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What book scared you the most, keeping you up at night? I love horror and paranormal.

What book scared you the most, keeping you up at night? I love horror and paranormal.

Kirsty #recommend #horror #paranormal

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121 Answers

KirstyQuestion author

I need a new book to read ? TIA

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Amanda

Pet Sematary

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Sarah

I agree with pet Semetary. It’s good but very disturbing

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Abbey

.

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Holly

Pet sematary has been the most disturbing for me, can’t say it’s kept me up at night though…

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Mary

I agree with Pet Sematary being disturbing, but I don’t remember being kept awake all night by a book.

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Emma

I didn’t find Pet Sematary that good or scary – it was just kinda horrible, and not in a fun way (for me). The scariest Stephen Kings for me were The Shining, IT and Duma Key. I also like Michelle Paver’s horror – Dark Matter and Thin Air.

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Emma

I think what scares me most is a build up of suspense. Stephen King CAN do this really well (the Shining is IMO his best constructed horror, IT is possibly his worst constructed but with the most heart!) but I think in Pet Sematary he doesn’t – even he was unhappy with it, he didn’t want to publish it but was forced to in order to fulfil contract.

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Angela

Dark Matter if a brilliant book and I also enjoyed Thin Air. I regularly recommend these books to anyone who likes that sort of thing.

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Kieran

I was beginning to think I was the only one that didn’t enjoy Pet Sematary all that much. It was good but a bit slow never makes top 3 King novels, maybe top 5 for me

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Eleanor

@Emma the two books you mentioned by Michelle Paver sound great! I just added them to my reading list.

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Emma

@Eleanor hope you like them ???

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Carla

I haven’t read a book that’s kept me awake .. but Richard Layman books and Rats by James herbert both gave me vivid dreams.

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KirstyQuestion author

I love James Herbert books but not read rats lol. Will get that one.

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Carla

@Kirsty the rats, the lair and the domain are all really good . Enjoy ?

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Michelle

A really good trilogy

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Victoria

there was this one book…i cant remember the name tho:( scared me so much 🙁 was abour a couple who was on a train in a foreign country and had their passports stolen I think it was follow you home…it was truly frightening!!!!

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KirstyQuestion author

@Victoria that sounds interesting. Will look it up. Thanks

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Victoria

@Kirsty it’s amazing. #author Mark Edwards all his books are similar he’s amazing

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Millie

Salems Lot by Stephen King gave me nightmares

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Sharon

Salems lot

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Joyce

Also Pet Sematary. I started reading it while my husband was away on business. It was so creepy that I had to wait until he came home before I finished it. 😀

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Kelly

Pet Cemetary here too, and now there’s a movie! Not sure I’ll be watching that one…

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Michele

Only book that has ever given me nightmares was The Girl Who Loced Tom Gordon; not because it was all that scary, but because my daughter was the same age as the main character and my brain just took off

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Michelle

Helter Skelter! I was pregnant with my oldest, husband out of town, babysitting 2 children for the weekend! I sat up.all night!

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Jesi

Bah of Bones by Stephen King. I’m a weakling and it’s a ghost story. I read it for the first time as teenager and it’s still one of my favorites, very well written, very creepy, very disturbing

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Debbie

@Jesi definitely agree with bag of bones. Scared the crap out of me when I was a teenager. Still does when I reread it.

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Carrie

Salem’s lot for sure. I read it during the winter and was having a nightmare about a vampire scratching at my window. It was very real, and I woke up and realized the noise was the snowplow ?

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Jenny

The Exorcist

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Rita

@Jenny
Read it many years ago. Still scares me to think about it.

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Judith

I’d have to say the shining was right up there by Stephen King

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Bridget

Following

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Julie

Try Joe Hill. He’s the son of Steven King. I really enjoyed THE HEART SHAPED BOX.

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Shayna

@Julie I love Joe Hill too! I like NOS4A2 and Horns alot!

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Jacki

I couldn’t even finish heart shaped box… halfway through it, I had vivid nightmares. I woke up screaming

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Sarah

f

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Carolyn

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo had me reading til 4.30am as I was too scared to put the book down!

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Jason

Dan Simmons is really good. Carrion Comfort, The Terror, Summer of Night are all excellent. Also, Nick Cutter writes really creepy stuff as well

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Emma

The Terror is great! I love stuff set in the Arctic and everything about that book contributed to a fantastic merciless atmosphere. Did you watch the TV show as well? I thought they did a nice job!

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Jason

@Emma no I had no idea there was a TV show. I will have to look for it, thanks!

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Emma

@Jason I paid to watch it on prime but it was on AMC in the states (I’m in the UK – don’t know where you are! 🙂 )

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Jason

@Emma Canada. I will look on the Android box, I’m sure to find it there!

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Emma

@Jason good luck. hope you like it!

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Rozen

Intensity/Koonz

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Brenda

@Rozen Absolutely! That whole opening scene ending with the RV driving off gave me the major chills.

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Bradie

@Rozen this kept me up-so amazing!!

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Judy

The Exorcist

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Alison

Pet sematary and Duma Key..both by King. Both wery creepy.

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Sharon

The demonologist by Andrew Pyper. One of my favorite books hands down!

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KirstyQuestion author

Think I will definitely need to get pet cemetery ?

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Susan

Per Cemetery! I loved in a 2 story house at that time! Was a long time before I could walk passed the stairs without being scared!

