Scariest book you've read

[lemondrop]

What is the scariest and/or best horror book you've ever read?

[lemondrop]

When I was 13/14 I read The Exorcist. I really enjoyed the book, but it scared the shit out of me. I also unwisely read it at night.

[charlatti]

I haven't read a lot of scary stuff as an adult. Stephen King's Duma Key is probably the creepiest scary book on my list -- the kind where I don't want to go in the basement after dark even though the book has nothing to do with basements. I loved Christopher Pike as a kid, and a lot of those were pretty scary.

[duckduck]

I'm not a big reader of horror. The book that I most vividly remember scaring me to death was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I was home alone that week while my husband was away for work, so it was just the cat and me. I checked the locks a lot!

[passthewine]

I remember The Exorcist really scaring the crap out of me.

[whitepicketfence]

It by Stephen King

I couldn't sleep at night if I read it before bed.

[pthermal]

I just can't do scary! I just finished Columbine and thought I was going to have to keep it in the freezer (Friends ... anyone??). I haven't read a single thing from Stephen King but I checked out 11/22/63 ... someone tell me ... is it going to scare me??

[lemondrop]

Oct 17, 2012 18:21:16 GMT -5 pthermal said:

I just can't do scary! I just finished Columbine and thought I was going to have to keep it in the freezer (Friends ... anyone??). I haven't read a single thing from Stephen King but I checked out 11/22/63 ... someone tell me ... is it going to scare me??

I don't think that's a scary one.

[whitepicketfence]

Oct 17, 2012 18:21:16 GMT -5 pthermal said:

I just can't do scary! I just finished Columbine and thought I was going to have to keep it in the freezer (Friends ... anyone??). I haven't read a single thing from Stephen King but I checked out 11/22/63 ... someone tell me ... is it going to scare me??

Don't worry, it's not scary at all!

[mollymoe]

I thought Seed by Ania Ahlborn was very scary. You can borrow it for free if you have an Amazon Prime membership. Also, The Haunted by Bentley Little. The Haunted actually made me afraid to be in my basement!

[mel726]

I think The Shining was the scariest book I have read. IT and The Stand also rank somewhere up there.

[passthewine]

Oct 17, 2012 18:21:16 GMT -5 pthermal said:

I just can't do scary! I just finished Columbine and thought I was going to have to keep it in the freezer (Friends ... anyone??). I haven't read a single thing from Stephen King but I checked out 11/22/63 ... someone tell me ... is it going to scare me??

One of my FAVE Friends episodes!!
"So Rach? These little women... how little are they? I mean, are they, like, scary little?"

And no, 11/22/63 is not scary.

[pthermal]

Great! I have a long weekend this week so I think I'll start 11/22/63.

[sparrowsong]

I was terrified by a book called The Dollhouse Murders when I was a kid. The dollhouse is a replica of the actual house and the dolls come to life and act out a murder that happened. Scared the crap out of me.

Helter Skelter about Charles Manson was probably the creepiest book I've ever read.

[imoan]

The Exorcist... Hands down!

[charlatti]

Oct 18, 2012 19:31:32 GMT -5 sparrowsong said:

I was terrified by a book called The Dollhouse Murders when I was a kid. The dollhouse is a replica of the actual house and the dolls come to life and act out a murder that happened. Scared the crap out of me.

I loved that book! Totally scary, but I was really into scary stuff as a kid. Off to see if my library still has that one...

[sweetpea508]

I second Helter Skelter. It was interesting but really terrifying considering it was all true. The"creepy crawling" part about the Manson family breaking into peoples houses and watching them sleep/ rearranging their stuff gave me nightmares. Stephen King is always a winner. It, The Shining, and Pet Sematary are all really creepy and fun to watch after reading.

[lemondrop]

Oct 18, 2012 20:44:13 GMT -5 imoan said:

The Exorcist... Hands down!

I think we should hug. ({) (})

[obladi]

IT by Stephen King has made me avoid walking over storm sewer grates since I was about 14 and first read it.

[specka]

obladi - what is it about IT?! I read that when I was 12 and when I read through SK's message boards, everyone says they read that in their early teens! That's so awesome, IT was my first King book.

I've read about half of King's books but they don't scare me. I think the only book that really did was Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (Stephen King's son). I slept with the lights on. But I have heard people say that book was cheesy so who knows.

[2curlydogs]

I don't do horror, so....

The Andromeda Strain. I didn't want to breathe after reading that book.

[Deleted]

Oct 17, 2012 18:21:16 GMT -5 pthermal said:

I just can't do scary! I just finished Columbine and thought I was going to have to keep it in the freezer (Friends ... anyone??). I haven't read a single thing from Stephen King but I checked out 11/22/63 ... someone tell me ... is it going to scare me??

Not scary. I don't do scary, but I loved this book!

[DefenseAgainstTheDarkArts22]

Oct 23, 2012 20:33:13 GMT -5 specka said:

obladi - what is it about IT?! I read that when I was 12 and when I read through SK's message boards, everyone says they read that in their early teens! That's so awesome, IT was my first King book.

I've read about half of King's books but they don't scare me. I think the only book that really did was Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (Stephen King's son). I slept with the lights on. But I have heard people say that book was cheesy so who knows.

Heart Shaped Box was a book that I am still not sure if I like but it was one of a few that made me have a weird feeling. I've been reading/watching scary stuff since I was 8 but this one had me doing that "looking for creepy ghosts down the hallway" thing.

[RoxMonster]

I love suspense; it's my favorite genre. Honestly the creepiest books I've ever read have been Kevin O'Brien's. He's one of my favorite authors. All of his books are about stalkers/serial killers and super scary because it's something that could actually happen (as opposed to a supernatural thriller).

[dutchgirl678]

I used to love reading Stephen King books as a teenager too. It must have been on the top of my most scary book list.

[czarcasm]

"We Need to Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver made me scared to have kids

"The Stranger Beside Me" by Ann Rule was about her friendship with Ted Bundy and chronicled his murders. He was just so creepy and his craziness stuck with me for a few days

[duckduck]

Nov 5, 2012 19:36:17 GMT -5 czarcasm said:

"We Need to Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver made me scared to have kids

That book was friggin' terrifying.

[Deleted]

ITA with IT. That book scared the beejesus out of me and I never looked at clowns the same way again.

[Mrs.Rad888]

The Stand
I love horror stories, but I refuse to read The Exorcist. That was my first "real" scary movie, and I must have slept with the lights on for a week. I don't do devil stories any more, movies or books.