What's the scariest book you've EVER read?

[AmandaRuth]

For me it was Cirque Du Freak, but I haven't read that many scary books.... Maybe a ghost book in the Non-fiction section

Miniluvamericahatebush, over and out.

[Dookus]

1. Red Dragon

I don't generally go for the genre, but that book made me afraid to turn the lights off.

[trof]

47. Me too.

About half-way through the book, it hit me.
Somebody had to dream this whole scenario up.
What kind of sick, evil mind...?

Later I read an interview with the author (name escapes me now...Harris?) at his home, during which the interviewer was invited to spend the night. He describes a thouroughly enjoyable evening with Harris and his wife. Harris was a really nice guy, perfect host, etc.
Go figure.

[DivinBreuvage]

62. I believe Thomas Harris used to be a crime reporter

or otherwise had some career tie-in to "the evil that men do". The most striking thing about his books to me is that there seems to be such a deep sadness seeping out of them (I haven't read Hannibal, though, which I've heard he did as a kind of "well, if you want prurient crap, here it is" for all the people who got turned on by Hannibal Lecter's badassery or speculated on the "sexual tension" between Lecter and Clarice Starling).

A gruesome factoid on the film "The Silence of the Lambs": when Scott Glenn (the actor who played FBI director Jack Crawford) was getting help preparing for his role from the real FBI, he listened to recordings of two sociopaths torturing a couple of teenage girls to death in their van. Needless to say, the episode f***** him up for a while. He said he had always been opposed to the death penalty but became a staunch supporter of it after that.

[yvr girl]

2. I'm not much for scary books but...

when I was a kid, I picked Jaws to read at the beach. I finished a section where the shark attacked, then I went for a swim. Not a brilliant move. I went out quite a distance, then put my foot down, to see if I could still touch the ground. I stepped on a jelly-fish. You never saw anyone get back to shore that fast. I never did finish the book.

[jeff30997]

3. The Bible.

[shrike]

52. I knew someone would say that

Only on DU.

[dorktv]

4. The scariest book would be Helter Skelter...I can not sleep in the same

room. It just oozes evil.

[jbane]

75. Agree...

It is still scarry but when it came out it was in a class by itself.
Neither of the movies has been very impressive. There is a hard to get video call "Manson" that is pretty creepy.

[ronnykmarshall]

86. Same here

That book still freaks me out.

The two TV films they did on the subject never came close to the book.

[LoZoccolo]

101. Another agreed.

I did a book report on it in tenth grade; I had no idea it would freak me out like it did.

[leftyandproud]

5. Atlas Shrugged

I was actually scared of the protaganists...not the "bad" guys according to the author..

[expatriot]

19. I don't know what's scarier, the book or the fact that the book...

...is treated as a bible for those "objectivists." Anarcho-capitalist libertarian fascists.

[leftyandproud]

33. WORSE...

The U.S. Library of Congress did a study a few years ago and found that worldwide, it is the second most influential book anywhere...right behind the Holy Bible.

It also sold nearly 200,000 copies in 2003..

50 years after being published...

[neverborn]

34. Fascists? Say what you will about them...

but fascists is just dumb.

Fascists are all about State power -- anarcho-capitalists and libertarians are about less state power.

[UdoKier]

6. "Ghost Story" by Peter Straub

"Pet Sematary" and "It" by Stephen King

[leftofthedial]

9. "Ghost Story" scared the bejeezus out of me

when I first read it.

[UdoKier]

15. Amazingly creepy book, very disappointing movie...

...though it was nice to see Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., John Houseman together one last time. And Alice Krige's performance was very memorable. They left too much out and totally failed to capture the mood of the book.

[leftofthedial]

23. the moview was pretty awful, despite the cast

the book didn't work on a second reading.

It's been so long now, I should give it another try.

It was VERY creepy.

