# October fear....



## JAB (Sep 27, 2010)

A few of my favorites are:
(no surprise) Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
And who could leave out the new classic Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith.



Now add yours.


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## Margaret (Jan 1, 2010)

Shirley Jackson's _The Haunting of Hill House_


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Somebody recommended this book of short stories last year, and it is terrific:


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## Dawn McCullough White (Feb 24, 2010)

_--- created clickable ebook link_


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

Not on Kindle:

The Haunting of Hill House
Something Wicked This Way Comes
The Halloween Tree
Harvest Home
The Woman in Black

Full of Kindley Candycorn Goodness:

Ghost-Road Blues, Johnathan Maberry -- Halloween setting, and bargain priced, even!
Dracula
Famous Modern Ghost Stories (really excellent selections in this)
The Works of H.P. Lovecraft
Anything by Edgar Allen Poe
It, Stephen King (his most Halloweeny book, IMO)
Kindleboards author Joel Arnolds' short fiction -- I just finished Bait, and it includes several Halloweenish stories; I haven't read the other two collections in the omnibus I bought, but I wholeheartedly recommend Bait. 
Anything by Algernon Blackwood
Ambrose Bierce's ghost stories
Dark Harvest, Norman Partridge
Hell House, Richard Matheson
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, M.R. James -- best ghost stories ever


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

And, unfortunately, not on Kindle (or any new print versions, but there are used copies and the audio CD available):


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

A Night in the Lonesome October is my Halloween favorite too! I try to reread it every October.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Thalia the Muse said:


> A Night in the Lonesome October is my Halloween favorite too! I try to reread it every October.


You have excellent taste.  I wish Zelazny's estate would get his stuff on Kindle, as my old Zelazny paperbacks are getting harder and harder for my poor old eyes to deal with.


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## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

I don't actually like reading horror or watching it for that matter but, I do like Poe for some reason. I think I read everything he ever wrote in high school.

And the one book that will always freak me out that I did manage to get though was {i]It[/i] by Stephen King. I also read this for the first time in high school and yeah, still super freaky.


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## Guest (Sep 28, 2010)

How about....









The Ultimate Horror Collection, Volume 1 (57 Books) [Kindle Edition]
Ambrose Bierce (Author), Bram Stoker (Author), Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (Author), Thomas Love Peacock (Author), William Hope Hodgson (Author) More... just $2.99

There are 57 here so you get a lot of Halloween bang for your buck!


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

pidgeon92 said:


> Somebody recommended this book of short stories last year, and it is terrific:


That was me (or at least I was one person who rec'd it.) and it is not terrific it is horrifying. It still haunts me.


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## 16205 (Jun 8, 2010)

A fun read is The Black Pumpkin out of Dean Koontz' Strange Highways (a collection of short stories).


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

its not for everyone, but I LOVED Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite ... I'm not really into mass murder but this just forced me to read it - I couldn't put it down.



Not quite as shocking, but one of my other favorites is Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

Halloween is my all-time FAVORITEST (I know that's not really a word, but I'm going to use it anyway to show my enthusiasm!) holiday!!  

My favorite horror books are, Salem's Lot by Stephen King, Halloween Night Fever by Dan Graffeo (this is a kids book), The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe (one of his short stories), Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dracula by Bram Stoker, and several more ... while I can't write horror very well, I certainly enjoy reading it!!


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## LCEvans (Mar 29, 2009)

Anything by Poe--my all time favorite spooky stuff. Some of Anne Rice's vampire books. 

Linda


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## D. Nathan Hilliard (Jun 5, 2010)

Ghost Story by Peter Straub (far superior to the movie that didn't even stay true to it)
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
50 Great Ghost Stories by John Canning


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## Dawn McCullough White (Feb 24, 2010)

D. Nathan Hilliard said:


> Ghost Story by Peter Straub (far superior to the movie that didn't even stay true to it)


I loved that movie! I'll have to check out the book. I didn't realize there was one. 

Dawn


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## Jeremy D Brooks (Sep 27, 2010)

I was going to say Straub's Ghost Story too...well, I suppose I just did. 

I re-read it last year and watched the movie again. When I was little, I thought the movie was great...scariest thing ever. Watching it as an adult was extremely disappointing, especially after reading the book.


