# What is the scariest book you ever read? (Title already used almost 15 years ago) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [October 13, 2021, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447 "2021-10-13T20:48:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/42 "2021-10-14T12:41:37Z")
I wish to thank @Sam_Stone, @ArtBeforeScience, and @DocCathode for helping me thicken up my To Be Read pile! Also @Biggirl for this most excellent thread. A couple of books that scared the crap out of me as a kid: [Ghosts and More Ghosts](https://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-more-ghosts-Windward-book/dp/0394821971/ref=sr_1_1?crid=9NNSPUYT2L9B&dchild=1&keywords=ghosts+and+more+ghosts+robert+arthur&qid=1634214146&sprefix=ghosts+and+more+gh%2Caps%2C188&sr=8-1) by Robert Arthur. I checked this out of the Lauderhill Public Library again and again as a kid. I could never remember the annoyingly generic title, but I always remembered the creepy cover! I also encountered the scariest story in a different collection when I was an adult, under the title _The Believers_. High marks also to John Bellair’s [The House With a Clock in Its Walls](https://www.amazon.com/House-Clock-Its-Walls/dp/1848127723/ref=pd_sbs_4/136-7125153-5142760?pd_rd_w=QnLeO&pf_rd_p=a8064901-fa56-4ccb-8289-d246cf57993b&pf_rd_r=316HTGFCQ2VH1D9M4GTC&pd_rd_r=f941afd7-834a-4e14-b5cd-3d55d7f4d7ee&pd_rd_wg=j6sBa&pd_rd_i=1848127723&psc=1). I shivered as I read this on a hot summer day. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/43 "2021-10-14T13:26:59Z")
When I was in elementary school, every once in a while (every quarter?) students could order books and magazines (this was the company that brought us _Dynamite_ magazine). One was a book of short stories that had a tale about a girl who’s home alone at night and starts doing a jigsaw puzzle. As she puts more and more of the puzzle together she discovers the picture is of the very room she’s sitting in. The last piece reveals a horrible face looking in the window. I believe this is the same book that had the story about the girl with the velvet choker and one about someone (a kid?) who can hear this scraping sound and it turns out it’s the sound of an axe being sharpened. I have no idea what the title of the book is but it messed me up for a few weeks. I mean seriously creeped me out in only the way an eight year old can be creeped out. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2021, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/44 "2021-10-14T13:31:37Z")
> [@codinghorror](#): > > This is the guy who wrote A Simple Plan, which was also made into a movie. It’s the only other book he wrote! I’ve said that the movie **The Ruins** is a documentary about my Forsythias. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/45 "2021-10-14T13:46:20Z")
What was that one story where the police were sure that someone was murdered and they knew who did it, but couldn’t find a body? All they knew was that the murderer was doing a lot of manual labor. At the end the police detective said - the murderer was laboring to WORK UP AN APPETITE. It was considered shocking when published. Sorry to bring up another medium, but I have to mention the movie “On the Beach” with Gregory Peck. The last scene of a deserted world was very disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/46 "2021-10-14T14:11:24Z")
Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover the Deepest Cave on Earth - by James M. Tabor. Non fiction. I’m a certified SCUBA diver, the idea of cave diving scares the hell out of me. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/47 "2021-10-14T14:22:33Z")
I read these books years ago, but these parts still stick with me: Pet Sematary - when the little boy’s coffin falls 'Salem’s Lot - the floating vampire kid Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon - when he sees the doughboy’s legs Others: Needful Things Cujo The Omen It ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/48 "2021-10-14T14:23:16Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover the Deepest Cave on Earth - by James M. Tabor. > > Non fiction. > > I’m a certified SCUBA diver, the idea of cave diving scares the hell out of me. Have you read “Shadow Divers” by Robert Kurson. GREAT book/story (true), and it will put you off wreck diving. (If it doesn’t, then read “The Last Dive” by Bernie Chowdhury) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/49 "2021-10-14T14:41:54Z")
Not those two, but man, I don’t know if I can read those anymore. I’m trying to remember one about a dive to ridiculous depths (I think 800 feet) to retrieve another diver that died. I think it was in Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/50 "2021-10-14T15:07:22Z")
