Horror

Virtually every night, I spend about 20 - 30 minutes reading before I go to sleep. That is a must! Unfortunately, that's all the reading I do (other than for school).

I enjoy Kellerman as well, but he is not a must-read for me.

I used to do the every night thing, lately though...its tough enough for me to just stop and go to bed.
Will change my habits shortly I think, as winter is creeping in and that is usually when I get the reading groove going. Got a Hoag just waiting to be read so, at least Im prepared for when I do get the itch.
Most people Iknow whove read Kellerman..enjoy his wife more when they get to her, I agree as well...have you tried her yet?

Have not read but three of them, but yes, I like Faye's work, too. (Better than her husband's.)

I think I need to make some changes in my life to make room for reading again. I'm missing out!

Tami Hoag is okay, she puts a bit o romance in, but not enough to make you crazy...makes ya laugh actually <well, if youre like me and want to retch when the throbbing manhood line comes up>
I saw a gentleman in a bar reading her once and asked him what he thought, if it was his first...and he said actually he'd read a few of her and the romance wanst too bad, it was little enough to be overlooked.

Yeah, reading time...its so hard.

Think I actually own a Tami Hoag book.....

<checking dusty book shelves.....>

My memory ain't as far gone as I thought.....I have 'Guilty As Sin' ~ couldn't tell you what it was about, but I know that I've read it otherwise it wouldn't be on the bookshelf.

At least your mind isnt entirely gone yet...theres still hope

Not a lot of hope, but some.....

The Ultimate Horror Novel!
I have said this elsewhere, but to me the ultimate horror novel is Johnny Got His Gun! Basically, it's a worst-case scenario of a young soldier who gradually returns to consciousness finding he no longer has arms, legs, and most senses. He is virtually a piece of meat with an active brain. While an anti-war novel, it bothered me more than any other horror book I read. I feel it's a must read. Agree anyone?

Havent read it but, must say that those books that delve into the readers pysche certainly will have the hair standing on end. Ive read a couple myself and for the moment my brain has put them away, I wonder why

Gosh. Only King? He is not the only horror writer or even the best. Just the only one promoted in the monomassmarket...

Suggest you go back and read some classics. Avram Davidson (any), Lovecraft (all), Poe (Uber Alles). There's a world of great stuff beyond the King oevre... Phillip K. Dick: every other story is horror with a weird twist...

But then, I don't wear Nikes either... (;?)

I never sort of really "got" Lovecraft.... I wearied of imminence - like waiting for Godot - but they are interesting - I know many who love them - and Poe makes me laugh, often, though there is great power in him as well - particularly if you sit down with a number of works and immerse yourself in them.

Dick - hmmm - only read "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and some short stories - any particular recommendations?

I HAAAAAATE Stephen King - except for "Stand By Me"....

Welcome to a2k beedlesquoink - there is a Philip K. Dick discussion elsewhere in Books with some recommendations.

Philip K. Dick

My Favorite Horror Story
...would have to be Evening Primrose, by John Collier. It's about a fellow who's down on his luck who gets the crazy idea to pretend to be a manikin in a big department store so he can stay after closing... the idea is that he will have a place to spend his nights, and he will eat at the department store food concession.

Only it turns out that he is not the only person with this idea... he finds himself in the company of many others. At first it seems idyllic, and he meets a woman he really likes and the department store seems a kind of eden for the downtrodden. Then he learns about the Shadow People who come out of the Stock Room late at night, who keep the population of freeloaders under control.

It was produced as an episode on the old Alfred Hitchcock show.

A strange and chilling tale.

Collier is an overlooked writer; his stories are beautifully crafted, and in the case of his scary tales, they stay with you when you turn off the lights.

He also wrote the most interesting short ghost story I've ever read, called The Others (no relation to the movie) about a ghost who is haunted by the living.

The best lengthy ghost story I've encountered would have to be Carlos Fuentes' Aura... it's not so much terrifying as it is disturbingly thought provoking.

Jerome Bixby is another master of the medium, author of the famous story It's Beautiful Life, about little Anthony who sends bad people to the cornfield... you've seen it on Twilight Zone. The actual written tale is very troubling.

Theodore Sturgeon's Some of Your Blood is a very disturbing modern day 'vampire' story with a Hillbilly setting. Unusual and quite well written.

Personally I think the short story is a better medium for scary stories. Very few horror novels have the staying power. Once the reader get's a handle on what it is that's scaring them the power of the tale falls off. Short stories don't give you time to start getting rational...

And of course I might be taken to task for not mentioning the turn of the century master of short horror H.H.Munro (Saki). His three page story, Thus I Refute Beelzy made it very hard for me to sleep for about a week when I was twelve.

Squeedle? Hey, welcome.

Beedlesquoink- Yeah- Welcome to A2K!

dlowan, don't you mean The Stand? by Stephen Kind?
Twas one of his best, I must admit, that and the
earlier one about vampires.

Beedlesquoink - There was a movie made about that
very idea - I can't think of the name of it, but a girl
had her baby inside of a WalMart, after her boyfriend
abandoned her in the parking lot - when she was 8
months pregnant. She just hid in the bathrooms, till
everyone was gone, ate there, exercised, listened to
music,, and yada yada yada.... wish I could
remember the name of the darned movie...but it
is a dead rip off of the story you are talking about.
By the way - BIG WELCOME TO YOU!!