Oh, The Horror! (and books on it.)

Okay, the King fan has arrived.

But, I don't have any argument. You want insight, yes, Deb?

I used to go to scary movies (as a teen), in fact I saw so many of them that I have a hard time watching them now. Yeah, I admit, I've seen The Cell. Before that though, was The Exorcist. It's embarassing to sleep with your light on at 16. I did it for six months, at least, after watching that film.

I've seen a few 'scary' movies since then, but none of them have scared me.

Books.

I own all but three King books, and all but six Koontz books. (Mom and I have discussed purchasing another bookshelf.....the two we have now are double stacked and overflowing.)

The reason I enjoy them both is simply because my imagination usually runs on overdrive and I can 'escape' into these books easily. Have to say though that a few of King's novels have changed my way of thinking ~ for the better.

When I read a book, there is always a dictionary nearby. Thankfully, after 21 years of reading books regularly, I don't need to rely on the dictionary too much anymore.

I overdosed on serial killer books ~ beginning with 'Silence of the Lambs'. You would not believe the amount of books I've read on this subject. I'd finally had enough and didn't pick up another book for six months. Then, I was introducted to Patricia Cornwell. And even though the love of reading was brought back, I found her books so interesting and educational.

A friend then turned me on to Jonathan Kellerman ~ a child psychologist. He also delved into serial killers, but managed to bring an exceptional view that is a bit hard to read, at first.

Again.....just because you asked, Ms. Deb.....

I read for enjoyment, but I'm a sponge, too. I soak up all the important stuff and disregard the rest.

Koontz has come out with a few that I actually laughed at, but read them all the same.

I seperate reading fiction from the real world ~ because I love to read. It's my escape.

And before you can ask.....No, I do not enjoy the romance books. I liken them to soap operas ~ used to like'em, but not anymore.

Okay. I've rambled again. I'm two for two tonight. Someone shut me up.

Not rambling!

I do think the escape aspect is big. A probably more relevant example than peace/ wartime, given Dlowan and ehBeth's observations -- my reading/ movie-going tastes changed when I was directing (and acting as a counselor) at my center in L.A. With stories every day of murder, sexual abuse, spousal abuse, and more, I had far less of an appetite for scary stuff than I did before I started that job. Again, had my fill in real life.

Like ehBeth and Dlowan, though, I did like mysteries. I think the reason is that one is about giving up control and one is about taking control. Horror is a rollercoaster ride, throwing your hands up in the air and screaming and giving yourself over to the experience. Mysteries are about taking chaos and making order out of it. They're opposites.

You can finish the book in two hours.



Availability. As far as quick reads go I liked Catcher in the Rye the best. I read that one from cover to cover in a quick sitting. Koontz is everywhere. At certain points in my life I could only read what I found or was given. For a while it was Koontz.



Anything's better than TV.

Rae - you made me think! I used to love the 50's SF movies as a kid - I used to be allowed to stay up late on Friday night and scare myself shitless! (Actually, I used to love SF literature too, then.)

Of course, they are very tame by today's standards.....I guess, in a way, they are more suspense than horror - and a sort of familiarly choreographed suspense at that - reassuring in its familiarity.

What did you learn from King, Rae?

Craven! Dean Koontz SO is not better than good TV!!!!

I think I read some serial killer stuff at one stage because I know people who were killed by them. It is hard to come to terms with such deaths. Sigh.

Only cuz you asked, Deb.....

I've 'learned' from Stephen King.....

To grab hold of your imagination and let it go wherever it may roam.

To not take **** from anyone.

To listen to your dreams.

Goodness!

Deb,

Good TV? :-)

Read the stories i recommended. "Kittens" is a fantastic short story, as is "Twilight of the Dawn".

Each favors the opposite end of the religious spectrum and are fantastic in both dialogue and creation of characters.

But - are they full of horror?

(Yes, GOOD TV!)

Nothing awful happenin' to kittens?

Kittens has some horrific happenings but it's not horror. Both King and koontz are similar in that their ebst writing is nit horror even though they are both famous for it.

In Kittens, yes, bad things happen to Kittens. Worse things happen to humans. But it's about something bigger than that.

Twilight of the dawn is a stragedy of sorts in which a father relates his transition from atheism to theism after his wife and son die. There are some great scenes.

Hmmmmmmmmm..... I have supped full with horrors.

I will have a look for - and at - them

Very interesting discussion.

I'd guess that children and adolescents (and adults who are blissfully sheltered from reality through wilful ignorance) need horror stories to practice the Spectacularly Unpleasant before they have to confront Bleak Reality. Other adults can use horror as an escape.

Further, teenagers seem to believe in an Adult Conspiracy to shelter them from real life (just to be mean) and that horror is more exquisitely really, real than school and chores and family affairs.

