# Scariest Book you have ever read?



## DoubleDog (May 1, 2009)

Scariest Book you have ever read?

I've searched for this topic but nothing has come up..... 

Any recommendations for Halloween reads?


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I am not a big fan of scary books, so I am probably the wrong person to ask! LOL. However, I do remember reading T*he Mystery of the Tell-Tale Heart* by Edgar Allen Poe back when I was about 11 or 12 and being completely terrified. *The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar* (also Poe) was also pretty scary, as I recall.

L


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## KindleKay (aka #1652) (Jan 20, 2009)

This may sound stupid, but one book I read in my teenage years had me shreik out loud at 2am.  Don't know if it was my age, the time, or the book but I just remember being completely caught up!

The book is "The Eyes of the Dragon" by Stephen King

I am actually not sure if it is Kindleized.... I will go look...


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## EllenR (Mar 31, 2009)

Pet Semetary by Stephen King totally freaked me out when I read it years ago. Actually, there are several Stephen King books that have freaked me out over the years...LOL

EllenR


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

DoubleDog said:


> Scariest Book you have ever read?
> 
> I've searched for this topic but nothing has come up.....
> 
> Any recommendations for Halloween reads?


I swear there was a thread quite a while ago, but darned if I can find it.

Anyway I'm pretty sure my answers were:

 

Probably had do more with my age at the time I read them than anything else.


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

EllenR said:


> Pet Semetary by Stephen King totally freaked me out when I read it years ago. Actually, there are several Stephen King books that have freaked me out over the years...LOL
> 
> EllenR


That one creeped me out too, probably more so than any of his other books, except the one that had Pennywise in it. I _hate_ clowns.


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## EllenR (Mar 31, 2009)

Oh yeah, I agree with Forester. Those two books both scared me so bad I guess I had them blocked from my memory! LOL 

Geez, now I'll probably have nightmares just from the memories.

EllenR


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## EllenR (Mar 31, 2009)

Forster said:


> That one creeped me out too, probably more so than any of his other books, except the one that had Pennywise in it. I _hate_ clowns.


Oh yeah, _It_ was creepy. I don't like clowns either. They give me the creeps!


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## KindleKay (aka #1652) (Jan 20, 2009)

OK- The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King is not Kindle-ized  Boo!  I just requested it to the publisher.

Pet Semetary by Stephen King was another on that totally got me!!  ::shudder:: forgot about that one.... But Eyes of the Dragon did make me shreik.  I felt stupid afterward, but still...


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## Aravis60 (Feb 18, 2009)

The scariest book that I've read recently was probably Dracula. The Ghost Pirates by William Hodgson was also pretty good. Getting them both for free (public domain) was a bonus.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

"The Tommyknockers" by Stephen King got me.  A friend and I both decided to try Stephen King in like 5th grade and they read "It" while I read "The Tommyknockers".  A scene in my book actually had a cameo by Pennywise in it and it was so unexpected that it creeped me out so badly I needed to put the book down for the rest of the night.  I seem to remember "The Eyes of the Dragon" somehow turning me off from it too when I tried to read it years earlier.  I put it down and it took me years to finally get back to it.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

All (or at least the vast majority) of H. P. Lovecraft's books and stories are avaialble, including his most famous, _The Call of Cthulhu_. You can probably find free versions at your favorite free e-book sites.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

This is a good thread for many books I will know to never read.  

(Though, actually, I have read the Poe. . . .)


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I personally don't find super-natural horror books all that scary.  My mind is able to convince myself that it's super-natural and can't be real.  But the more realistic narratives, even if not intended to be "horror," can make me afraid of the dark.  So "The Silence of the Lambs" scared the crap out of me!  I guess anything about serial killers is really scary.  I just downloaded "The Mermaids Singing" - and we'll see how that goes...


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## Aravis60 (Feb 18, 2009)

DYB said:


> I personally don't find super-natural horror books all that scary. My mind is able to convince myself that it's super-natural and can't be real. But the more realistic narratives, even if not intended to be "horror," can make me afraid of the dark. So "The Silence of the Lambs" scared the crap out of me! I guess anything about serial killers is really scary. I just downloaded "The Mermaids Singing" - and we'll see how that goes...


"The Silence of the Lambs" movie gives me nightmares. I can't imagine reading the book.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Here's the thread from way back in December....

