Since H. P. Lovecraft is an author, and a fairly prolific one at that, could you maybe expand on your answer. Looking for “the scariest book”. Not your favourite author.
I’m hard to scare too so I can’t provide too much as far as “scary” but Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill is awesome and suspenseful. Sineater by Elizabeth Massie is well written and confusing/awesome.
Thanks all…I’ve heard so many good reviews about IT & even though it may not be scary enough for me, the reviews got me! Plus I just did this little project ?
For me, it isn’t fictional scary stories, that keep me awake, or trembling in fear…it is real life, true stories that I find terrifying, such as “”In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote. That real folks can be so ruthless is scary.
Becki, try to get the true story about the case, House of Evil, or read Jack Ketchums The house next door. All the same story basically, about the Sylvia Likens case.
I didn’t know about the Sylvia Likens case until tonight. My mother had banned me from reading it so of course the first time she went out for the day I grabbed it and read it. Problem was, that night I was babysitting, staying overnight, dont think I slept a wink until I heard the parents get in lolol
Rosemary’s Baby, and Helter Skelter reading in New York on vacation (as soon as it was published) – I jumped up to make sure the hotel door was locked about every 15 minutes.
I’m pretty hard to scare too. However I really enjoyed The Elementals by Micheal McDowell. It wasn’t really scary in my opinion but it was a really good horror book! Also, the whisperer (I can’t remember the authors name) but it’s a good murder mystery/ thriller. He based the scenes in the book off of real murder cases. That’s ultimately what had me a little creeped out lol
Here’s my list of horror novels. Some I’ve read and some are on my TBR. Not many books have scared me but a lot of these creeped me out!
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay, The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, The Terror by Dan Simmons, Experimental Film by Gemma Files, Kill Creek by Scott Thomas, Off Season by Jack Ketchum, The Troop by Nick Cutter, The Hunger by Alma Katsu, The Grip of It by Jac Jemc, The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell, The Visitors by Catherine Burns.
Suggestions others have made such as Stephen King “Salems Lot” and “BirdBox” by Josh Malerman are also good.
I’ll also add two short stories I really enjoy. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison.
I was really disappointed with A Head Full of Ghosts…just updated version of Shirley’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle. And I was looking forward to reading that book so much. ???
@Zuzana I wish I could have finished it! The part that I read was great! The topic of possession usually freaks me out so I should have known better anyway ? but i really did enjoy the first half!
Before he found out I was a boy, my dad wanted to name me Rosemary, but my mom would NOT have it because she saw the movie when she was a kid and it scared the crap out of her LOL
I’m hard to scare too. Wish I could ass to this list, but no books have “scared” me. 172 Hours on the Moon did have a part that was pretty creppy and has stuck with me
Not horror actually. The hot zone as it wAs before anyone knew about Ebola. It’s starts on people getting sick on a plane and taking into general population in USA. Really scary. Plus see it from scientists point of view.??
Salems Lot is a good one. The Book “It” was also really good up until he described what the monster really looked like, then, for me, it lost it’s impact.
I don’t read much scary, so probably Perfume, though not that scary. Some have joked above, but really The Bible, I’ll say it’s hands down the scariest book I’ve read for sure because I was told it was real…slavery, women marrying their rapists, children’s heads being smashed, women torn apart by dogs, animal sacrifice, a vengeful god, famine, plagues, and eternal punishment, not exactly bedtime reading.
“The Wisconsin Death Trip.” It’s a book of photographs of the people living in a small area of Wisconsin in the early twentieth century. At the time, this same area was afflicted with violence. The unsettling part is that it’s a true story. It’s hard to find. I’m still looking for it.
I have 2 horror books by stephen king. Ive read a small portion of sleeping beauties and i put it down because of my reading slump. I also have IT here but havent started it. I would most likely be scared of these 2 because of how well ive heard stephen king writes. So yeah, haha.
Intensity by Dean Koontz. I don’t really get scared by books, but this was a good one on the scare spectrum. I also have the book Red Dragon by Thomas Harris and I’ve been told that it’s a scary one too. Just haven’t read it yet. Can’t wait to read it and find out though.
what kind of scary are we talking about here? thriller? (personally i too like to be scared but not gore or murder scared.. ) which book would u recommend for thriller scared?
i have a dream of writing a best seller that turns into a movie. Although, it would be good to just write it in script form. i don’t know how to do that with ease yet..i want to write for fun, not for fame, but it wouldn’t hurt to write a good seller!
