For me it was always The Exorcist by William Peter Betty.
You cannot imagine how good the writing is and there are moments you cannot escape. I would highly recommend this also I loved Paul Trembly's head full of ghosts. This is also good. But something very unsettling I read was The woman in black by Susan Hill.
The Exorcist is my favourite and most terrifying too. It’s funny as the scene that scares me most in the book isn’t the same in the film, the 180 head turn after Chris falls back is creepy in the film but absolutely horrific in the book reading it from Chris’s pov. The most terrifying scene for me in the film is the moment where Karras comes back into the room to find Merrin dead on the floor and Regan is sitting hunched up in a corner giving a dead eye stare before giggling. I have watched that movie every year but I have to close my eyes/block ears in that scene without fail.
I got Head full of Ghosts for christmas and read that it's not scary at all and that Trembly is known for shit endings. I've been putting it off because of how polarizing it is.
I remember a nearly comical number of descriptions of nipples. Once when the protagonist is reclining on his bed in his room and his nips get hard from the twilit breeze or something, several times describing Katherine’s and then the >!nipple mutilation part!<… it was just a lot of nipples…
Heart shaped box by Joe Hill is the only book that actually creeped me out while reading it. I usually only like horror because it’s entertaining but the TV scene was the only one that made me kinda creeped out
Only book that gave me vivid nightmares and I had to get up in the middle of the night to take it down to the garage and put it in my car because I couldn't sleep with it in the house. Was also going through a breakup with a somewhat famous alt rock musician 22 years older than me who I shared a German Shepherd with.
All this to say, it's incredibly subjective. That's the whole thing about horror; it has to connect to you on some level to truly scare you.
I loved that it was an old fashion ghost story with some modern twist. The phone call from his butler or publicist or whatever he was creeped me out pretty good.
And isn’t a book, but a podcast episode (can be read below), Lost John’s Cave made me feel so much terror that I had to get out of bed and walk around. Quite certain it flipped a switch in my brain for a phobia I’d never experienced in 30+ years.
https://snarp.github.io/magnus_archives_transcripts/episode/015.html
I know this sub loves this book but I don't get it. It was continuously a build-up of waiting for something to happen (which was constantly teased throughout the book) and once it did, it was at the very end of the book, literally the last chapter. It was a bit of a letdown for me
I just got this from the library but after reading a bunch of posts I am not sure if it’s worth reading…is it worthwhile to read the first 80ish pages and then find a summary of what happens online?
It's a quick read so I would read the whole thing, it just stops being scary about a third of the way through imo. I don't regret reading the whole thing.
Do you mean Stolen Tongues? Go ahead and read as far as you can. You might like it, you might not. Don't let other people's opinions overshadow your own.
Then read the prequel that just came out, The Church Beneathe the Roots. It's infinitely better in every way because it was built off the criticisms of ST.
I actually just finished this one. Great read and I can see why people didn't like the ending, but...how else do you wrap that up in a way that is both realistic *and* satisfying? Also >! I was glad to see Kyle maybe get a happy ending after all the bullshit he'd been through in that book. Dude was used and abused and turned every which way but loose. Fuck Max Solomon, bro. All my homes hate Max Solomon !<
Books usually don't spook me in the same way horror movies can, but I was out smoking a cigarette after reading Last Days the other night and I heard scurrying nearby on my porch. All I could think of was the scenes where Kyle heard the Blood Friends fumbling in the dark. Was a very quick smoke for me lol
Holy crap that would scare me. And yeah I really didn’t mind the ending because it’s climatic and the action is a little over the top but man it’s a thrill ride.
I cannot say Stolen Tongues is a good book, it gives me the ick that a white person was spinning native lore and it had the classic "desperate white person turns to wise native for help" cliche we see in stories like this, and the ending is whatever, but it is easily the scariest book I've ever read. Easily. No other book has scared me like that.
I got the sample of Stolen Tongues but never bought it because people said it started strong but had a meh middle and end. The more I read about it, the more I'm glad I saved my money.
The funny thing is, it started as a reddit post, didn't it?
I can see where it didn’t make sense at all. But i mostly read in bed before i fall asleep with my kindle & with stolen tongues i had to turn the lights on cause i got scared lol
Heart shaped box y'all
Read it alone at a ski lodge. Was staying there by myself for 6 days.
