Horror Stories

[Deleted]

I'm surprised Smilla hasn't started this thread yet.

So anyway, I just started Ordinary Horror by David Sentry. It's about an old man who spends his life taking care of his roses. He starts having mole problems, so he sends away for these African plants that are supposed to take care of the moles w/o hurting people or pets. The plants are all they advertise and more, unfortunately for the old man.

I also grabbed Good Omens by Neil Gaimen and Terry Pratchett. It looks pretty good - about Armageddon, and the two angels (one from Heaven and one from Hell) who try to stop it. The Antichrist is an 11 year old boy who loves his dog (even though he's a Satanic Hellhound) and really cares about the enviroment. Too bad he needs to be destroyed.

I'll post an update once I get through them.

[Smilla]

I'm surprised Smilla hasn't started this thread yet.

Oh, my gosh, mind-meld! I was going to last night, but then the DSL at my house went all wonky.

The horror writer I've been way too obsessed with lately is Dennis Etchison. Appropriately enough, he's done a lot with the horrors of Hollywood, a place so terrible it's where "souls are burned for temporary warmth." So far, I've only finished a couple of his short stories: "Got to Kill Them All," about some of the creepier impacts of addictive "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire"-style game shows, and "The Dog Park," about how scary a dog park designed to be a place for Hollywood assistants to network can be--if it's your last hope in the universe for success.

[Deleted]

Ooh, freaky-deaky. We've got our own spooky ESP story here.

This Ordinary Horror book is a bit strange, and not in a good way. The author has an affinity for run-on sentences. For example:

This is an image that actually occurs to him sometimes in a dreamy sort of way: an almost mechanical, even industrial, relation between himself and the roses - little chimneys of the spirit concentrating and releasing something essential to him and (by vague and mysterious extension) to the whole neighborhood which he feels is such a superficial imposition of the prairie, the great flatness above which his roses bloom like a signal and whose ancient surface he suspects is still detectable as a subtle topographical inflection of the network of little streets and alleys.

Yes, that was one sentence. The idea of the story is good, but the guy needs to hire an editor who has a firmer grip on his red pencil.

[Smilla]

Oh, don't even get me started on freaky, supernatural ESP-style occurences this week, Bones. After suffering a series of inexplicable panic attacks this week, not unlike the kind I used to have when my slimy, useless, misogynist fuckwad of an ex was attempting to contact me last year, panic attacks I was attributing to anxieties about recent national events in my not-so-fair country...my ex tried to call me yesterday. You'd think the "cease and desist" order from our Sheriff's department would have made him think twice. Needless to post, I'm a little unnerved. Especially because our long dead relationship looked like something out of a Stephen King novel and strangely, this is happening after I'd decided a couple of months ago that psychic abilities--or at least, my non-existant ones--are exclusively the stuff of the fiction in this thread.

Topic? That is one massive run-on sentence, there.

the guy needs to hire an editor who has a firmer grip on his red pencil.

Totally. Why do so many modern authors keep rejecting this option? Your editor is your friend, kids. S/he'll keep you from sounding like a goddamned moron.

[Shanmac]

I just finished Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. It juxtaposes the story of how the World's Fair was built in Chicago with the story of a serial killer who was preying on women at the same time. What's interesting is how long he was able to live a double (or even triple) life with no one suspecting anything. With so many women coming into Chicago for jobs during the fair, their disappearances went all but unnoticed for a long time. Scary.

Some seriously creepy stuff, especially since it really happened, but a very good read. The scariest part? Near the end of the book, there's a photo of the killer. He looks eerily, uncannily like a guy I used to date. *shudder*

My editor suggested the book to me, and since the killer actually had children with (at least) two women, our theory is that my ex is a descendant. Even the basic description fits: Tall? Check. Piercing blue eyes? Check. Charming? Check. A crazy misogynist? Check. (Smilla, did we date the same guy?)

Topic? I highly recommend the book, especially if you're a history buff. Just don't read it while you're home alone. Learn from my mistakes.

