlow/dp/0061430242). I thought I’d hate a prose poem, but it’s very well done. Much less horrifying than anything else I’ve recommended, IIRC. ---
**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:** [November 11, 2017, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/12 "2017-11-11T22:25:51Z")
Seconding Shirley Jackson. **The Haunting of Hill House** is brilliant, followed closely by **We Have Always Lived in the Castle** and the short stories. Seconding Arthur Machen, too. “The Great God Pan” is superb. Even better is “The White People,” told from the POV of a pre-teen girl who likes to wander alone through the woods, and spooky as hell. Robert Aickman, underappreciated 20th century Brit. Short stories to try: “The Cicerones;” “Pages from a Young Girl’s Journal;” “The Wine-Dark Sea.” His most famous is “Ringing the Changes,” but I prefer these three. Best obscurity: Harry Kressing’s **The Cook,** a short and extremely creepy 1965 novel. In the “New Servant is Hired and Eventually Takes Control of EVERYTHING” genre. Best famous: Ira Levin’s **Rosemary’s Baby**. I prefer the novel to the film, myself. Levin’s first novel, **A Kiss Before Dying,** is usually categorized as a crime thriller, but it’s no stretch to call it horror. One of the most acclaimed thrillers of the 1950s. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/13 "2017-11-11T23:47:49Z")
Is YA okay? _Sorrow’s Knot_ by Erin Bow is outstanding. ---
**Author:** ![diggerwam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/919ad9/32.png) [@diggerwam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggerwam)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2017, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/14 "2017-11-12T00:41:31Z")
Lovecraft country (Matt Ruff). trust me. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2017, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/15 "2017-11-12T01:01:28Z")
_Faerie Tale_, by Raymond Feist, is a good, creepy horror story. You may be familiar with the author from the Riftwar series. Check it out. ---
**Author:** ![TheSundial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6f9a4e/32.png) [@TheSundial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSundial)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2017, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/16 "2017-11-12T01:10:29Z")
_The Mailman_ by Bentley Little You won’t regret it. ---
**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:** [November 12, 2017, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/17 "2017-11-12T02:30:32Z")
> [@diggerwam](#): > > Lovecraft country (Matt Ruff). trust me. Yeah, this book is great. With a small and possibly inconsequential caveat: although it has all the trappings of a horror novel, it’s not a horror novel, unless you consider Native Son a horror novel. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2017, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/18 "2017-11-12T03:25:43Z")
The scariest stories ever written were penned by Harlan Ellison. Try “All the Birds Come Home to Roost” or “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream” or “Shatterday” or “Flop Sweat.” ---
**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:** [November 12, 2017, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/19 "2017-11-12T03:39:18Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The scariest stories ever written were penned by Harlan Ellison. Try “All the Birds Come Home to Roost” or “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream” or “Shatterday” or “Flop Sweat.” Ellison is fine, but I wouldn’t call his the scariest. “I Have No Mouth” is a classic for a reason, natch. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2017, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322/20 "2017-11-12T03:50:01Z")
Have you _read_ “All the Birds…?” That story absolutely petrifies me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-horror-writing-not-king-or-lovecraft/801322.md?page=2)