BallsToTheWall: Good Horror Book Reccs

Adamn 06.19.19	my favorite horror author is Thomas Ligotti. His short stories Teattro Grottesco are amazing along with Noctuary and Songs of a Dead Dreamer, Nightmare Factory, etc. Jon Padgett's The Secret of Ventriloquism is really cool.
budgie 06.19.19	pretty much only horror novels i've read aside from lcraft are rosemary's baby and the exorcist, they were both kickass though and i'd recommend them to anybody
BallsToTheWall 06.19.19	Good to know guys, thanks.
TheGreatQ 06.19.19	The Ritual
50iL 06.19.19	Everything by Junji Ito, basically
Rowan5215 06.19.19	House of Leaves Salem's Lot/The Shining/IT/any early King you can't go wrong with really Remember Why You Fear Me (short stories, but fucking slaps) Gormenghast Trilogy if you're not offended by a more teenage/young adult kinda thing, I used to devour The Demonata and Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan, and I still think they're very good
naughtcturnal 06.19.19	Deliverance by James Dickey is horror-esque
Gallantin 06.19.19	Honestly the only horror book to actually scare me was The Shining, which is also one of my favourite books ever. The Fisherman by John Langan is pretty good if a little underwhelming cosmic horror Shirley Jackson's Haunting of Hill House is a classic Universal Harvester by John Darnielle is one half small town horror and the second half turns out its totally not actually horror, but the first half is so effective I recommend it regardless Blood Meridian is an anti-western mostly but also damn chilling
Gallantin 06.19.19	I've read a few other horrors but I honestly find so many horror novels bad and cringey that I wouldn't bother recommending them.
Deathconscious 06.19.19	Nekropolis by Tim Waggoner. If youre looking for high brow material, this isnt it, but its some of the most fun ive had reading a book (or books, its a trilogy). Its about a zombie detective in a city of vampures, werewolves, ghouls, mummies, etc. Its cheesy dumb fun.
brainmelter 06.19.19	House of Leaves[2] Amityville Horror
garas 06.19.19	The LeFanu horror novels are the best.
Zig 06.19.19	Piercing, by Ryu Murakami Les Chants de Maldoror, by Comte de Lautréamont 120 Days of Sodom, by Marquis de Sade
Yotimi 06.19.19	I'll second rosemary's baby. Probably my fave
Trifolium 06.19.19	The classic horror story, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, is perfect. Very readable (if you're a little into older literature) and super beautiful. Nothing at all like the film depictions.
BigBlob 06.19.19	the bible
geezers1989 06.19.19	Perfume: story of a murderer is p good
Trifolium 06.19.19	Ooh, [2] @ that
EyesWideShut 06.19.19	The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks Off Season by Jack Ketchum The Consumer by Michael Gira
BallsToTheWall 06.19.19	Thnks guys, I’ll look into these.
BallsToTheWall 06.19.19	That sounds hilarious Adolf, I’ll bookmark it.
StrikeOfTheBeast 06.19.19	Stephen King's The Tommyknockers.
rockandmetaljunkie 06.19.19	not many fans of Lovecraft in this thread
artiswar 06.19.19	Intensity by Dean Koontz is my favourite (if we're talking modern horror books and not the classics). It's about a girl evading a serial killer, but the unique twist is that the protagonist has virtually no interaction with other characters, so the bulk of the narrative consists of prolonged introspection and self-relfection. By the end of the book you have a deep, almost profound understanding of the character and her life and it culminates in a satisfying arc. Also the prose is fantastic.
Larkinhill 06.19.19	Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist (3) The Girl Next Door — Jack Ketchum (not really typical horror, but extremely shocking and disturbing — best of all, based on a true story) Pet Sematary, Salem’s Lot, It, The Stand (his four best imo) NOS4A2 — by Joe Hill (S King’s Son). There’s a show now on AMC that’s currently running its first season. Haven’t watched any yet, but the book is great. Locke & Key (graphic novel by Joe Hill again, so fucking good) Wytches — another graphic novel
Nbehre11 06.19.19	I’ll second The Fisherman, I thought it was great. It grew on me more after it sank in a bit too. Just started IT and am enjoying that. Can’t go wrong with Lovecraft either. Bird Box was more thrilling than scary, but still mostly enjoyable I thought.
Egarran 06.19.19	>not many fans of Lovecraft in this thread That's because I'm fanboy enough for ten men.
Papa Universe 06.19.19	House of Leaves [∞] not just a masterful horror novel, but also one that redefined the structure of literature as a whole.
Papa Universe 06.19.19	"That's because I'm fanboy enough for ten men." you've got ten more with me now, baby
Papa Universe 06.19.19	also, not really horror, but somewhat Lovecraftian-ish-esque-adjacent, China Mieville and the whole genre of New Weird literature
Trebor. 06.19.19	It is pretty lit
BallsToTheWall 06.19.19	Oh, hell yeah.
Egarran 06.19.19	Yeah I read Kraken by Mieville and had a really good time.
Thalassic 06.19.19	The strange thing with House of Leaves is that I got chills reading it and I didn't really know why I got those chills.
Thalassic 06.19.19	"Blood Meridian is an anti-western mostly but also damn chilling" That's my favorite book of all time
Larkinhill 06.19.19	As a lifelong horror fanatic (I even write horror screenplays), I really need to check out House of Leaves. Been hearing about it for years.
zakalwe 06.19.19	EyesWideShut knows.
zakalwe 06.19.19	House of leaves is fucking tween waffle
Papa Universe 06.19.19	as in you're not mature enough for it, zak? House of Leaves is bloody tasty, bub
Papa Universe 06.19.19	there's also Susan Hill - The Woman in Black, if you want some old-school gothic stuff
zakalwe 06.19.19	Fucking tripe never finished it. Looking in mirrors at reversed passages and other such bollocks as an allegory to some bollocks. Toilet paper.
