Poll
which is the scariest book you've read?
if it's not here, please write in the book you believe should be listed.
if it's not here, please write in the book you believe should be listed.
The Shining
(write-in)
The Haunting of Hill House
IT
Pet Semetary
(write-in)
The Stand
Pet Sematary
The Turn of the Screw
Naomi's Room
obsession
The Parasite
Ghost Girl by Torey Hayden
Swan Song - Robert McCammon
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
(write-in)
Blood Mist (Robert James)
Heart-Shaped Box
Greely's Cove by John Gideon
Ghost Story - Peter Staub
Darc Murders Collections Ben Hopkin/Carolyn McCray
Amityville Horror - Jay Anson
Summer of Night Dan Simmons
Trapped
Communion
Poll added by: Aileen
This Poll is About
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Comments Showing 1-23 of 23 (23 new)
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I read The Shining when I was 22 - one sitting, no sleep, barely any food...I could not do anything else while reading it! I am glad I finished it in the daylight.Earlier in my life I cut my teeth on Edgar Allen Poe. That was some scary stuff for a pre-adolescent!
I've read The Shining, The Exorcist and The Turn of the the Screw but think by far Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House is the scariest I've read.
The Amityville Horror, scared me. I was reading it while alone, on a stormy night...and, you guessed it lights went out. Every little noise was "something."
Mod
The Shining
The Amityville Horror
The thing about Amityville is that I never planned to ..."
the Shining was scary. two thumbs up on that one
Mod
yes, Haunting of Hill House was very good!
I loved The Summer I Died. It was well written and so much more than a slasher book. However, Naomi's Room by Jonathan Aycliffe kept me from getting up and going to the bathroom at night. Endless Night by Richard Laymon gave me nightmares. I also remember being terrified when I read The Amytiville Horror in my teens.
I don't really read scary books, but there are some books that scared me.. The blood brothers trilogy ( Not sure if that's what it's called) by Nora Roberts was pretty scary and Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children was scary.
This was a very hard choice! I voted for The Shining out of the ones I have read, The Exorcist, The Turn of the Screw and The Haunting of Hill House. I havent read The Summer I Died or Naomi's Room, but thanks to the list I'm adding these to my want to read list.
Definitely The Shining for me. I was alone in a hotel room when I was reading this one so I am sure that atmosphere helped set this book apart from all others for me.
The Shining and with The Haunting of Hill house a close second. Another one that scared me badly, though in the end I suppose it was a mystery, rather than horror, was Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.
This is a hard one. Some stories that have scary things done by serial killers are more scary to me than say a regular horror story. No actual titles come to mind but some of the scenes in the books haunted me long after I put the book down...even if the romance part was fulfilled and the bad guy caught!
This *was* a hard choice-so many choices!! Movies would've been easier haha. I picked The Stand because with all the labs we've got in the world, and just mutating diseases/viruses in general it all felt so real. Like it could happen. Well, the 2nd 1/2 was less real to me, but the 1st part just hit close to home. Can you IMAGINE?! So, that's why I chose that particular book though there are sooooo many to choose from!
Mod
I have not read Naomi's Room yet but have it on my to read books.
As far as fiction goes, I would vote for IT. However, the reason I chose The Exorcist is because that story, while fictional, is based on true events. There is little evidence of true possession, or what it is, but cannot be explained. Nothing frightens me more than spirits, ghosts, demons, doing actual harm to a living person. One can argue that Pennywise is an unreal monster as well, but I've never heard of any real accounts of a monster living under a sewer who appears as a clown to entice children. However his promises to children of "we all float down here..." is creepy as hell.
Of all the books on this list The Exorcist is the book that really scared me. I read it years and years ago and still have the chills at the thought of reading it again.
While Swan Song is one of my favorite books of all time, it didn't scare me. Pet Sematary was a scary one...
If something really bothers me, I often don't finish it. I stopped reading "Let the Right One In"(vampire novel). Of books I finished, "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo" scared me a bit. Serial killers usually bother me more than ghosts/spirits/monsters. I think Cathy had the right idea on that.
Patti wrote: "While Swan Song is one of my favorite books of all time, it didn't scare me. Pet Sematary was a scary one..."I LOVED Swan Song, too!
Cathy wrote: "This is a hard one. Some stories that have scary things done by serial killers are more scary to me than say a regular horror story. No actual titles come to mind but some of the scenes in the book..."If you like books about serial killers, I suggest you read The Crucifix Killer by Chris Carter. Very scary and disturbing. Its sequels are pretty good too. I cringed a couple of times.
I liked the Amityville horror book. after all, the original movie is my favorite haunted house movie. real or fake? I have no idea but I like it! I voted for Hill house but I would've voted for Hell House if it was on the list. I didn't want to add more to it, though.
I thought Greely's Cove by John Gideon was pretty creepy. Fun poll. Thanks for the invite. =)
The Shining
The Amityville Horror
The thing about Amityville is that I never planned to pick it up again... and it appeared on my nightstand one day opened upside down to the page I'd left off.
I finished it.
The Shining I picked up the next day. During the day. When there was daylight.