When my father was reading The Exorcist, he was laying in bed reading when the bed began to shake. He freaked out, naturally. Turned out to be a minor earthquake VERY rare here in Ohio!
In House of Leaves, in the scene outside the tattoo shop, when Johnny's talking about something right behind him, is a perfect description of what my agoraphobia feels like.
I completely dropped the tattoo guy store to focus completely on the house. Do they actually tie in somehow? Maybe I should try again. But definitely the scariest story I've ever read
I read Pet Sematary in three days when I was in high school. My reaction was Holy Shit. But what I'm really thinking is what happened to those days when we could read so fast?
What happened? We waste our time on all sorts of pointless, mind-killing nonsense. Honestly. In 99% of the cases, a lack of time to read (or to do other useful things) is not a lack of time, but a lack of prioritization. We are slowly forgetting how it works to concentrate on complex, extensive things for a long time. Relearning these things, to then - actually learn, is one of the best things I did in the last couple of years. I am far from perfect and I probably never will be. But that is no reason not to keep improving in that respect.
@@nikoteardrop4904 the nihilism is what really kills for me. The Monkeys Paw finale just... yikes. Highly recommend Skeleton Crew, possibly King's best collection of short stories.
Yess, Haunting of Hill House and House of Leaves. Another that genuinely chilled me is Clive Barker's Books of Blood Vol. 1-3, a collection of horror shorts.
Yes, The Exorcist and Pet Sematery are wonderful and scary. I only recently heard about the Case Against Satan but I absolutely have to read it because I'm obsessed with possession stories
@ Rumble @ Jetson White channel video The 4/11 Rapture Event and Xenogenesis by Steve Quayle." Even now these seducing spirits are tricking mankind to commit genetic suicide. Meanwhile the replacement race stands poised to take over the planet."- Steve Quayle.
Edgar Allan Poe was the one that got me into horror. Also H.P. Lovecraft. Poe taught me the most terrifying things are in our heads, while Lovecraft taught me there's things out there we don't know about.
I’m 58 and remember sneaking into the cinema when I was under 18 to see this. It was an 18 for a reason and I was genuinely terrified. My friend Julie and I ran all the way home and I convinced myself I was going to be possessed. I was praying to God for months after to keep me safe x
One of my personal faves is Misery. What makes that book scary to me is that it lacks a lot of the fantasy and supernatural elements of King's other works. Randall Flagg is certainly scary, but he's at least confined to the fictional world. Annie Wilkes, on the other hand...
@@RGsDevilship I think the worst thing you could say about Misery is that it aged well. The story becomes much scarier when you look at it as a critique of the toxic side of fandoms. Toxic fandoms were around long before the internet, but now that things have advanced with the internet at our fingertips, they've become even more vocal and have used social media to harass creators or anyone who disagrees with them.
As an author myself. Misery is one I return to many times. Not only a meditation on writer's block, but obsessive fans, both of which most authors have to deal with at one time or another.
Watch the 1963 version of Hill House (Directed by the same man who made West Side Story). The Haunting is one of the best horror movies of all time ( first saw it when I was 13). What I like about the book is the multiple ways you can interpret what each character is saying. Not only does the house want to possess Eleanor, but each of the characters does in his or her own way as well. In the 1963 movie I see something new every time I watch it. The book works the same way.
The Babysitter by R. L. Stine is by far still one of the scariest sets of books I've read to date. It's been probably 15 years since I've read them and I STILL remember exactly how they made me feel, and how they made me afraid to sleep for a few nights. Also yes. The Ring scares the shit out of me.
Good choices. Kafka's The Castle is basically a written version of the same nightmare I have every night, where I am in a place, have no particular thoughts about it, and then due to increasingly severe reactions from and conversations with the people in the place, I begin to feel more and more like I've done something wrong, and finally wake up wracked with a severe guilt I have no idea the genesis of. It was the most frighteningly surreal read of my life.
Speaking of the Ring, I found the Dark Water anthology by Koji Suzuki in my college library when I was about 13. Very creepy and I was instantly hooked! One of my favourites was Adrift, along with The Hold. I'd definitely recommend it!!
