What was the scariest book.....?

[daveking71]

What was the scariest book you've ever read and why did it scare you?
I write horror stories but I was intrigued to find out if anyone actually finds stories and/or novels genuinely scary.

Thanks :)

[neverending]

Moving this post about BOOKS to the BOOKS section.

[neverending]

I think books stand a great chance of being scary. For one thing, book reading is a solitary activity. Even if you're in a public place you're engrossed in the book and you close off what's going on around you. Often books are read late at night just before bed time and this adds an atmosphere to what you're reading.

Also, as has been noted by many down through the ages, reading actively engages the imagination as you fill in details not provided by the author.

So yes, books have frightened me, creeped me out, and disturbed me many times. The first time I read Lovecraft's stories, even though his creatures are so outlandinsh, his skill at building atmosphere often left me unsettled as I read.

Most recently I read a book by an author I know - Knock Knock by SP Miskowski. It involved some school girls that perform a ritual in a graveyard and end up really summoning a demon. It tapped into many childhood fears, and reminded me how scary being a child could be at times. It scared me. And I'm not the only one- it was nominated for a Shirley Jackson award.

So, for me, personally, if a horror novel is well written it has a greater chance of scaring me than a movie does.

[sfear]

"Venus Mission", a short story by J.T. M'Intosh, made me squirm in my seat like few others have.

[Kandarian Demon]

Quite a few of HP Lovecraft's stories! "The Colour out of Space", "The Shunned House" and "The Music of Erich Zann" especially comes to mind.

Also, I remember being very disturbed the Stephen King's "Pet Cemetery".

I agree very much with Neverending - my own mind is capable of creating my own worst nightmares. As much as I love movies, they rarely do the same thing (although it happens).

Because of an increasingly painful upper back injury, reading has become a bit of a struggle for me, and that's how I discovered audio books. If they're performed well, audio books can be VERY creepy!

[Juan Carlos]

I found some of the stories in Cosy Chilling Bedtime Stories by P. Gibey really tough. Was not able to go to toilet, especially right after Figurines.

[daveking71]

Because of an increasingly painful upper back injury, reading has become a bit of a struggle for me, and that's how I discovered audio books. If they're performed well, audio books can be VERY creepy!

Now that's interesting, I never thought of audio books :)
I suppose everyone has made a similar point - books give us more room to use our imaginations which can be scarier than watching somebody else's vision on our screens.

Thank you all for your replies :)