Both books are great insight into the obsession that can take hold of some wreck divers. Since you’re a diver, I’d highly recommend “Shadow Divers”. It’s really a good read - very gripping. They’ve made documentaries about the story. With the title “The Last Dive” you already know how it ends. But it is a good study on how cave and wreck diving take hold of this guy. How he died was pretty much inevitable, it was just a matter of “when”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/51 "2021-10-14T15:09:03Z")
Scariest fiction: [The Last Days of Jack Sparks](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28765598-the-last-days-of-jack-sparks?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=Aa3zA9qect&rank=1) by Jason Arnopp. Scariest nonfiction: [Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17557470-dead-mountain?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=YDPxAL4mBj&rank=1) by Donnie Eichar. Though to be honest, I don’t think it’s necessary to read the book. The Wikipedia page on the incident has all the creepy details: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyatlov\_Pass\_incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyatlov_Pass_incident) ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/52 "2021-10-14T15:21:23Z")
I avoid books that are actually scary, but before I realized I just didn’t like them the scariest book I read was _The burning court_ by John Dickson Carr. I read it in bed until like 2am trying to finish it because it felt too scary to stop, but then I started nodding off and had to give up. Finished it the next day outside in the sunshine. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/53 "2021-10-14T17:02:33Z")
1. Scariest thing I ever read. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/54 "2021-10-14T17:09:52Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > [Ghosts and More Ghosts](https://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-more-ghosts-Windward-book/dp/0394821971/ref=sr_1_1?crid=9NNSPUYT2L9B&dchild=1&keywords=ghosts+and+more+ghosts+robert+arthur&qid=1634214146&sprefix=ghosts+and+more+gh%2Caps%2C188&sr=8-1) by Robert Arthur. I had **this book** when I was eight or nine. I couldn’t sleep if it was in the same room with me. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50001005066_17dfb6667f_z.jpg "The World Around Us #24 - The Illustrated Story of Ghosts") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/mickythepixel/50001005066) I must have been four (!) when I read **this one**. The first couple of pages were enough to give me nightmares! [![](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1349149509l/1680833.jpg) ](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1349149509l/1680833.jpg) [![](https://sites.create-cdn.net/siteimages/27/8/7/278726/6528852.jpg) ](https://sites.create-cdn.net/siteimages/27/8/7/278726/6528852.jpg) ---
**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:** [October 14, 2021, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/55 "2021-10-14T17:13:21Z")
King’s “It” is pretty scary, but a lesser known work from another writer is Chet Williamson’s “Second Chance”. [https://www.amazon.com/Second-Chance-Chet-Williamson/dp/0843950609](https://www.amazon.com/Second-Chance-Chet-Williamson/dp/0843950609) Some really scary stuff in that one. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/56 "2021-10-14T17:23:38Z")
Yes I remember reading Earth Abides years ago and it still haunts me. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/57 "2021-10-14T17:37:58Z")
Cosmic Horror, when done right, scares the hell out of me. Lovecraft just never did it for me, but I have lasting brain scars from Laird Barron’s _The Imago Sequence And Other Stories_ and Danielewski’s _House of Leaves_. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/58 "2021-10-14T17:59:18Z")
Yeah, that looks like the good stuff for sure! ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/59 "2021-10-14T21:01:47Z")
Oh yeah… _House of Leaves_. That will mess with your head for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/60 "2021-10-14T22:32:13Z")
I was 10 or 11 when my big brother bought a used paperback copy of _Dracula_ by Bram Stoker. Naturally, as soon as he finished it, I had to read it. Scared the absolute bejesus out of me. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447/61 "2021-10-14T22:45:46Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I was 10 or 11 when my big brother bought a used paperback copy of _Dracula_ by Bram Stoker. Naturally, as soon as he finished it, I had to read it. Scared the absolute bejesus out of me. That’s the best way to read such a classic. Freshly and without any preconceptions. With ten years, you’re not already spoiled by the thousands of vampire memes, and you can read it as an original story. I first read Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” after having seen and absorbed vampire and Dracula lore till I got 25 or so. But it still was a good read. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-scariest-book-you-ever-read-title-already-used-almost-15-years-ago/952447.md?page=4)