@@RGsDevilship Thank you!! I've only just found your channel, but its awesome to find another lit nerd sister here!! Also, I definitely prefer the I Am Legend novel rather than the movie. The movie was less suspenseful, but the atmosphere and Will Smith helped.
@@RGsDevilship I read this last year and LOVED it. Heavy questions popped up from time to time as not everything is always explained. I’m thinking of the multi-level art house performance - there was an insinuation of something going on the next floor over the bathroom that was never explained, and it drove me nuts.
You introduced me to The Case Against Satan; I just read it for the first time this month! While I found it to be a sort of cozy read overall, there were some parts where I was genuinely spooked. I'm looking forward to checking out more of your recs!
Ray Russell's short story collection "Haunted Castles" scared me a lot more than "The Case Against Satan," just fyi if you liked his novel and wanted more!! :)))
Thanks for the memories. I read The Exorcist when I was at Fort Ord in Basic Training. I remember I was reading it in the barracks in the middle of the night while being on fire guard. Dark and guys snoring added to the creepiness. Thanks again.
Whoa- I have only just discovered your YT channel. And immediately I think you give great descriptions- not like a book snob but like a real person with visceral feelings of what you read. 👍
I also watched The Ring at a very young age and it traumatized me for sure, I have the first three books in the ring series but I haven't been able to bring myself to read them yet lol
Based on the imagery, I don't think the book is as scary as the films but they do add so much context to the story and have a heap of unlikeable characters that you can really get into rooting for their downfall
Shirley Jackson was a genius. Her short story collection Dark Tales is completely unnerving. What I love most about her books/stories, particularly Hill House and The Sundial, is that Jackson understood the scariest monsters of all: the people whom you live amongst. I interviewed Tobe Hooper, the director of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", about 20 years ago and asked him what scared him most of all. He grinned and said: "The neighbors."
The haunting of hill house is barely a book. It's the worst thing I've ever read and the most boring and the writing was so pretentious. It pissed me off that I wasted money on it.
While I was reading the Amityville Horror, my boyfriend broke up with me, I lost my job, my pet died and I broke my favorite ring. I burned that fucking book.
i’m so glad someone else loves the haunting of hill house 😭 i adore it and i’ve never heard anyone else talk about it and… the netflix adaption is not as good. haunting of bly manor i found to be quite good tho 🤷🏼♀️
The hand holding scene is the single most terrifying page I have ever read. I had a physical reaction, and threw the book across my bedroom. "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" is also incredible. I love Shirley Jackson.
I recommend the 1963 version of The Haunting. Although it is black and white which I know doesn’t work for everyone, maybe it takes them out of it… I’m not sure since I grew up with a lot of black and white classics.
I read Pet Sematary when it first came out, I was 12 (it's still one of my favourite books). I still recall the fear it pulled from me! Just hearing someone say the name makes my heart jump a bit, lol. I became obsessed with King from then on. I saw The Exorcist when I was 13, and it didn't scare me much, tho I think that's because by that time I had read quite a few of Kings books, and had already seen the 70s version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers when I was 5 lol. Its still the scariest movie I've ever seen, I can't even compare it to books. I just recall being horrified that people you know and love may not actually *be* those people at all. War of the Worlds also completely terrifies me lol. I just found your channel, and am really enjoying it! I look forward to reading House of Leaves! I truly enjoy, and respect subtlety. When a book sneaks up behind you, taps you on the shoulder, and you go white...perfection. I can read a book with gore, but I'll take subtlety any day.
house of leaves is one of the books I'm reading at the moment. I'm only on the second part of the Navidson Records, but I can feel myself being dragged into this ride. I myself feel a little obsessed with where this book is taking me and I agree it's scary in the sense of mental health and feeling yourself slipping further away from reality
"'God, God, whose hand was I holding?'" One of the downright creepiest lines I've ever read in a novel. I adore Hill House, and Jackson in general. We Have Always Lived in the Castle is my other favorite of hers. Thanks for the recommendations; I'll definitely be reading Ring and its accompanying books. I didn't know it got into scifi. Not usually my genre, but I know my husband will be thrilled it goes that way, and I'm sure I'll love it. New subscriber
The exorcist genuinely scared the hell out of me; beautifully written! I have also loved "Rosemary's baby" and "Carmilla" which is a short gothic novel :)
Rosemary's Baby is an amazing read...I was surprised how well the movie adapts the book. Having watched the movie first, it was like reading the script, I kept seeing all the scene from the movie as I read the book.
