Name the book(s) that you have read that scared the ghostbusters out of you
Name the book(s) that you have read that scared the ghostbusters out of you
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Name the book(s) that you have read that scared the ghostbusters out of you
The Hot Zone
Scared me too…. And, true… Dear God!
By Richard Preston? Because, it could really happen? Pulling it out of dust bunnies. Still have it
Helter Skelter. Had to read it for a college psych class and slept with my window closed for over 2 years.
Pet Cemetery. I read it when I was in Jr. High and was ?. ?
Me too! And It….
SAME! OMG, I still get creeped out by the thought of it. And my niece named her son Gage and I was shook!
@Melissa When my oldest was around 2, people constantly said he looked like him!! To make matters worse, we lived off a road heavily traveled by semis. I was always on edge!!
@Erin i don’t blame you! That was my last Stephen King book. Never again!
Pet Sematary (years ago) and Silence of the Lambs, which bothered me more than scared me
The Fjällbacka Murder Series is really good, so are any of John Ajvide Lindqvist’s books. There’s this short story in Let the Old Dreams Die about Death in a remote fishing village that’s spooky as hell.
Salem’s Lot…had to ask a friend to sleep over after I finished it
The Perfect Nanny and One Second After
Don’t laugh but Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children scared the crap out of me. Those pictures still freak me out!
When I was a kid Alice in wonderland terrified me!
Those pics were freaky!
The pictures are scarier than the book…I never want to see them again.
Heart Shaped Box
The Haunting of Hill House.
Oh, I forgot about this one! This scared me, too.
Following
In Cold Blood
Because it was true.
@Lynn Exactly!
@Lynn because it was true, and did happen
Yes, it,was bone chilling
Following
Pet Sematary, home alone at dusk. ?
Creeptastic!!
Following
Steven King’s Duma Key. Out of all of his books I have read, that one has really scared me.
I’ve never heard of that one, it’s has to be scary because he’s written a lot of weird stuff
Salem’s Lot.
Zoo
Ooh yes that was a good one!!
Author?
@Brooke James Patterson
thanks!
@Brooke like my other comment, because, of all of his sometimes goofy books, i could see this as really happening
Helter Skelter
Yes!
Ghost Story
The Mailman. The book was horror but the scary part was the day after I read it I had an interview and the guy interviewing me matched the description of the character to a T.
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. Had to sleep with the lights on.
I read this as a teenager, and I remember speeding through it and LOVING it! I need to reread it
Salem’s Lot. I read it when I was 14 and had to hide the actual book when I went to bed because I was sure it was going to “get” me while i slept.
The Shining, only read it during daylight hours.?
The Amityville Horror
Yeah I was glad when that turned out to be a hoax, because that was some scary stuff!
@Melissa This is the first i heard about it being a hoax!! I read it as a teenager, and part of what terrified me was that I thought it was true!!
@Erin nope. It was debunked years ago. Jody the pig… fake news!
Sleep easy, my friend.
Yeah…broke my heart. They made it up for the money. They were flat broke-which was the true part of the book. That book scared the bejeebus out of me. Didn’t help that I read it in one day and that night there was a raging electrical storm. I have never duplicated that level of fear from a book ever…but darn if I don’t keep trying. ?
Me tooo! Read it when I was in 5th grade & scared the #%}%* out of me! Still afraid to read it!
Gerald’s game and pet cemetery! Both Stephen King.
Gerald’s game is so deeply unsettling
I was terrified when I read Gerald’s Game!
Gerald’s Game totally creeped me out!
We Need to Talk About Kevin
I loved that book, and I’ve never run into anyone else who’s read it!
I’ve seen the movie, and I’ll never bring myself to read the book. ?
I didn’t know it was a movie. I don’t know that I would watch it.
i don’t think I’ve ever made it through the whole movie
The book creeped me out so badly that I absolutely cannot watch the movie
Yes, that book was so disturbing! I read it with a book club and that was our quietest meeting ever. We all had a lot to say, but we were NOT rambunctious that month.
