I have 3 Book questions.
 

What are the scariest books you have ever read?


What are the best books by Clive Barker?


What are the best books by Stephen King?


I've read a few, but I want to know what's at the top. Help me out:)

- The Exorcist (beats the shit out of the movie)

- I've never finished any of his stuff, but what I've read of Hellbound Heart is pretty cool.

- The Shining, The Green Mile

I definitely need to check out the Hellbound Heart. However, i've never really been that interested in The Green Mile or The Exorcist. Absolutely loved the Shining though.

For me, I guess I would say...

~ Pet Sematary scared the hell out of me when I was a kid. The Haunting of Hill House, The Exorcist, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, several Poe stories....

~ Cabal, Imajica, Weaveworld, The Great and Secret Show and you can't go wrong with the Books of Blood. I actually prefer Hellraiser, the film, to The Hellbound Heart. But its still a good read.

~ IT, Pet Sematary, Different Seasons, Bag of Bones, Night Shift and The Dead Zone. And The Stand. Okay, I am done....:p

I'm thinking the Great and Secret Show is coming up on my list...

Dont know if you've seen the movie, but IMO Green Mile was a fantastic read. If you've seen the movie it probably would have much effect though...the movie was a surprisingly faithful adaption.

Good question. Clive Barker always manages to shock me and even make me feel uncomfortable but I can't remember the last time I was truly scared by a book.

There was a Goosebumps book, one of the first, called Don't Go in the Basement!, that scared the shit out of me when I was younger. (Try it sometime. It is one of the darker R.L. Stine books, as he really toned it down later on.) Thats the last time I remember being truly frightened by a book. Jaws sort of scared me in a way, because I know its marginally possible to be attacked by a white shark. 1984 really scared me, but in a more intellectual, less visceral way. The loss of individuality and freedom is scarier than any monster.


Glad you asked. I would say The Books of Blood, The Damnation Game, The Hellbound Heart, Cabal and The Great and Secret Show. The last isn't horror as much as it is fantasy (it actually blends both and is a pretty kick ass read), but my fave out of Barker, and one of my fave all time horror novels is definitely The Damnation Game. Pick it up sometime.


Ah yeah. I like most of the Bachman books the best, but a few King novels are recommended on the grounds that they are classics, such as Carrie. My favorites, regardless of reputation are, Pet Sematary, The Tommyknockers, Desperation/The Regulators, Skeleton Crew, The Long Walk and Dolores Claiborne. The novellas The Langoliers and The Mist are good reads as well.


Read some of the more hardcore King books, especially his Bachman books. Clive Barker's earlier stuff is excellent as well. As for other authors, Peter Straub is highly recommended, especially his first 3 novels (Julia, If You Could See Me Now and Ghost Story. They are really well written and genuinely eerie. Also, the novels Shadowlands, Koko and The Hellfire Club by Straub are highly recommended.

Check out Richard Laymon, Jack Ketchum, Bentley Little and Robert R. McCammon as well.

Give Peter Benchley (he wrote Jaws) a shot too. Even though he's not technically a horror writer, his books are pretty scary.