I'm personally horrified at the number of babies who have been named "Damian" and other names popularized by possessed kids. There was a story this morning in the newspapers about fans making pilgrimages to the mall near Pittsburg that was featured in "Dawn of the Dead". Kids are always being arrested for tresspassing/exploring/vandalizing other filming sites.

These pilgrims are questing for a more Real Reality--and to my mind, they are looking in the wrong places.

Remember, after 9/11, many t.v. horror hours were postponed and Hollywood rescheduled the release of horror movies. We need a reminder of the Beasts that Go Bump in the Night, but not when there are trails of slime across our living rooms.

In the last 10-15 years, Horror has become an acceptable literary genre distinct from Fantasy and Science Fiction.

I don't read much horror myself. As a child/teenager I found out that anything I saw or read during the day would become the stuff of that night's dreaming. As an adult, I decided that I'd spend time in alternate universes only if the protagonists were pleasant enough people to invite to a small dinner party where I would enjoy their conversation.

I have my own dark side to contend with and that struggle is not a matter for pleasurable goose bumps.

Well, I don't get it.

I remember (here I'm dating myself) when The Exorcist first came out. My roommate at the time, an otherwise sweet and wonderful person, read it as though her life depended on it... then went to the movie twice or three times. She offered the book to me but I declined as soon as I learned what it was about. I could never understand why anyone, particularly her, would want to read that stuff. I hate to be frightened. I just hate it. There are too many awful things in the world anyway and my imagination is way too vivid. I can scare myself silly walking down a dark hallway.

The last horror show I saw was Twilight Zone, The Movie, and I wish I hadn't seen that. I thought it was going to be more SciFi.(That scene where the hitchhiker morphs? <shudder> It haunts me.) Anyway, I was terrified as a child to watch The Wizard of Oz, so this has been a lifetime thing.

On the other hand, I used to like mysteries and science fiction. I don't consider either one to be of the horror genre, though I suppose some of the stories do edge that way. I think that I like the social order of most mysteries and the tying up of loose ends. I always preferred more Science in my SciFi... once that genre started evolving into fantasy, I didn't like it at all, though I do like Tollkien. At least he's an honest fantasizer. Have just read a new SciFi, The Sparrow, which I only recommend if you like horror. Otherwise, it may make you very uncomfortable.

As an aside, neither of my kids has been entranced with horror, so either it is a genetic predisposition or somehow I trained it out of them.

I found "Alice in Wonderland" horrifying as a weelowan - I used to cower under the bedclothes as my mother read it to my older sister, who loved it. Still find it a bit horrifying.

I must admit I feel odd when I am on a bus, or whatever, with people who are reading horror - I see them sitting there, and imagine with what their inner landscape is currently peopled, and it feels strange.

Not that we ever really know how the inner landscape of someone next to us is peopled, but you know what I mean!

So - various reasons - escapism, need for stimulation....because it was there...hmmmmm.

I do think we are wired to need a certain amount of fear and drama in our lives. Perhaps the folk who, like me, hate horror, are, also like me, capable of upsetting themselves enough from inside and from normal life events not to need extremity elsewhere?

Piffka's comment about scaring herself in a dark alley struck a chord with me.

My imagination runs on overdrive all the time. Was only a few years ago that I could get into my bed AFTER turning the lights off instead of turning the lights off FROM the bed. I've been petrified of the dark since I can remember.

Even now, if I wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom or get some water, every once in a while the thought will creep into my head that possibly there is someone under the bed who will grab my foot the minute it hits the floor.....I then resort back to turning the light on while still in the bed.

Maybe it's because I'm such a chicken that I find some usefulness out of reading stuff that scares me. I feel empowered while I'm reading.....and the feeling lasts a little while even after finishing a book.

I dunno. Freak of nature. That's what my sister would be calling me about now.

I've read--and started, but put down--some Stephen Kings, and other horrors.

King has some great stuff, and some not so great. What is the one, Rae, where its all about the woman tied to the bed, whose hub died pre-flagrant (or was it post-) delecto, and she was left there to figure out if she would die, cut off her hand, or be eaten by a hungry dog?

I couldn't finish it. It made me nauseated. Really, I almost hurled every time I picked it up. But, The Shining--Thinner-- I've read about five, but blocking now.

I like to be scared. Used to LOVE scary movies.

King, to me, is a hamburger in the Literary Restaurant. Sometimes, you may prefer an impeccable salad, a goumet meal... Sometimes, nothing can beat a burger.

Poe is great horror. Maybe Clams Casino?

That was 'Gerald's Game', Sofia. Yeah, a bit weird.

I've read 'Thinner' several times.

You might like (if you haven't already read it) 'Bag of Bones'. Not your typical King book, but it was good.

Inner landscape? Yikes! I hadn't thought about that, but now I'm going to start worrying.

Uh, Rae....


I was told once that the Tibetans believe the worst thing you can do is to frighten a child. Maybe I think that it would be very bad to frighten my inner child (especially with an inner landscape of horror).