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Katie

Oddly enough the ghost hunter series by Victoria laurie. So good! And pretty good job with the scare factor for a chick series 🙂

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Amanda

Pale immortal

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Jenn

Seven X by Mike Welch

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Anne

Amityville Horror

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Sydny

geralds game

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Joyce

In Cold Blood

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Cierra

Cujo

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Kieran

Salem’s Lot gave me couple nightmares, not his best book but creeped me out the most for some reason

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Sandy

Salem’s Lot

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Linda

Pet Cemetery. For weeks.

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Teresa

that damn cat…with garbage bags in its teeth

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Natalie

The Exorcist, I first watched it around 14, then read the book aged about 15, i couldn’t sleep with it in my room. I’m fine now with it, but it certainly gave me the heebie jeebies for a while, even into my 20’s! Lol

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Becky

It

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Lisa

Haven’t read one yet that scares me!

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Dugan

I was the same way till I read “Curfew” by Phil Rickman.

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Lisa

Haven’t read that one yet but will try, I hope I get scared 😀

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Dugan

Lisa M Van I found this book in a used book store several years ago. It had a blurb on its cover quoting Stephen King that pretty much said, “I have never read anything that gave such a chilling sense of fright—I have a new favorite”.
So I bought it. Phil Rickman is a British author, and the book is set there, with a lot of really accurate but NOT boring historical reference that fits right in with the story.
And there are parts of it that made me wake up my husband to “be with me for a minute”, a thing I had NEVER done before because nothing was really scary before.
I know I’m going on and on but I became a HUGE fan and I’ve read several of his books now.

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Tara

The Shining

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Debby

The Exorcist

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Brenda

The Bird Box

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Emily

Salem’s Lot ??‍♀️

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Teresa

i always listened for those damn vampires knocking on windows

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Dugan

@Teresa I read this many, many years ago. I had taken it to my mother’s house with me during a visit.
Of course, when I turned out my light (after reading), there was a scratch, knock, scratch at my window.
And it was a tree limb.
And I almost died! 😀

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Teresa

@Dugan i hear ya ! and i was on the 2nd floor !

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Niki

The Shinning.

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Jackie

Pet semetary thought my cat was coming to get

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Barbara

Helter Skelter but I was reading it back in the 1970s

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Kim

Me too. Scared the crap out of me.

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Chloë

I haven’t been scared yet reading a book, I will deffo follow this post for suggestions though x

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Dugan

Good ol’ “Ghost Story” by Peter Straub.

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Barbara

@Dugan that was a scary movie too

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Dugan

@Barbara I know!! I watched the movie recently, and it was still scary. Soooo….I read the book, too, and I figured it wouldn’t be so bad.
STILL scary!

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Joanna

IT

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Tim

The regulators but you have to read desperation first

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Jamie

Back when i was young, it was the goosebumps books

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Lynn

Salems LOT

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Brooke

So it’s not that it kept me up, but it’s creepy. I’ve been reading a book about serial killers and it’s crazy the insanity in this world!!!! I love true crime creepy stuff but it definitely spikes my anxiety a little at night since I’m home alone with 3 kids ?

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Kristin

Behind closed doors

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Sandy

Salems LOT was pretty creepy for me. Also, Mr. Slaughter by Robert McCammon actually gave me a nightmare…first and only book to do that. It’s part of the Mathew Corbett series.

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Bee

Salem’s Lot!

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Lesley

Amityville Horror

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Stephanie

Amityville Horror and intensity.

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Anjana

many years ago, but IT by Stephen King. I still can’t look at a clown. Also pretty sure I read something about a massive flock of birds which really scared me too ?

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Jenny

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

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Carin

Pet Sementary

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Sarah

Years ago on a stormy winter night, I stayed up till 3am to finish reading The Manitou by Graham Masterton. I didn’t sleep that night.

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Helen

The writer Chris carter

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Lisa

Many of the early Dean Koontz books.

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Teresa

the one where he was locked in the basement…had a rough voice ….

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Laura

Misery!!

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Angela

Hideaway

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Katie

Following…
And The Outsider was my latest scare!

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Angel

Insomnia

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Judi

The Amityville Horror – TRUE story brrr….

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Shauna

IT by Stephen King creeped me out badly. It took me 7 months to read that because I wouldn’t read it the weeks my hubby worked midnights. Oh and Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. Those two truly gave me the creeps and I’m used to reading stuff like that.

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Diana

@Shauna we love Stephen king! I’ll have to checkout doctor sleep!

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Shauna

@Diana I love Stephen King too! Can’t stop reading his stuff even though it seems the older I’ve gotten the more cowardly I’ve become!?

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David

Nameless City by H.P Lovecraft totally creeped me out. Have you read any of his works?

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Deb

The Stand by Stephen King – frightening!

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Jane

Salems Lot.

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Laura

I’ve never read I book that actually scared me like that.

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Wendi

The scariest thing I have ever read that haunts me to this day – The Pendulum by Edgar Allen Poe. (Short story, all of his are terrifying but the Pendulum REALLY got to me)

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Julie

Lovely bones

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Margaret

Intensity and Salems lot. Hairs rising up the back of the neck.

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Marie

The Totem by David Morrell. It definitely scared me quite a bit.

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Kelly

Behind closed doors for some reason stuck with me for a few weeks lol

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Teresa

her on the balcony!!! wow

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Marla

Misery by Stephen King

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Jean

It Stephen King

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Cheri

The Taking by Dean Koontz

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