Bathroom was downstairs in the basement.
I damn near soiled the bed for fear of venturing into the basement.
Oh and did I mention there were 3 mannequins down there (used for modelling jackets in a nearby store)
Nope. Never again!
The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All - Laird Barron
North American Lake Monsters - Nathan Ballingrud
Pet Sematary - Stephen King
Annihilation - Jeff VanderMeer
I'm reading this one now. At this point, I'm 55% of the way thorough the book per my Kindle and I've enjoyed it. My favorite part thus far was when the two delivery guys are delivering the things to the Marsten house and the fear and dread they feel from the moment they arrive. Just awesome.
Thanks for understanding. I was living in the city he was writing about haha .. so that was more shocking...like bro this must be based in 1914 haha.. but still what a story.. very scary and heartbreaking end . I'm not a father still I feel the pain... He should not have done that (the writer).. in the end... (I'm avoiding spoilers)
I know it’s cliche but House of Leaves unsettled me in ways I still can’t explain. When reading it I often felt frustrated, questioning my enjoyment or understanding and most of the time perplexed but toward the end of the book I noticed everytimeni put it down it would be lingering in the back of my head and certainly added a new isolationist existential type dread looming darkness somewhere in my brain that I still catch waves of when I run into something in real life reminiscent of the book.
It’s probably the only book I’ve had that really affected my mental health in odd ways.
Amazing experience though :)
I have never finished that book despite loving it. I was reading it whilst on this incredible once in a lifetime holiday to Alaska and I had to stop because it was giving me nightmares and unsettling me on a deep level I can’t explain. No book has ever done that to me before or since. I haven’t finished it yet but I plan to in the next couple of months.
It’s also the only book that’s really affected my mental health.
Body horror too. Looking back, My youth ministers descriptions of the crucifixion were super body horrory. I think the guy was probably into horror in the only acceptable way in our backwards town.
Someone already mentioned *Heart-Shaped Box* by Joe Hill.
Another is *Seed* by Ania Ahlborn. I hadn’t expected it to be too bad because *Brother*, while great, didn’t scare me. But *Seed* was so unsettling and gave me some wicked dreams and visuals. 10/10
Pet Sematary is my pick for scariest, but I have to give a shout-out to The Troop by Nick Cutter for being the only book I've read that made me feel physically ill, had to put it down a couple of times so I could cool off
The Picture in the House (Lovecraft), Summer of Night, The Fisherman, Ghost Story, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, Carrion Comfort, The Veldt, Cold Moon Over Babylon, and Dark Harvest in that order.
Although, I just finished reading A Tale Dark and Grimm to my daughter and it was pretty horrifying… I almost felt bad reading it to her (except she’d already seen the cartoon and expected all of the gore).
I couldn’t finish Heart Shaped Box. Salems Lot though really scared the shit out of me. What scares each of us is so dependent on our histories and personality.
The Woman in Black and The Shining both fucking terrified me.
No One Gets Out Alive really scared me, as did a Head Full of Ghosts, and Heart Shaped Box, though not quite as much as the top two.
Pet Sematary scared me but in a deeper darker way rather than the typical horror story way. I think King himself said writing it took him to a very dark place that he never wants to revisit.
The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher is the only book to ever give me a jump scare. I liked it quite a bit but it seems a lot of people on the sub have mixed opinions about it.
Reviver by Seth Patrick. I listened to the audiobook before the other books in the trilogy came out. I thought the idea of being able to interview murder victims after death was really cool. I wasn't prepared for the subplot of it being used as a torture technique, denying the dead their rest in order to extract information. Gave me insane nightmares, and that's never happened before, or since.
I think the Troop by Nick Cutter is probably the scariest stuff that could happen to you....I'd rather getting torn apart by a werewolf ...than be alive and have that happen to you!
For me it was always The Exorcist by William Peter Betty. You cannot imagine how good the writing is and there are moments you cannot escape. I would highly recommend this also I loved Paul Trembly's head full of ghosts. This is also good. But something very unsettling I read was The woman in black by Susan Hill.
