You Don't Scare Me

by John Farris

Jubilation County, Georgia, Ten Years Ago:


 Chase Emrick was fourteen when her mother married Crow Tillman. Maybe it was his creepy name, or his sinister good looks; maybe it was the glass eye with the bolt of lightning for a pupil that he kept covered with a black eye patch, or maybe it was the rattlesnake tattoo that curled around his left wrist onto his hand, but for some reason, Chase never trusted Crow. Then one terrifying night of horror proved what Chase had felt all along . . . Crow Tillman was pure evil.


New Haven, Connecticut, Present Day:


Crow Tillman is ten years dead, but he hasn't stopped haunting Chase Emrick. Everyone she's ever been close to suffers horrible fates, leaving Chase all alone in this world. Haunted by Crow, she has spent the last ten years of her life proving mathematically that a dimension lies unseen in our reality--one where the dead can inflict their will on the living: a netherworld of horror where Crow Tillman is in complete control.
            Adam Cameron is a campus cop, and he's utterly smitten by Chase's frailty, beauty, and genius. But getting close to Chase drags Adam into a world he didn't bargain for and head to head with the essence of evil and the reality of death. There is only one way to get Crow Tillman to leave Chase alone: To battle him, you must first die.
 

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Fantasy

302 pages, Hardcover

First published April 3, 2007

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

American writer and screenwriter of both adaptations of his own books (e.g. 'The Fury'), of the works of others (such as Alfred Bester's 'The Demolished Man') and original scripts. In 1973 he wrote and directed the film 'Dear Dead Delilah'. He has had several plays produced off-Broadway, and also paints and writes poetry. At various times he has made his home in New York, Southern California and Puerto Rico; he currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. Early in his career he also wrote under the name Steve Brackeen.

Reviews

[Meg Derry Bakke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I might have given this a 3 star but I am in between. I really was drawn to the story and for once was happy to not have incredible detail that Dean Koontz uses. It was straight forward and to the point and made me believe that Chase really was as tough in a "been there done that" kind of way.
I will definatly read more of this author, as sometimes it's good to just get to the story and not waste time on every little nuance of character development.
I was creeped out a couple of times!

[Jade17 · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title is right, it didn't scare me and it's not even worth putting in my horror category.

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 2007. Riveting tale of love, death and the supernatural.

[Dez Nemec · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this one had potential, but it just fell flat. I probably wouldn't have read as much as I did if I hadn't been captive on the treadmill. DNF

[William Malmborg · Rating 2 out of 5]

While exciting and thought provoking, my first venture into the written world of John Farris wasn’t as satisfying as I hoped it would be, and actually left me disappointed. A part of this problem was probably due to the difficulty I had in finding one of his novels, a quest which inevitably built the expectations to an unreachable level. Another was the style of writing used to tell this tale. I flat out hate it when authors use the first person style of writing from multiple character view points -- in this case alternating between Chase and Adam -- because I can’t help but get confused at times on who is actually telling the story. The narrative also jumped into screenplay format for a while for no reason, which just seemed completely unnecessary. I don’t mind if authors get creative in how they tell a story, but that creativity should never distract one from the story itself, which is what happened here. Lastly I didn’t buy the sudden love between the two main characters. It just seemed too forced. I know true love can hit when one doesn’t expect it, but with these two I just didn’t buy it, and that in turn made the rest of the story crumble.

[A.R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This could be Harris's best book, from 2007. The voice of Chase and her tormentor, Crow, were thrilling in a way most of his books aren't, and I love the other novels. If this doesn't hold your attention, I don't know what will. The dread of the story arc is inescapable. The only problem I have with it is how the main characters were putting down loud music, saying the more tattoos, the crappier the band. What is one supposed to be into, then, weak music that'll put me to sleep? Or cornpone hick music like Garth Brooks or Trisha Yearwood?

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

not exactly what I was expecting, but I would definitely try this author again.

[Rhonda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Chase's voice and the character of Crow, but the book just didn't hold my interest enough for me to finish it.

[Linda Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like it. The story was a bit too out there for my liking...

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Farris is one of my favorite horror writers, and this book was not a disappointment. True, as some reviewers noted, the characters could have been more realistically developed, but the story is fascinating--Southern horror with a twist. An evil man, a murderer and rapist, haunts a girl from the grave. She gained the "gift" (or curse) of gaining unsolicited communications from the underworld due to a near-drowning. With the help of her boyfriend, she tries to defeat the evil man before he destroys her and her beau.

One reviewer said this was a Lovecraftean story, and in some ways it is--but I will let the reader determine that for herself to avoid spoilers. I would say that the book did not bring scares in the sense of a jump scare at a horror movie; instead, it presents a sense of unease. This book is not for every horror fan, but for those who enjoy Southern horror, redneck horror, a bit of contemporary physics, a bit of Lovecraft, and a lot of unease, they will probably like this book.

[Hannah Kinch]

I read this back when I was barely in middle school, probably around 2011. I have rarely been as confused and mildly disturbed as I was then. Still, I forgot about it until a couple years ago, when I remembered how odd of an experience reading this as a kid was. But for the life of me I couldn’t remember anything about the book besides the green cover and the feeling it gave me. It started to get to me, that not even Reddit at 2am had any idea of what it was. Until just last week, I was quickly perusing the local used book store and I found it. It was staring right at me from the bottom shelf of the thriller section that I’m never that interested in. That brief moment of “a-ha!” was unmatched. I definitely exclaimed way too loud for the quiet zen environment that is that shop.
Now I’m not sure what to do with myself.
I’m not gonna re-read this book hahaha.
Thanks for coming to my story time.

