What's the scariest book you've ever read?

[Curious]

It doesn't scare me at all nowadays, but The House on the Beach by E. L. Withers was the most frightening book I ever read as a child.

 

[Fitswimmer]

Salem's Lot by Stephen King. I read it when I was in middle school or HS, I forget, but I do remember how much it scared me. It also made me a fan of King for LIFE. Can't wait to read his newest!!

 

[janette]

I've read all of the Stephen King books, I think the scariest were The Shining and Apt Pupil. Misery because it was a real person just a more plausible story.

I don't find Dean Koontz that scary but more suspense / action and he does it better than almost anyone. Life Expectancy is probably my favorite but it's not really scary. I really like some of his books and others are just okay.

One of the scariest books for me was Southern Cross by Patricia Cornwell the bad guy just made my skin crawl and you can't get over the feeling that there are too many people like him in the real world.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

Revelations in the Bible. Scarier then anything else I've read.

 

[#1hockeymom]

Hands down, Stephen King's The Stand! I can still remember reading it while laying on my bed in HS.... all of a sudden Blue Oyster Cult came on my radio the same time I was coming to the first stanzo of the words in the book..... I swear that entire book was trying to tie itself to my life! Scared the hell out of me!

I love reading Koontz.... though it does scare me!

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Thomas Harris' Red Dragon and Dean Koontz's Intenstity.

I LOOOOOOOOVE Red Dragon!!!

 

[debbiedoo]

John Saul -- The Right Hand of Evil


I think he is scarier than S King

surprised no one has mentioned him yet......

 

[Virgo10]

Thought of another one... The Hot Zone. The true story of an ebola virus release near Washington DC.

 

[Dakota_Lynn]

Thought of another one... The Hot Zone. The true story of an ebola virus release near Washington DC.

I was just going to post that! That is the only book that ever gave me nightmares. It is amazing how close we came to a real life version of "The Stand." Eeeek!

 

[flowerfacade]

When Rabbit Howls by Truddi Chase is another frightening but true story examing a case study of multiple personalities. I read that book almost 15 years ago and parts of it have still stayed with me.

 

[marybet]

The Exorcist, I couldn't sleep for two weeks, kept hearing noises in the attic.

And we didn't even have an attic.

 

[nhrenee]

Most Stephen King books (even if I've already read them ).

 

[Michelina]

It really, really scared me. It's the only book that ever gave me nightmares.
Shawdowland by Peter Straub is really creepy too.

 

[karynnix]

Alas, Babylon was one that I read in high school that scared me. It is about life after a nuclear war. I read it about the time of the Gulf War. It scared the peaturkey out of me!

 

[flowerfacade]

Alas, Babylon is a wonderful, though frightening, book. That is a great read.
L

 

[Cool-Beans]

Of course, Charles Manson's Helter Skelter is nothing to sneeze at either.

Helter Skelter wasn't written by Charles Manson. It was about him, though. Vincent Bugliosi was the author. I liked that book.

Red Dragon was an excellent book. I thought Silence of the Lambs pretty much stunk...not even close to as good (but a much better movie!) And Hannibal was just ridiculous.

In Cold Blood...I was young when I read that, but remember being creeped out by the guy chewing aspirin. Went and tried it...yuck.

No book has ever really scared me, though. Guess I'm a tough bean.

 

[fabumouse]

I won't say it's the most coherent book I've ever read, but as an adult, "House of Leaves" is the only one that woke me up with cold sweats.

From a review:
One day, Will discovers that the interior of the house measures more than its exterior. More ominously, a closet appears, then a hallway.

From me - it goes on from there. The owner of the house launches an expedition down into the depths of his own home, where all kinds of mundane but therefore really creepy things happen.

 

[Virgo10]

Another one which came to mind after reading the Hell House thread.

Hell House. Wow! The movie was pretty good but the book was a sleep with the light on type of read.

 

[irishbosoxfan]

Helter Skelter wasn't written by Charles Manson. It was about him, though. Vincent Bugliosi was the author. I liked that book.

Red Dragon was an excellent book. I thought Silence of the Lambs pretty much stunk...not even close to as good (but a much better movie!) And Hannibal was just ridiculous.

In Cold Blood...I was young when I read that, but remember being creeped out by the guy chewing aspirin. Went and tried it...yuck.

No book has ever really scared me, though. Guess I'm a tough bean.

COOL-BEANS----Where did Chachi go?? And how does Pee-Wee rate Chachi's tat?? That pic makes me think of the Village People meet the Queer Eye guys.

 

[disneytraveler]

Dean Koontz books always scare me. ''Whispers and some of his other books
are really scary.