So we’re seeing lots of movies-but what are your favorite horror books, stories, etc?
'Rose Madder' by Stephen King is one of my favorite books and I feel like it is severely underrated. It's not even really his scariest book, so I don't know if it counts as horror, but it definitely has some terrifying elements to it.
The 2009 book, “One Second After” by William Forstchen. The book is an account of the first year following an EMP attack on the United States, told from the perspective of a retired Army Colonel who lives in a small town in a mountainous region. The immediate questions of who did it? How much of the country was impacted? Are we at war? Is help coming? Are all impossible to answer since all communications are down and 99% of motorized vehicles are not running.
What happens when hospitals, nursing homes and prisons lose power for weeks? What happens when grocery stores are not replenished because delivery trucks aren’t running? What happens when 20+% of the population can’t get psychoactive medications refilled and another 50+% can’t get insulin or other prescriptions?
It is a well written book that paints a very bleak picture of life in a post EMP world.
A more recent one
So The Exorcist is possibly more terrifying as a book than a movie.
Every Dead Thing by John Connolly is a lush, beautifully written Maine-based thriller that sparks off a real-feeling supernatural mystery series.
Final Girls.
@JohnR1972 I haven't read the book, but I heard this author in an interview a couple of years ago with George Noory on his Coast-to-Coast AM show. It's a completely likely situation. I think he said within one year, 90% of Americans wouldn't be with us anymore.
Aside from the obvious starvation, disease, rampant organized crime, etc,--the way of life would be such a massive culture shock a large percentage of Americans would just choose not to go on.
It's got to be one of the most depressing, and scary, topics of discussion.
Quick, somebody start a cute puppy thread!
@DaveTheBrit listening to Terrortome right now! Marenghi reads the audiobook and his voice adds so much to it. He's got a new book out on Halloween incidentally
@JohnR1972 Sounds like citizens of the 19th century would thrive in that scenario since they didn’t have any of the things mentioned.
I don't read many horror books, so don't shoot me if these are laughable or don't count... But I remember enjoying a lot of Goosebumps books back in the day during childhood. Also I read every novelization of the Resident Evil games written by S.D. Perry, as well as the novelization of the Resident Evil movies (definitely better than the movies themselves). I started to read At the Mountains of Madness, but never finished, and I don't know what happened to that book.
Sounds like citizens of the 19th century would thrive in that scenario since they didn’t have any of the things mentioned.
True. But the difference between a post-EMP world and the 19th century is not anywhere near as wide as that from a 2023 world.
@TxTom - in 2017 or 2018 there was a Congressional report prepared by DoD which estimated 3 strategically placed EMP detonations would kill power to the entire lower 48 states and 90% of all Americans would die within 1 year (mainly due to lack of clean water, food, and medicine).
@BoomerSpooner - The report did not say who the 10% would be that survive but I am guessing they would mostly consist of the Amish, Mormons (their religion requires them to stockpile food and supplies) and assorted “preppers” scattered around the country. Properly stored solar panels and electronic gear (2 way radios, lights, inverters, etc.) will survive an EMP or Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) but very few people take the time to learn how to do it.
@JohnR1972 hello neighbor 👋
I’m always interested in the Amish community here in my area They have ways to “have technology “ and “modern conveniences” but it’s hush hush. But still , yeah they be better prepared than many 👍
@OhioMike - LOL, I know what you mean. I buy unpasteurized cow milk and kefir, and unpasteurized camel milk, from an Amish farm in PA then I smuggle it into Indiana. The only way I can legally get unpasteurized milk in Indiana is to be part owner of the cow (there really are “fractional ownership” programs for dairy cows in Indiana).
Anyway, I always find it interesting that the Amish communities I have interacted with have phones, power, and Internet service in their businesses but not in their homes. In a “Grid Down” situation they won’t be able to run their business very well but it won’t impact their daily lives very much.
I just binged on Dan Simmons' Seasons of Horror series.
Summer of Night Children of the Night A Winter Haunting
No spoilers, but read book #1 and #3. Don't bother with Children of the Night, which was one of the rare instances where I finished a book out of spite, not out of enjoyment.
Here are other horror favorites.
The Talisman - Peter Straub and Stephen King Pet Sematary - Stephen King The Stand - Stephen King Swan Song - Robert McCammon Shadowland - Peter Straub Ghost Story - Peter Straub Come Closer - Sara Gran Dracula - Bram Stoker graphic novel Seasons of Mist - Neil Gaiman The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson The Turn of the Screw - Henry James Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice The Last House on Needless Street - Catriona Ward The Children in the Hill - Jennifer McMahon The Sun Down Motel - Simone St. James
If you want the first real acknowledged master of horror it would be Ann Radcliffe. A great example of her work is “The Mysteries of Udolpho” but prior to that Horace Walpole wrote a couple but Radcliffe raised the bar.
Love all by Anne Rice for very personal reasons.
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Many of the short stories by Edgar Allan Poe still hold up
The Vampyre, A Tale by John Polidori (this preceded Bran Stoker by over 70 years and the interesting detail about this work is it was born out of the weekend drinking and experimenting with drugs with the Shelleys at Lord Byron’s place). This and Frankenstein were the results.
The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde
The Dunwich Horror by HP Lovecraft….so many I could list from him but this is my personal favorite.
Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
@BoomerSpooner good call on all those. I was going off the top of my head and failed to include the epic icons you mentioned.
Ya'll are giving some great suggestions!