@@mikedavis979 You are so right! I have watched the movies so many times first and read the book only after as an adult too; it's really amazing how the dialogues, the atmosphere you breath in both book and movie are the same. You basically watch the book come to life.
Ah, yes, Carmilla is excellent. There are so many supernatural stories I’ve read from that time period that I love. Another good one by the author of Carmilla is “The Ghost of a Hand”
The ring gave me nightmares as a kid too lol but nothing new since I still have nightmares every day 🤷🏽♀️😂Have you read we have always lived in the castle? I loved it! Also loved war of the worlds!
Ring is one of my favourite books, it and Spiral freaked me out! They’re not scary necessarily, it’s just the way it sits in your head for ages afterwards. Love it!
The southern reach trilogy (annhilation, authority, acceptance), the king in yellow , revival by SK, The Road, The Croning, at the mountains of madness, the dark tower books,, and a short story by SK called the Ten o'clock people are mine
A while ago found a huge book with a collection of Stephen King novels in one volume and I think I might read some of it soon because of this video. I've never read horror before and I don't know why?!!! Lol.
Stephen King is really good if you're just getting into it since he offers different levels of horror and he tends to focus on his characters. I feel like Carrie or Misery would be good to start with if they're in the collection. Hope you enjoy it! 😊
Richard Matheson's "I am Legend" has been filmed three times. The first film is "The Last Man On Earth" starring Vincent Price which was made in the 60's. The second film is "The Omega Man" starring Charleton Heston which came out in the 70's. And finally, "I am Legend" starring Will Smith. I prefer "The Omega Man" to the others. Definitely worth a view! Three post Apocalyptic novels well worth your time are "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, (I will also recommend his Magnum Opus..."Blood Meridian" which is a different type of apocalyptic). "Riddley Walker" by Russell Hoban is set well in the future after an apocalypse and is a truly unique book! "The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller is a tremendous story set in a very contemporary post Apocalyptic setting. Another alien invasion story worth reading is "Footfall" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.
The mental health issues you mention resonate particularly for me. There is a"condition", the family curse, if you will, that runs down one side of my family in the men. It is a kind of cross between bipolar and seizure disorder. But it resulted in my father being, when I was a child, an incredibly frightening person at times. So the film version of The Shining hits me where it hurts, since, if you pay attention, nothing in - with the exception of the ESP thing - is supernatural. So being locked up all winter with a maniac. Yeah, see my point?
Loved this video! Shirley Jackson is one of my favorite authors! I also agree that Pet Sematary is the novel by King that scared me the most. I still haven't finished it because getting through the scenes of grief after the son dies is too difficult. And if you haven't read The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, then I definitely recommend it! It's not horror, but it's an apocalyptical short-story collection that deals with how humans have destroyed Earth so badly that they invade Mars and end up destroying it as well. It is my favorite novel I've ever read.
House of leaves really interests me now because from how you explained it it’s giving me very Junji Itos Uzumaki vibes! (highly recommend if you haven’t read it before)
You are my favourite book tuber, and I trust your recommendations - and this video gave me some great new book ideas I’ve never heard about. Very excited but also.....scared
oh gosh you're talking about the exorcist. :'D I love horror but that book just conceptually scares me so much that I really had to push myself to watch your review of it, and then my laptop randomly turned off and ever since I've been petrified of it. XD
I totally agree, the concept is horrifying. But it's actually not that bad when reading it, it's more so the reputation around it that makes it seem scary. That's mad about your laptop turning off though!
