It's a crisp, moonlit October night. Outside, a wind stirs the skeleton shapes of leafless trees and a black cat hurries home after the evening's hunt. Inside, you're curled up in your favorite chair by the hearth, a blanket on your lap and a cup of tea close at hand. What better time to open a book and scare yourself silly?
I've been a fan of horror movies since I was a child. I love them all, from the classic films of James Whale to the B-movie fun of every film that Vincent Price ever made, but it's only within the past few years that I've extended my enjoyment of the genre into the realm of literature. In the spirit of Halloween, I offer you the following recommendations from my own book collection.
If you're unfamiliar with the horror genre and you're not quite sure what you like yet, you can't go wrong with The Dark Descent, a fine anthology that includes stories from such varied authors as Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Stephen King, D.H. Lawrence and Flannery O'Connor. There's a nice introduction that gives an overview of the history of horror fiction. Since the book offers such a chronological and stylistic range, it's a good place to begin, and makes a fine addition to anyone's spooky library.
In a Glass Darkly is a moody collection of ghost stories written by Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu in the late 1800s. Perhaps the best known of these is "Carmilla", an atmospheric tale of vampirism set in the lonely European countryside and believed to have been the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. Le Fanu creates an atmosphere of quiet dread underpinned with a feverish sensuality that will send the proverbial shivers down your spine. If you have a taste for Victorian-era tales of the supernatural, this is a must-read.
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
excellent, succinct, informative job DA, thanks!
2 - andy marsh
have you ever read 'the pad place' by dean koontz?
3 - andy marsh
sorry 'the bad place'
4 - Distorted Angel
Nope, haven't read any Koontz at all, andy. Worth checking out?
5 - andy marsh
'The Bad Place' was my introduction to Koontz...I was on a ship in the middle of the ocean reading this book, late at night..I went outside to have a cigarette...cloudy, no moon or stars...literally, could not see your hands in front of your face, I took about 2, maybe 3 hits off the cigarette and said to hell with this and ducked back inside where the lights were!
Koontz draws you into the story and made me believe that something was gonna pop up next to me and GET ME!
I've read several of his books, they're easy reads, you get through them quick...I didn't want to put them down!
I started reading Koontz after Stephen King changed his style a little, I still read King, but not as enthusiastically as I used to.
6 - Distorted Angel
My husband has read a few of Koontz's books and enjoyed them -- I'll have to hunt down a couple and give him a try.
7 - andy marsh
start with the bad place...I think it's his best...but really, I haven't read a bad one. Some are more believeable than others...Intensity is really good.
8 - SFC SKI
If you like Barker, you might also like James Herbert, especially books like "The Fog" and IIRC, "The Moon". Like King at his best, Herbert won't scarre you by what he describes happening, it is what goes on in the mind, that what is happening is not as scary as what could come next. Herbert's not as good as he was, but his earlier make me turn non all thelights in the house.
9 - Nikola Sirovica
While I do agree with the list I noticed that you didn't have much actual halloween fiction up there. Some good Halloween books:
Bradbury: The Halloween Tree
Somthing Wicked This Way Comes
October Country
Although it may be hard to find there is an anthology called "October Dreams" which is a great buy for those who want to truly appreciate the holiday. There's short stories, poems, essays and unusual facts abou the history of halloween.
And then here are some other novels that are lesser known but are truly scary.
Ghost Story by Peter Straub
The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Wolfen by Whitely Strieber
I also recommend Richard Laymon