The first scary book I ever read was Flowers in the Attic. Next was The Exorcist. But the one that disgusted me the most and made me stop reading them was Misery. Probably all are considered mild now.
A lot of people are telling me that “Salem Burning” gave them goosebumps…
H P Lovecraft
Since H. P. Lovecraft is an author, and a fairly prolific one at that, could you maybe expand on your answer. Looking for “the scariest book”. Not your favourite author.
The Ritual by Adam Nevill
I’ve been wanting to get my hands on that book!!
Its good, way better than th movie. The books gave me goosebumps on some parts while reading it.
Omen was the scariest book i have read
I’m hard to scare too so I can’t provide too much as far as “scary” but Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill is awesome and suspenseful. Sineater by Elizabeth Massie is well written and confusing/awesome.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark…the Big Toe. ?
I just snorted ????
:: shudder ::
Following! ??
Salems lot
House of Leaves
Great book.
I have it but it intimadates me I don’t know how to start it with all the notes and stuff it has 🙁
Thanks all…I’ve heard so many good reviews about IT & even though it may not be scary enough for me, the reviews got me! Plus I just did this little project ?
I didn’t find IT scary but it is an amazing book I couldn’t put it down x
@Nicola that’s the part that got had me sold. I read that so many times looking through the reviews!
Salems Lot
Read the Exorcist multiple times without a break. On the 4th consecutive read I threw it out the car window.
I heard that this book gets to be thrown out pretty much a lot. ?
Love The Exorcist.
Trimpl by J.T. Lozano
Salem’s Lot
That’s the one I was going to recommend.
Butterfly Garden
It’s still complicated by Chandrakant Jaisansaria
https://bookriot.com/2018/03/12/best-horror-novels/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/25-terrifying-horror-books-ever/
For me, it isn’t fictional scary stories, that keep me awake, or trembling in fear…it is real life, true stories that I find terrifying, such as “”In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote. That real folks can be so ruthless is scary.
I very much agree with that.
I’m a big fan of Stephen King and Thomas Harris, but I’ll Be Gone In the Dark was the scariest book I’ve ever read.
Lets Go Play At The Adams by Mendal W Johnson. Read it when I was 13 and I still get the creeps now when I think about it.
I cannot for the life of me find a copy of that book under $50! I haven’t found a library that has it either! I just wanna read it!!!
Becki, try to get the true story about the case, House of Evil, or read Jack Ketchums The house next door. All the same story basically, about the Sylvia Likens case.
@Angel I know all about the Sylvia Likens case? it’s basically the same story as Let’s go play at the Adams?
I didn’t know about the Sylvia Likens case until tonight. My mother had banned me from reading it so of course the first time she went out for the day I grabbed it and read it. Problem was, that night I was babysitting, staying overnight, dont think I slept a wink until I heard the parents get in lolol
Becki, yes, all based on the same story.
IMO, House of Evil, the true crime is the best one because it tells the actual true story of what happened.
Following!!! I love a good horror book! I love Pet Sematary
University by Bentley Little.
Following
The shining by Stephen King. Bird box by Josh malerman.
Bird Box was such a flop, for me. ???
I loved Birdbox!
@Ashley Same.
The Other Tom Tryon.
F ?
Salem’s Lot
Salem’s Lot and It. Plus Stephen King’s short story “The Monkey” scarred me for life.
That Monkey! ?
The Bible ?
@Aishlee ?
Rosemary’s Baby, and Helter Skelter reading in New York on vacation (as soon as it was published) – I jumped up to make sure the hotel door was locked about every 15 minutes.
Following
I’m pretty hard to scare too. However I really enjoyed The Elementals by Micheal McDowell. It wasn’t really scary in my opinion but it was a really good horror book! Also, the whisperer (I can’t remember the authors name) but it’s a good murder mystery/ thriller. He based the scenes in the book off of real murder cases. That’s ultimately what had me a little creeped out lol
Here’s my list of horror novels. Some I’ve read and some are on my TBR. Not many books have scared me but a lot of these creeped me out!
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay, The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, The Terror by Dan Simmons, Experimental Film by Gemma Files, Kill Creek by Scott Thomas, Off Season by Jack Ketchum, The Troop by Nick Cutter, The Hunger by Alma Katsu, The Grip of It by Jac Jemc, The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell, The Visitors by Catherine Burns.
Suggestions others have made such as Stephen King “Salems Lot” and “BirdBox” by Josh Malerman are also good.
I’ll also add two short stories I really enjoy.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison.