[Kool Kitty]

7. It was a compilation of Lovecraft's stories.

One of them, "Haunter of the Dark" I think was the title, scared me damn near to death. I was about 12 years old and I think I slept with the lights on every night for the whole summer. It still scares me. :scared:

[newsguyatl]

8. fortunate son

[Red State Rebel]

10. The Stranger Beside Me (about Ted Bundy)

I was too terrified to move from the couch to the bed - I expected him to come thru the door at any minute.

Fiction it would be It by Stephen King.

[Bunny]

30. That's the same one I was thinking!

I was absolutely terrified after reading that! :scared:

[Ohio Dem]

11. The Dark Half

by Stephen King. It freeked me out, for some reason.

[MercutioATC]

"It" by Stephen King.

I read the first half at a friend's house waaaay out in the country at night. Scared the piss out of me.

[seaglass]

37. I read it one night when I was all by myself. I was freezing and

needed to get a blanket but I couldn't walk by the window because I thought I'd see a clown staring in at me.

Scariest book ever.

[Carson]

64. "IT", definitely

I first read "IT" at age 12. While rifling through a stack of books in my Aunt's basement, I found that book. At the time, I was looking for anything that was over a couple of hundred pages (One could practically use "IT" to jack up a car). When my Aunt saw it in my hand, she took it away and said, "Oh, no. You don't want to read *that*. It nearly scared me to death!"

Well, the one thing you don't want to say to a curious 12 year old is "don't". Before we left to go home, I snuck the book out with me.

My Aunt was correct. "IT" was the most frightening book I had ever read. It was months before I could take a bath or shower without first putting a washcloth over the drain. However, it turned me into a huge Stephen King fan, and I have all his books on my shelves.

[Red State Rebel]

87. I finished it in bed and wouldn't get up to turn out lights...

Slept with the lights on all night long...geez it was a wicked book!

[Kire]

12. Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders

Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders: Who They Are, How They Operate, and How We Can Protect Ourselves and Our Children
by Anna C., Ph.D. Salter, Anna C. Salter

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0465071724/qid=1092895741/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-5000860-0873505

[tedoll78]

13. The Party's Over

It's about Peak Oil.

I'm looking forward to reading 'Life After the Oil Crash' in the fall when I get some free time..

[AmandaRuth]

16. *SQUEALS!*

*Iconfangirling.* Nice icon, luv Zelda. *Realizes off topicness.* oops.

[tedoll78]

29. Take it!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE ZELDA!!!

My partner calls it "The Other Man." :)

[LastKnight]

14. my pet goat...

seriously, it stopped me where i sat for like... 7 minutes...

-LK

[cardlaw]

21. dangit

you stole my answer :)

[DemWitch]

17. Salem's Lot...

scared the living shit outta me when I first read it as a teenager.

[mark11727]

20. When I was still just dating my wife, she loaned me her copy...

...I finshed the last 150 or so pages in one night.

Then couldn't sleep for the rest of it.

[sundog]

38. Ditto... Salem's Lot freaked me out -- I was bolting windows shut

:scared:

[NewJeffCT]

43. I'm not normally the scarable type, but I agree on this because...

When I was reading "Salem's Lot", I was home alone one night and right at the end of one of the chapters, they gave us the cliffhanger of one of the characters sneaking around and suddenly feeling a hand on his or her shoulder.

Right when I read that - BAM - the power in our house went out and I was left in pitch black. Nervous moment there.

[SPQR]

48. Salem's Lot really did it to me.

I read it as a teenager, and I remember reading late at night, too scared to go on, but too compelled to stop. Heart pounding and sweating, as I recall.

Also, The Amityville Horror, back when it first came out and we all thought it was real.

[stanwyck]

49. I laughed when

a friend loaned me this book. Vampires. Right. Real scary. I like mysteries but never considered horror books scary because of the lack of reality. I wasn't laughing when I couldn't sleep, kept hearing noises, and had to keep checking that the doors were locked.

[Spirochete]

107. Another vote for Salems Lot

made me hear a lot of things going bump in the night - and made a Stephen King fan out of me.
Straub's Ghost Story was another one that was pretty scary.