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

I like to read 'Salem's Lot before Halloween every year, although it's more difficult to find the time now that I have so many books waiting for me to read on my K3. I also love anything by Edgar Allan Poe, as well as Bram Stoker's Dracula, when I want to get in the Halloween mood. (None of my special tags are working on my iPad for some reason, or I would have written the book titles properly. Guess the teacher is coming out in me.)


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## ErikLynd (Sep 21, 2010)

I'll second Stephen King's "It" as well.  If fact it was pretty influential in my own writing.  Recently I read Horns by Joe Hill and thought it was great along with his other book  Heart Shaped Box.  So I guess it runs in the family    (Joe Hill is Stephen King's son, not sure how common knowledge that is)


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## Figment (Oct 27, 2008)

I do believe _Ghost Story_ by Peter Straub is the scariest book I hae ever read. Unfortunately it is not yet available for Kindle (but I keep clicking it...and know that Straub has had other books reissued on Kindle, so have hope for this one). It truly is worth the struggle with the paperback to read this.

I read both of the Joe Hill books mentioned, and enjoyed them both _Horns_ much moreso than _Heart Shaped Box_, which I found to be rather silly. I'd not put either of them in the "really scary" category, however. In fact, at bottom, I found _Horns_ to be a quite beautiful love story.


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

I've never heard of Ghost Story (movie or book); I guess I'm going to have to add it to my TBR list!


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## Joel Arnold (May 3, 2010)

julieannfelicity said:


> I've never heard of Ghost Story (movie or book); I guess I'm going to have to add it to my TBR list!


Yes, yes, yes! It's one of my favorite novels, as well.

Norm Partridge's Dark Harvest is an excellent tale for Halloween, as well. I also loved Ghost Road Blues by Jonathon Maberry (sp?) and I wish Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes would be made available for Kindle. It's great for putting a person in the proper Halloween mood!


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

I agree that Horns, while excellent, is not scary at all. Some of Hill's short fiction is pretty creepy, though (and also very good).

Ghost Story is SO good. I reread it every few years, it's pretty much my ideal horror novel (well, that and The Haunting of Hill House -- also not on Kindle). I guess it seems to wintery for a Halloween book to me, though! 

Isn't it funny that Stephen King hasn't, so far as I know, written anything specifically set at or dealing with Halloween? He's so obsessed with childhood and Americana and Ray Bradbury, you'd think it would be a natural for him.

Several Thomas Ligotti stories are Halloween-themed -- "Conversations in a Dead Language" might be the best Halloween short story I've ever read, and there's another about creepy scarecrows and pumpkins but I forget the title -- edit: it's "The Shadow at the Bottom of the World."


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## 13500 (Apr 22, 2010)

Bram Stoker: "Dracula"
Washington Irving: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
Anything by Poe


To be, these sum up the true spirit of Halloween (pun intended, but weak, very weak?!?)


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

H.P. Lovecraft:  At the Mountains of Madness, the Dunwich Horror

The Amityville Horror

Sleepy Hollow

The Vampire Lestat

Frankenstein


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## Jeremy D Brooks (Sep 27, 2010)

Ghost Story is the only book that has ever given me nightmares...I told Straub that on Twitter, and he actually replied and said that he was glad to help!


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## AnelaBelladonna (Apr 8, 2009)

Now I really, really want to read Ghost Story but it isn't on Kindle.  If you guys happen to be on amazon.com, please click for the Kindle version.

Thanks!


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## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

It'll be out a week after Halloween, but I recommend Stephen King's newest collection. Four all new novellas.
Nov. 9

I bet a few of you didn't even know he had something due out, did you?
I plan to be waiting at the doors at 8:59 am


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## Jeremy D Brooks (Sep 27, 2010)

AnelaBelladonna said:


> Now I really, really want to read Ghost Story but it isn't on Kindle. If you guys happen to be on amazon.com, please click for the Kindle version.
> 
> Thanks!


Done!


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## AnelaBelladonna (Apr 8, 2009)

Jeremy D Brooks said:


> Done!


Thank you!


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

I've already clicked repeatedly for Ghost Story, but I'll click again!


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## stormhawk (Apr 29, 2009)

My favorite Halloweeny stories are 

Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Come, The October Country, and The Halloween Tree.

