There’s a reason that more people aren’t pushing for impeachment and it begins and ends with the words, “President Pence.” Believe it or not, there could be worse. {{Shudders}} to think this is what we’ve come to.
Heart shaped Box by Joe Hill, and anything by Adam Nevill give me shivers. One of Adam Nevill’s books, I think it was House of Small Shadows, literally had me jumping at shadows.
House of Small Shadows annoyed me at the end, because I couldn’t tell what the hell happened. I guess I really enjoyed it in hindsight. Edith was one of the most evil characters I’ve ever read!
Deep end of the ocean. Not intended to be in that genre. I read it before having children. Refused to read it again while my babies were little, yet it haunted me often.
I’m not usually scared by books, but when I told my sister I was going to read “Interview with the Vampire,” my brother-in-law reminded me to take out the trash before I got started. He then explained that he had begun reading it in the late morning and couldn’t put it down all afternoon until he realized that it was evening and he hadn’t taken out the trash. So he gathered up the trash bags and headed down his long driveway to put them at the curb. He said that as he walked he became eerily aware of the darkness and shadows, and he literally sprinted back to the house, imagining vampires in all those shadows. After I read it Ibtold him that I was intrigued, amazed, enthralled, and fascinated, but not scared by that book. “and to think that was the first book she published!”
A friend told me the ending today. I thought it was a demonic ending, but it isn’t. IMO, I dont like demonic things. Let me know what you think. (Also, my friend is pushing 80, so she may not remember, or she may have it mixed up with another book)
back when it was the current horror story out there, The Exorcist. I was in college. And one night, just as I was getting into one of the major exorcism scenes, an overloaded washing machine just down the hall in the dorm started spinning and making all kinds of weird noises!
Spindrift: Spray from a Psychic Sea, by Jan Bryant Bartell. This is an account written by a woman who lived in a haunted brownstone in Greenwich Village, New York. Supposedly Mark Twain lived there and had some supernatural experiences there as well. I thought it would be an interesting read, but it scared the hell out of me. I felt like every spirit that haunted that brownstone was gathered in my home as I was reading the book. Still gives me the creeps. I also read that the author died of mysterious circumstances just as the book was published. Also, most of Dean Koontz’s novels 🙂
Rats by James Herbert. I’m fairly certain it’s why I’m deathly afraid of rodents now that I’m grown up. Read them as a teen when I thought horror books were cool. Ha.
Oh, yes, We Need to Talk About Kevin was one of the most disquieting books I’ve ever read… And I cannot erase it from my brain. Not sure I would recommend it, although it certainly offers a lot to think about!
I’m reading American War now and it’s getting under my skin. I don’t know if it’s the scariest I’ve ever read, but it’s making me legitimately worried about the future in my child’s lifetime.
Dean kootz, I can’t remember the name but there is something watching a family in their mirrors, I’ve always had a weird thing about mirrors and that made it worse.
I tend not to read scary books much, but a short story in Gerald Durrell’s book The Picnic and Suchlike Pandemonium absolutely terrified me. I have never really liked mirrors since reading that story.
oh really oops, yeah when I moved into my house there was a mirror covering the entire door, i had to have it covered so that it doesn’t reflect anything, such a silly thing huh
oh, i remember that one… and a quote from it appears in “The birthing House” (christian ransom), which is even creepier. That book is awesome on so many levels
Exorcist
Agree! Birdbox!
Handmaid’s Tale
Really is it scary???
It is to me. Scariest book I ever read. Without doubt.
Ok I hope you don’t mind but can i ask why?
Living under a Theocracy is one of the worst fates that I can imagine as a woman.
Ahh yes I see. Its a fate I cant even imagine ?
I live in dread of a President Pence one day.
Would he be that bad?
He’d like to be. Have you paid attention to his beliefs, words, and actions? All the Evangelical/Fundamental Faiths and their practitioners scare me.
No not specifically. Im in the UK so we dont hear as much if anything about him just Trump.
He definitely casts a shadow. ☹️
There’s a reason that more people aren’t pushing for impeachment and it begins and ends with the words, “President Pence.” Believe it or not, there could be worse. {{Shudders}} to think this is what we’ve come to.
Definitely Domain and others in the Rats series by James Herbert ?
I just picked up some of Herbert’s Rat series I found at a thrift store yesterday, looking forward to it…
There amazing esp Domain but kept me awake at night ?
