A must-read horror list

elindsen

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That's the point of horror isn't it? ;) I love to be scared... it jacks me up something fierce.

I'd say start reading some horror. You can't effectively write something new and horrific if you have no idea what's already been done... and done... and done again. It's really important to know the genre you're writing in, imo.

My novel has horror elements, but honestly, I don't think of it as horror. Probably dark romantic fantasy. I'm hoping to get gift cards to Borders for Christmas since the funds are way too low to buy anything. I want to read Brian Keene. His stuff sounds similar to mine.

Oh and I remembered I've read Stephen King before. It was THE DEAD ZONE, so not very scary, but still. I've also read John Saul. Is he horror? Sorry for the dumb questions.
 

EFCollins

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Yes, John Saul writes horror. :) Perhaps not exclusively, but he has some really good horror novels. Hellfire was the first I'd ever read of his and it's a good one. An oldie, but a goodie.

It's easy to have horror elements in other stories... and yet another reason to read widely.
 
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donatos

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I just thought of some more due to another thread. If you can find affordable reprints or bound collections, then the whole of the main horror lines of EC comics have to be included. These comics altered horror for ever, and imo gave birth to modern horror as we know it.

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Debbie

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Thanks Fiona, CounterGem, Soapy and of course Effie.
Just got my book order. Ahhhh! So excited!!!
 

brainstorm77

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The Town by Bentley Little
 

Rhoda Nightingale

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Great thread! I have an ever-evolving Must Read list, and quite a few of those are on it.

I'd like to add The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde--possibly my favorite book, period. Also, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.

And I haven't read it yet, but I consider it a Must Read and therefore put it on my own list: The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker.
 

brainstorm77

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Someone mentioned Saul. I can't get into his writing style.
 

donatos

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My novel has horror elements, but honestly, I don't think of it as horror. Probably dark romantic fantasy. I'm hoping to get gift cards to Borders for Christmas since the funds are way too low to buy anything. I want to read Brian Keene. His stuff sounds similar to mine.

Oh and I remembered I've read Stephen King before. It was THE DEAD ZONE, so not very scary, but still. I've also read John Saul. Is he horror? Sorry for the dumb questions.

If you write dark romantic fantasy then Brian Keene is very very very different. He is straight forward visceral horror. His ideas are great though, like Richard Laymon. Not for the squeamish but brilliant. John Saul was horror for a long time. I don't know what he's been up to lately though.
 

donatos

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Someone mentioned Saul. I can't get into his writing style.

I feel when I read Saul the way I feel when I read James Paterson, as if the writer's not really there. Like there's a set of plot points and anyone could fill in the gaps between them. Almost like a computer program made the book.
 

Henksbird

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I'll second what FOTSGreg said. Phantoms by koontz was fantastic...and then they made the movie :(
 

brainstorm77

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I feel when I read Saul the way I feel when I read James Paterson, as if the writer's not really there. Like there's a set of plot points and anyone could fill in the gaps between them. Almost like a computer program made the book.

YES! I totally agree.
 

Haggis

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The Wolfs Hour

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Imagine if James Bond could transforn at will.

A bit tiresome in places. but it averages out pretty well.

McCammon's Stinger is pretty good too, in my opinion. I didn't care all that much for Baal though. I think he wrote a shirt story called Something Came By that was truly great though.

Jeebus, I love McCammon. And I've never seen either of these books. In fact, it's rare to see any of his stories on the shelves--especially his horror stuff, though in fairness, his ten year or so hiatus might have something to do with that. But I'm going to have to check these titles out if I can find them.
 

seun

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1. Pretty much anything by HP Lovecraft.
2. Ditto Poe.
3. 'Salem's Lot, The Shining, It, Gerald's Game and From A Buick 8 by King.And most of his short fiction.
4. Dracula.
5. Frankenstein.
6. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion.
7. The Thief of Broken Toys by Tim Lebbon.
8. The Small Hand by Susan Hill.
9. 1984. OK, not exactly horror, but it scared the shit out of me.
10. My stuff. If it ever gets published.
 

tammay

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Excellent list!!! I am not a horror writer per se, but I've always been fascinated by classic horror (especially psychological horror) in both novels and films. I actually have a few novel ideas that I think might border on horror/suspense, so perhaps reading some of the books from this list will help motivate me to pursue that direction :).

Tam
 

quicklime

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lots of full works.....

Shorts:

The Lake by Ray Bradbury is one of the saddest stories i've ever read, and all of 20 pages

City of Dog by Tom Piccirilli is an incredible bit of world-building

The Boogey Man by stephen King--my sitter read it to me at like 9, took more than a year before I could have a closet partially open
 
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Gorandius

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There are some absolutely great stories listed throughout this thread, but sadly I have not read all of the ones suggested. I would like to make a suggestion of Mefisto in Onyx by Harlan Ellison for others to read, for I found it to be rather enthralling.