[curse10]

109. Another vote for Salem's Lot

that book was scary :scared:

[JSJ]

18. h.p. lovecraft's "the dunwich horror" n/t

[Screaming Lord Byron]

82. What's the short story where they discover an island in the S. Atlantic?

One of the Chtulu's. Terrifying, man.

[mitchtv]

22. Dracula- Bram Stoker

better than all the movies.

[leftofthedial]

24. the free republic website is scary shit

not exactly a book though.

[LastKnight]

26. "book" and "fr"

dont belong in the same text field unless its "no one on FR has ever read a book"

-LK

[last_texas_dem]

25. Scariest books

I read Stranger with My Face by Lois Duncan when I was in seventh grade. It's a "young adult" book concerning astral projection and two twins separated by adoption, one of whom is evil and takes it upon herself to destroy the life of the "good" twin. Very good, very scary (especially being the age I was) book; my sister (four years older than me) had read it and it had scared her so much that she couldn't sleep in the same room with it. She actually got angry at me for reading it!

A couple years later I read Audrey Rose upon my dad's recommendation. I had been too scared to read it because of the cover when I was young! I really enjoyed it and found it quite scary.

Since I've gotten older I've read a handful of Stephen King books, all of which I've enjoyed but which haven't scared me a whole lot- maybe just because I'm older and my imagination is a pale imitation of its former self. I've read a number by the horror writer John Saul that have creeped me about a bit- my favorite, in terms of quality and scariness, is Second Child. Saul doesn't seem to get a lot of respect from book critics, though, which surprises me a bit. I just read what I like...

[Lisa]

104. Lois Duncan's written some other good ones ...

I remember "Summer of Fear" in particular -- actually I read it not long after I'd had a run-in with someone who'd managed to fool quite a lot of people, so I could relate to the protagonist's frustration when she's trying to convince the skeptics that something unpleasant is going on! Re-reading it years later, I don't find it nearly as scary now, though that's partly because I can kind of sympathize with why the villain is so discontented -- great writing by Duncan.

[Leilani]

27. Scariest book recently was Bone Collecter..

The movie with Denzel Washington was good, but not scary like the book.

[WindRavenX]

28. "Hot Zone"

About the ebola virus...I read it when I was like 8, and jesus christ...I couldn't sleep for days :scared:

[Guy Fawkes]

95. What's worse is...

it's a non-fiction book. It's the scariest thing I've ever read.

[Richardo]

99. The first chapter of "Hot Zone" is by far the scariest thing I've read...

...the description of the guy dying from ebola was truly horrific. :scared:

[alphafemale]

31. Stephen King's "Needful Things" seemed silly at the time - BUT

More and More we seem to be de-evolving to such a state of pure hatefulness towards our neighbors.

So that's scary.

[jeff30997]

32. The scariest , I don't know but the most disgusting one was...

American Psycho. Gee! While reading it , sometimes i was feeling nauseated.

[wickerwoman]

35. Tommyknockers.

I don't even know why except that I happened to be reading it at 3:00 am and invasion of the body snatchers/skin lesion stuff creeps me out.

[Downtown Hound]

102. A grossly underrated King book

and a powerful statement on possessing super intelligence without wisdom or compassion.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[auburngrad82]

36. The only book that actually gave me nightmares was The Stand

By Stephen King.

[Gryffindor_Bookworm]

41. me, too!

That book is gut-wrenchingly scary because not only COULD it happen -- it probably will. Do you doubt that our government has a plague somewhere in some bunker, just waiting to get out? I don't. :scared:

[Kid_A]

74. I just finished that book a few weeks ago.

It's the first Stephen King book I've read, and I loved it. Right after I started it all I did was eat, sleep, go to work, and read that book.

I didn't think it was THAT scary, but some of the scenes in the third part with Flagg crucifying people in Vegas were disturbingly believable.

And there was another scene near the end with two characters walking to Boulder and the highway is covered with several feet of snow, and he describes how there are cars just below their feet buried in the snow with bodies in them, just sitting in the seats like they're on a trip. That was just an incredibly creepy image...