Naomi’s Room. Can’t remember the author. One line in it towards the end just changes everything and is bloody terrifying!
This made me afraid to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.
The Shining
1984 and The Picture of Dorian Gray.
I’m currently reading Bird Box. Loving it so far!
Heart shaped Box by Joe Hill, and anything by Adam Nevill give me shivers. One of Adam Nevill’s books, I think it was House of Small Shadows, literally had me jumping at shadows.
Heart Shaped Box was creepy for sure!
House of Small Shadows annoyed me at the end, because I couldn’t tell what the hell happened. I guess I really enjoyed it in hindsight. Edith was one of the most evil characters I’ve ever read!
That’s what I like about Adam’s books. If you haven’t read No One Gets Out Alive, you really should.
The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus by Richard Preston ……because truth is always scarier than fiction ?
It by Stephen king. I read it in high school and had to put it down until someone came home. I couldn’t be alone in the house while reading it! ??
Read It years ago and still can’t walk past a sewer grate without a little pang of fear.
Salem’s Lot.
My first King. Really scary.
I dont find reading horror books scary.
Me either
They mentioned birdbox alot so i would try to read it and see if i would scared just reading a book
I don’t find them scary either. Honestly, Bird Box was a bit of let down for me.
Really. I want to feel scared while reading im envious of this people who’d feel that. Lol
Nope, not much scares me.
Communion by Whitley Strieber. Couldn’t sleep for three nights after reading it.
Very interesting book that led me off on a rampage reading similar books.
Cujo
The Circle and Handmaid’s Tale
The Handmaid’s Tale. I read it when it was hot off the presses. It still scares me, and I’ve never reread it.
Half Girlfriend by Chetan Bhagat
I read Hound of the Baskervilles when I was pretty young–8 or 9–and imagined the Hound under my bed for the next five years.
Jaws. I read it right before the movie came out.
Reading deeper then dead by tami hoag its really good
Deep end of the ocean. Not intended to be in that genre. I read it before having children. Refused to read it again while my babies were little, yet it haunted me often.
Bird box was intense.
The Stand…the tunnel really freaked me out.
Agreed
I have to agree it was really good. I never liked the end, though.
I don’t care for the end of a lot of SK’s books. Some just go way out there! Lol!
Pet Sematary by Stephen King.
birdbox was so good!
House of Leaves is probably the only book that really scared me.
I loved Bird Box. If you haven’t read any Paul Tremblay I’d recommend him too. I loved Head Full of Ghosts and Disappearance at Devil’s Rock.
Hot Zone by Richard Preston
Yes! I loved that book. I’d almost forgotten it. Edge of my seat.
It by Stephen King
Red Dragon.
Wool. It made me feel claustrophobic! I had to quit at about 80% through.
Great series!
Helter Skelter!
Hahahaha! Great minds!
Not scary in the traditional sense, but definitely Helter Skelter.
How about Fire and Fury in the White House? That sounds scary!
Too bad there are spoilers all over the news now. Although, whatever is written, I would not be surprised.
Oh bird box is soooooo good, had me on the edge of my seat the whole time!!!!
One of Stephen kings.
Thanks I’ve read them all. His son Joe Hill is really good as well.
I’m not usually scared by books, but when I told my sister I was going to read “Interview with the Vampire,” my brother-in-law reminded me to take out the trash before I got started. He then explained that he had begun reading it in the late morning and couldn’t put it down all afternoon until he realized that it was evening and he hadn’t taken out the trash. So he gathered up the trash bags and headed down his long driveway to put them at the curb. He said that as he walked he became eerily aware of the darkness and shadows, and he literally sprinted back to the house, imagining vampires in all those shadows. After I read it Ibtold him that I was intrigued, amazed, enthralled, and fascinated, but not scared by that book. “and to think that was the first book she published!”
Flowers in the Attic
I thought Bird Box was a thriller, but, oh no, it was much more!
Hobgoblin. John Coyne
Intensity by Dean Koontz
I loved Bird Box.
Instruments of the Night by Thomas Cook.
I read about 1/2 of Thomas Tryon’s Harvest Home. Got toooo spooked. Never found out what the “enemy” was. Anyody know?
I just grabbed the ebook after seeing your comment. I haven’t even finished the first chapter and I think I’m going to like this book!!!!
