Horror October Discussion: Horror in Books

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on October 29, 2013 | 7 Comments


horror_october_graphic

Todays topic: The horror genre in books!

As I said in my discussion about horror in film: I loooove horror. I love creepy, dark stories. BUT…I am very picky. I do not scare easily at all, and I find 95% of the horror out there comedic rather than scary. I also don’t have a weak stomach. The gorier, the better! 

I have yet to find a book that could actually scare me. As of right now, I remain skeptical that it’s even possible.

To be honest, I haven’t read many horror books at all. I haven’t read any Stephen King besides the first 2.5 books of the Dark Tower series (I hit a boring point in Wasteland and never finished it….), although I do want to read The Mist and possibly IT because I hate clowns and it may actually scare the shit out of me. 

Here are the horror books I’ve read:

  • Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake (4/5)
  • Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake (3/5)
  • Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn (4/5)
  • Ten by Gretchen McNeil (3/5)
  • The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee (4/5)
  • Nevermore by Kelly Creagh (3.5/5)
  • Masque of the Red Death (1/5)
  • Glimmer by Phoebe Kitanidis (4/5)
  • The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey (4/5)

Many of those I read forever ago, and they didn’t leave a lasting impression at all. I barely remember them, or now after time has passed, I feel differently about them. (Plus I think I’m a tougher rater now than I was a year or two ago.) I don’t care about any on that list except for Another Little Piece, which was so twisted I couldn’t help but love it, and The Monstrumologist, (read recently) which was delightfully gruesome! Out of all the horror I’ve read, I’d have to say that one is the best. It was VERY gory and the monsters were the stuff of nightmares. If you’re looking for a good horror, I’d definitely recommend picking it up! 

Jurassic Park could be on that list if you count that as horror (I don’t, I consider it fantasy/adventure/awesomesauce). The book went into much more depth about the deaths than the movie did. In fact, the movie was quite polite and covered up every killing so that you only saw the blood. That is NOT the case with the book. I distinctly remember Nedry getting his guts ripped out. 

I feel like there’s not nearly enough horror books in YA. They’re few and far between, and even then it’s hard to find a good one that is TRUE horror. Too many of them are fluffy and have romance in them (Anna series). 

If anybody has any good recommendations for YA horror, I’d definitely love to hear them! 

Do you scare easily? What are YOUR favorite horror books? Which ones did you think were terrible? 

Jessi (Geo)

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7 responses to “Horror October Discussion: Horror in Books

  1. Ooh we’re totally the opposite. I scare really easily, and I hate horror movies! I’m so jealous that you’re not freaked out by that stuff. I’m not as bad when it comes to books…although I do sometimes have a problem if I try and read a scary book at night when I’m home alone or something. I read a few creepy ones this month and I think I did pretty well!

  2. I’ve only read Anna Dressed in Blood from your list, and really enjoyed it. I also read The Replacements but wasn’t a fan. Although not sure if that is really YA Horror. It is hard to tell what would be Horror and what would be simply Paranormal. The lines between those genre get crossed a lot.

    • I haven’t read The Replacements but I kinda wanted to. It really is hard to tell! Many things that get labeled as horror aren’t really horror. It’s hard to find good ones that aren’t fluffy!

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