Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

What are your favorite scary or spooky books?

My favorites which I read in the early 1990s - It by Stephen King and Weaveworld by Clive Barker. I love Daphne du Maurier’s books and short stories like The Birds. That’s about as scary as I read any more.

I have read a few of the classic horrors, but I do not read scary books anymore. I have read a few recently that I'd classify more as "unsettling" such as:
The Keep
Vita Nostra
Alena
Madam

I am not really in to scary or horror books. The only book I do remember scaring the daylights out of me was Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders - I think is was the first time in my young life that I realized there are actually really awful people out there in the world.

Well, I am a huge Stephen King fan and Constant Reader, and It and Duma Key are the ones that scared or spooked me. I don't scare easily at books.

I can’t do scary books. My imagination is too vivid. I read There's Someone Inside Your House and then had to take my dogs outside in the dark. Yeah, not fun.

The book was good until the halfway point (the front part scared me). Then, just not very good after that.

I don't like horror or scary books so don't have a favourite here.

I used to read a lot of horror when I was a teen, but I've moved away from the genre, either because I find it disgusting or boring. But the ones I still love are It, The Stand, Feed(and the rest of the newsflesh series) Into the Drowning Deep, Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening (and the rest of the series).

I am starting to get into some horror books. By this I mostly mean I’ve added them to my TBR. I remember reading Ghost Story by Peter Straub when I was camping and around 12 years old. I was terrified.

I've just started dipping my toe into horror in the past few years. I like Stephen Graham Jones' books. My favorite so far is The Only Good Indians.

I recently read The September House by Carissa Orlando - interesting unreliable narrator, but it went much darker than I expected from the tone of the book.

I also really liked Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff - where the Lovecraftian horrors are almost as scary as the racism of 1950s America.

Scariest book I've ever read was
by Stephen King.

The movie was a major disappointment, but the book was awesome.

I was a Stephen King fan until I read The Tommyknockers. It scared me so badly I took a 20 year break from SK’s books!

I don't care for horror. The fake stuff anyway. Oddly, I can read or watch true crime and realistic murder mysteries until the cows come home and not be bothered a bit. I do like a thriller or something a little creepy from time to time- just enough to send a chill up your spine, but not so bad that you have to sleep with the lights on! Unfortunately, it's hard to know ahead of time if something will fit that bill. The one I think of that was perfect for me was The Historian. Another one I read a year or two ago that worked for me was The Hunger. I would read other books by both authors.

I don't like horror or true crime - too much bad stuff out in the world already. Though some psychological books can be very interesting.

The one and only horror book I have ever read was Stephen King's Salem's Lot. That was the end of my horror book readings. Although I have recently started exploring some of King's books that are less horrific such as 11/22/63 and Shawshank Redemption.

Pet Sematary was the most unsettling book I ever read. How King thematised death was a challenge for my heart and soul.

I am interested in vampire books but it’s rare that one of them really scares me. Let the Right One In was the best I read in this genre. How the author described the relationship between the human boy and the vampire was awesome.

In general I like it when the books do not only try to scare you but when interesting themes or relationships are explored through the horror elements.

But I can’t handle much horror.

I thought I didn't really like horror, until I discovered Grady Hendrix. He puts humour in his books, writes believable female characters, and usually has quirks to his books (like the Horrorstore map, the yearbook theme to My Best Friend's Exorcism, etc.

I also liked The Sun Down Motel

Has anyone here read The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins?

Although apparently it's not the first horror book I've read (well, ok, attempted), it's the first one I truly thought of as horror, rather than just scary. To be honest, I'm not quite sure what attracted me ('library' in the title?), but the opening scene reminded me of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - which I didn't read, but watched the TV version of and really enjoyed. I know The Library at Mount Char is supposed to have horror elements as well as comedy, but in the 21% I was able to get through, the VERY minor comedic elements did not in any way make up for the truly gruesome horrifying element that finally made me throw the book down.

If anyone out there has read it, is it worth reading past the BBQ scene?

Also, is there anyone near me (Santa Barbara, CA area) who'd like my copy if it turns out I'm just not intended to read horror?

Tracy wrote: "Has anyone here read The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins?

Although apparently it's not the first horror book I've read (well, ..."
I felt the same, I also thought it was more fantasy/book love, but it is definitely horror and it doesn't get any better. I think that is the point. I was sorry I read it.