A friend told me the ending today. I thought it was a demonic ending, but it isn’t. IMO, I dont like demonic things. Let me know what you think. (Also, my friend is pushing 80, so she may not remember, or she may have it mixed up with another book)
Tryon wrote The Other. It is creepy, but I LOVED it.
Hey spoilers!!!!! =(
Nah nevermind the point of this comment thread was to find out the ending, sorry I forgot
I’m 16% through the book now, he’s riding in the widows buggy around town, and the festival is coming up soon
back when it was the current horror story out there, The Exorcist. I was in college. And one night, just as I was getting into one of the major exorcism scenes, an overloaded washing machine just down the hall in the dorm started spinning and making all kinds of weird noises!
The opening scene of Helter Skelter. And In Cold Blood.
Following!
The Shining – I read it while camping – at night – with a flashlight!
Oooh, hero! ???
The Amityville Horror
I read it when it was first released, before we knew it was fake. Chills
Birdbox!
The Troop. Stephen King wrote a review saying it was the scariest book he ever read. Never finished it because I couldn’t.
I just started it and was wondering if it was good.
Don’t read it while you are eating. That’s what did it for me.
Let me know if I should finish it!
Ewww! I don’t like gross books, I lose my appetite very easily.
I thought this was really good. Some parts were disturbing but I didn’t find it unusually gross.
Spindrift: Spray from a Psychic Sea, by Jan Bryant Bartell. This is an account written by a woman who lived in a haunted brownstone in Greenwich Village, New York. Supposedly Mark Twain lived there and had some supernatural experiences there as well. I thought it would be an interesting read, but it scared the hell out of me. I felt like every spirit that haunted that brownstone was gathered in my home as I was reading the book. Still gives me the creeps. I also read that the author died of mysterious circumstances just as the book was published. Also, most of Dean Koontz’s novels 🙂
That was a super scary one. Creeped me out.
Bird Box is definitely one of the scariest I’ve ever read, probably the scariest. Gerald’s Game also scared me. Also a couple Graham Masterton books.
Loved Gerald’s game so good
Oh I am waiting for Bird box to come in the mail .
Ill have to find this book I think!! Xxx
American Psycho …
Ha, I thought American Psycho was hilarious.
@Tara hence …
Kiss the girls by James Patterson had me pretty freaked out.
Nos4A2 by Joe Hill
Hmmm that’s tough, especially since it depends on what age I was when I read it. First thought is The Shining.
Ok, so many recommendations of it… I’ve put a hold on Bird Box!
(For all of you who’ve read it: do you RECOMMEND it?)
Yes. Very different.
@Julissa thanks!
@Leah Yes, particularly if you enjoy dystopian fiction! It’s terrific.
@Tara I’ll look forward to it!
“It” though it didn’t really scare me it DID give me nightmares.
Heart shaped box, Nos4A2, House of leaves.
The stand gave me nightmares….
I so loved that book!
No nightmares for me but it freaked me out every time someone sneezed or coughed near me.
Hotzone!!
Just bought Bird Box given how many recommendations there are for it?
The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum
The handmaid’s tale.
For me- fiction, The Shining. Non fiction, In Cold Blood.
My current one to be honest!
that looks good
I loved this book, and the movie.
@Rhea very exciting so far!
@Caroline great so far!
I can see that the name of the book is Ritual, but who is the author?
@Leah Adam Nevill
@Welshie thank you!
Added to my list! Thank you!
@Leah you’re welcome.
@Melissa you’re welcome!
The Circle
Also the Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker
Lord of the Flies by: William Golding
Theres two. Stephen King Salom’s Lot and Paul Tremblay A Head Full of Ghost
I read Salem’s Lot when I was about 13 – remember it vividly and loved every scary minute of it.
@Marilyn don’t look out the window
Exactly @Peg!
Everyone keeps saying A Head Full of Ghosts but I read it and it didn’t seem scary to me at all. Good book though.
Johnny Got His Gun, by Dalton Trumbo.
Anything written by Stephen King.
When I was a child it was Amityville horror! Couldn’t read it after the sun went down LOL I will definitely look in the bird box
IT by Stephen king
Rats by James Herbert. I’m fairly certain it’s why I’m deathly afraid of rodents now that I’m grown up. Read them as a teen when I thought horror books were cool. Ha.
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver, and Monster House by Carol Topolski
Oh, yes, We Need to Talk About Kevin was one of the most disquieting books I’ve ever read… And I cannot erase it from my brain. Not sure I would recommend it, although it certainly offers a lot to think about!