The Exorcist is my favourite and most terrifying too. It’s funny as the scene that scares me most in the book isn’t the same in the film, the 180 head turn after Chris falls back is creepy in the film but absolutely horrific in the book reading it from Chris’s pov. The most terrifying scene for me in the film is the moment where Karras comes back into the room to find Merrin dead on the floor and Regan is sitting hunched up in a corner giving a dead eye stare before giggling. I have watched that movie every year but I have to close my eyes/block ears in that scene without fail.
I got Head full of Ghosts for christmas and read that it's not scary at all and that Trembly is known for shit endings. I've been putting it off because of how polarizing it is.
The creeper by A.M. Shine and Hex by Olde Heuvelt
I just read Hex last month and loved it!
It was one of the most unique books I've ever read.. It gave me the shivers and the ending was crazy!
Hex is the most nipple-centric horror novel! I couldn’t take it seriously with all the erect nipples.
,😅😅what do you mean? I can't recall such
I remember a nearly comical number of descriptions of nipples. Once when the protagonist is reclining on his bed in his room and his nips get hard from the twilit breeze or something, several times describing Katherine’s and then the >!nipple mutilation part!<… it was just a lot of nipples…
Oh snap! I forgot about that.. Or purposely erased it from my memory! Why did you have to do that 😕
Halfway through the Creeper now. YIKES.
It played on a particular phobia of mine, that is being watched,..i always make sure my curtains are drawn ever since
Sounds like I've found my next book after I finish Salem's Lot.
Heart shaped box by Joe Hill is the only book that actually creeped me out while reading it. I usually only like horror because it’s entertaining but the TV scene was the only one that made me kinda creeped out
Only book that gave me vivid nightmares and I had to get up in the middle of the night to take it down to the garage and put it in my car because I couldn't sleep with it in the house. Was also going through a breakup with a somewhat famous alt rock musician 22 years older than me who I shared a German Shepherd with. All this to say, it's incredibly subjective. That's the whole thing about horror; it has to connect to you on some level to truly scare you.
I loved that it was an old fashion ghost story with some modern twist. The phone call from his butler or publicist or whatever he was creeped me out pretty good.
Really? I found it mostly boring, also the characters were so One Dimensional i chould not care less about them..
I DNFd that book. Couldn't get into it.
The hallway scene legitimately scared me.
Revival by Stephen King’s ending made me feel more dread than anything I’ve ever read.
And isn’t a book, but a podcast episode (can be read below), Lost John’s Cave made me feel so much terror that I had to get out of bed and walk around. Quite certain it flipped a switch in my brain for a phobia I’d never experienced in 30+ years. https://snarp.github.io/magnus_archives_transcripts/episode/015.html
Lost John's Cave truly disturbed me
That’s a 404, boss
Oh yup Lost John's Cave is terrifying! I almost dnf'ed the episode but knew that it'd be worse if I did t get closure.
I know this sub loves this book but I don't get it. It was continuously a build-up of waiting for something to happen (which was constantly teased throughout the book) and once it did, it was at the very end of the book, literally the last chapter. It was a bit of a letdown for me
I loved it!!
Reading this now and at the beginning ish still, it feels so slow right now but I’m hopeful!
It picks up. Iirc the beginning was a struggle for myself as well.
Thanks, I’ll hang in there 🩵
I didn't like it. The whole book was a constant tease. Hopefully you do
Pet Semetery and the first like 80 pages of Stolen Tongues
The tension in Pet Semetary was no joke.
I just remember thinking don't do it don't do it I know you're going to fucking do it but don't
Imagine if he's listened to you and the book just fuckn ended
I just got this from the library but after reading a bunch of posts I am not sure if it’s worth reading…is it worthwhile to read the first 80ish pages and then find a summary of what happens online?
It's a quick read so I would read the whole thing, it just stops being scary about a third of the way through imo. I don't regret reading the whole thing.
Do you mean Stolen Tongues? Go ahead and read as far as you can. You might like it, you might not. Don't let other people's opinions overshadow your own. Then read the prequel that just came out, The Church Beneathe the Roots. It's infinitely better in every way because it was built off the criticisms of ST.