I also drag out the Lovecraft and Poe, especially for reading aloud.


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## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

Definitely Lovecraft. The perfect kind of creepy for Halloween.


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## Jen (Oct 28, 2008)

I'm so glad to see other people have (obsessively) clicked on Ghost Story.  I have to figure it'll happen, a great deal of his books are kindleized.  It was my FAVORITE book as a young teenager.  I still have my old paperback, but I might have to wait for the kindle version to re-read.  My paper copy is turning yellow  !  If you haven't read it and enjoy the genre, definitely read it!!  

I have no idea how, but until now I'd never read IT by Stephen King.  I'm 76% into it and LOVE it.  I might have to go on a Stephen King marathon.  I read Pet Semetary, Misery, Carrie and all the old ones as a kid.  I think then I moved on to VC Andrews.  I liked twisted stuff as a kid....and I guess I still do  !


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## LC Glazebrook (Sep 23, 2010)

Oh yes, The Halloween Tree! What a great book for this time of year.

LC


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## Emmalita (Feb 24, 2009)

I loved Ghost Story as well!  

Has anyone here read Let the Right One In?  I saw the movie and liked it very much, but was wondering about the book.  I've heard it's really different.  Anyone have any opinions on it?


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## Carolyn J. Rose Mystery Writer (Aug 10, 2010)

Okay, these aren't exactly Halloween-themed books, but they gave me that autumn feeling and they have a degree of spookiness.
Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury
The Gates, John Connolly


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## AnelaBelladonna (Apr 8, 2009)

Keep the suggestions coming.  I want to read a lot of ghost stories this month.  Also, keep clicking Peter Straub's "Ghost Story" please.


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## Laurensaga (Sep 29, 2010)

Jenny Pox by J.L. Bryan. I haven't finished it quite yet (about haflway through, but I am lovin it).
http://www.amazon.com/Jenny-Pox-ebook/dp/B003X9775G


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## SidneyW (Aug 6, 2010)

Thalia the Muse said:


> Not on Kindle:
> The Haunting of Hill House
> Something Wicked This Way Comes


Great list and these two are a couple of my favorites. It's a little more subtle, but I love "We Have Always Lived In the Castle" by Jackson as well.


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## R. Doug (Aug 14, 2010)

Bram Stoker's _Dracula_
Ira Levin's _Rosemary's Baby_
Peter Blatty's _The Exocist_
Elizabeth Kostova's _The Historian_


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## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

How about some Clive Barker? Cabal would be excellent Halloween reading.


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

It will always  be  Salem's Lot for me!


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

bordercollielady said:


> It will always be Salem's Lot for me!


Me, too! As I said earlier, I read it nearly every October.


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## HeidiHall (Sep 5, 2010)

julieannfelicity said:


> Halloween is my all-time FAVORITEST (I know that's not really a word, but I'm going to use it anyway to show my enthusiasm!) holiday!!


Love it! I decorate more for Halloween than I do for the holidays!

As for books, I love Heather Graham. Everything she writes has a great _ghostly_ vibe!


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

_To Kill a Mockingbird_



Not available for Kindle. Drat.


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## Jen (Oct 28, 2008)

Jeff said:


> _To Kill a Mockingbird_
> 
> 
> 
> Not available for Kindle. Drat.


DRAT is right!! It's probably one of the only books (in addition to Ghost Story) that I really, really want on my kindle.


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Jen said:


> DRAT is right!! It's probably one of the only books (in addition to Ghost Story) that I really, really want on my kindle.


I've been clicking on the "I want this book on Kindle" for three years. It hasn't done any good but makes me feel better.


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## rittsi (Aug 10, 2010)

Ryne Douglas Pearson said:


> Even though it was all bunk, I absolutely LOVED reading 'The Amityville Horror' when I was in Jr. High, late at night. Scared the blank out of me. Can never see 3:15 on a clock without getting a little freaked out.


I also first read it at that age and loved it. I'd never heard about it before but once I started reading I got so caught up in the story that I read it in one sitting. (Not alone I might add.)

Other books I recommend:

Autumn by David Moody (if you like the zombie genre).
20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
I am Legend by Richard Matheson

It's also the perfect time of year for spooky classics, so you can't go wrong with Dracula or Frankenstein.