Love the Yellow Wallpaper
I was really disappointed with A Head Full of Ghosts…just updated version of Shirley’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle. And I was looking forward to reading that book so much. ???
I had to stop reading Head Full of Ghosts because it just freaked me out ?
@Sharon oh no! I was really disappointed and more suspicious than scared as I read the other book so I kind of new what was going on. ?
@Zuzana I wish I could have finished it! The part that I read was great! The topic of possession usually freaks me out so I should have known better anyway ? but i really did enjoy the first half!
@Sharon I am sure you can make it to the end. It is all explained. ?
@Zuzana is it!? That actually does make me feel better! Maybe I’ll give it another chance.
@Sharon do. ? if it feels very scary read it with breaks and something lighter in between. ?
@Zuzana good idea!
@Sharon ?
Gone girl
Dead simple by Peter James
Absolutely love his books!!!!
same here. I just bought the whole series to read again ?
My Life in Two Worlds by Gladys Osborne Leonard
Helter Skelter
Book of Revelations or Left Behind series scares the heck out of me
Invasion by robin Cook
Dolly by Susan Hill, The Shining by Stephen King, Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill.
I found Dolly a total drag…. I have the heart shaped box on my tbr read shelf. Looking forward to it. X
@Emma ..what a shame you found Dolly a drag…I loved the sense of tension in it. Heart shaped Box is brilliant!
Loved heart shaped box!
Rosemarys Baby
Before he found out I was a boy, my dad wanted to name me Rosemary, but my mom would NOT have it because she saw the movie when she was a kid and it scared the crap out of her LOL
The little Stranger by Sarah Waters got to me a bit !
I’m hard to scare too. Wish I could ass to this list, but no books have “scared” me. 172 Hours on the Moon did have a part that was pretty creppy and has stuck with me
I guess it’s individual, I get nightmares reading Dean Koontz books
Wolfman (2010) book
The Devils Cat series.. 5 books total by William W.Johnstone. Best horror books ever!!!
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
Frozen Charlotte NEVER AGAIN
following
Hi, please, Who is the author?
the bible .lol
Not horror actually. The hot zone as it wAs before anyone knew about Ebola. It’s starts on people getting sick on a plane and taking into general population in USA. Really scary. Plus see it from scientists point of view.??
Lords of Salem by rob zombie ?♀️
The elephant song.
Following
Intensity
Christine By Stephen King….will keep you up all night
I just read ‘welcome to the dark house’ and it wasn’t massively scary but gave me goosebumps!
And ‘The Dead House’ too
It
Salems lot
Duma Key
Salems Lot is a good one. The Book “It” was also really good up until he described what the monster really looked like, then, for me, it lost it’s impact.
Dean Koontz, Intensity. I was a nervous wreck and I couldn’t put it down.
Pet cemetary
‘Lunar Park’ by Brett Easton Ellis is pretty creepy.
TORMENT by Jeremy Robinson (think a modern retelling – though not quite as explicit – of “Sinners In the Hands of An Angry God”)
More general audience scariest would be Greig Beck’s Beneath The Dark Ice.
F
IT
Praying for Sleep was scary.
Koko by Peter Straub
In cold blood
Sking,it or pet cemetery
Amityville and the Shining are the only two that actually scared me. Song of Kali and Dracula had some pretty good moments in them.
I don’t read much scary, so probably Perfume, though not that scary. Some have joked above, but really The Bible, I’ll say it’s hands down the scariest book I’ve read for sure because I was told it was real…slavery, women marrying their rapists, children’s heads being smashed, women torn apart by dogs, animal sacrifice, a vengeful god, famine, plagues, and eternal punishment, not exactly bedtime reading.
Following
Never could finish the Exorcist. Dark Half and Pet Sematary by Stephen King are good.
“The Wisconsin Death Trip.” It’s a book of photographs of the people living in a small area of Wisconsin in the early twentieth century. At the time, this same area was afflicted with violence. The unsettling part is that it’s a true story. It’s hard to find. I’m still looking for it.
https://www.alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9780385412155?bookbin=14842470077&gclid=CIm0pumd_twCFcOUxQId14EHPA&gclsrc=ds&utm_campaign=NMPi_Shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=Google Is that the one?
Any Clive Barker. Or The Ritual by Adam Nevill
??
I’m Thinking of Ending Things.
Good one! I still don’t know how I feel about that ending!!
“A Dark Dividing” by Sarah Rayne. Trust me!