[auburngrad82]

93. Stephen King is at his best when it's believable

I think that's what bothered me. I love the horror genre of books (most movies are too graphic for me) and most don't bother me but there have been a few moments in his books that were quite disturbing because, I think, I can imagine the event actually taking place.

[no_hypocrisy]

39. "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis.

I read it about 10 years ago during the midnight shift at the answering service. My eyes were bugged out most of the time. And remember this is BEFORE * stole the election.

[noonwitch]

40. "The Thorn Birds", as it justifies pedophelic priests

God, my mom thought it was romantic. Priest falls in love with a little girl, waits until she's old enough before he boffs her, impregnates her and basically she ruins her life pining away for him, because he'd rather be a priest/archbishop/cardinal than her man, and she has no self esteem.

[LDS Jock]

94. I love The Thorn Birds

I thought it romantic too. OK, its kinda cheesy at times, and I quote lines from it with my sisters, but then, I'm kinda nerdy.

[terrya]

42. "The Stand"...because the premise of a manufactured "superflu"...

is all too plausible.

My favorite Stephen King book. The miniseries based on it stunk to high heaven.

[Gryffindor_Bookworm]

44. See?

I knew there was a reason I liked you, Terrya! Great minds think alike and all that! (see post 41, LOL).


Good morning! :hi:

[terrya]

46. Hi!

:hi: to one of my favorite DU'ers. I didn't see your post, sorry. I haven't had my coffee yet. :-)

T

[jbane]

77. One of the best...

One of the best books I've ever read. Could not put it down, may read again soon.

[DivinBreuvage]

45. "Bag of Bones" by Stephen King... first book to scare me since age 12

He eventually ruined it by giving too much away, but before that some of the hero's encounters with ghosts in his house were genuinely creepy.

[greeneyedpookie]

54. "Bag of Bones"

Was a very good story. When he killed off the mother, I closed the book and cried and didn't read it for 2 days. I was so pissed off at Mr. King for killing her off. However a decent read. Guess the one that I can say that scared me for a while after reading was "The Bad Place" by Dean R. Koontz, or "Servants of Twilight" by the same author.

GEP

:bounce:

[DivinBreuvage]

55. LOL, You need to add the words SPOILER ALERT to your header, pookie

You just spilled some mighty big beans :)

But, yeah, I was shocked that he did that, and a little annoyed. It's not the first time he's murdered a major sympathetic character in his books, though. I suppose he doesn't want to be like the majority of writers who send their heroes against a huge horrifying danger and then (unrealistically) pull all of them through it without a scratch.

[greeneyedpookie]

66. Ooops!!!

My bad bigga time!! This is true with Stephen King, I've read many of his books. Pretty much have read almost all of Dean R. Koontz's stuff, but he has become way too predictable with his writing anymore. His earlier writing was awesome, however in the past 8 - 10 years, he seems to following a certain pattern. Some of his best were "Strangers" and "Cold Place"

GEP

:bounce:

[LWolf]

50. I have no idea!

I'm thinking and thinking, and I can't remember a scary book. I've read more books than I can possibly remember, but the closest I can come to "scary" are some juvenile and young adult books in my library 15 years ago or so. I don't even remember what they were; I read all of the fiction, and browsed most of the non-fiction, in that 9,000 volume library so I'd know how to connect kids with what they wanted. I can remember the pics on the covers of the books, and a couple of the authors, but don't remember the actual titles, or stories.

I don't like to "scare" myself. I like suspense, and that can be a different kind of "scary," but I don't like "horror" types of scary.

[NashVegas]

51. The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood.

[redqueen]

53. The Stand - Stephen King

or a one of his short stories - The Boogeyman

His film adaptations never do the books justice.

[supernova]

56. The Keep

WWII Romania. The Americans take over a mideival castle from the nazis but somebody's been eating the sentries..... :scared: :scared: :scared:

[liontamer]

57. short story : The Moving Finger

from nightmares and dreamscapes by stephen king.

