Book Haven discussion

Is there a specific type of character that frightens you the most? Or a plot? What really gets to you?

Personally, I get really freaked out by creepy clowns. They don't frighten me in person, but otherwise...(CREEPY!)

Oh I agree on the clowns -- ewww. It -- Pennywise the Clown - scary. And in movies - in Poltergeist when the clown doll is not longer on the chair....

Yes. Creepy clowns. They just creep me out with their... their painted expressions on their faces... It just makes me wonder what they are really thinking about. Like killing people.

@ Terry - That freakin' clown doll is probably the main reason I don't like clowns. Even thought IT and Killer Klowns from Outer Space surely didn't help any.

Also, angry ghosts.

And zombies. Can't forget zombies.

As for plots, I can't think of any in particular. But when it's in a movie, and the background music suddenly gets quiet, it scares me cause I know something is about to happen.

So I guess any plot that is more psychological and builds up your anticipation, rather than one full of action and things popping out everywhere.

It was the first horror story I ever read and it has stuck with me through all these years.
The one thing that really freaks me out is possessions. I can't read about them or watch movies about them.

Rane wrote: "After watching IT as a kid I hate clows. period.

What scares me the most about a character is when they appear normal, charming or an everyday person when really their insane. THAT scares me!"

The movie "IT" is what freaked me out as well! Blah!

Jo wrote: "I think ghosts are scary. Has anyone seen Haunting in connecticut? That creeped me out. I love zombies but they dont scare me "

I haven't seen it yet, but I plan to. :)

Clowns, yuck. Zombies, double yuck. I can't stand serial killer movies and books. Can't handle it. Movies like Seven and Just Cause will keep me up at night, also Silence of the Lambs. I refuse to wtach movies like Saw, Hostel, Wolf Creek, and The Devils Rejects. Ghosts fascinate me. I love watching the paranormal shows like Paranormal State, Ghost Hunters, and A Haunting. It gets really scary when there's a demonic possession. That creeps me out. Also evil children. Shudder.

I can't think of a particular character type that scares me in horror, I think it all depends on the story. Like I love reading vampire books but if it was a horro vampire book I would be freaked out. I pretty much can't read horror anymore or else I'm turning on every light in the house on my way to bed, lol

Haha it seems Im not the only one who hates clowns. :)

I'm not quite afraid of maggots but they totally freak me out. Anything worm like that crawls and just *gag* ugh, I can't even think of it.

things in dark corners. i can tolerate any monsters, gory mutilated creatures I can "see" but things that lurk creep me out!

Kenjii wrote: "things in dark corners. i can tolerate any monsters, gory mutilated creatures I can "see" but things that lurk creep me out!"

Shivers, that's why I won't swim in the ocean. I don't like not knowing what is near me. LOL So, I guess it would creep me out if there were things that were "lurking"...

probably clowns, ever since "It" came out i cant stand them or writers for movies like "Saw" because they have to be totally morbid to come up with all that torture

honestly I know most of what I read in fantasy and supernatural isn't real but what really gets under my skin is the thought of death and what happens then, it's freaking scary when I think about it. Whats on the other side, what if their wrong, who really knows if there is that tiny light at the end of the tunnel and what if, what if you devote you life to the man upstairs and in the end he slams the gate in your face. Truely scary.

I dont like anything to with devil, possession, and exorcism. This really creeps me out. The Omen really scared the crap out of me. LOL

well I agree with a lot of you here. I hate clowns.
gory torture I hate too.... movies like Saw,Hostel, the latest chainsaw moive they all creep me out.

I like a really good edge of my seat,hold my guy's arm cause im scared movie. I want to see that Haunting in connecticut movie.

I sometimes think the horror movies & books that COULD be true are the scariest. I mean that ones that you're reading/watching and thinking "Well, this could never happen", aren't as frightening for me...
I think that is why I'm creeped out by clowns...Although, IT didn't help...LOL

Joy wrote: "I sometimes think the horror movies & books that COULD be true are the scariest. I mean that ones that you're reading/watching and thinking "Well, this could never happen", aren't as frightening fo..."