[Deleted]

Smilla could the time of year have anything to do w/ the panic attacks/crazy ex phone calls? Did he eff w/ you last year around this time? Maybe the coming spring reminded you of looking out for this guy, and reminded him of you (for some explicable reason), and that's what started everything. Did you date him in the spring? If none of this fits, then you are one freaky chick. Have you thought about changing your phone number? I would be scared not to.

Devil in the White City sounds interesting. Is it considered true crime, or is is loose enough to be called fiction?

I actually had a "dated a serial killer" experience, myself, but it was years ago. I had met this guy at the mall, and then just basically talked to him on the phone. I ended up throwing myself a birthday party and invited him, and he brought me the skimpiest clothes as a gift. I was a bit appalled. He did bring his friend w/ him, and we ended up talking and then hooking up (he looked kinda like Dennis (John Stockwell) from Christine *sigh*). Well, this guy apparently thought we were more than we were, and he went all batshit crazy, throwing a fit in the middle of this party. Then, he somehow made the moves on my friend (who apparently was blind as well as deaf, since she was at this party but still let herself get sweet talked by this guy) and become incredibly possessive. We took to calling him Psycho Dave. Luckily, my friend got away from him. A few years later, I was in the bookstore looking for true crime, and I picked up the book Dark Son. This guy couldn't look any more like Psycho Dave. The scariest part was that he was living w/ relatives, and he disappeared shortly after my friend broke up w/ him.

[Smilla]

My editor suggested the book to me, and since the killer actually had children with (at least) two women, our theory is that my ex is a descendant. Even the basic description fits: Tall? Check. Piercing blue eyes? Check. Charming? Check. A crazy misogynist? Check. (Smilla, did we date the same guy?)

Jeez, Shanmac, that is freaky. And if your crazy misogynist was tall/blue-eyed, he wasn't mine. There are a lot of them out there, unfortunately. Except, he did resemble The Devil in White City creature in that leading a dual existence respect--for two years, I thought he was the most devoted, liberal, feminist-loving guy on the planet, who occasionally made insensitive remarks, but don't we all? Then one day he turned into Ann Coulter. Seriously. It was like dealing with a different person. Anyway, he's gone now.

Smilla could the time of year have anything to do w/ the panic attacks/crazy ex phone calls? Did he eff w/ you last year around this time?

Nah, thankfully he's not quite that scary--not into rituals or anniversaries or anything "terrorist-level" insane. I'm pretty sure this was the result of that unfortunate nexus he and I share. It's all been resolved now, though. But thanks for the good thoughts, fellow posters! Topic?

A few years later, I was in the bookstore looking for true crime, and I picked up the book Dark Son.

I've read that book! It's hella creepy.

[Deleted]

I agree about Devil in the White City. The funny thing is, though I assumed the building of the Chicago World's Fair was based on fact, I assumed for the longest time that the killer was a fictional character. I must have been half-way through the book when I re-read the back flap and realized he actually existed! And, yes, it was scary.

This one would have to be special-ordered: The Prey by Robert Arthur Smith. A friend I've since lost touch with me lent it to me years ago and it scared the bejesus out of me! It takes place in Europe just before and during the French Revolution. It's very gothic in tone. If you ever get a chance, try it. I finally got ahold of it when the wonder of Amazon came along.

[Shanmac]

I'd call Devil in the White City true crime, since it's based on actual events and backed up by quite a bit of research. Obviously, the author took some artistic license in fleshing it out.

Smilla said:

Then one day he turned into Ann Coulter.

Forget the book. That's the scariest thing I've ever read.

[Smilla]

Forget the book. That's the scariest thing I've ever read.

That's what I say. Well, that's what I say after all those hours of therapy. For a while it was just, "how could I not have known?" Finally, after three sessions of "you're not a clueless person" validation, my last therapist was forced to spell it out for me. "Two words, Smilla: Pathological liar." Then I felt better.

Okay, but seriously, Dennis Etchinson is great. For those that sort of like the funny with the scary, he delievers.