Just a quickie today, as I only have a question. I have been feeling in the mood to read a good horror book, but don't read horror often, and need some suggestions. Does anyone want to make a recommendation? I'm thinking something short-ish (there's a shocker), and creepy without being too gory. Thanks in advance!
And please, no Stephen King titles. I like King okay but I still haven't forgiven him for The Tommyknockers.
Hm, horror. The Bell Witch by Brent Monahan creeped me out to the point where I couldn't sleep. You'll probably hate it, but it is short.
Poe is always a good choice if you like atmosphere, but you've probably read most of his stories already.
What do you like in a horror book? What's going to frighten you?
Posted by: Rachael | 24 March 2010 at 10:29 AM
We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver?
Posted by: Care | 24 March 2010 at 10:58 AM
How about oldies but goodies: Rosemary's Baby or The Stepford Wives?
Posted by: Venta | 24 March 2010 at 11:05 AM
Rachael,
"The Bell Witch," thanks, I will try. I do like Poe but am feeling like something more contemporary. Horror's tough because I don't really know what I like, and it's hard to predict what'll scare me. Actually, Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes" creeped me out, but in a good way.
Care,
Thanks; I've always meant to read that. But I think I was looking for something a bit less literary, although I have now added Shriver to my list (always meant to read her).
Venta,
Read 'em, loved 'em! And nice and short books too. Good choices. Who's a readalike for Ira Levin?
Posted by: Citizen Reader | 24 March 2010 at 11:41 AM
How about some Shirley Jackson? The Haunting of Hill House horrified a friend of mine years ago (I don't know if it holds up, she read it a loooong time ago). And the Lottery stills freaks me out big time.
Also, maybe browse through some of the Stoker Award winners?
http://www.horror.org/stokerwinnom.htm
Sorry, this is bad RA, isn't it? Just handing you a list (wink)...
Posted by: Rachael | 24 March 2010 at 12:05 PM
Rachael,
HA! Did you follow that whole thing on Fiction-L? The whole thing frustrated me. Frankly, I don't think getting a list of books is terrible RA. I wonder how my patrons who liked nonfiction and asked me to just email them some lists periodically felt about it. :)
I like the Shirley Jackson suggestion, been meaning to read "The Haunting..." for ages. Good idea on the award winners, too.
Posted by: Citizen Reader | 24 March 2010 at 12:15 PM
I have not read much horror, not a big fan. This is not really horror, but I can recommend Kazou Ishiguro's "Never Let Me Go". It is one of the best books I have ever read and it totally creeped me out.
Posted by: Ruthiella | 24 March 2010 at 12:46 PM
Yeah, that was a really interesting and aggravating email, actually. I love lists, too.
I get what I think she was saying--just handing a patron a list of "readalikes" doesn't cut it, if you haven't actually reviewed the list to see if it fits what the patron is looking for. I wish she had just said that, though.
Seriously, some NoveList suggested reading lists are weird. My favorite oddball suggestion was when I was trying to find Lee Child or Ken Follett style books for a patron who seemed to have read everything, and all the NoveList suggestions were for Christian thrillers in the Left Behind vein. All of them. One option, maybe, but all? Sigh.
Hope you find something suitably creepy. Ramsay Campbell is supposed to be good--more on the suspense side than on the gory oogy-boogy side of horror.
Posted by: Rachael | 24 March 2010 at 01:14 PM
I vote for Shirley Jackson. I'm recommending We Have Always Lived In the Castle, which I think I've recommended to you before. I read it on Halloween and around the same time I read Her Fearful Symmetry :) It's short, creepy and wonderful. And you should read it.
Posted by: Beth | 24 March 2010 at 01:49 PM
oh oh oh. or read this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1932360476/ref=sc_vs__haunted_hillbilly
the haunted hillbilly.
getting people to read this wholly unusual and very surrealistic creepy book is a goal i have, as no one knows about it and it falls into zero categories.
and it is very short and very cool.
Posted by: Beth | 24 March 2010 at 01:51 PM
I agree that We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a great choice, thinking about the other novels you've enthused about on here!
Posted by: Marianne | 24 March 2010 at 01:57 PM
Ruthiella,
Good suggestion, actually, very creepy. I LOVE Ishiguro and loved that novel. Also loved "The Remains of the Day," very sad.
Rachael,
"Interesting and aggravating" perfectly sums it up! In addition to loving lists, I do sometimes love the oddball choices. Sometimes, after all, I'm not looking for something exactly like I always read, but something different. But the Left Behind series as RAs for Lee Child? That seems somewhat oddball to me to begin with...
Beth, Marianne,
Done! I'm requesting "We Have Always Lived..." right away. Beth, I haven't followed your Amazon link yet, but I'll look into it. Thanks!!
Posted by: Citizen Reader | 24 March 2010 at 02:21 PM
yay! and thanks marianne for thinking about other books i've enthused about :) i have a huge range of tastes, so you may not always agree, but probably will on at least one!
Posted by: Beth | 24 March 2010 at 07:05 PM
Horns by Joe Hill is pretty rad or even Locke and Key by Joe Hill (comic book).
Elsewise I would definitely second We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. It's a goddamned good book.
Posted by: patty | 24 March 2010 at 07:11 PM
I don't usually read horror. Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" is possibly the scariest thing I've ever read, and it's short. (But you've probably already read that.) I know you said no King, but "Misery," which is the only King book I like, really creeped me out.