It by Steven King. Pennywise the clown…terrifying.
Clowns and spiders…and get I havr a compulsion to read it almost every July….
I’m really glad to know Pet Sematary scared the bjeezis out of you guys too. I thought I was just a wuss.
Went to see this at the movies with friends… back in the day… and spent most of the movie sitting in the lobby! ???
I had nightmares after pet Semetary
Had nightmares for weeks.
It!
Lisa Genova’s Still Alice – because what’s more terrifying than developing early onset Alzheimer’s???
That’s a good point
I felt that way too after reading that book.
Helter Skelter
Go Ask Alice… in a good way!
I read it in middle school and didn’t understand a lot of it, read it later and was shocked at all that went over my head the first time I read it!
I’m just sitting here agreeing with everyone else, there are so many good ones!
Stephen King’s IT scared the pants off me back in junior high. There’s a scene in the bathroom, ghost down the drain & to this day (over 30 years later) I avoid looking at the drain. It still gives me the willies!
Oh man how did I forget that one!
Repressed memories? ?
Gaaaaaah!! No thank you, @Heather, is that in your house?
@Darla yeah I took that with my funko!
That’s petrifying, I would not be able to have it in my house, no way!
@Heather ha! I have that on my desk at work!
@Liz I have new penny wise with the boat, and whole King collection! I have Leslie Knope on my desk ?
@Heather I have one too ? pennywise is with me while I work
Pet Sematary
It
Carrie
Sick House by Jeff Strand freaked me out in the best possible way. I also loved Dweller and Blister by him.
Stephen King’s Cujo and Christine.
The Historian
I already have an overactive imagination that can make sleeping difficult. Thanks for giving me a list of books to avoid!
Fierce kingdom
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
RL Stein’s Night of the Living Dummy. I was in third grade and refused to sleep in my room, look at the book, or any of his books after that.
It still creeps me out when I think about it and can vividly recall the cover
The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton. The book itself didn’t terrify me, the last image the auther leaves you with is what haunted me for MONTHS after I read it.
The House of Leaves
Misery! Wish I’d have never read it!!!
Lovely Bones. It’s s different type of scar . Just thinking how something so scary like that can happen like next door and knowing your child was murdered just a few doors down by your own neighbor. So creepy.
The Stranger Beside Me, We Need to Talk about Kevin, Mindhunter
Dark debts
Yes, Lovely Bones and Room were scary.
The Amityville Horror
I was just going to put this! Never read scary books late at night when you’re home alone!
@Retta it still haunts me….we recently stayed in a hotel and the wall in the bathroom was red….all I could think of was the red room in the basement….creepy
The Shining. Pet Semetary
Pet Sematary. That’s my “put it in the freezer” book.
Lol!!! I thought I was the only person who did that with books that scared me!
Pet Sematary, definitely!!!!
For me it was a book about the Zodiac killer.
The Exorcist
The Shining
Me too! I love Stephen King books but that one totally freaks me out!
IT, The Shining, Needful Things, Bag of Bones, all by Stephen King
Helter Skelter.
The Passage, it gave me nightmares
I started that one and couldn’t get into it. Maybe I should try again!
It’s slow going at first but give it time. The second one (the twelve) was good but not as good. I haven’t even attempted the third one.
several of James Lee Burke’s books….some of his characters are so evil…..they scare me. Am I walking around people like that with no knowledge?
IT
The Handmaids Tale
Intensity by Dean Koontz — it scared me so badly that I couldn’t even watch the previews of the TV movie they made because I didn’t want a visual of the bad guy ?
Melissa Barber, I couldn’t even finish Intensity. ?
Yes!!!!!
The Shining.
Misery.
The Shining! I couldn’t read it at night or I wouldn’t sleep all night! The movie just wasn’t as scary as the theater of my mind
Amityville Horror
In cold blood ?
Agreed!
The Shining. I was 22 and I read it during a snow storm after working my 3 to 11 PM shift at my job. I lived alone, too. It wasn’t the best idea.
Following!