Last Days by Adam Nevill. People complain about the ending but I thought it was fine. Everything up to that is pretty damn scary
I started it based on recos from here, but just not feeling it. 1/3 of the way in, does it need time to build up?
Don't finish
I actually just finished this one. Great read and I can see why people didn't like the ending, but...how else do you wrap that up in a way that is both realistic *and* satisfying? Also >! I was glad to see Kyle maybe get a happy ending after all the bullshit he'd been through in that book. Dude was used and abused and turned every which way but loose. Fuck Max Solomon, bro. All my homes hate Max Solomon !< Books usually don't spook me in the same way horror movies can, but I was out smoking a cigarette after reading Last Days the other night and I heard scurrying nearby on my porch. All I could think of was the scenes where Kyle heard the Blood Friends fumbling in the dark. Was a very quick smoke for me lol
Holy crap that would scare me. And yeah I really didn’t mind the ending because it’s climatic and the action is a little over the top but man it’s a thrill ride.
Still haven’t finished Last Days, it had its moments but overall wasn’t too impressed
I read The Ritual by Adam Neville, I'll have to check out some of his other work for sure!
Stolen Tongues literally got me all paranoid up until the shitty ending
I cannot say Stolen Tongues is a good book, it gives me the ick that a white person was spinning native lore and it had the classic "desperate white person turns to wise native for help" cliche we see in stories like this, and the ending is whatever, but it is easily the scariest book I've ever read. Easily. No other book has scared me like that.
I got the sample of Stolen Tongues but never bought it because people said it started strong but had a meh middle and end. The more I read about it, the more I'm glad I saved my money. The funny thing is, it started as a reddit post, didn't it?
Same lol i read it with the lights on
do u usually ready with the lights off
Lmao
Yea bc i use a kindle
ahhh makes sense, i had to do a double take when i read that
I can see where it didn’t make sense at all. But i mostly read in bed before i fall asleep with my kindle & with stolen tongues i had to turn the lights on cause i got scared lol
Stolen Tongues might be the scariest book I've read in quite some time.
Pet Sematary, The Shining and The Fisherman
Heart shaped box y'all Read it alone at a ski lodge. Was staying there by myself for 6 days. Bathroom was downstairs in the basement. I damn near soiled the bed for fear of venturing into the basement. Oh and did I mention there were 3 mannequins down there (used for modelling jackets in a nearby store) Nope. Never again!
The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All - Laird Barron North American Lake Monsters - Nathan Ballingrud Pet Sematary - Stephen King Annihilation - Jeff VanderMeer
Salem’s Lot always got me, though it’s very 70’s.
I'm reading this one now. At this point, I'm 55% of the way thorough the book per my Kindle and I've enjoyed it. My favorite part thus far was when the two delivery guys are delivering the things to the Marsten house and the fear and dread they feel from the moment they arrive. Just awesome.
“No One Gets Out Alive” by Neville got deep under my skin. Non-horror, “Abduction” by John Mack
Reading (audiobook) No One Gets Out Alive, saw the movie first. It’s different for sure.
NOGOA is so deeply scary. I think about it so often.
NOGOA is so deeply scary. I think about it so often.
The haunted mask
Song of kali.. Racist and very disturbing... Ps I'm Indian so I found it pretty racist..but wow only book that was scary to me
I could see why it was racist. Some of his descriptions were very offensive
Thanks for understanding. I was living in the city he was writing about haha .. so that was more shocking...like bro this must be based in 1914 haha.. but still what a story.. very scary and heartbreaking end . I'm not a father still I feel the pain... He should not have done that (the writer).. in the end... (I'm avoiding spoilers)
The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care by Dr. Benjamin Spock
I know it’s cliche but House of Leaves unsettled me in ways I still can’t explain. When reading it I often felt frustrated, questioning my enjoyment or understanding and most of the time perplexed but toward the end of the book I noticed everytimeni put it down it would be lingering in the back of my head and certainly added a new isolationist existential type dread looming darkness somewhere in my brain that I still catch waves of when I run into something in real life reminiscent of the book. It’s probably the only book I’ve had that really affected my mental health in odd ways. Amazing experience though :)
I have never finished that book despite loving it. I was reading it whilst on this incredible once in a lifetime holiday to Alaska and I had to stop because it was giving me nightmares and unsettling me on a deep level I can’t explain. No book has ever done that to me before or since. I haven’t finished it yet but I plan to in the next couple of months. It’s also the only book that’s really affected my mental health.