Let's talk HORROR! 'fraidy cats stay out.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

DoubleDog said:


> Any recommendations for Halloween reads?


Two things I just thought of which I associate with Halloween:



















. . . or better yet, listen to the radio broadcast on one of the CDs that are available.


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## ladyvolz (Dec 23, 2008)

The scariest book I ever read was The Wolfen by Whitney Strieber way back in the late 80's.  Book was much more scarier than the movie.  Not in kindle ed though.


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

Scariest book I ever read was a late 60's - early 70's version of "What's Happening to Me?" (Not eve close to the correct title, but along the same lines...) There were line drawings of nekkid men, and OHMYGAWD I was NEVER letting THAT near me.

I still have nightmares.

=sob=



Other than that...Stephen King's "The Stand."


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## KathyluvsKindle (Apr 13, 2009)

My scariest book is Stephen King's "Salem's Lot". I still cannot sleep with the light out when I am alone, and I read it when it first came out!


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## jaspertyler (Feb 13, 2009)

LOL @ Thumper 

I like Zombies and really liked Brian Keane's books (I can't remember the names right now but not the Dead Sea one)


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## jrector (May 24, 2009)

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty.

No other book comes close.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

*The Exorcist* was really scary. I was also going to mention *The Legend of Sleepy Hollow*.

*Rosemary's Baby*(book and movie) was also pretty nerve-wracking.

L


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

DoubleDog said:


> Scariest Book you have ever read?


Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi hands down. But it didn't help that I read it in my teens and I grew up and was still living very close to where it happened. Freaked me out for a very long time. I couldn't even drive the Santa Susana pass without being totally spooked, since it goes right past spaun ranch.


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## kellyabell (Sep 4, 2009)

Pet Semetary was the winner for me.  I was reading it while I worked the night shift at the hospital.  One of the maintenance men jumped up behind me squalling like a cat and I swear I wet myself.  Scared me to death.  I've never been too fond of cats after that.

I have to agree with the clowns - ugh...  I don't like dolls either.


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## liannallama (May 29, 2009)

I read this book as a very young teenager and it scared the livin' daylights out of me--Suffer the Children by John Saul
http://www.amazon.com/Suffer-Children-John-Saul/dp/044018293X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252898089&sr=8-1-catcorr

I also remember being spooked by Amnityville horror too. I remember staying up all night and reading it under the covers by the light of my electric blanket (on a school night no less!)

If you like classic horror, The Call of Cthuluhu books by Lovecraft are also high on the creepy factor and some of my favorites.

I remember reading some stuff that I think was by Clive Barker that was pretty bizarre and spooky. I haven't read much modern horror since my college days when I read him (maybe he scared me too much, LOL!)


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## KindleKay (aka #1652) (Jan 20, 2009)

Ooooh!  John Saul!  I read him as a tween!!!  SCARY!!  I read Suffer the Children, too!!


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## Leises (May 8, 2009)

jrector said:


> The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty.
> 
> No other book comes close.


I agree. A friend dared me to read the book as a teen. I had thought the movie was silly so I agreed. Now, years later, I still get creeped out if I think about that book.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

"I am Legend" by Richard Matheson is certainly one of the scariest books I've ever read. Unfortunately there's no Kindle version yet.

Another Matheson book that's really scary is "Hell House," and there is a Kindle version.

Both books were made into movies, but neither movie is remotely as good as the book.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

JimC1946 said:


> "I am Legend" by Richard Matheson is certainly one of the scariest books I've ever read. Unfortunately there's no Kindle version yet.
> 
> Another Matheson book that's really scary is "Hell House," and there is a Kindle version.
> 
> Both books were made into movies, but neither movie is remotely as good as the book.


Just FYI, _I Am Legend_ was made into three movies, but only the most recent retained the title. (I sort of liked "The Omega Man" when I saw it as a youngish teen, but I only vaguely remember the first, Vincent Price version.)


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

jrector said:


> The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty.
> 
> No other book comes close.


Ditto. It was the only book my parents (both ordained ministers) ever forbid (forbade?) me to read and, of course, I read it anyway. It still scares me.


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

DYB said:


> I personally don't find super-natural horror books all that scary. My mind is able to convince myself that it's super-natural and can't be real. But the more realistic narratives, even if not intended to be "horror," can make me afraid of the dark. So "The Silence of the Lambs" scared the crap out of me! I guess anything about serial killers is really scary. I just downloaded "The Mermaids Singing" - and we'll see how that goes...


