What is the best horror book there is? I love horror books and I wanna know which is the best one.
2007-04-06 07:56:45 · 14 answers · asked by Phantomfan 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
This is a tough question to answer because "best" is always a subjective term.
If you are thinking classics, you can't beat
Dracula or Frankenstein. Either of these are absolutely wonderful horror stories.
If you want something that's a more contemporary book, you are going to get a ton of different answers. Some standouts are:
The Silence of the Lambs by Harris
I am Legend by Matheson
In the Flesh by Barker
The Exorcist by Blatty
You'll have a bunch of people say Stephen King is the master... Maybe so. Like I said, it's all a matter of opinion. That's why it's hard to say what's best. I'm partial to Matheson myself.
2007-04-06 08:06:29 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I also like Stephen King and Clive Barker. Koontz has gotten away from horror but some of his earlier works were indeed spooky. It by King was very rough as was The Stand and Salem's Lot. Barker's Weaveworld and Imajica were way out there but excellent. King's Son Joe Hill has written some Ghost Stories that are excellent. The Heart Shaped Box will scare the pants off ya.
2016-05-18 22:21:04 · answer #2 · answered by merle 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just encompassing cont. horror fiction, Stephan King's "The Shining" and "Salem's Lot" of course. One novel that did not make into any other answers: "Ghost Story" co-written by Peter Straub and another author. Superb. It includes a short story about one of the protaganists' teaching experience during the Depression in the Dust Bowl, one of the most eerie, freakish disturbing horror shorts in a long time. The novel is up there with Stephen King's best.
2007-04-07 19:54:12 · answer #3 · answered by lolita 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum
It takes a lot to scare me, but this one gave me insomnia. Ketchum's craft is superb. It's also very hard to put down. I tried reading a few chapters before I went to bed. The next thing I knew, the sun was coming up and I had to get ready for work. That had never happened to me before. Find out why Stephen King calls Ketchum the best in the business.
2007-04-06 08:05:47 · answer #4 · answered by cthulhu63 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
that depends greatly on your definition of horror, I mean we are all scared by different things, aren't we? That being said, The Shining is pretty good, as are It and Gerald's Game. Never forget Mary Shelly's Frankenstein (although that is really more sad) or Bram Stoker's Dracula, also try looking into collections by various horror "masters"
2007-04-06 08:10:31 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just for the impression it made on me at the time (when I was about 18): Stephen King's 'It'.
A bunch of kids confronted with evil, surviving, only to have to face it again as adults (the short version of 1000+ pages).
2007-04-09 06:57:39 · answer #6 · answered by Henrik O 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would throw in Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" as being the best of the 20th century. For short stories, see her "The Lottery."
2007-04-06 08:53:39 · answer #7 · answered by Richard P 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Stephen Kings 'The Shinning'
try reading that one at night ... alone... with the lights out.. especially the part about the topiary.
(eh? what WAS that noise in the attic?)
.
2007-04-06 08:00:22 · answer #8 · answered by ca_surveyor 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stephen King's The Shining and 'Salem's Lot are my two favorites.
2007-04-06 17:34:17 · answer #9 · answered by Molly R. 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Shining. It's scary, well more of a scary thriller. I loved it! I would suggest you read it just to understand it's cult following!
2007-04-06 08:06:04 · answer #10 · answered by KND 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