@@RGsDevilship yeah my laptop had a bad battery so that's probably why, but it scarred me a bit. For me it was mostly that my mum always talked about it as the scariest film ever, and that horror films in general just are way too scary for me. Now watching your video I think it's so funny that you had a similar experience with the bird, though. 😂
I'm reading House of Leaves now and let me tell you... the hype is REAL!!! It's truly one of only a handful of horror novels that actually crawl under my skin and really unnerve me.
I’m actively not reading through any of the comments as I just started house of leaves last night. Read through the introduction last night before bed and omg. Weird dreams for sure already…. I’m not reading it at night I don’t think. After watching your full review on that book I definitely won’t be reading it at night.
Pet Sematary was an excellent book. I read it in one day. I couldn’t put it down. I got turned on to Stephen King books after I read Salem’s Lot when it first came out. It was a great scare! All of King’s early books are great, not a bad one in the bunch. The Stand is my favorite book of all time. The Exorcist gave me bad dreams.
thank you for these great recommendations, the way you talked about each book was so interesting. I got a real feeling of your taste and the strengths of each of these works.
i remember the resurrected son who was killed in WW2, staring at the sun, telling everyone their secrets, near 40 years and i still think about that scene...
I never found Shirley Jackson particularly creepy. I think almost all of her stuff is brilliant. But not very scary. Which is not bad at all. I just think a lot of people kind of expect something wrong.
I love I Am Legend. Love the reboot with Will Smith, like the Omega Man with Charleton Heston, and I plan on watching Last Man On Earth with Vincent Price
I Am Legend, Neville finally got the dog to trust him, yes. Very next sentence.. The dog was dead a week later. Enjoyed the book, one of my favs for sure, buy very sad. Your heart truly aches for him. Thomas Lagotti is an amazing author IMO, just brilliant. I don't recommend it really, but IF you read "Conspiracy Against the Human Race" I think it gives some insight into why he uses puppets so often in his stories. Excellent list. I've yet to read House of Leaves, but the others are fantastic.
I had wanted to read Ring for ages then found it in a charity shop for £1, couldn't believe it. It's a great book and like you, I think the book is so underrated and needs to be talked about more
omg the bird event during exorcist. I had a car wreck happen while I was ready Blood Crazy from Simon Clarke and it terrified me. I was 14 at the time and was afraid to look outside.
When I tried to read the house of leaves, I didn't know how to even make sense of it tbh. I gave up after the first chapter and returned it. This is the 2nd person to bring it up in one week lately. Maybe I should give it another try.
It is but once you get into reading it, it's not that bad. Like if you read it on a nice sunny day you'll be fine, but if you read it at night with stormy weather it would probably be way more creepy 😂
Great list! George Romero said that I Am Legend inspired his movie Night of the Living Dead. I didn't care for the I Am Legend movie. There is another film adaptation of I Am Legend called Last Man On Earth starring Vincent Price that you might enjoy.
Hi Roya! Thanks for a great book list and review. I never knew about The Case Against Satan, so I just bought it on Amazon! I recently read Under the Skin by Michael Faber. You mentioned liking all things extra-terrestrial-- if memory serves -- so I thought I'd mention it. I REALLY enjoyed it (movie's great, too). Peace.
If you like older movies, “The Haunting” is an excellent and faithful adaption of The Haunting of Hill House, and “The Innocents” is a great film version of The Turn of the Screw.
I had to check your profile to be sure of your origin. Sounded Irish yet was kind of Nova Scotia or thereabouts :-) King's Pet Sematary is well done and adheres to the philosophical principles of the horror genre. Fritz Leiber rocks the horror. . . the horror
That was a great presentation, thank you !The last one you mentioned really looks terrrifying as I still have nightmares involving a surreal rotting room inside of a tilting house .I will most definitely look for these books that I have yet read and , many thanks fot endorsing my Shirley Jackson !!