[redqueen]

58. There are a few good ones in there, aren't there?

I love Stephen King. :)

[livetohike]

59. The Exorcist

I read it before I saw the movie. The book was scarier, imo.

[southpaw]

60. The Amityville Horror

The book was creepy as hell... the movie was a bit off the mark.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

83. And it was all made up.

[southpaw]

91. I learned that later...

But, honestly, the "Inspired by Actual Events" aspect wasn't what made it creepy...

I think it had more to do with the fact that I was about 13 when I read it.

[TrogL]

61. the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics

who knew?

[Lisa]

106. the CRC?

Yup, the exam based on that book was pretty horrific.

[tom_paine]

63. Pet Cemetary by Stephen King

The first and only book that had me looking over my shoulder while I was reading it.

No logical reason, just...

[alittlelark]

90. Pet Cemetary was mine as well.

Most horror stories that involve demons get me freaked, but that one really scared me. Guess it's the Catholic upbringing. The Exorcist was the first movie I saw that scared the SH*T out of me.

[Pert_UK]

65. The Collector......

You could just feel the descent into madness.

P.

[redqueen]

67. by John Fowles?

Your description has inspired me to read it. :)

[Pert_UK]

68. The very same......The Collector and The Magus...

are two of the best books I've ever read.

And I've read lots!......well OK, not lots and lots, but a fair few!

P.

[redqueen]

69. Thanks!

Once my car's working I'm off to the library! :D

Well actually I'm there at least once a week but never for me. :cry:

[Pert_UK]

70. Splendid.....let me know how you get on but I should say...

That The Collector is chilling and psychological rather than out-and-out terrifying......

Personally, I prefer The Magus as a book, although both manage to be infuriating and rewarding!

All time favourites for me:

Name of the Rose & Foucault's Pendulum - Umberto Eco. Hard work but worth it.

Easier going but still fantastic? The Dumas Club or The Game of Chess by Arturo Perez-Reverte....Especially The Dumas Club. It was also made into a film with Johnny Depp (I think) which wasn't bad but wasn't up to the book.

Let me know how you get on!

P.

[redqueen]

72. Will do, and thanks for the other suggestions

Might I suggest one as well? Not scary but worth a read if you're into physics art or music... Godel Escher Bach by Douglas Hofstadter (sp?)... don't know why but it popped into my head when you mentioned Focault's Pendulum.

[Pert_UK]

73. Oooh! Nice one.....

I think I've read a book edited and contributed to by him and Daniel Dennett. Didn't he do "The Mind's Eye", a collection of philosophical essays?

Or did I dream it?....

:-)

P.

[redqueen]

76. Why yes!

:thumbsup:

You have excellent taste!

[Pert_UK]

79. Cheers, although I can't take full credit....

it was optional reading for the Philosophy of Mind module I did as part of my degree.

Fantastic book. Really enjoyed it. A mate borrowed it so I must get it back.

P.

[jonnyblitz]

71. Mein Kampf n/t

[Minstrel Boy]

78. Fiction: "The Abominations of Yondo" by Clark Ashton Smith

Mostly because the cover of my Panther edition is so...disquieting:



BTW, if you don't know Smith, and like Lovecraft, you need to read him.

A number (all, maybe?) of his short stories can be found online here:
http://www.worldofschmitt.com/writings/smith/

More about Smith: http://www.eldritchdark.com/

[Minstrel Boy]

80. Nonfiction: "The Franklin Cover-Up" by John DeCamp

Because it's true.



Here's a good source on the story behind the book:
http://www.francesfarmersrevenge.com/stuff/archive/oldnews2/boystown/

[leeman67]

81. Pet Sematary

the movie was actually pretty creepy too (especially the diseased sister of the wife coming to haunt her), but the book was extremely frightening, I thought. The ending, like with most Stephen King stories however, was a let-down.

I also found Damnation Game by Clive Barker and The Exorcist (every bit as scary as the movie) to be especially spooky. :scared:

[Richardo]

98. Pet Sematary for me, too

There were spots in that book where I just had to close the book and stop reading for awhile 'cause it was so intense. :scared:

[miss_kitty]

84. 'my pet goat'

i froze for about 7 minutes during one passage...