The Hot Zone. Scared me big time!
Pet Semetary – last Stephen King book I read. Scared the crap out of me.
The Woman In Black
Rosemary’s Baby.
It
Pet Cemetery
The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons still gives me creeps.
Helter Skelter. I was in high school, we lived in a big old house, and Mom & Dad were both gone for the evening. I heard a door slam in the basement & I was the only one awake. Terrifying!!
Cujo
I’ll be gone in the dark!
The Shining
Silence of the lambs. When it was only a book…I finished it, came out of my room and told my mom I wish I could get the movie rights because it would make a great movie…if only….. ?
Room
The Blackstone Chronicles
Carrie, Pet Cemetery, IT!!! All read in my late teens/early 20’s but I think they’d still scare the crap out of me today in my mid 40s!!!
Pet cemetery
James Patterson – Kiss the Girls
Rosemary’s Baby! ?
It
It
Christine by Stephen King
In the Darkest Corner
The Dark Half by Stephen King. It was the last horror novel I ever read.
Pet Cematery
Amityville Horror. Read when I was younger. Would not touch it now!?
Same.
@Sheila omg…someone gave this to me as a birthday gift when I was 12. I shoved it in the back of a cupboard. The cover still gives me nightmares..
Yep. I was about 12 when I snuck it out of my older sister’s room to read it. Never stole another book from her again!
Same!! I don’t remember much about it, but I feel haunted when I think about it! ?
Intensity by Dean Koontz
Helter skelter
Dantes Inferno.
Kiss the Girls
World War Z. The movie was terrible. The book actually scared me.
Because, zombies aside, it is so very very plausible.
Yes! It’s written like it truly happened. The details are so real. Even the bit near the end with the baby Bjorne!
When I read it I had just moved to a quieter part of town and man did it get spooky.
The Exorcist
Intensity…..Dean Koontz
Oh yes! This one still unsettles me.
Happens Every Day by Isabel Gillies…still makes me chuckle that it upset me so much!
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I don’t know why but this book seemed so malevolent to me. I wouldn’t sleep with it in my room!
The Woman in Cabin Ten
Dang, I was going to read this, it was recommended. Is it going to keep me up all night with the lights on?
@Maureen It’s not that scary but a super fast read and keeps you on your toes.
A long time ago I read this book called The Perfect Husband I can’t remember who it was by. It was like 15 years ago. But it scared me so bad I couldn’t sleep. I was just newly married hmm?
Any of these?
@Joyce the Lisa Gardner book looks familiar and I see there is a book 2…no thank you lol it was to much for menthe first go around
Anything by Stephen King. If I read one his books before bed I would have to read a different book right after so I could sleep!?
The Scent of New Mown Hay
The Stranger Beside Me
Communion by Whitley Strieber.
Silence of the Lambs frightened me so badly I’ve never seen the movie. Also, when I in sixth grade, I read Jaws and was scared of all bodies of water for a good while… including the pool ?
Pet Sematary as a kid.
Stephen King’s IT – still working my way through. Have seen the movie many times. Boo!
The Funhouse
It *shiver*
Long, long ago Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot caused me to have a cross and garlic near when I went to sleep.
Jody Lausch, me too!! When I read it is was winter here in NY & I remember a few stormy nights that made the book so much more realistic..
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
Joe Hill is Stephen King’s son!
@Christy OMG no wonder!
I loved this book. Creeped me out a little.
Pet Cemetery- I had to put it down for a few days as it really disturbed me but I had to find out what happened!! And The Excorcist -tried to read that in my teens and couldn’t get too far in it before it scared the heck out of me. Never finished it.
Misery did me in for many years! I just started reading Stephen King again a few years ago.
Ok, here’s another one: The Shining by Stephen King. That book is the reason why I still get a little freaked out walking alone down long, vacant hotel corridors.
Interview with a vampire
I totally agree with u. That book scared the crap out of me, while simultaneously fueling what ended up being my life long obsession with vampires, and all things supernatural ?
Misery. Stephen King, man….