Great screen personality (not saying it's a put-on; you seem to be quite genuine and sincere.) Admirable openness about what you fear and why you enjoy fearing it...except when you don't. Oh, you have many other strengths, as well, and your video on your favorite horror books provided me with an intro. to your work which I knew would be interesting and enjoyable...and it was that and more! Must go because my keypad seems to be possessed, but has, in ugly old reality, is a part of this tablet I have that has fallen off my bed, my favorite chair, the kitchen table, an obscene number of times and is now revenging itself by behaving in a way too funky...hell...cruel is a better word, to serve as my collaborator any longer. I have to say, though, that I, too, really "enjoy" the tales of Thomas Ligotti, which I first heard on RUclips. (Score at least ONE for the much-maligned YT.) Thanks for the memory (ha!) Keep well, and continued success to you. k.k.
I completely understand you about the movie The ring. For me it's the american version i watched (well only the beginning) when I was 9 or 10 and I was so traumatized by the death girl in the closet. 20 years and a lot of horror books and movies later, I still absolutely don't want to watch the movie because of that scene.
Love Pet Sematary and War of the Worlds (also the musical SLAPS). A lot of classics on your list that I need to get to though! Underrated H.G Wells novel is The First Men on the Moon, if you like aliens it's basically the reverse of War of the Worlds! It's more of a science fiction novel but it's worth a look!
Yeh it was really good. Apart from that kid meeting up that older guy for sex just randomly being thrown in there. That was just weird and gross. But Netflix has a history with pedo crap. Any who and the other hand the book was absolute sh it. The worst and most boring book I've ever read. There not even any ghosts in it I dont get why people keep saying it's a good book.
I haven't read The Exorcist but have seen the movie many times. I grew up not too far from the actual 'Exorcist Steps' so we would watch the movie then go climb the steps. I'll have to check out The Case Against Satan. I own The War Of The World's but haven't read it yet, now I'm really looking forward to it. Great list!
Great video! Thanks. Have just come across your channel. Love your list! I’ve not really read much horror and have been thinking I should try something, and looking for top notch recommendations. Your list is the first one I’ve watched and actually been really sold on almost all the books, rather than just thinking “meh” to it all. So thank you!
Also, now I've finally finished watching: I really agree with the books you picked! I feel like so many horror novels aren't actually scary, but some of them, haha. Strangely enough, the one that really frightened me was Bird Box, even though I thought it was kind of awful? I had such a bad nightmare about that and ever since it's made me very uncomfortable. Also, I'm currently reading Arthur Machen's collection The Great God Pan, and while it's not about the things you mentioned here, I still really want to recommend it! It's from the 19th century so has that nice atmosphere, but then it is so different? Usually I kind of feel like these books can't really surprise or shock me anymore, simply because at this point I know Dracula is a vampire, and a lot of the horror is implied bc Victorian England was easily upset. But this is about the occult, and is immediately just so different from anything I've read before - you actually don't know what's going on, and stuff. Also, congrats on the sponsorship!!
I wasn't a fan of Birdbox, but I understand that all the unknown aspects about it and especially the trip down the river was really creepy. I've been wanting to read The Great God Pan for ages and plan to ask for it for Christmas 😂 I'm so glad you recommend it!
Horrorbabble has an excellent audio reading of ‘Thr Great God Pan’ here on RUclips if you don’t get it as a Christmas gift? Also: for what it’s worth I find Stephen King to be maddeningly hit or miss but I’ve found ‘Salem’s Lot’ to be far and away his best work, but including the two short stories ‘Jerusalem’s Lot’ & ‘One For The Road’ as prologue and epilogue are essential!
Ring was fantastic, but the sequel, Spiral, blew me away. I definitely agree the sci-fi elements take it to a new level. I also kinda loved the whole cryptography element.
Just discovered your channel. Thanks! I've read all but last novels & share many of the opinions. Richard Matteson has been a favorite author since I was a kid about 100 years ago.🤣 No matter the genre his work is so involving. Appreciate you sharing your Shirley Jackson love.
Wm. Peter Blatty says he wrote The Exorcist as a mystery novel, not intending it to be a horror novel at all. He was a mystery writer before it popped out. The subject matter darkened things beyond mere mystery and the supernatural came waltzing in to turn some heads.