[Screaming Lord Byron]

85. The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks.

[Malikshah]

88. The Boogeyman--short story by Stephen King in "Night Shift" ?

"So nice," as the door creaks open.

Freaked me out. He hits the old closet door scare tactic spot on.

Others from that first collection are great as well.

Gray Matter
Jerusalem's Lot (very Lovecraftian)
and the later one w/ the vampires of Salem's Lot (forgot the title)

Now, the Mangler (possessed steamer) was a bit OTT

[redqueen]

89. Oh yeah... Gray Matter

:scared:

Even The Mangler got to me, but I'm weird.

[snooper2]

92. "Ralph the Mouse"

eom

[FunBobbyMucha]

96. Intensity and Misery.

Dean Koontz wrote the first one, and I read it breathlessly, as I did with Misery. I must've been someone's prisoner in another life, cuz these creeped me out completely.

[flamingyouth]

97. Most recently, "Church of the Dead Girls," by Stephen Dobyns

It really freaked me out, and I read lots of suspense novels.

[Downtown Hound]

100. I couldn't pick the scariest, but here's some good ones:

"It" Stephen King

"Hell House" Richard Matheson

Any Lovecraft compilation

"The Shining" Stephen King

"1984" George Orwell

[Lisa]

103. "Echoes in the Darkness" -- Joseph Wambaugh

The story of a real-life homicide case. What gets me, to this day, is that a woman (a schoolteacher in Pennsylvania) was murdered, and dozens of people knew something was going on, but nobody tried to do anything about it or tip off the authorities. Apparently she wasn't popular, and those accused of the crime were handsome/powerful/charismatic, and people were able to rationalize excuses for not believing she was in danger, or not wanting to get involved.

Her two kids disappeared and were never found.


Perhaps I'm a little weird, but I can read or watch fiction about the most warped, terrible villains and keep it completely separate from the writers/performers as human beings. I know that some people have been scared to meet Anthony Hopkins, say -- and that wouldn't be my attitude at all. Yet if I meet an ordinary person who's charming and manipulative, I'm creeped out (even if I don't think they'd ever actually kill anyone). Being able to spot people like that is helpful in my job, though.

I think one of the scariest movies I've ever seen is a documentary -- I don't know the title, but it appared on TLC's "Human Beings" a few years ago -- about a young BASE jumper. It's not apparent whether his risk-taking is compulsive, or he just loves the attention so much that he can't bring himself to stop doing these elaborate stunts. He has no qualms about encouraging or tricking strangers to help him with dangerous and even illegal acts. For me, the frightening part is that his parents are enraptured by him, and don't even question why he's doing this (incidentally costing them a fortune, so he can fly around the world and spend months hanging out, looking glamorous). Even the filmmakers seem to be drawn in -- they end up excising anything that might make him look fallible or uncertain, and they even refuse to address his eventual death and his own responsibility.

[Bertha Venation]

105. Silence of the Lambs.

:scared:

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

108. "Communion" by Whitley Streiber

I'm talking about the book, not the movie. I read the book when it first came out in the 1980's, to do a coverage for a film producer for whom I was working in Hollywood. The book scared the daylights out of me, even though I was reading it not for pleasure but as part of a job for someone considering optioning it for a film. The movie left me kind of cold, but I found the book very disturbing. As part of my job, I had to read lots of horror, from short stories by the gifted Al Sarrantonio as well as George R.R. Martin, to Clive Barker's Books Of Blood, Dean Koontz' Phantoms (which my boss optioned), to screenplays up for option like Pumpkinhead (which my boss made into a film), Highway To Hell, to The Hidden. But it was the book "Communion" that caused me a couple of near sleepless nights after I read it.

[WoodrowFan]

110. some book of horror stories I bought at a school book sale

in about the 5th grade. Had a big eyeball on the cover (this was about 1970). No idea what the title was but I still remember being scared s***less.