Yeah. Those are the worst for me. Outbreak had me on edge for days, because I have a thing about contagious diseases lol.

Also Cujo. That movie scared me so much when I was younger. I think it got to me more than Poltergeist did.

For my fellow clown fearing people out there, Boo and Amusement are two horror movies with clown scenes in them that will freak you out. Boo is creepy throughout, but Amusement only got to me during the clown scenes.

Hmmmm...I hate puppets and clowns for sure but mostly what I hate is that terrible sensation when I'm allll alone in my apartment and I'm reading a scary book and my dogs start barking for NO REASON WHAT SO EVER. I get up to look around, completely praying I find a reason for their spastic behavior only to find that nothing is awry. I go back to bed but my dogs' ears are perked up, as if keeping their radar on high alert. I HATE THAT!
Hmmm...no wait. Thinking back...I actually reallllly love that. At least in hind sight. This was a regular thing for me when I was reading the Historian. Good times.

Lol Jessica. You just like being scared. So do I, so I can't say anything. Well maybe not always at the time it is happening, but later I will admit that it was fun.

The Historian definitely has some spooky parts that like to creep up on you slowly.

Something that creeped me out as a kid...was creepy dolls. I saw a movie about a killer doll(not chucky), when I was REALLY young. Anyways, my great grandma had this REALLY old doll named Pamela that looked JUST like the doll from that movie. When my Great grandma died, guess who inherited the doll? Lucky, me! LOL It creeped me out. I used to keep it in my closet. One day my Dad decided to throw out all my old toys while I was at school, and he threw pamela out. The only thing about that, that stinks is...pamela was actually a rare doll and was worth money. :(

LOL Joy, I was afraid of dolls too when I was little. It wasn't because of Chucky either, it was because of some movie I had watched about dolls coming to life and killing people. Anyway, one Christmas I got a doll with eyes that followed you around. I don't know WHY someone ever thought that was a good idea for a child's toy.

My mom still likes to tell the story about the time she found that doll locked in my closet, with it's foot cut off. I guess I wanted to make sure it couldn't chase after me, lol.

BonFire wrote: "LOL Joy, I was afraid of dolls too when I was little. It wasn't because of Chucky either, it was because of some movie I had watched about dolls coming to life and killing people. Anyway, one Chris..."

LMAO!

My cousin had a My Buddy doll, around the time Chucky came out. She used to hide it in her parents room. Maybe she figured it would go after them and not her. Crazy just runs in the family.

..It's probably why my parents didn't want to let me watch Child's Play at first. It's the only time I ever remember them trying to censor what I watched,lol.

BonFire wrote: "LOL Joy, I was afraid of dolls too when I was little. It wasn't because of Chucky either, it was because of some movie I had watched about dolls coming to life and killing people. Anyway, one Chris..."

HA! So smart of you! I am an older sibling so after my little sis, brother and I watched the puppetmaster I bravely took all their dolls and hid them in my closet so I could "keep an eye on them." I slept with my light on for about a solid month. Now, whenever my siblings tell that story we laugh at how brave we all thought I was...including me. Why didn't I just think to cut their feet off? On the other hand...seeing a puppet come waddling towards me would have probably freaked me out even more. Clearly that would not have happened, but I would have imagined it...
No, I think there is nothing to be done with creepy dolls except give them to someone who is NOT your friend. In case you visit them often.

Lizz wrote: "probably clowns, ever since "It" came out i cant stand them or writers for movies like "Saw" because they have to be totally morbid to come up with all that torture"

I love Saw. I don't know why. Final Destination too. The concept behind the torture and death. Of death itself being a force of its own making. The on screen gore doesn't bother me. The fact that the makers of Saw got their ideas from real historic accounts of torture, that bothers me.

Yes! Its the truly scary things like human nature twisted. That can really happen rather than some made-up creature. Horror novelist sometimes create creatures to represent a terrible, dark place inside of someone's mind to make it seems less of a possibly and more of a fantasy.