Robin P wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Has anyone here read The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins?

Although apparently it's not the first horror book I'v..."

I'm sorry you did too. I guess I shouldn't feel bad about stopping at 20ish%?

Scary books don't have to be horror stories. I remember that I was scared to read Nancy Drew as a child for fear it would scare me. I love mysteries now! But I am reading Lessons in Chemistry now. It is real. I have been scared of it. It is scary because these are real, nice people and something bad could happen to them. And it does!

Horror certainly isn't a genre I go out of my way to look for, although a surprising number of SF and Urban Fantasy books have Lovecraftian elements. On the other hand, I do like a ghost story. I prefer my scares suspenseful rather than gory.

Has anyone read Paul Tremblay’s books? (I was planning to read A Head Full of Ghosts for this years challenge but didn’t. Maybe next year!) He is featured on today’s The Bookcase podcast episode. It’s a pretty good interview! They’ve been doing a horror genre series over the last few months. This was the last episode in that series.

Pam wrote: "Has anyone read Paul Tremblay’s books? (I was planning to read A Head Full of Ghosts for this years challenge but didn’t. Maybe next year!) He is featured on today’s The Bookcase podcast episode. I..."

I have, Pam, and it freaked me out, but I like a good scare

For Halloween I'm reading

I’m not a big horror person though I read a few. Psychological thrillers or true crime are what I can’t read those are too creepy for me.

I’m currently reading Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King and GR tags it as horror, but I don’t really think The Dark Tower series is really horror more dark fantasy.

I'm not big into horror these days, though Stephen King remains one of my favorite authors.

Among my favorite "scary" books
'Salem's Lot
Something Wicked This Way Comes
The House Next Door

Tracy wrote: "Has anyone here read The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins? ...If anyone out there has read it, is it worth reading past the BBQ scene?"

No, not if you don't care for gruesomeness. I truly hated this book. I gave it 1 star, which is rare for me. Like you, I think the "library" term in the title is what got me interested. Plus, it has great reviews from people who enjoy horror (which I should have known is not me).

Jillian wrote: "I’m currently reading Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King and GR tags it as horror, but I don’t really think The Dark Tower series is really horror more dark fantasy."

King writes much more than horror, but because he writes horror, everything he writes gets tagged as horror. I agree with you on the Dark Tower series.

Joy D wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Has anyone here read The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins? ...If anyone out there has read it, is it worth reading past the BBQ scene?"

No, not if you don't car..."

I can't even pass this book on to a friend (this was unfortunately a book I bought, rather than a library borrow...). I'm donating it to a good cause, in the hopes that someone out there finds this their cup of tea. But so that someone isn't caught unawares, like you and I and Robin P, I've put a sticky note inside warning that the book is gruesome.

Valerie wrote: "Scary books don't have to be horror stories. I remember that I was scared to read Nancy Drew as a child for fear it would scare me. I love mysteries now! But I am reading Lessons in Chemistry"

I'm fine with scary, but I am steering clear of horror now. Even if another horror isn't as nightmarish as The Library at Mount Char, this isn't a genre that I find I'd actually enjoy anyway.

Scary/suspenseful can be fun sometimes though.

Misty wrote: "Jillian wrote: "I’m currently reading Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King and GR tags it as horror, but I don’t really think The Dark Tower series is really horror more dark fantasy."

King writes ..."

I loved 11/22/63 for its great depiction of the time (which I lived through) and overall story. But there are several short incidents with what I thought was unnecessary violence and brutality, so that confirmed to me that I don't want to read his horror books.

Robin P wrote: "I loved 11/22/63 for its great depiction of the time (which I lived through) and overall story. But there are several short incidents with what I thought was unnecessary violence and brutality, so that confirmed to me that I don't want to read his horror books."

If that one got to you, you probably do not want to read a lot of his stuff. He definitely does not shy away from the gruesome and brutal. There are quite a few that are not that way though: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is the first one that springs to mind.

Robin wrote: "Scariest book I've ever read was
by Stephen King.

The movie was a major disappointment, but the book was awesome."

I also thought Christine was one of the scariest books I ever read.

In addition to Christine (above), I thought Parable of the Sower was scary because some of it was so prescient....shortages of water and fuel, drug addicts all over the streets, a presidential candidate promising to "make America great again". I've started parable of the Talents, so far it's less frightening but we'll see...