Horror Recommendations!

**Radone** · January 19th, 2004, 07:44 AM

I remember that movie. But no, it is not related to the book. The book is about a man who left his hometown in W.Va long ago and has to return because his father committed suicide. There is something that scared him away from the town when he was a young man, something he's forgotten, but it hasn't forgotten him. And it's waiting for him.

The House of Bones I actually like better. It is about a housing project in Chicago called Dreamland that is rumored to be haunted. A very wealthy billionaire invites a group of strangers to spend two weeks with him in this place for reasons of his own. All of them have a past that they'd rather forget, and some are tied to Dreamland by that past.
It was reminiscent of the Shining.
Here's a link to amazon with what some other readers have said.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books

**Roland** · January 19th, 2004, 09:30 AM

Has anyone read Dan Simmons? I though the Hyperion Cantos was one of the very best series of all time, though sci-fi. I'm wondering how his other horror novels rate?

**AuntiePam** · January 19th, 2004, 11:04 AM

Roland, he's kinda wordy, but worth it, I think. But Hyperion was kinda wordy too, and you liked it, so you'd probably like his more straightforward horror too.

I like everything he's done. Summer of Night might be just about everybody's favorite. Song of Kali is very good too.

**Roland** · January 19th, 2004, 12:13 PM

That's good to hear. I went down and bought "Summer of Night" last week and then decided to ask about his work. I'll have to check out Song of Kali also.

**The One** · January 31st, 2004, 05:20 PM

The ghost stories of M. R. James are really good too.

**projectpulp** · March 4th, 2004, 09:14 AM

Anything and everything you can find my Greg F. Gifune or David B. Silva. Both are incredible authors of subtle, atmospheric, character-driven horror and have mastered short fiction just as well as novel-length manuscripts.

Jon

**fluffy bunny** · March 18th, 2004, 07:33 AM

Originally posted by AuntiePam
Did you ever think that the Necronomicon might actually exist? That HPL knew something we didn't, that his "fictional" stories were the only way he could tell us about The Old Ones?

At the least, did you ever think that HPL believed what he was writing? I sure do, uh, er, did.

There lies madness. Now I'm freaking myself out.

Lovecraft doesn't seem to be alone in his musings. For example Neil Gaiman wrote:

'It means that we're just dolls. We don't have a clue what's really going down, we just kid ourselves that we're in control of our lives while a paper's thickness away things that would drive us mad if we thought about them for too long play with us, and move us around from room to room, and put us away at night when they're tired, or bored' - Sandman vol 2: The Doll's House

Are the authors playing on our natural fears of the unknown, or are there really forces beyond our comprehension lurking out there?

Anyway, I'm going to add Neil Gaiman's Sandman to the recommendation list. Yes it's a comic, but it's poetic. Treat it as a collection of tales written by a master storyteller exploring a variety of themes and styles from classic English horror to more abstract ideas such as the nature of dreams (and nightmares).

**Heathen** · March 18th, 2004, 09:30 AM

Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons was the first
novel I read by him (I enjoyed it); then Song of Kali.

**Casey's Pen** · April 15th, 2004, 10:19 AM

Last month, I subscribed to "House of the Rising Moon," an awesome dark fantasy serial reminiscent of Edgar Allen Poe's style. The writing is almost lyrical. The characters are distinguishable, and the author has done a terrific job of leaving the reader wanting more. It is almost painful to wait for the next installment.

If I could write as well, I would be in heaven.

"House of the Rising Moon" can be found at www.anotherchapter.com/St....asp?ID=16

Has anyone else read it or heard of the author, Maura Mellon? I'd really like to get my hands on more of her work.

**ravenus** · May 3rd, 2004, 07:55 AM

Originally Posted by AuntiePam

Did you ever think that the Necronomicon might actually exist? That HPL knew something we didn't
At the least, did you ever think that HPL believed what he was writing? I sure do, uh, er, did.

Would this answer your question?
http://www.hplovecraft.com/creation/necron/letters.htm

I find Mountains of Madness to be the most ambitious amongst all the HPL's I've read, but I think the best amongst them was Shadow over Innsmouth. HPL built the story with a steady hand (not using a lot of the IMO tiresome monster name-dropping that he indulged in a lot of his stories alongwith references to forbidden literature that somehow all his protagonists have been exposed to) and one genuinely felt the suffocating menace of the bedeviled town.

**Colonel Worf** · June 23rd, 2004, 11:27 PM

The highest recommeI can make is Bag of Bones by Stephen King.

**summergirl** · July 19th, 2004, 07:56 AM

What about classic Gothic horror novels like 'The Woman in White' by Wilkie Collins? Anyone read them?

**AuntiePam** · July 19th, 2004, 10:19 AM

I've only read a couple of the older classics -- Frankenstein and Dracula -- and I enjoyed both books very much. Frankenstein especially was surprisingly readable and involving.

Other than that, most of my horror reading has been from the 50's and later.

Is that what you've been reading lately? Classics? What do you think of them?

**summergirl** · July 23rd, 2004, 07:07 AM

I actually haven't been reading much this past couple of months due to excessive amounts of schoolwork and exams. But yeah, I do enjoy classics. I love Dracula. It gives me the shivers. I first read a simpler version of it when I was about 12, and it gave me nightmares then. But now I enjoy it. I've also read the Phantom of the Opera, The Woman in White and The Count of Monte Cristo, among others, even though the latter isn't really horror.

I haven't read much in terms of modern horror and I don't know where to start. Any suggestions?

**AuntiePam** · July 23rd, 2004, 11:23 AM

Modern horror? Hmmmm. Well, most of my favorites are from the 70's and 80's.

(After that, horror degenerated into gorefest, IMHO)

Breaking it down into categories, I'd suggest these:

Haunted house -- Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, and The Shining by Stephen King

Vampires -- Salem's Lot by Stephen King, Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice, The Hunger by Whitley Streiber

Werewolves -- The Wolfen by Whitley Streiber, Wolf's Hour by Robert McCammon, Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin

Ghosts -- Ghost Story by Peter Straub

Monsters -- Stinger by Robert McCammon

End of the world -- The Stand by Stephen King, Swan Song by Robert McCammon

Witches and Satanic stuff -- The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty, Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin, Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber, Next After Lucifer by Daniel Rhodes

Humans gone bad -- Perfume by Patrick Suskind, Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

Coming of age horror (with carnivals) -- Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, Blind Voices by Tom Reamy

Coming of age (without carnivals) -- Boy's Life by Robert McCammon, It by Stephen King, Summer of Night by Dan Simmons

The whole town goes crazy -- Floating Dragon by Peter Straub