Lol… years ago I started to read Stephen King’s Cujo…. couldn’t get past the first couple of chapters!
OMG … almost forgot Wolfin…. could be the scariest, but had to keep reading.
Salem’s Lot – I read it around the time The Lost Boys came out and I could swear the vampires were circling my house 😉
I know I’m coming in late here… But The Amityville Horror!!
None yet
Me neither! I thought I was alone of almost scary island. I’m in desperate need to find a book that terrifies me.
@Joyce I’m like that with movies too
I don’t get scared by books or movies either but the Jeff Strand book I mentioned was creepy af. If you like scary/twisted stuff and don’t get scared you should really check him out, he’s funny too!
@Robin that sounds up my alley! Thank you!
Needful Things
It used to be my favorite Stephen King book…now I think it’s almost a treatise on what’s happening in our society right now. Which is even scarier
I have read a lot of books on serial killers so it takes a lot to scare me but Say Goodbye by Lisa Gardner did it and did it well!
Can the Lisa Gardner books be read as a standalone? I see say goodbye is #6 in the series
Yes! There is one that follows it but it can be read alone as well. I will have to look up the name
The Neighbor
Pet Sematary – Stephan King. I couldn’t keep it in my room at night. I had to set it on the kitchen counter before I could sleep!
I meant Stephen King… ?
The exorcist. I had to get up and go throw it into a dumpster because it scared the crap outta me
Cujo! Read it all in one night alone in the house when I was 12!
Same with me Amy, but I was 22!
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark!
Oooh! The Golden Arm story always creeped me out!
The Exorcist and Communion.
All of Stephen King’s books: Carrie, Salem’s Lot, The Shining, Firestarter, Cujo, Christine, Pet Semetary, and It. Each one scared the bejesus out of me (what can I say, I’m a wuss). I finally realized I didn’t need to torture myself and stopped reading after It.
The Shining and The Exorcist. I wouldn’t read them at night if I was home alone!
I saw The Exorcist in the theater when it first came out before we even knew what an exorcist was. It scared the living daylights out of me! But I can not think of a book that scared me.
Monster
by Frank E. Peretti
Not scared really but Sharp Objects creeped me out more then any book I have ever read.i don’t I can watch the HBO series
I’ll check that out! Thank you!
I agree! So twisted. I have no interest in watching the series
Intensity by Dean Koontz.
I can’t read scary books, or even murder mysteries. Many years ago I started reading the Women’s Murder Club books and started having awful dreams. The last awful dream was of me murdering one of my very annoying coworkers. Like cold-blooded-stab-in-the- neck murder. I promptly quit the series forever….
The Shining.
The Asylum series is a bit creepy…
Nothing truly scares me, because I adore all scary things…but Bird Box was greatly intense, as was Intensity by Koontz
The Shining. Amytiville Horror.
Lived a few towns over from
Amytiville so this scared me!
Had to put the book OUT SIDE!
And I can’t stand the cover of the Hypnotist by Lars Kepler. Ycch!
@Leslie Oh that is funny! LMAO!
I’m from Amityville. I promise, there is NOTHING scary about the house! The book? Fiction. (But scary) ?
@Susan Too late! It’s got ahold of me now!! Sorry for spelling Amityville wrong.
Enjoy!
When the book and movie came out, I was a kid. My best friend’s dad lived on Ocean Ave. People were all over the place, taking pictures, trespassing. It was awful. We would ride by on our bikes and yell ‘wrong house!’ at them.
The Stand- Stephen King
That’s good one too!! I’ve never looked at Vegas the same way!
The only Stephen King book I ever read was Carrie, it was good but creepy
The exorcist. I remember reading it on a sunny day at north avenue beach scared out of my mind!!
Saw the movie, and it did nothing for me. My demons in my imagination were better!!
Agreed!! That book was terrifying, and I loved every minute of it.
Amityville Horror. I was about 8th grade and it lived under my bed because I was afraid to even touch it…
I just finished The Last Days by Adam Nevill. A horror novel about a doomsday cult.