Posted by: Barb | 24 March 2010 at 07:29 PM
I normally don't read scary books at all, but I did read Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill and liked it until it made me wake up in the middle of the night wondering what I was hearing in the other room. No really, it's a good one.
Posted by: katharine | 24 March 2010 at 07:42 PM
I second (and third!) the Joe Hill recommendation. He's much more subtle and creepily scary than his dad, Stephen King. I'm not generally big on short stories, but I really like his. One good title to try is 20th Century Ghosts.
Posted by: Liz | 24 March 2010 at 08:24 PM
Deliverance. The book, not the movie. It isn't quite horror, but it is very suspenseful, scarey, and creepy...and such a good book. It was even listed as one of the top 100 novels of the 20th century by the Modern Library. And the accolade is well-deserved. And it is short!
Posted by: Thomas at My Porch | 24 March 2010 at 10:21 PM
I would have to vote for 'Misery,' too. That book is CREEPY.
Maybe go old school - 'Dracula' or 'The Magician.'
Posted by: Heather | 24 March 2010 at 10:55 PM
Hey CR,
There is so much good horror. I would recommend the soft cover (that is to say not the Star Wars book) by Joe Schrieber. It's good basic small town observational horror, No Doors No Windows and Eat the Dark are great.
Sarah Langan's first two books are well worth reading. They remind me of the early Peter Straub and Stephen King.
Did you see the Library of America has a new pair of collections?
Joe Hill is A+. I just picked up Horns, but Heart Shaped Box is great as well.
Lovecraft isn't for everyone, but the cosmic horror of At the Mountains of Madness (best read with the China Mieville intro) is something else.
Laird Barron is an up and comer. So far he writes only short stories, but they are doozies. The Procession of the Black Sloth is a Buddhist horror story and it is one of the best I have ever read.
Posted by: Tripp | 25 March 2010 at 01:57 AM
Here are a couple that are the best I've read in horror:
Hell House by Richard Matheson (he wrote I Am Legend which is also good)
Let the Right One In (or Let Me In) by John Ajvide Lindqvist (the title depends on which translation you pick up)
Hope it was a help!
Posted by: Michelle @ The True Book Addict | 25 March 2010 at 03:06 AM
oooooh michelle, matheson is always an EXCELLENT choice. and i've been wanting to read let the right one in since i saw the incredible movie.
Posted by: Beth | 25 March 2010 at 08:38 AM
I second Matheson. Creepy creepy creepy!
Posted by: Rachael | 25 March 2010 at 09:22 AM
Wowza,
Let me just say THANKS to everyone who made suggestions and commented. I'll be able to return to this page for ideas for a long time to come!
To everyone who suggested Joe Hill, I say, right on. When someone asked me early on what horror I like, I almost said "Heart Shaped Box" by Hill, so was charmed to find it listed among other people's picks too. Also, thumbs up on Matheson, I loved "I Am Legend." I think I will start with the Shirley Jackson, move on to the Matheson, then hit the newer Hill when the request list has gone down a bit.
Tripp--
Fabo suggestions. I've meant to get the Langan before, on your suggestion, so thank you!
Thomas--
Deliverance is an interesting choice but I just don't know. For years I shelved the movie when I worked at the library, and thought, it's a classic, I should watch it...but I could never get myself to watch it. Perhaps I'd have better luck with the book...
Posted by: Citizen Reader | 25 March 2010 at 11:52 AM
As long as you are going with some Joe Hill, read the first story in his collection 20th Century Ghosts, which is titled "Best New Horror." That one scared the fool out of me. You can read it in 20 minutes but I guarantee you will be thinking about it hours later when something goes bump in the night.
Posted by: Steve | 25 March 2010 at 01:55 PM
Super quick, super eerie- It's a classic, but for a good reason: The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilma. I don't typically like her but, Mary Higgins Clark Still Watch is also very good.
Posted by: Sasha | 26 March 2010 at 01:05 PM
Sorry to come in late on this discussion, but 2 books I read last year that were creepy and thrilling: "Angelica" by Arthur Phillips and "Cold Skin" by Albert Sanchez Pinol. I'm writing down a number of the titles already listed... They sound so good!
Posted by: Marmota | 26 March 2010 at 09:46 PM
I don't know how you feel about ya lit, but "The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray" by Chris Wooding is a great combo of creepy and quick read. Now that I think about it, I believe that it would fall pretty squarely in the steampunk genre (I read it before that genre was very well-known, so my memory may be failing me.)
Posted by: Maria Levetzow | 27 March 2010 at 10:27 AM
Steve,
Thanks for the Joe Hill suggestion. I never did get around to "20th Century Ghosts," which was weird, considering how much I liked "Heart-shaped Box." You just run out of time to read everything you want to!
Sasha,
I think I read the Gilman for college, which of course took all the fun right out of it. But I've always meant to try Mary Higgins Clark, she was always super popular at the library!
Marmota,
No worries, we don't care when anyone joins our discussions here! Thanks for the suggestions--I like the idea of both "creepy" and "thrilling."
Maria,
I rather like YA lit, especially when it's done well. Thank you for the Wooding suggestion. I know I read and loved Scott Westerfeld's "Peeps," so I'm not opposed to YA books at all! I don't have a very good grasp of steampunk so it would be good professional development, as well!
Posted by: Citizen Reader | 29 March 2010 at 04:08 PM
I can't believe I forgot to mention this one: "Blindness" by Jose Saramago. I found it quite horrifying and scary (but really, really good!).
Posted by: Heather | 30 March 2010 at 10:56 PM