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## Maria Hooley (Jul 21, 2009)

The Whimper of Whipped Dogs by Harlan Ellison.  It's in a collection called The Deathbird stories.


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## ajhunter (Aug 23, 2010)

AlanBaxter said:


> Definitely Lovecraft. The perfect kind of creepy for Halloween.


I've always been intrigued by Lovecraft but have actually not read much at all by him. I found this one for the Kindle though...
H. P. Lovecraft: The Ultimate Collection

Does anyone already have this? Seems to be pretty extensive. Just hoping to get some thoughts.


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## SidneyW (Aug 6, 2010)

As far as short stories go:

The October Game by Ray Bradbury and The Lonesome Place by August Derleth are a couple of great ones. I read them in a collection called "Horror Times Ten" as a kid, but they're probably collected in many anthologies.


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## jbh13md (Aug 1, 2010)

ajhunter said:


> I've always been intrigued by Lovecraft but have actually not read much at all by him. I found this one for the Kindle though...
> H. P. Lovecraft: The Ultimate Collection
> 
> Does anyone already have this? Seems to be pretty extensive. Just hoping to get some thoughts.


I don't have that particular collection, but I do have 3 other Lovecraft collections and he is a really excellent read. My favorite horror story, if you put a gun to my head, would have to be "The Rats in the Walls." The ending doesn't just jump out and say BOO! It jumps out and punches you write in the fear center of your brain.


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## Cliff Ball (Apr 10, 2010)

Besides _Dracula_, I'd say _Frankenstein_, followed by Dean Koontz' Frankenstein series. If you're not familiar with the Koontz books, its Dr. Frankenstein experimenting in the modern day and creating super humans in Louisiana. Frankenstein's monster, Decalion, attempts to stop Frankenstein's new monsters.


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## BrendaWallace (Oct 3, 2010)

Scott Nicholson's The Red Church, Speed Dating with the Dead, They Hunger
Chryse Wymer's The Dark Room
Stephen King's The Shining


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## William Meikle (Apr 19, 2010)

At Halloween I go back to older ghost stories... anything by

M.R. James
Algernon Blackwood
William Hope Hodgson
E F Benson

works for me.


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## Genaro Zamora (Jul 6, 2010)

We all tend to have a favorite shiver for this time of year (Halloween).  
So what's your's? 
Me, well I seem to have a hobby of the 1980's Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween (Michael Myers) movies. 
While in the reading entertainment, I enjoy ghost stories in books, and haunting mysteries stories and locations I find online.

Or maybe it's just me.


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## gone (May 8, 2010)

It's an oldie, but Pet Semetary is one of the scariest books I ever read. Actually made me stop reading Stephen King because of the nightmares, but keep in mind that I'm a chicken.


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## Jen (Oct 28, 2008)

My first thought when I read October fear was that my Reds might lose in the playoffs....

Any and all ghost stories.  Love them.  And Stephen King.  I'm just finishing up IT, which is pretty appropriate!


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

Jen said:


> My first thought when I read October fear was that my Reds might lose in the playoffs....
> 
> Any and all ghost stories. Love them. And Stephen King. I'm just finishing up IT, which is pretty appropriate!


I read Salem's Lot when I was little-ish. No more real scary horror for me. I'm scarred!


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## farrellclaire (Mar 5, 2010)

I've yet to read a book that scared me (although Misery creeps me right out because of the whole author/crazy fan deal) but I always make sure I watch The Omen around Halloween.  It's a tradition at this stage.


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## farrellclaire (Mar 5, 2010)

Monique said:


> I read Salem's Lot when I was little-ish. No more real scary horror for me. I'm scarred!


My mother made me watch Salem's Lot when I was around five because she was scared watching it alone. It literally terrified me for years, (mainly the window bit) I wouldn't even let my OH buy the DVD or have it in our home. LOL! Then he forced me to watch it about two years ago and well, it wasn't even a tiny bit scary. All that panic for nothing.


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

Maybe I should watch it. It might cure me. 

But, I'm skeeeeeered!


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## Vianka Van Bokkem (Aug 26, 2010)

dfigueroa said:


> It's an oldie, but Pet Semetary is one of the scariest books I ever read. Actually made me stop reading Stephen King because of the nightmares, but keep in mind that I'm a chicken.


