What was the scariest book you've read and why??

[AndrewH]

I generally avoid horror novels, but I found Elaine Mercado's Grave's End to be extremely creepy. It's a supposedly true story of how one family tried to cope with living in a haunted house.

The Willows, a short story by Algernon Blackwood, terrified me when I read it as a teenager. H.P. Lovecraft considered it to be the finest supernatural tale in English literature.

[nefferbea]

The scariest book that I ever read was The Exorcist. I was babysitting at the time and it was rainy and windy and a tree branch kept scraping the side of the house. I was probably about 14 years old and had WAY too active an imagination.

[Xanthe]

The Exorcist didn't really scare me - grossed me out more, IIRC; I made a poinit of never watching the movie just because of that. I thought that Rosemary's Baby was scarier in book form.

[jamthecat]

That book altered me and my outlook on life, it could be read on so many levels. The Topiary Animals, alone, gave me nightmares enough for a week.

I think it's Steven King's best book, period, and I could not stand the movie version because Kubrick just didn't get it...so wound up very nearly ruining it, for me. I haven't seen a Kubrick movie since.

As for scary movies -- it's a toss-up between "The Innocents" (based on Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw") and "The Vanishing", the French/Dutch version, not that hideous American remake. The former is the perfect ghost story while the latter is such realistic psychological horror, it still freaks me out just thinking about it.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by carld

I always thought King's novella The Mist was probably his scariest work. It wasn't outright terror-inducing like IT, but it was an extremely effective tale, very disquieting.

I often recall the short story called (I think) The Raft as similarly disquieting.

Spoiler:

I like happy endings. These two didn't have them.

Cheers,
Marc

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by carld

I always thought King's novella The Mist was probably his scariest work. It wasn't outright terror-inducing like IT, but it was an extremely effective tale, very disquieting.

This was one of the few King movies that I found very effective. It was definitely unsettling and the ending....

If the novella has the same effect I should put it on my reading list.

Regards
Caleb

[lene1949]

I haven't read the scariest book, yet... I'm not interested in fantasy, so maybe that's why...

[SolRaven]

Originally Posted by carld

I'm not sure it was the scariest book ever, but I read The Amityville Horror late at night, alone in the house, with the wind howling, freaked myself right out.

That's mine as well. Although I read it right before bed when I was 12 years old and I knew that it was a true story that took place not too far from where I lived, it really didn't freak me out. I was fascinated with it, and as soon as I turned off the lights I'd' look out the window to see if Jodi was there, but surprisingly, I never had a single nightmare from it. If I had I probably would have finished it, but in the day time.

[jhempel24]

Originally Posted by lene1949

I haven't read the scariest book, yet... I'm not interested in fantasy, so maybe that's why...

I don't even put those in the same category.

[BlueJean]

The scariest book I read last year was "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. I don't know if it'll qualify as scariest book ever, because I remember a collection of really obscure ghost stories (allegedly selected by Alfred Hitchcock, I bet he just gave his name for it...) from when I was ten and they too scared me to death at that time...but "The Road" really made me want to put it away at times because I couldn't bear the suspension (in a negative way) and the nighmarish horror the characters were in.
Such a dark, horrifying setting and the characters almost always on the verge of losing what little life they had left, barbarity and death surrounding them...

I'm not that easy to scare and I read the book in broad daylight (I think it was even spring), but just thinking about some scenes....shudder. I'd recommend it, though.

[mark1529]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

I cannot remember when I read it, but it would definitely have to be The Exorcist by Peter Blatty - I cannot remember which bits (and I'm not going to find out either....)

good one

[carld]

Originally Posted by SolRaven

That's mine as well. Although I read it right before bed when I was 12 years old and I knew that it was a true story that took place not too far from where I lived, it really didn't freak me out. I was fascinated with it, and as soon as I turned off the lights I'd' look out the window to see if Jodi was there, but surprisingly, I never had a single nightmare from it. If I had I probably would have finished it, but in the day time.

I remember specifically that I was reading the part about the flies gathering on the window and right then there was a gust of wind that rattled my bedroom window. My heart went thumpa thumpa thumpa!

[kacir]

No Good Deed By Mary McDonald

Just have a look at reviews, or download a sample
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/16093

On Amazon there are 39 reviews. Pretty good for an indie author.

[SolRaven]

Originally Posted by carld

I remember specifically that I was reading the part about the flies gathering on the window and right then there was a gust of wind that rattled my bedroom window. My heart went thumpa thumpa thumpa!

LOL... there were flies all over that house. Whenever I see a digital clock that says 3:15, I think of George Lutz.

[RolandD]

Originally Posted by SolRaven

LOL... there were flies all over that house. Whenever I see a digital clock that says 3:15, I think of George Lutz.

I was thinking of books that scared me as an adult. I read Amityville when I was twelve, also. At the time, we were moving into the oldest house in town and the first time I saw it, one bedroom was full of dead flies. I took the tiny bedroom on the other side of the house.