FC/OT: Esquire’s Top 50 Horror Books…

[Midnighter]

I much prefer a scary book to a scary movie, and the definition of ‘horror’ here is fairly broad (includes Chuck Palahniuk’s ‘Haunted’ anthology for example…), no big surprises in the top ten but some books I haven’t heard of before.

The 50 Best Horror Books of All Time Will Scare You Sh*tless

Our number one pick has inspired generations of nightmares.

www.esquire.com

 

[psuro]

I don't disagree with "It" being a top 50 horror book. But, when I read King's "The Stand", I did not like reading it at night. I had to read it during the daytime.

 

[CVLion]

Love The Stand, one of my favorites.

Thanks for posting this, lots I’ll have to check out at some point.

I just wish I had more time for leisure reading dammit. If I were to win the lottery and retire early, doing a bunch of reading would be higher on my priority list than many other things, including luxury travel, etc.

 

[rudedude]

Nice list. Currently reading The Only Good Indians. I would also suggest this trio:

 

[Rotzc]

IT was very creepy when I read it at Mont Alto.. Storm drains freaked me out. Couldn't look into them. Book was amazing but the group bang and the ending spider thing sucked.. Needful things and Insomnia are my favorite King novels..

 

[Manofsteel200]

Salem’s Lot was the scariest I had ever read. I didn’t mind “IT”.

 

[Midnighter]

Salem’s Lot was the scariest I had ever read. I didn’t mind “IT”.

Probably the most traditional 'horror novel' I ever read was The Dark Half by King. I haven't read any of his others (but have read a bunch of his collected short stories).

Most non-traditional horror story I read was probably The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath; it reads like a 1950's coming of age story of a young female college grad until her serious mental illness issues start to reveal themselves and she writes in great but lovely detail about depression and anxiety. Sylvia Plath killed herself shortly after the book was published (terrible way to kill oneself too)....

To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is a bad dream.

And the legends surrounding Chuck Palahniuk's 'Guts' from 'Haunted' still resonate in websites around the internet. Not a traditional horror story, but a super tough, disgusting (though to a clinical degree) read....

 

[bbrown]

I much prefer a scary book to a scary movie, and the definition of ‘horror’ here is fairly broad (includes Chuck Palahniuk’s ‘Haunted’ anthology for example…), no big surprises in the top ten but some books I haven’t heard of before.

The 50 Best Horror Books of All Time Will Scare You Sh*tless

Our number one pick has inspired generations of nightmares.

www.esquire.com

Some interesting choices.
Top 10 seems pretty much standard. I just finished Haunting of Hill House and while its a interesting read but I didn't find it scary at all. I always thought the book Frankenstein was a big nothing burger but loved the movies.
I'm a huge King fan so was happy to see some of his make the list as well as Peter Straub.

I'll give a couple of my favorites...
Children of the Night by Dan Simmons is awesome.
Anything by Robert McCammmon would also be a good choice. Swan Song in particular. James Wan is adapting his book Stinger for a Peacock series so that should be interesting.
He also did one of my favorite books of all time called Boys Life. Its got a little of everything in it. Dinosaurs, Nazi's, a lake monster, a witch, The Klan...that one I highly recommend and would make a great Netflix or Streaming series.
Thanks for the link.

 

[bbrown]

Salem’s Lot was the scariest I had ever read. I didn’t mind “IT”.

Salem's Lot is my favorite King book. I think its also getting a redo on a streaming service. I saw the Rob Lowe version and didn't like it but I still like the Tobe Hooper version and Danny Glick floating outside the window still creeps me out.

 

[JerseyLion]

I don't get the love for Interview With the Vampire. The movie was a bore and the book was even worse. I went on to Lestat and stopped there.

Fans of Stephen King should try his son, Joe Hill. He has several very good books.

 

[LionJim]

I don't get the love for Interview With the Vampire. The movie was a bore and the book was even worse. I went on to Lestat and stopped there.

Fans of Stephen King should try his son, Joe Hill. He has several very good books.

I don’t think I got through ten paragraphs of Interview With The Vampire.

 

[bbrown]

I don't get the love for Interview With the Vampire. The movie was a bore and the book was even worse. I went on to Lestat and stopped there.

Fans of Stephen King should try his son, Joe Hill. He has several very good books.

I liked both the book and movie. Its when I started to appreciate Tom Cruise.
I also liked the first 3 Lestat books but not so much the ones that followed.
Also I think they are rebooting Interview.

Joe Hill is very good.

 

[JakkL]

Joe Hill's NOS4A2 was pretty good. They made a tv series out of it. Its funny tho because the first season which follows the book wasn't that good, but the 2nd season was better.

 

[scocha409]

Have only read about 5 on the list, but without a doubt Ghost Story had me freaked out and could not read when house was empty. The only other book that had similar impact, and is not on list, was Amityville Horror.
It has been around 40 years since read Ghost Story, need to do it again and see if it will have same impact.
Thanks for sharing list!

 

[[email protected]]

the exorcist was the scariest book i ever read could not put it down read all night

 

[LionJim]

the exorcist was the scariest book i ever read could not put it down read all night

I was thinking the same. Very well written.

 

[PSUALREADYKNOW]

Salem's Lot is my favorite King book. I think its also getting a redo on a streaming service. I saw the Rob Lowe version and didn't like it but I still like the Tobe Hooper version and Danny Glick floating outside the window still creeps me out.

Salem's Lot might be the best, but Desperation is also sensational as is Cujo and The Stand.

 

[NEPA Lion]

The Shining
Book is more intense than the movie, can feel Jack absorbed by The Overlook .

The movie did justice with the twins and the lady in the tub, but missed out on the hedges replacing it with a maze.

 

[Manofsteel200]

Salem's Lot might be the best, but Desperation is also sensational as is Cujo and The Stand.

Love CuJO and the Stand is one of my all-time favorites. I have not read Desperation…time to download!

 

[CVLion]

Desperation was good. There is a “companion” novel of sorts called The Regulators… the stories are different and not really related, but there are characters of the same name in each. They’re supposed to be parallel universes… characters may flip the role of which one is the parent or the child in the family in each universe, etc. I remember liking Desperation a little more of the two, but I enjoyed both.

As for The Shining, when I was about 7 years old my parents took me to a casting call which would have been for the role of the kid in that movie. I didn’t know any details about it, I just vaguely remember being interviewed by a small panel of people. Interestingly, Wikipedia says that the actual child actor in the film was not exposed to the fact that he was in a horror movie. Kubrick handled his scenes in such a way that he thought he was in a family drama. Very interesting.

 

[CVLion]

Did anyone read The House With a Clock in its Walls as a kid? I enjoyed that one a lot in my youth.

 

[JohnJumba]

#1...The Screwing of Joe Paterno.

 

[Midnighter]

Did anyone read The House With a Clock in its Walls as a kid? I enjoyed that one a lot in my youth.

Have to be careful with children's books - they're so subversive (and sometimes rather blatant). Two I love are 'Coraline' by Neil Gaiman, and everything by Edward Gorey....

 

[bbrown]

The Shining
Book is more intense than the movie, can feel Jack absorbed by The Overlook .

The movie did justice with the twins and the lady in the tub, but missed out on the hedges replacing it with a maze.

+1. I have a love hate relationship with the Movie The Shining. I love the tracking shots and cinematography but it just doesn't work for me on the same level that the book did.
And Shelly Duvall was horrible. There was a remake for TV that had Steven Webber playing Jack and Rebecca Demornay playing Wendy and I thought both were better and more like
the book. I didn't like Danny in either version. LOL. Also they did bring back the hedge animals for the remake.

 

[bbrown]

Love CuJO and the Stand is one of my all-time favorites. I have not read Desperation…time to download!

I'm a pretty big King fan. Desperation is good.
I listen to a King Podcast and the hosts think that Revival was the best King book.
Its good but I don't know if it would go in my top 5 King books. His starting run with Carrie, Salems Lot, The Shining, The Stand, or The Dead Zone... is pretty phenomenal.

 

[JerseyLion]

I'm a pretty big King fan. Desperation is good.
I listen to a King Podcast and the hosts think that Revival was the best King book.
Its good but I don't know if it would go in my top 5 King books. His starting run with Carrie, Salems Lot, The Shining, The Stand, or The Dead Zone... is pretty phenomenal.

It wasn't your typical Stephen King horror story, but I really liked The Institute.