Scariest Book Ever?

[Guest Sifredi8760]

Hey I was wondering what has been the scariest book you've ever read? So far, "Hell House" by Richard Matherson has been the scariest book I've ever read and I'm trying to find something as good or better.

 

I like to read books that make you jump when you hear an unexpected noise (like someone knocks on your door while your reading and you scream!)

[Chrissy]

I was sure we had a thread like this already, but I cannot find it anywhere...I did find three 'Looking For...' threads that were looking for scary, chilling, macabre etc books, so you may find one or two in these!

 

Take a look through them and see if any leap out at you!

 

One here.

The second one here, and

Number three thread is here.

[Remy Porter]

Ghost Story by Peter Straub is a scary ...ghost story. And of course my book, Dead Beat

[Ophelia]

When I was a teenager (many years ago) I borrowed a copy of a book of short stories by H P Lovecraft. Terrifying stuff then but probably a bit tame now

[Nollaig]

We definitely had a thread like this, but I can't find it either!

 

I've never been scared by a book. I would LOVE to find a book so scary that it actually scared me, but I don't think it'll ever happen. I'll admit, I was a little unsettled reading The Exorcist, but that was primarily because I watched the movie when I was 12 and it scared the bejesus out of me, so reading a book that reminded me on every page of that was unsettling. Beyond that though, nothing has scared me.

 

ETA: Ah, do you know what it is Chrissy? We're thinking of the 'Most Disturbing Book' thread! But that's actually a different topic, the OP explicitly states they don't necessarily mean scary. This is scariest. Continue!

[BookJumper]

Stephen King's The Dark Half for me, without a shadow of a doubt. The film's very good too, in a very '80s sort of way.

[Weave]

Ring by Koji Suzuki, its not outright horror, its psychological and parts of books were creepy and scary, Spiral the follow up to Ring was more scary but again psychological, the idea of what was happening *shudder*

[JudyB]

I found The Woman in Black by Susan Hill really creepy - I kept looking over my shoulder even though I was reading it on a sunny day in the garden.

[Echo]

Stephen King's The Dark Half for me, without a shadow of a doubt. The film's very good too, in a very '80s sort of way.

 

That's one of my favorite books! I've read it at least four times. It's wonderfully creepy, but I don't find it to be too scary. I love scary, creepy books, so none of them scare me too much. I think the book that disturbed me the most was Monster by Jonathan Kellerman. I had a lot of sleepless nights after reading that one.

[Remy Porter]

The Woman in Black stage play was seriously scary, so I imagine the book was too. Going to be a film soon I hear.

[JudyB]

Going to be a film soon I hear.

 

That's good news. I'm looking forward to reading Susan Hill's latest book The Small Hand - due out soon.

[emelee]

Because it gave me nightmares.... "And then there were none" by Agatha Christie.

[no-1-book-fan]

Scariest one for me was 'Let The Right One In' but 'Handling The Undead' might rival it!

[poshrottie]

I found The Woman in Black by Susan Hill really creepy - I kept looking over my shoulder even though I was reading it on a sunny day in the garden.

 

THat is mine as well,very creepy

[Tumper]

I've never really been scared by horror stories, but I thinkthe nearest is Dracula by Bram Stoker as I read that at an early age, late at night in my bedroom.

[JudyB]

Just found out that The Small Hand is on its way to the library so looking forward to reading that. Another book I found really creepy was Eleven Terrible Months by R L Royle.

[Books do furnish a room]

I too think "The woman in Black" is very creepy; so too is "The Mist in the Mirror" by the same author. However M. R. James takes some beating when it comes to ghost stories, although some of them do feel a little dated now. The Virago Book of Ghost Stories is an excellent collection with some very creepy tales. Two by Marjorie Bowen stand out. They are both less then 150 words and both, I think, scary and pack a punch. Worth looking out for.

[alison10]

Salems Lot by Stephen King scared me to death!!!

[metasearcher]

The Shining by Stephen King.

[Amesy]

Stephen King's "The Stand" Terrified me... obviously the part in the corn Field. The film then scared me ever more, giving me a phobia of corn fields.

[Beccles]

The book IT by Stephen King, I loved it but was blimming scarey

[Guest Eliza1]

The Excorcist by William Peter Blatty. I couldn't sleep for two weeks after reading that...

[silverfaerychild]

um I read haunted by the guy who wrote fight club , it was listed as the top 10 most disturbing books ..but I just found it highly weird and sort of creepy...it didnt make me grossed out or anything..

[Peacefield]

For me it would definitely be The Amityville Horror. Still creeps me out to this day...

[Weave]

Stephen King's The Dark Half for me, without a shadow of a doubt. The film's very good too, in a very '80s sort of way.

 

I agree BookJumper, 'The Dark Half' was scary, George Stark was horrifying! (in the book and the film)