This book and movie scared me too!


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## Jen (Oct 28, 2008)

I have LOVED the horror genre since I was probably 10 years old.  I read Pet Semetary at 10, it was scary but that stuff just doesn't bother me.  I kind of got out of it for awhile, that's about all I read as a kid.  Between Stephen King, John Saul, Dean Koontz & VC Andrews I guess I got bored and moved to mostly historical fiction.  IT is my first trip back into it, and I'm hooked all over again!  
To each his own, I can't stand the romance genre so many women love - it just goes to show why there are so many books out there!


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## Genaro Zamora (Jul 6, 2010)

You all some frady cats!!!!

lol j/k.

Gotta dig Stephen King's Pet Semetary. I still find it chilling. "It" is a long book to read. But one I haven't read that maybe I should pick up is Clive Barker's Hellraiser.


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## LCEvans (Mar 29, 2009)

A movie that really, really scared me was The Premature Burial. I don't like to read horror, though I like Stephen King--not his most scary books. I don't read those.

Linda


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Genaro Zamora said:


> We all tend to have a favorite shiver for this time of year (Halloween).
> So what's your's?
> Me, well I seem to have a hobby of the 1980's Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween (Michael Myers) movies.
> While in the reading entertainment, I enjoy ghost stories in books, and haunting mysteries stories and locations I find online.
> ...


See this recent thread: It's time for a Halloween book list. Add your favorites here. (Maybe a moderator should merge these?)


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## Jon King (Sep 10, 2010)

Jen said:


> My first thought when I read October fear was that my Reds might lose in the playoffs....


Mine, too. I guess we're freakin' terrified now...


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## Music &amp; Mayhem (Jun 15, 2010)

Jon King said:


> Mine, too. I guess we're freakin' terrified now...


Okay ... I'll join you from the AL East. Gotta go root for the Yankees.


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## SidneyW (Aug 6, 2010)

I love to catch The Black Cat with Karloff and Lugosi, Carpenter's Halloween, and as I've mentioned in other posts, scary short stories in the vein of Lovecraft and early Bradbury. I may also try to fit in some episodes of Karloff's Thriller this year since it's finally on DVD.


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## D. Nathan Hilliard (Jun 5, 2010)

I was a huge fan of the first series of Halloween movies, and the other early John Carpenter movies as well...The Fog and The Thing. So far, his stuff hasn't really been remade very well...okay, they've been remade atrociously...but I'm hoping the upcoming prequel to The Thing will still be good.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

NogDog said:


> See this recent thread: It's time for a Halloween book list. Add your favorites here. (Maybe a moderator should merge these?)


Just did!


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## Linda S. Prather Author (Jun 25, 2010)

Wow, some great books here I've never heard of, and now will have to add to my TBR list.  I am definitely a Poe fan, and wanted to than MR for the tip on the favorites for $2.99.  I will definitely have to have that as well as recommend it to both my sons--otherwise they'll constantly be wanting mine.


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## Genaro Zamora (Jul 6, 2010)

NogDog said:


> See this recent thread: It's time for a Halloween book list. Add your favorites here. (Maybe a moderator should merge these?)


I didn't think movies counted for that thread. 
Didn't wanna go off topic. Thats why I made the other one....


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## purplepen79 (May 6, 2010)

Margaret said:


> Shirley Jackson's _The Haunting of Hill House_


Agreed--Jackson's subtle writing style and power of description can't be beat. I also love Ira Levin's books, _Rosemary's Baby, The Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil_, etc. His writing is exquisitely dry and understated, the perfect touch for horror. He's one of the few horror writers who makes me laugh and scares me silly at the same time.


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## Genaro Zamora (Jul 6, 2010)

you know, I've never read _Rosemary's Baby_. I've noticed it mentioned many times though.


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## AlanBaxter (Sep 1, 2009)

ajhunter said:


> I've always been intrigued by Lovecraft but have actually not read much at all by him. I found this one for the Kindle though...
> H. P. Lovecraft: The Ultimate Collection
> 
> Does anyone already have this? Seems to be pretty extensive. Just hoping to get some thoughts.


That looks like an awesome collection. And it's not available here in Australia. Gah!


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