[Mike B]

I'm loathe to dis a book because writing a book isn't easy but this just does not deliver at all on what is an interesting premise. A few points to that effect: Somehow nasty, meth-head Crow is supernaturally powerful enough to haunt from beyond and also control others in the "Netherworld" - it's never remotely explained why; there's a bizarre POV/tonal shift in the "Netherworld" as the book apparently becomes the shooting script for a movie scene; completely unnecessary use of racial epithet that starts with N... huh?; one of the main characters is provided a backstory of having been through divinity school, which you might expect to have had some eventual relevance to the action at hand... you would be disappointed in expecting that.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok so I liked this book alot but it took me a minute to get use to the writing. It kept going from past to present. In the past there was no punctuation or anything so you have to reread some sections at times. I can't say I was happy about the ending bc it kinda sucked. I wished that didn't happen lol. I wanted it to completely 100% work out not 85% lol.
Still this was a good read. I enjoyed the idea of another world for undead ppl/animals. Kinda like the Stranger Things tv show.
It was interesting and creepy.

[Dey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda interesting premise that isn’t fleshed out. None of the characters seemed real - reactions served the plot than seemed a feasible response.

The next to last section of the book was written like a movie script. I’m guessing because it takes place on a different plane of existence? But I’m not sure and I don’t think it added anything. Instead it felt like he was close to deadline and this was a quicker way to write the section.

[Deviki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Books I've read and provided detailed reviews over the years but all data is lost after accidental deletion and GD refuse to restore it back.

Adding books back to my library for my own reference and tracking purposes

[Micky Parise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable book. Plot was great, characters were good and story flowed nicely. Recommend.

[Jim Bostjancic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neat little horror thriller about boundaries between life and realms beyond the physical world.

[Barbara Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This didn't work for me, and I ended up skimming about two-thirds of it to the ending. While Farris's writing is straightforward and effective, and the story was considerably more focussed and better paced than the last Farris I read (The Fury, which wanders about all over the place, chasing every 70s hot-button it sees in the distance), it still didn't draw me in.
I did like the main character, Chase, and empathised with her, both with her tough, resilient teenage self, and with her wary, fragile adult self. Crow Tilman, the villain was more nebulous. It felt as if Farris was going for a sort of Randall Flagg aura, the chuckling psychopath who is More Than He Seems, and while Crow was plenty scary as an earthbound crazy, once he gained his beyond-the-grave superpowers, he somehow became less scary, less personified, and more like an impersonal run of really crappy luck. So even though Crow could strike from anywhere!!, he felt like less of a threat. YMMV, of course.
Then there was Adam, our hero. And he was what caused me to bail. Seriously, dude, you are a stalker. You don't know anything about Chase except that you want to get close to her. You abuse your cop privileges to learn about Chase, to follow her, and to manoeuvre her into looking to you for help. You are creepy. I read the first third of the book expecting to learn that you were either Crow reincarnated or possessed. But no, this is our knight in shining armour, folks. This is the choice that the plot offers Chase: fall prey to the crazy murderous undead stalker, or seek refuge with the creepy manipulative living stalker.
Well, it is horror.

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

the back story was great and i liked the characters but his "rules" for the netherworld didn't make sense,and i don't know why they bring up the monkey research and do nothing with it. The ending was ok, but it could have been more of a solid twist that chase had more proof of him channeling the dark side. I think this one lost it for me when she went to the supermarket, down hill from there. Adn what's with the movie camera angles near the end, not quiet there dude. Makes me really wonder how Stephen king does what he does. Now he can write horror.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay. I agree with other reviewers that the change in format plus the change in viewpoint seemed strange and at times, hard to follow. In addition, sometimes the conversations were in quote marks and sometimes not. If the author's goal was to write a "weird" book, he succeeded. But scary, horror, paranormal stories don't have to be weird too. I won't be recommending this book to any friends or fellow bibliophiles. The beginning enticed but the end disappointed. I'll try John Farris again, but next time I'll find a book in the library instead of buying it.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This really should only get 1 star but I did like some of the creepy imagery in the story so it gets 2. Great potential that falls flat even with the lively, descriptive writing, and not overly descriptive, either, so the story moves along quickly. Everything about the Netherworld, including the chapter about it written in screenplay style, seemed to be lacking focus and structure. Maybe that was the point but it really detracted from the already weak storyline. This would be better off as a campy horror movie. I would probably rent it.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't know what to make of this book. It was OK. I wouldn't rule out reading another of the authors work. I thought the start was great. And I have no clue why but, I was surprised at the ending. A few of the scenes were weird even by horror story standards. I feel (even though this one didn't resonate). That maybe there should be sequel?

[Xisix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought started off pretty well. The book seemed reminiscent of the film 'Winter's Bone.' Chase had depth in her suffering. Thought text suffered overall from switching to the male character Adam's perspective in places.
There were some interesting scenes and a quick read but hate to say I was left with desire for something more.

[Tobyann Aparisi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I now do not remember how I got this book, but let me tell you it was frightening! The characters are wickedly vivid and the story is gripping and imaginative. I am glad I got the chance to read it! It is truly a horror story of all time.

[Fluffy Kitty Susan Ryder · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was rather disappointed in this book as I thought it would be the kind of a story where you would sit on the edge of the seat and not wait to finish the whole book. After the middle of the story it got boring and downright silly.
Nope, it was not a horror story as far as I am concerned.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of Farris' best scary novels in some time, though he's just a bit too hard on his characters for my taste.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, up until the very end. I am a sucker for happy endings.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dean Koontz wrote a positive blurb on the front jacket, but has nothing to worry about from Farris, who will never catch up with Koontz.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it! It was suspenseful but with a little romance. I don't always go for the mystery books as I'm just not that kinda girl, but I liked this one. The ending was such a cliff-hanger though!

[Michael Grills · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring.