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Horror Story recommendations?

Loveridden

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I'm in a small book club and near Halloween we are going to read a horror book. But we need some suggestions. Something NOT brand new as that would cost more money for our members and if gotten from the library has a much shorter check out time on it. I LOVE Stephen King but have read pretty much everything of his and many of the members probably have as well so we can probably cut Stephen King recommendations out. So something that not everybody in the universe has already read. We are going to have a poll to decide. Thanks for any suggestions!
 
Though everyone knows the story, few have actually read Dracula by Bram Stoker. Also, The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson is a good read. Anything by Edgar Allan Poe would do as well.
 
Dracula was a great suggestion. Add Frankenstein to the list too.

A few H.P. Lovecraft stories spring to mind:

Dreams in the witch house
Cats of Ulthar
Rats in the walls
Pickman's Model
Shadow over Innsmouth
 
I haven't really found anything that "scared my socks off" since I read It and The Shining. I've been searching though. If you find one, please post it so I can read it.

I have a friend who is very knowledgeable in this genre. I'll ask him his recommendations and post them for you.
 
I just got an email from my friend who says since reading John Dies at the End by David Wong he hasn't slept a full night. He writes "The book made me laugh out loud one moment and then gave me goosebumps the next. It is the perfect blend of comedy and horror. Make sure you leave the lights on during and after you read it."
 
FYI: I went to my local bookstore and found that John Dies at the End and The Girl Next Door have to be special ordered. You may wish to keep this in mind when making your suggestions.
 
This novel would probably be hard to get hold of, but Night Stalks the Mansion was one of my favorites.

For classics, how about The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson?
 
Dean Koontz's Phantoms. It's by far the scariest, most suspenseful book I've ever read. Actually, it's probably the only book I've read that I'd consider scary.

The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege is a SUPER bizarre non-fiction option, and a surprisingly appealing read. The stories/hallucinations the afflicted tell are creepily bizarre... and if that doesn't scare you, the law and church will. ;)
 
We're reading "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. Thanks everyone for the great suggestions, I'm going to check out these other books on my own.
 
I found John Dies at the End on Amazon, but they want $200 for the book. Apparently it has become a cult classic and the movie is set to be released some time in 2012. I did, however, find that I could download the book to my Kindle. I just finished it today. It's a great read. It has very dark humor and many twists and turns and is one of the few books in which I didn't see the end coming by chapter 3. I highly recommend it!
 
OK I see it now. It's the price of 2007 paperback edition. I wonder what's so special about this edition that cost $190 more than 2009 hardback edition?
 
I just got an email from my friend who says since reading John Dies at the End by David Wong he hasn't slept a full night. He writes "The book made me laugh out loud one moment and then gave me goosebumps the next. It is the perfect blend of comedy and horror. Make sure you leave the lights on during and after you read it."

My local library has it!

Thanks BW... looking forward to this bad boy!
 
tomeraider said:
OK I see it now. It's the price of 2007 paperback edition. I wonder what's so special about this edition that cost $190 more than 2009 hardback edition?
I did some checking up on this. The 2007 edition was the first edition and was published by Indie horror publisher, Permuted Press. After it sold out, it was picked up by St. Martin's Press and published in hardback on a larger scale.

Basically, the 2007 edition is like owning Gutenberg's original version of the Bible to many of its fans.
 
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