I'm the same way, pretty much. Although sometimes I do still worry about what's hiding under the bed... Also, movies can usually freak me out more than books do.


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## WalterK (Mar 2, 2009)

I read Stephen King's *The Shining* in the dead of winter over several nights during a snowstorm in Colorado. The environment really enhanced the scare quotient. 

- Walter.


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## sherylb (Oct 27, 2008)

The Shining still scares me.   It's that whole being alone in a huge building thing that is the worst for me. I'm just a fraidy cat!

The second one is The Exorcist. I read it when I was about 17 and I had to keep putting the book down and going back to it later. Then I saw the movie with friends at the drive-in and since I had read the book and knew what was going to happen the movie didn't freak me out like it did to my friends. The book was way more scary than the movie!


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## Bullymom (Dec 18, 2008)

For me it was and still is House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons. This is available in kindle


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## Monica of NY (Jun 3, 2009)

I have to agree with jrector.  The Exorcist was, by far, the scariest book I've ever read.


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## kellyabell (Sep 4, 2009)

Bullymom said:


> For me it was and still is House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons. This is available in kindle


I love Anne Rivers Siddons but I didn't know she'd written anything scary. I'll have to check this one out. Thanks for the recommendation.


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## kellyabell (Sep 4, 2009)

This one is not Stephen King or Dean Koontz but it's a great Halloween read. Check it out and see what you think.
Haunted Destiny kindle


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## MeganW (Dec 28, 2008)

I agree with Kathy -- "'Salem's Lot" has to be the scariest book I've read -- and also one of my favorites!


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

WalterK said:


> I read Stephen King's *The Shining* in the dead of winter over several nights during a snowstorm in Colorado. The environment really enhanced the scare quotient.
> 
> - Walter.


I agree The Shining is one of the scariest book I have ever read.


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

There are a lot of good suggestions here, and I was glad to see The House Next Door, because it doesn't get enough love. Stephen King talked about it at length in Danse Macabre, his book about horror and scifi stories. Pet Semetary would probably get my vote as scariest.

Of my recent reads, I was impressed by:


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## brenjmull (Aug 8, 2009)

This is a great thread. I have always loved reading scary books but havent in a while. But I went to the amazon site to maybe download the House next door and it is 9.99 for kindle,, and 2.48 for a paperback,, that just stinks.. It makes me want to buy the book instead of downloading it..Why would this cost more then  in a paper form ? 

If anyone knows of any bargain scary books,, could you post them? thanks

I too loved john saul and King books when I was much younger..


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I'll echo _The Shining_ and _The Exorcist_.

Betsy


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

brenjmull said:


> This is a great thread. I have always loved reading scary books but havent in a while. But I went to the amazon site to maybe download the House next door and it is 9.99 for kindle,, and 2.48 for a paperback,, that just stinks.. It makes me want to buy the book instead of downloading it..Why would this cost more then in a paper form ?


Because that's a used book. The new paperback sold by amazon.com is $12.60.


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## Keith Melton (Jul 22, 2009)

DoubleDog said:


> Scariest Book you have ever read?
> 
> I've searched for this topic but nothing has come up.....
> 
> Any recommendations for Halloween reads?


The Shining by Stephen King, followed by It. 
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is also excellent.
Ditto on Silence of the Lambs and the Exorcist. Robert Bloch's Psycho. Peter Straub's Ghost Story. H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness is brooding/creepy.

But most of those are older books--any horror lovers out there who can recommend a scary read by a newer writer?


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## Shawna (Feb 25, 2009)

*It * by Stephen King is the only book to ever give me nightmares. I might have to read another horror soon since Halloween is approaching fast!


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## Cuechick (Oct 28, 2008)

I just loved creepy books as a kid and remember especially a book called Jane-Emily which is on Kindle...
http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Emily/dp/B000UVBT22/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253138659&sr=8-2

Also enjoyed good scares from The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby but the creepiest book of all time is *"The Other"*!
Nightmares for weeks!

(No Kindle version not even in print, but used pb starting at 1¢! There is a movie version but it's pretty bad.)

http://www.amazon.com/Other-Thomas-Tryon/dp/B000O8BO6W/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253138884&sr=1-4


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## sixnsolid (Mar 13, 2009)

Octochick said:


> I just loved creepy books as a kid and remember especially a book called Jane-Emily which is on Kindle...
> http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Emily/dp/B000UVBT22/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253138659&sr=8-2


I remember Jane-Emily fondly. It was my first scary book.