Monster House is kind of similar, though it’s the parents who are the monsters, not the child.
@Jess hmmm, would you choose to read it if you had it to do over?
IT by Stephen King is my current read and it is scaring the daylights out of me.
‘That Hideous Strength’ by CS Lewis.
Salem’s Lot by Stephen King.
Bad Place by Dean Koontz
Pet Sematary – Stephen King
I too am a sucker for a good book… just bought Bird ? Box ?
I could not get into it for the life of me, but lots of people loved it.
Helter skelter
Ég man þig (I remember you) by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
Exorcist-My husband put his hand on my shoulder from behind me & I swear I levitated when I screamed! Second Behind Closed Doors.
‘Salems Lot by Stephen King
Same ✋✋
Thanks for the warnings! These are all on my “no thanks” list, haha… I get enough nightmares without the help! ?
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.
In cold blood
The Devil in the White City by Larsen (nonfiction) and listening to The Historian by Kostova.
Michigan Murders by Edward Keyes
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2430967
Yes, definitely Bird Box for me!
Helter Skelter
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
When I was 19 I had just moved into my first apt in Cambridge. One winter night I read The Shining. I remember being so afraid
Yes, that’s the first one I thought of! ?
I read Amityville Horror when I was in 7th grade (in secret because my mom said I couldn’t). I didn’t sleep without nightmares for months!
The stand
Bird Box is the creepiest book! I loved it…
The shining girls.
The Exorcist, I didn’t sleep for two weeks.
Tell me your dreams by Sidney Sheldon
I hated the ending of “The Other Side of Midnight” by Sheldon so much that I never read another one of his books.
The Silence of the Lambs
Yes!
I couldn’t even watch the movie!
Endless Night by Richard Laymon. Gave me nightmares…always a sign of a great book!
Haunted by Palahniuk
Dude! I just read all the comments recommending “IT”, then a commercial for the movie came on TV. I shit you not. ???
It. Just put Birdbox on hold!
Yep. Birdbox was really scary!
It by Stephen King…way back in 1987.
Pet sematary was the first book that made me afraid to move. In my own house, with people in the next room.
Same here! It’s my favorite book ever!! And Salem’s Lot too!!
I’m reading American War now and it’s getting under my skin. I don’t know if it’s the scariest I’ve ever read, but it’s making me legitimately worried about the future in my child’s lifetime.
Dean kootz, I can’t remember the name but there is something watching a family in their mirrors, I’ve always had a weird thing about mirrors and that made it worse.
Ooh if you remember let me know what it was, mirrors are splendidly creepy
Is it what the night knows?
Do you remember anything else about it? You’ve got me hooked
I tend not to read scary books much, but a short story in Gerald Durrell’s book The Picnic and Suchlike Pandemonium absolutely terrified me. I have never really liked mirrors since reading that story.
I’ve always found mirrors creepy
@Alison I don’t think they bothered me before reading this book, but they have ever since!
oh really oops, yeah when I moved into my house there was a mirror covering the entire door, i had to have it covered so that it doesn’t reflect anything, such a silly thing huh
Following
I’m not much into scary books either—maybe because I read “Silence of the Lambs” years ago.
I read that alone at a lake cabin and didn’t sleep for two nights.
I never read it a second time. And the movie? Only watched it once.
Every noise my poor cats made scared me. I slept only during the day by the lake. Pretty poor book choice at the time!
Christine by Stephen King
Too much of a wimp to read books that I know are going to be scary….though People of the Book left me with a racing heart several times!
Loved People of the Book! Geraldine Brooks is one of my favorite authors, loved Year of Wonder too…
Will have to look Into that! Also interested in March.
@Thayne I read March and enjoyed it.
Paul Tremblay’s Head Full of Ghosts and The Devil Crept In by Ania Ahlborn.
“Birdman” Mo Hayder.
Misery by Stephen King
I quit in the middle and threw it in the garbage.
@Bonnie I stoped reading when she chopped off his foot, and could not read anything else written by him.
I read his non horror, I love his writing but can’t read the horror
By far, This Present Darkness, terrifying. I couldn’t put it down.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.
oh, i remember that one… and a quote from it appears in “The birthing House” (christian ransom), which is even creepier. That book is awesome on so many levels
I agree! I also thought “Night Film” by M. Pessl was a scary read.
The Descent by Jeff Long. Read in 2013…still creeps me out.