Papa Universe 06.19.19	The Diary of Miss Idilia Dubb is not a horror novel, but it's really creepy, given the circumstances of its creation.
Papa Universe 06.19.19	and they call me old. pfff
zakalwe 06.19.19	LOL
EyesWideShut 06.20.19	what's some of the best Lovecraft to dive in ?
budgie 06.20.19	the stories are really short. just get a collection. i think the only one that's near novel length is entitled at the mountains of madness
budgie 06.20.19	"The Girl Next Door — Jack Ketchum (not really typical horror, but extremely shocking and disturbing — best of all, based on a true story)" couldn't finish the movie, never going anywhere near this book lol. fuuuck.
Papa Universe 06.20.19	"what's some of the best Lovecraft to dive in ?" in this order: The Shadow over Innsmouth The Call of Cthulhu The Colour Out of Space The Dunwich Horror The Shadow Out of Time At the Mountains of Madness
Papa Universe 06.20.19	but yeah, like budgie said, just get a chronological collection and dive in start to finish. the order doesn't really matter, but those stories above are the essentials and the easiest to get into.
budgie 06.20.19	agreed the shadow over innsmouth is his best story
EyesWideShut 06.20.19	thanks mon
Divaman 06.20.19	Dan Simmons - Carrion Comfort Anne Rivers Siddons - The House Next Door John Skipp & Craig Spector - The Light at the End
naughtcturnal 06.20.19	@artiswar: I've read that one!!! Years after seeing the french movie High Tension which is a COMPLETE rip-off of that story so unfortunately tht one was somewhat spoiled fir me since I could predict almost everything that was gonna happen. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz is also very good (heard the movie was shit tho) Edit: talking about "Intensity" by Dean Koontz
Papa Universe 06.20.19	from Wikipedia: On his website, Koontz stated that he was aware of the comparison but would not sue "because he found the film so puerile, so disgusting, and so intellectually bankrupt that he didn’t want the association with it that would inevitably come if he pursued an action against the filmmaker."
Papa Universe 06.20.19	oof
fogza 06.20.19	Not technically horror, but High Rise by JG Ballard always struck me as horrific.
bnelso55 06.20.19	I've been enjoying a collection of Algernon Blackwood's short stories lately. I think much of his work would fit into the horror (more creepy than bloody) and supernatural thriller categories.
Egarran 06.20.19	"There was a glow in the sky as if great furnace doors were opened." Wait I thought that was Blackwood. It's Machen.
bnelso55 06.20.19	Ha ha! I think you're right.
Taxt 06.20.19	Gotta second the recs for Universal Harvester and Ligotti. Last October I read a bunch of Robert McCammon (Stinger, They Thirst, Swan Song). He's kind of like a 2nd rate Steven King (King's overrated anyway, don't @ me). Not necessarily scary, but fun reads in a 1980's B-movie kind of way. Hell House by Richard Matheson and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson are classic haunted house novels. Jackson's The Lottery is a great short story too. David Cronenberg wrote a novel that I thought was decent, it's called Consumed.
brainmelter 06.20.19	Haute tension nor Koontz came up with that concept/twist so yeah
budgie 06.20.19	my buddy had me read a koontz book years ago and i thought it was retarded
Papa Universe 06.20.19	I read as a child my therapist's report on me. In the 'condition' slot, it said that I am apparently redacted.
budgie 06.20.19	doooo that means ur a alien
BookoftheFallen 06.20.19	dracula
aydross121 11.06.19	I love Lovecraft but he admittedly wasn't the best writer around. Lots of his stories are built around pure exposition and extremely one-note characters. His cosmic horror ideas and atmosphere are truly great though, you just have to waddle through some boring stuff to get to them. Start with Call of Cthulhu IMO, that one is great all the way. Junji Ito is like a goofier but overall more effective lovecraftian, would recommend these to start with: Tomie (long), The Thing That Drifted Ashore (short). Some of his concepts are truly unique and incredibly out-there. Also, Fuan no Tane by Masaaki Nakayama. Ultra short stories of japanese urban legends. Very scary at times, but also goofy at others. The asians have the best horror elements imo, very Lovecraft inspired.
Deathconscious 11.06.19	agreed, i liked his ideas better than the writing itself.
Egarran 11.06.19	The writing makes it seem more plausible that was functioning as a medium for the old ones. When you read King you know it's just a smart dude on coke.
Scheumke 11.06.19	Can't go wrong with the classics tbh. Lovecraft Poe Dracula Frankenstein Jackyll and Hyde
ScuroFantasma 11.06.19	Dracula rules, I'd rec that for sure. Pu Songling has a collection of short horror stories/creepy anecdotes, if you're into the folk-tale kind of horror. I love that sort of thing, you might get a kick out of it too.
Egarran 11.06.19	The Guardian asked horror writers what books scared them. Anne Rice said she never finished Dracula after a certain baby appeared. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/oct/31/horror-authors-spookiest-books-anne-rice-dracula-lauren-beukes
Divaman 11.06.19	Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons. Not exactly horror, but really good, and close enough.
Rik VII 11.06.19	"David Cronenberg wrote a novel that I thought was decent, it's called Consumed." It's kinda meh tbh, and not really horror at that. More in line with Crash than with Videodrome or The Fly. "I love Lovecraft but he admittedly wasn't the best writer around. Lots of his stories are built around pure exposition and extremely one-note characters. His cosmic horror ideas and atmosphere are truly great though, you just have to waddle through some boring stuff to get to them." Couldn't have put it better. Also nice to see you rec The Thing That Drifted Ashore, that one's kinda unknown and super underrated.
Egarran 11.06.19	Clive Barker's Books of Blood is amazing.