My husband had a custom gigantic relecting ball made to go in our Victorian garden. 6 years it's been there and I haven't had the heart to tell him it creeps me out


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## etexlady (May 27, 2009)

Ditto to Rosemary's Baby.  I guess I was a teen when I read it and I remember holding my breath as I read the last few pages.  Cujo by Stephen King was scary to me just because it could really happen.  Same with Jaws by Peter Benchley.


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## hackeynut (Dec 16, 2008)

jrector said:


> The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty.
> 
> No other book comes close.


I read that while trapped in a beachhouse with the power out by candlelight during a hurricane. Yeah, poor choice. Great book though.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

The Exorcist (which I already mentioned as one of my top two)--I remember reading that in high school late at night and the wind kept making a tree branch tap my window....talk about spooked out!

and the Shining--my other one--I was alone in the house reading that, and the house kept creaking.  Had to stop until I wasn't alone in the house....

Betsy


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> The Exorcist (which I already mentioned as one of my top two)--I remember reading that in high school late at night and the wind kept making a tree branch tap my window....talk about spooked out!
> ...


I remember my older sister telling me that while at college, she and some dorm friends went to see the "Exorcist" movie. A couple nights later there was a minor earthquake in the area in the wee hours, so just imagine yourself waking up in the middle of the night feeling your bed shaking after having just seen that movie.


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## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

I just read The Fall of the House of Usher, by Poe.  Not the scariest, but it was FREE! 
I should look for other free works by Poe.  I always picture Vincent Price when I read his works.


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## jaayimee (May 6, 2009)

I love Stephen King but some of the scariest books that have kept me up at night were Patricia Cornwells Scarpetta series in the very beginning. Those terrified me because that is evil that does exist and can actually happen and it still keeps me up at night it was so disturbing.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

hackeynut said:


> I read that while trapped in a beachhouse with the power out by candlelight during a hurricane. Yeah, poor choice. Great book though.


As long as you didn't answer the door.

Never. Answer. The. Door.


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

One of the scariest novels I've ever read was _Ghost Story _ by Peter Straub which was made into a movie. I think the book was scarier.

Also, Steven King's collection _Skeleton Crew_, contained some truly scary stories. The thing about his work, though, is that some of the endings are really weak. The Mist is one example. If you read it, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Debra


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

This is a really useful thread  --  some of these books I had thought I might want to read, and now I know I don't.    

Scariest for me as a teen were Poe's stories, especially The Cask of Amontillado.  And there was a short story...  H.G. Wells...  I think it was called The Cone but I'm not sure, it creeped me out so much that I've not opened that book (collection of various of his shorter stories) in probably 35 years.

Newer stuff, I read ONE Patricia Cornwell book and ONE Stephen King book and decided I didn't need either of those experiences again.

But I read both The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby as a teen and didn't find either one overly scary.  Go figure.


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

Debra Purdy Kong said:


> Also, Steven King's collection _Skeleton Crew_, contained some truly scary stories. The thing about his work, though, is that some of the endings are really weak. The Mist is one example. If you read it, you'll know what I'm talking about.


Really? I liked the ending. The best stories leave you lying awake at night trying to fill in the blanks.


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## Chloista (Jun 27, 2009)

Carol Hanrahan said:


> I just read The Fall of the House of Usher, by Poe. Not the scariest, but it was FREE!
> I should look for other free works by Poe. I always picture Vincent Price when I read his works.


Yesterday I downloaded the complete works of E.A. Poe -- I think it cost $2.49. To have all the stories and the poems for $2.49 is not bad.


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## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

Chloista said:


> Yesterday I downloaded the complete works of E.A. Poe -- I think it cost $2.49. To have all the stories and the poems for $2.49 is not bad.


How is the formatting?


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

I'd have to admit that Poe has haunted me.  I had to read it for school in the eighth grade (various Poe).  Never got over it.  

Then there was a YA horror by Vivian Vande Velde.  It was a collection of short stories and I didn't know it was horror.  I read the first story and to this day, it makes me just EEEP.  I never finished reading it.  VVV has some wonderful YA, but only read the fantasy if you don't like horror, because that lady can chill your bones to a deep freeze.


