Horror Stories

[Smilla]

HoL update: No, not done with it yet. Had to take a little break because...yeah. It does that to you. Well, to me. All I can say at this point is, how did anyone ever write a novel so--??? I... ::mind, boggling:: Hopefully, I won't be totally insane by the time I post again.

[Deleted]

Smilla said:

Respectfully, Guinastasia, what?! "The Turn of the Screw" is one of the best scary stories ever!! Smilla is so sad that you did not likey.

Haunting of Hill House is awesome. Though, be prepared to be sincerely freaked afterward.

This is why:

SPOILER: Click to show

WHAT happened? Were the ghosts real, or were they in the governess's imagination? If they were real, why did the little girl hate her? If they were in her imagination, they why were the kids going outside and trying to spook her? And why did the cook believe her? Where was their uncle? Why was little Max kicked out of school, and why did he die in the end?

[underjoyed]

In keeping with the updates, I just finished Haunting of Hill House last night. Just a really awesome book, which creates a world that is, even at the best of times, askew. I lay awake for several hours afterwards creeping myself out. Then I fell asleep and had nightmares.

I particularly liked the fact that

SPOILER: Click to show

you never actually see what is making the noises in the hall or what is walking in the grass.

I'll take atmosphere over a gorefest almost everytime (although artfully done, well-written gore can be effective, if difficult to find).

[Deleted]

The Haunting of Hill House was terrifying precisely because of what underjoyed said -- you rarely see anything happening. It's just noises, fleeting touches... a door knob rattling and a dog running down the hallway (whose purpose, if I remember, is to lure the men out of the house in order for the women to get left alone). Unless I'm mixing it up with another book, isn't this the one where the two young women are in beds, side-by-side, holding hands in terrified silence, listening to something bizarre going on outside their room... Then one of these same women comes into the room and the other, realizing she's been alone the whole time, screams, "Who was just holding my hand?"

And if I remember, I think what was "wrong" with the house was done purposely by the evil original owner -- He specified that none of the rooms be completely square or rectangular, oval, round, or whatever, but be subtly irregular... He purposely requested that every room be off-kilter enough that it wasn't obvious to the casual observer, but that subconsciously, people would pick up the asymmetrical nature of the house and slowly be driven mad by it. Because moving through the house, they'd deep down sense that something was wrong, but not consciously understand what it was. I don't think I described that correctly, but it was very diabolical.

[biondetta]

I love Shirley Jackson's work. It's been a few years since I've reread her work, so it's time to pull her out again, I think. I first read Haunting of Hill House when I was 10 or so, and I've reread it every five years or so since then (and I'm in my 30s). As others have said, the lack of specifics is what works the most for me. I don't like gore horror stories. I much prefer the more subtle, psychological supernatural stuff.

That's one reason why I LOVE Phil Rickman's novels. He writes incredibly well and you really get involved in the characters, and then he tops it all off with enough supernatural tension to leave you starting at the least little noise. The fact that he often carries a character over from one book into another (but often as a lesser character) makes it all seem that little bit more real, because you get a sense of familiarity and recognition.

[underjoyed]

I much prefer the more subtle, psychological supernatural stuff.

That's one reason why I LOVE Phil Rickman's novels. He writes incredibly well and you really get involved in the characters, and then he tops it all off with enough supernatural tension to leave you starting at the least little noise. The fact that he often carries a character over from one book into another (but often as a lesser character) makes it all seem that little bit more real, because you get a sense of familiarity and recognition.

biondetta, I'm not familiar with Phil Rickman - which book would you recommend to start off with?

Also, does anyone have any thoughts on Peter Straub? With the exception of Julia, which I liked, I had difficulty getting into any of his other books. The last time I tried was about ten years ago now, so I'm debating trying again.

[biondetta]

I was introduced to the work of Phil Rickman with his book December, which I picked up in the grocery store of all places. I loved the book and went on to read anything else I could find, which at the time was only two other books. That was before Amazon, though. I'd recommend starting with December or Curfew (aka Crybbe, depending on your country of origin).

He also has a series now -- The Rev. Merrily Watkins -- which is excellent. I suggested Curfew as a place to start, since one of the minor characters later shows up in the Watkins series as a regular. One of the main characters in Curfew shows up again in one of his other stand-alone books, The Man in the Moss.

A couple of characters from December shows up in a couple of other books and also shows up once in the Watkins series. The Watkins books, however, are the only real "series". You can read any of his stand-alone books on their own in any order, even though some have repeating characters.

Characters and places showing up in other stories is one of the things I like about Rickman's books. It becomes this little world that you become familiar with and have familiar faces to draw you further into the story. You know something about these people already, so you have an interest in finding out what's going on in their lives now. Plus, I think he's an excellent writer of dialogue, making the characters seem real.

[forever1267]

I was able to read all of Ghost Story but it helped that I had seen the movie version first. It was still a strange, strange story.

Regarding Peter Straub: All of the rest of his works I have tried to get into, but have given up after a short period. I remember really trying to like Floating Dragon, which was about the ghost or a serial killer in an upper class neighborhood, I believe, but. just. couldn't. do. it. This also includes Black House, his and Stephen King's sequel to The Talisman, and was vastly disappointed. I think I got 9/10 through that one, and still couldn't finish.

We should add The Haunting of Hill House to the book club.

[Deleted]

Underjoyed, I think Ghost Story by Peter Straub has to be one of the scariest books I've ever read. But I wasn't crazy about anything else after that... There are several books of his that feature the same characters, or refer back to characters from earlier books, and I can't stand when writers do that. Well, if it's an actual series, sure, but to just have old characters make "cameo" appearances? To me it says they are so enamored of their own characters that they can't resist inserting them into other books, even when there's not much point to it.

[underjoyed]

Ghost Story. I think I did read that, but years ago. I may pick it up again and see if it seems familiar. James Herbert is another author whose ratio of good books to number of books written is kind of unflattering. I started off with a good one (Rats) and then it all seemed to go downhill from there. I gave up after three or four attempts at his other novels, and it was particularly difficult because he's such a tease: they start off really promisingly, and by the time I realise the book isn't all that good, I've invested a few hours of my life in it and I'm annoyed.

Thanks for the book suggestion, biondetta.