Comments on: Scariest Book I've Ever Read

By: Margaret Hardy

Margaret Hardy — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 10:53:28 +0000

I know I’m waaaaay… Late to this post but it did make laugh ! It was The Shining for me too, the only time I have genuinely been frightened to turn the page… But apart from the scariness it was a superb book. I think it is the ordinanaryness (is that a real word ?) of the characters eg – the kids feeding the dog under the table, which make the contrast when something scary happens seem so much worse. Dean Koontz I have been reading for years and he has matured into a fine and thoughtful writer, most of his books are not scary at all – well, OK just a wee bit in some !
I am not a fan of horror, either in book form and definitely not in film. I remember watching.The Devil Rides Out with Peter Fonda in it many, many, many years ago and I’m still traumatised ! LoL.

By: Julien

Julien — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:22:26 +0000

Great story, PCN, as always! (I experienced something similar when watching “Blair witch project” alone, late at night in an old deserted theater a few years ago… Brrrr! But your post is about scariest books not scariest movies!)

When I was younger, I used to read many Koontz and King’s novels. Although they often gave me the creeps, I kept on reading them, probably waiting for my fix of fear and/or wanting to test my psychological resistance!
I remembered having been both fascinated and frightened by Koontz’s “Watchers”, but the scariest book I’ve ever read was Stephen King’s “The shining”! That one really gave me goose bumps! When I watched Kubrick’s movie a few years after, I was nearly disappointed because I was expecting the same kind of terror and barely got scared!

By: Eddy

Eddy — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:11:09 +0000

I like reading Dean Koontz. They aren’t all super scary. I really like Lightning, and the Frankenstein books are interesting. Fear Nothing and Seize the Night are two of my all-time favorite books and I’ve actually re-read them a time or two (impatiently waiting on the third in the series). I think that the only Stephen King books that I’ve read are Firestarter, The Stand, and The Green Mile and those weren’t too scary.

The scariest book that I ever read was The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. I was in high school when I read it. Although I didn’t see the movie until several years later, I think the book is way scarier.

By: Pop Culture Nerd

Pop Culture Nerd — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:47:13 +0000

Yes, that movie messed me up, too. The story is just disturbing, no matter its format.

By: le0pard13

le0pard13 — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:46:42 +0000

Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw was the basis for The Innocents which starred Deborah Kerr. And, it's another of the truly creepy films in history.

By: Pop Culture Nerd

Pop Culture Nerd — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:46:40 +0000

I have a very low threshold for creepy stuff so I haven’t sampled his short stories. I’ve read some of his novels, though, and found them manageable. Are the short stories scarier than the longer ones?

By: Pop Culture Nerd

Pop Culture Nerd — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:41:28 +0000

Oh, this reminds me of the time I babysat for a family who forgot to tell me they had their lamps on timer. I was sitting in the house, the baby asleep, when all off a sudden the lamps turned on by themselves. I almost jumped out of my skin. This was back in the early ’80s so I’d never even heard of appliances on self-timer. Thought ghosts turned them on.

I hate roller coasters, too!

I think you’re the early front runner for next year’s nerd crown. The not-having-a-TV thing already won major points a few weeks ago!

By: Pop Culture Nerd

Pop Culture Nerd — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:20:24 +0000

I haven't read that but the description reminds me of Henry James's The Turn of the Screw, an ambiguous story I couldn't figure out but found terrifying.

By: Pop Culture Nerd

Pop Culture Nerd — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:00:34 +0000

I’ve never read King’s short stories but doesn’t sound like I will. Yikes.

By: Pop Culture Nerd

Pop Culture Nerd — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:54:42 +0000

Though that sounds absolutely terrifying, you made me laugh so hard. Your dad with the pick ax would've given me a stroke and soiled pants.