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## Chloista (Jun 27, 2009)

Carol Hanrahan said:


> How is the formatting?


Pretty good.

Much better than the formatting of the book "Prince of Tides" by Pat Conroy that I am currently reading.


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## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

American psyco, not available on kindle last time I looked.


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## hackeynut (Dec 16, 2008)

Red said:


> American psyco, not available on kindle last time I looked.


That book is a gem. Of course, being the disturbed human I am, I read that book mostly as a comedy.


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## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

hackeynut said:


> That book is a gem. Of course, being the disturbed human I am, I read that book mostly as a comedy.


Yes, it was sort of written that way I think, but it still creeped me out


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

One of the scariest books I've read is _Nightwing_, by Martin Cruz Smith. The movie was hilarious, but the book creeped me out.

Mike


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Found another one while cleaning up today  --  The Hot Zone.    I remember having to put that one down a few times while reading because it was just too gruesome.  I don't think I ever finished it.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

I really enjoyed it.... The plague fascinates me.... The more possible something can be, the scarier it is... No kindle version yet.


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

marianner said:


> Really? I liked the ending. The best stories leave you lying awake at night trying to fill in the blanks.


Yes, you're right, it does leave room for the imagination and some people like that. I do with many of the endings that The Outer Limits or Twilight Zone presented, but for some reason I just felt it was a cop out for The Mist. I guess I was looking for an explanation ...you know, the why, how, answers.

Debra


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## hackeynut (Dec 16, 2008)

sixnsolid said:


> I remember Jane-Emily fondly. It was my first scary book.
> 
> My husband had a custom gigantic relecting ball made to go in our Victorian garden. 6 years it's been there and I haven't had the heart to tell him it creeps me out


Funny, I finished Jane-Emily literally 15 seconds ago and to me it was a big "meh".


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

_The Amityville Horror _ is the scariest BOOK I ever read. Not so much the story, but here's what was creepy:
There were little life-size drawings of flies on the cover page of each chapter in the hard back version. Every time I got to a new chapter, a real fly would land on the page. Then one day I walked into the bathroom and discovered about two gazillion houseflies in the window... well, I didn't finish the book, but very carefully put it on the bookshelf and left it there. A couple of years later, I got it again, thinking 'Bah, nonsense! Coincidence!' When a fly landed on the cover page of Chapter Two, I carefully took the book to the back yard and burned it. True story.


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

KathyluvsKindle said:


> My scariest book is Stephen King's "Salem's Lot". I still cannot sleep with the light out when I am alone, and I read it when it first came out!


Same here. I re-read it every year or two around this time. It's so well-written that it seems as if I can smell the mustiness when they go in the basement, and I can almost feel cobwebs on my neck. The book scares me every time I read it, but it's a "good" kind of scare. (I can't read it with a window behind or beside me or a mirror around, though.)


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## brenjmull (Aug 8, 2009)

I just downloaded salems lot,, with halloween coming I needed a scary read. I am using "one click" a little too much these days.. ugh


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## MarthaT (Mar 3, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> The Exorcist (which I already mentioned as one of my top two)--I remember reading that in high school late at night and the wind kept making a tree branch tap my window....talk about spooked out!
> 
> and the Shining--my other one--I was alone in the house reading that, and the house kept creaking. Had to stop until I wasn't alone in the house....
> 
> Betsy


The exorcist is probably one of the scariest that I have ever read as well, will never forget it, thats for sure


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Chloista said:


> Pretty good.
> 
> Much better than the formatting of the book "Prince of Tides" by Pat Conroy that I am currently reading.


Just have to say that "The Prince of Tides" is one of the best books I've ever read. Not scary, but beautifully written.


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## Aravis60 (Feb 18, 2009)

It may not be one of the scariest books I've ever read, but I did get a creepy feeling from reading . Not available for Kindle though.


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## Cuechick (Oct 28, 2008)

hackeynut said:


> Funny, I finished Jane-Emily literally 15 seconds ago and to me it was a big "meh".


Well, I finished it over 30 years ago, since I was about 12 when I read it! To be fair it _is_ a kid's book and probably not as scary for a grown up.


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## brenjmull (Aug 8, 2009)

Chloista said:


> Yesterday I downloaded the complete works of E.A. Poe -- I think it cost $2.49. To have all the stories and the poems for $2.49 is not bad.


Where did you get these? I would love to download it too..


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