intellectual horror book(s)

[frostfire]

Hi guys,

I would like to ask you for some types on good horror books. However, not the classic main stream horror, no Stephen King, nothing like that. What I'm looking for should be something more intellectual and deep, not just thing to be scared of (nothing against King :P , just my personal preferences). I like what some japanese game creators present us (evil within, silent hill, dark souls etc.). There's lot of blood, lot of brutal violence, disgusting creatures of nightmares but none of that is meaningless just to make a reader/viewer/player scream in horror.

I love hidden meanings in things. For example in the Evil Within (video game) your character is a cop and at one part in the game you are constantly chased by an immortal monster that cannot die - every time you kill him, he comes back. It is a big man that looks like a butcher, he wields a hammer and in place of his head, he has a safe (vault). I believe it's supposed to represent unsolved cases that will haunt you forever.

This is just a small example that I can think of right now but it is pretty much what I'm yearning for, kinda nightmarish horror with hidden depths and meanings that in its true nature shows that human is the most horrifying monster of all.

I hope I was making some sense :P . Thanks for any advice :)

[MichaelMyers]

Frankenstein

Dracula

Henry James

Hunchback of Notre Dame

You will look intellectual reading these tomes.

[TheBossInTheWall]

The Descent by Jeff Long. I've read it twice, will eventually do a third time. Its somewhat cerebral. Its fairly gory, but not explicitly and works really well in leaving some things for you to think about.

Dark Fall by Stephen Laws. From what you described of the monsters in the games I think you'll like the 'monsters' in this book.

You could give Algernon Blackwood's 'The Willows.' Its very very good. There's a bit of Lovecraft style. A contemporary of Lovecraft's, but on the other side of the Atlantic. In this vein you could also try 'The White People' by Arthur Machen.

Then there's I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. A classic and incredible. Its not main stream at all if comparing to Stephen King, but there have been three movies made based on it and sadly all really bad.

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutuola has a lot of very bizarre ghosts. The story begins with a child running away from a military that wants to turn him into a child soldier and then the ghosts he meets. All fairly bizarre and based on African folklore. Well from a specific country or region, I can't remember what part of Africa. Though I do think its not the northern part like Egypt, Libya, or Morocco.

Wilding by Melanie Tem is about relationships between mothers, daughters, grandmothers, etc. living under the same roof in part because of what they are. A lot of deep meaning in there. You could also try her collection of connected stories called Revenant. From my reading of it its stories based around the idea of us not letting the dead go or the dead not letting go of us. Using horror/ghost stories to tell what we feel in reality for lost loved ones. Or not so loved.

Ok. One more. Some of Your Blood by Theodore Sturgeon. One of my favorite horror novels. Not too much gore, but very 'deep.' I wouldn't look for specific use of plot to talk about our own lives, but more like allowing our minds to wander and ponder about what happens in the book and its relation to how we feel in response.

[Angra]

Sounds like you're looking for Silent Hill kinda books.

Sorry, can't help you there.

[frostfire]

Originally Posted by TheBossInTheWall

The Descent by Jeff Long. I've read it twice, will eventually do a third time. Its somewhat cerebral. Its fairly gory, but not explicitly and works really well in leaving some things for you to think about.

Dark Fall by Stephen Laws. From what you described of the monsters in the games I think you'll like the 'monsters' in this book.

You could give Algernon Blackwood's 'The Willows.' Its very very good. There's a bit of Lovecraft style. A contemporary of Lovecraft's, but on the other side of the Atlantic. In this vein you could also try 'The White People' by Arthur Machen.

Then there's I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. A classic and incredible. Its not main stream at all if comparing to Stephen King, but there have been three movies made based on it and sadly all really bad.

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutuola has a lot of very bizarre ghosts. The story begins with a child running away from a military that wants to turn him into a child soldier and then the ghosts he meets. All fairly bizarre and based on African folklore. Well from a specific country or region, I can't remember what part of Africa. Though I do think its not the northern part like Egypt, Libya, or Morocco.

Wilding by Melanie Tem is about relationships between mothers, daughters, grandmothers, etc. living under the same roof in part because of what they are. A lot of deep meaning in there. You could also try her collection of connected stories called Revenant. From my reading of it its stories based around the idea of us not letting the dead go or the dead not letting go of us. Using horror/ghost stories to tell what we feel in reality for lost loved ones. Or not so loved.

Ok. One more. Some of Your Blood by Theodore Sturgeon. One of my favorite horror novels. Not too much gore, but very 'deep.' I wouldn't look for specific use of plot to talk about our own lives, but more like allowing our minds to wander and ponder about what happens in the book and its relation to how we feel in response.

most of them sound really interesting, thank you :)