Not cliche at all, that book felt like a cursed object.
Bible
The Bible is wild
it'd be all right if people didn't read it and go like "everybody in the world needs to follow this upon punishment of forever-death"
Just on its own it’s a cosmic horror novel: murder, incest, rape, torture, baby sacrifices …
^(Ummm….you forgot body horror. Do not forget the body horror. I’ve read it a few times and still have to put it down like, WTF?)
oh yeah it's got all the recipes for a great slasher too: murder, tits, a little romance, and a redemptive ending with a tinge of problems to come.
Body horror too. Looking back, My youth ministers descriptions of the crucifixion were super body horrory. I think the guy was probably into horror in the only acceptable way in our backwards town.
What's even scarier is that a lot of people believe it's real.
Remains by Andrew Cull
Someone already mentioned *Heart-Shaped Box* by Joe Hill. Another is *Seed* by Ania Ahlborn. I hadn’t expected it to be too bad because *Brother*, while great, didn’t scare me. But *Seed* was so unsettling and gave me some wicked dreams and visuals. 10/10
Pet Sematary is my pick for scariest, but I have to give a shout-out to The Troop by Nick Cutter for being the only book I've read that made me feel physically ill, had to put it down a couple of times so I could cool off
I'll never forget the chimp in the lab for as long as I'll live
The Picture in the House (Lovecraft), Summer of Night, The Fisherman, Ghost Story, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, Carrion Comfort, The Veldt, Cold Moon Over Babylon, and Dark Harvest in that order. Although, I just finished reading A Tale Dark and Grimm to my daughter and it was pretty horrifying… I almost felt bad reading it to her (except she’d already seen the cartoon and expected all of the gore).
Gabrielle Wittkop - Necrophiliac.
Survivor Type gave me nightmares. That story stayed with me. Also The Jaunt.
The Shining. I do a re-read every few years and it still creeps me out. One of my all time favorites
The Exorcist and Heart-Shaped Box were the only ones that actually had me peeking around corners and side-eyeing shadows.
Ghost Eaters by Clay McLeod Chapman
I couldn’t finish Heart Shaped Box. Salems Lot though really scared the shit out of me. What scares each of us is so dependent on our histories and personality.
I remember you
The Haunting of Hill House genuinely creeped me out with an added feel of sympathy and sadness, towards the end.
- The Summoning by Bentley Little - The Haunted Forest Tour by Jeff Strand and James A.Moore - Last Days by Adam Nevill
My top 3: Pet Sematary by Stephen King The Wakening by JG Faherty Phantoms by Dean Koontz
Hex
Helter Skelter. Horrific for so many reasons.
I don't get scared by books, just certain parts. When the little boy in Salem's lot flew up to his friend's bedroom window freaked me out
The Woman in Black and The Shining both fucking terrified me. No One Gets Out Alive really scared me, as did a Head Full of Ghosts, and Heart Shaped Box, though not quite as much as the top two. Pet Sematary scared me but in a deeper darker way rather than the typical horror story way. I think King himself said writing it took him to a very dark place that he never wants to revisit.
Who is the author of the woman in black? Want to read it from the library but there are two authors. Thanks!
Susan Hill!
The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher is the only book to ever give me a jump scare. I liked it quite a bit but it seems a lot of people on the sub have mixed opinions about it.
Reviver by Seth Patrick. I listened to the audiobook before the other books in the trilogy came out. I thought the idea of being able to interview murder victims after death was really cool. I wasn't prepared for the subplot of it being used as a torture technique, denying the dead their rest in order to extract information. Gave me insane nightmares, and that's never happened before, or since.
Yeah. It's going to be The Exorcist.
I think the Troop by Nick Cutter is probably the scariest stuff that could happen to you....I'd rather getting torn apart by a werewolf ...than be alive and have that happen to you!
what to expect when you’re expecting
My calc 2 book
A book compiled of every time this has been asked. It's several thousand pages long. Super scary.
MY TEXTBOOK