Lisa Gardner. oh my
Reporter – non-fiction – I will finish it, but had to stop. I learned things about the USA that I didn’t know, and cannot “unknow” – the book is beautifully written, and much of the story is a wonderful autobiography. But that small percentage of truth inside his book, is painful and tore my illusions of our country to shreds.
https://www.audible.com/pd/Bios-Memoirs/Reporter-Audiobook/B07CS21QRM?qid=1534859435&sr=sr_1_1&pf_rd_p=e81b7c27-6880-467a-b5a7-13cef5d729fe&pf_rd_r=D7AKMSA4R008JWFGQGHT&
Intensity by Dean Koontz. Rosemary’s Baby. Yes- The Shining , too
Behind Closed Doors.
this book is by B.A Paris?
@Zara yes. It’s chilling, heart in your mouth type of terror.
Gerald’s Game by Stephen King
Behind closed doors gave me a horrible nightmare.
by B.A Paris?
“The Amityville Horror, “ I couldn’teven get half way through it, Lol!
Night Film by Marisha Pessl – it’s AMAZING
1984
I have 2 horror books by stephen king. Ive read a small portion of sleeping beauties and i put it down because of my reading slump. I also have IT here but havent started it. I would most likely be scared of these 2 because of how well ive heard stephen king writes. So yeah, haha.
Off Season by Jack Ketchum. I don’t get scared by books or movies, so this is just what I think would scare others.
Cover by him is good too!
Following
Salem’s Lot
Following?
None really scare me, but Pet Sematary by Stephen King and 314 by A. R. Wise creeped me out some.
Haven’t read a whole lot of books but the first Maze Runner book was trippy.
I don’t read scary book LOL
Following
The exorcist, course it was the last scary book iread
Never Again by Angela Sanders. I hear her villian in my own head long after I finished reading.
It’s between the Exorcist and Rosemary’s baby
Intensity by Dean Koontz. I don’t really get scared by books, but this was a good one on the scare spectrum. I also have the book Red Dragon by Thomas Harris and I’ve been told that it’s a scary one too. Just haven’t read it yet. Can’t wait to read it and find out though.
Husband by Dean Koontz.
…very exciting–a real nailbiter!
I liked that book too!
House of leaves seriously freaky
F
The Stand.
“In The Garden Of Beasts,” Erik Larsen https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-the-garden-of-beasts-erik-larson/1100054038#/
Forgot I had that book – thank you for listing.
The Exorcist or The Sentinel.
The Judeo-Christian Bible-really.
No Exit by Taylor Adams http://a.co/7VpYgyu
Origin by Jack Kilborn aka J.A. Konrath
Afraid also by Kilborn
Intensity by Dean Koontz
Ghost Story by Peter Straub
For me it was the Lovely Bones!
Yes did not like that at all
F
Night Film is spooky
The troop:) god! It was so gross!! Still troubles me?
Intensity by Dean Koontz
It… That book had me calling my husband to come home early.
Same here following
Helter Skelter- nonfiction.
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Fail Safe, Seven Days In May
On The Beach
what kind of scary are we talking about here? thriller? (personally i too like to be scared but not gore or murder scared.. ) which book would u recommend for thriller scared?
No Exit
is no exit a murder mystery? or psychological thriller?
@Tracey Thriller
oooh ok thank u.. i’ll try finding that one. i’m looking for a good thriller too!
I think it would make a great movie.
i have a dream of writing a best seller that turns into a movie. Although, it would be good to just write it in script form. i don’t know how to do that with ease yet..i want to write for fun, not for fame, but it wouldn’t hurt to write a good seller!
Me to!!! I have yet to find one l! I’m curious on what is recommended
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
It
The Newspaper.
Carrion Comfort
The “Omen”
Night stalker was mine
Which one?
Philip carlo
@Shari thank you
This collection of horror short stories:https://www.amazon.com/Captivating-Flames-Madness-Jeff-Parsons-ebook/dp/B07BWNR8VH/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534910782&sr=1-1&keywords=Jeff+%5Buser slug=”u916040702″ first_name=”Julie” last_name=”Parsons”]
The Turn of the Screw, Ghost Story, The Shining.
Oh! And The Haunting of Hill House.
The bible
Anything by Stephen King!
Carrie
The first scary book I ever read was Flowers in the Attic. Next was The Exorcist. But the one that disgusted me the most and made me stop reading them was Misery. Probably all are considered mild now.
I just simply don’t care for scary books! It’s easy to get scared just watching the news!!
Unfortunately that is true!
Enoch by Robert Bloch
Try Christopher Buehlman
It
Salem’s Lot