I named my son Damyon...spelling's different but still named after the Omen. Loved that movie. Creepy kid.
The scariest characters are the ones that crawl/walk at you...like The Grudge chick. She freaks me the hell out!

I agree with you Elvia about those creatures like the lady in The Grudge. But also that girl in The Ring. I was so scared when she came out of the tv. I couldn't sleep for a week.

Joy, I'm with you on the creepy Victorian dolls. I hate those things. They freak me out!

I think I have a new scariest after reading Chelsea Cains Heartsick and Sweetheart.
Many compare this serial killer to a female Hannible Lecturn,only worse.Gory and gruesome beyond belief.I think the scariest was finally realizing the victim is as sick or sicker than the killer.And she writes a few chapters in the present then out of the blue throws in a chapter of the torture scenes,until after awile I got the creepiest feeling she was going jump out of a shadow at me.I decided I`ve had more than enough torture scenes and don`t think I`ll get book 3.

Joy wrote: "Something that creeped me out as a kid...was creepy dolls. I saw a movie about a killer doll(not chucky), when I was REALLY young. Anyways, my great grandma had this REALLY old doll named Pamela th..."

Was it the Twilight Zone episode about the killer doll (instead of a movie)? That episode I watched in reruns as a kid and it put dolls on my creepy-list for a number of years.

Mawgojzeta wrote: "Joy wrote: "Something that creeped me out as a kid...was creepy dolls. I saw a movie about a killer doll(not chucky), when I was REALLY young. Anyways, my great grandma had this REALLY old doll nam..."

That's a Richard Matheson short story. That Zuni doll is so creeptastic. I'm with you on that one.

Kathy Anne wrote: "I think I have a new scariest after reading Chelsea Cains Heartsick and Sweetheart.
Many compare this serial killer to a female Hannible Lecturn,only worse.Gory and gruesome beyond belief.I think ..."

--Can't handle serial killers. Major ick-inducer for me.

Oh! I forgot about dolls! Brrrrrr!
I'm glad my daughter isn't into those creepy American Girl dolls, yet.

Those Victorian dolls are the creepiest. Barbie dolls don't bother me, but these, ugh!.

Yeah, Barbie dolls are ok. Have you seen those Bratz dolls, though? They don't have feet! I mean they do, but...You change the feet instead of just the shoes. Gross! We have so many of those nasty things floating around our house with little stumps on the end of their legs! Ugh! I hate them!

I don't like the Bratz dolls. I think they perpetuate stereotypes. Okay I know you could argue that about Barbies, but there are lots of diverse Barbies. The Bratz are all from the Hood. Sorry, that's a pet peeve of mind. The not having feet is gross! Who's idea was that.

LMAO! I have no idea! I'm guessing it is because the Barbie shoes are so small that they are constantly getting lost. Still, I'd rather step on a shoeless Barbie in the middle of the night than a footless Bratz doll. Freaks me out every time.

No kidding. That's very creepy.

I am a coulrophobia. so, vote for It(Stephen King) :D

My neighbors. They are the reason I lock my doors at night.

As far as horror goes, I'm most afraid of being buried alive. When I read about that, it scares me to death.

Buried alive is horrible, yes I'll go with that. Hauntings and the anticipation of something happening scares me most. For that reason I read very little horror. The Shining did me in years ago.

spiders :S

The 'weeping angel' beings from the Dr. Who episode called 'Blink'.

The weeping angels in Dr Who were really scary. Brilliant.

What about those mind control bugs from the original Star Trek series, that eat your brain? Aaaagh!!!!

Leeches. Ugh! If you ever want to torture me, just stick a leech on me and I'll confess to anything!

Cheryl wrote: "Leeches. Ugh! If you ever want to torture me, just stick a leech on me and I'll confess to anything!"

I feel that way about slugs...

Veronica wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "Leeches. Ugh! If you ever want to torture me, just stick a leech on me and I'll confess to anything!"

I feel that way about slugs..."

It's spiders for me. I'm not afraid of slugs or leeches.