And, you haven't included H.P.Lovecraft in this list!?! If you haven't read any Lovecraft, especially with the other books on this list being your favorites, you seriously should consider doing so!
Thomas Ligotti is terrifying on a level that I haven't been able to find in other writers. He's a hard drug. Love his work. Also House of Leaves was the most interesting giant disappointment I've ever read hands down. How he messed up such a perfect set up and premise... it saddens me so much cause damn, that first 100 pages or so is just perfect. I get he was trying to deconstruct postmodernism and literary theory itself, making an "infinite" story, but man, it was too much I think. I just couldn't get into it after the initial discovery of the hallway cave abyss. It was soooooo over indulgent. But it's still a perfect premise, I gotta say
I just want to say that I just discovered your channel from this video and I really enjoyed it. I haven't read all of these books on your list but some of them have gotten my interest so I may try and find them. The Exorcist is one of my favorite books and I don't hear a lot of booktubers talking about it but then again, I haven't really looked. I saw the movie first and then wanted to read the book and I loved it. there are some scenes though that got really intense especially during the exorcism. Pet Semetary is another favorite of mine. Well, I just wanted to say hi and let you know how much I enjoyed this video. I'll take a look around at some of your others.
I think you would enjoy The Possessors by John Christopher, an English author. The novel was published in 1964. He wrote a number of post-apocalyptic/sci-fi (Death of Grass; Wrinkle in the Skin; World in Winter) but The Possessors was absolutely superb. Very creepy.
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When my father was reading The Exorcist, he was laying in bed reading when the bed began to shake. He freaked out, naturally. Turned out to be a minor earthquake VERY rare here in Ohio!
Oh wow, that's such a weird coincidence 😂
Lol! When I read the exorcist, I was in hospital. Woke up next morning and the woman in the next bed had died in the night...
@@arianbyw3819 bro I’m scared to read it now
@@beann7336 it freaked me out at the time, mind you, I was only 12! :)
You made me laugh. This is the beginning of a good story.
In House of Leaves, in the scene outside the tattoo shop, when Johnny's talking about something right behind him, is a perfect description of what my agoraphobia feels like.
I loved Johnny's character.
I stopped because lack of time they were exploring the house abdnormal space and i need to restart
I'm reading this right now!!
I completely dropped the tattoo guy store to focus completely on the house. Do they actually tie in somehow? Maybe I should try again. But definitely the scariest story I've ever read
I read Pet Sematary in three days when I was in high school. My reaction was Holy Shit. But what I'm really thinking is what happened to those days when we could read so fast?
The novel King found so nihilistic he refused to publish it until he needed it to fill an empty slot in his contract.
@@nikoteardrop4904 Fuckin right? And it freakin destroyed as one of the best horror novels ever crafted.
What happened? We waste our time on all sorts of pointless, mind-killing nonsense.
Honestly. In 99% of the cases, a lack of time to read (or to do other useful things) is not a lack of time, but a lack of prioritization.
We are slowly forgetting how it works to concentrate on complex, extensive things for a long time.
Relearning these things, to then - actually learn, is one of the best things I did in the last couple of years.
I am far from perfect and I probably never will be. But that is no reason not to keep improving in that respect.
I ask myself this all the time. I read HP & OOTP in two days as an 8yo.
I miss my speedy past self.
@@nikoteardrop4904 the nihilism is what really kills for me. The Monkeys Paw finale just... yikes.
Highly recommend Skeleton Crew, possibly King's best collection of short stories.
"House of leaves" is such a good read. Plays right into the slowly creeping dread.
Yess, Haunting of Hill House and House of Leaves. Another that genuinely chilled me is Clive Barker's Books of Blood Vol. 1-3, a collection of horror shorts.
Sadly Clive Baker set the bar so high. I read those when I was 10. Nothing scares me now!
haunting of hill house is decent but the show is much better, go with the show if you're thinking about it.
Yes, The Exorcist and Pet Sematery are wonderful and scary. I only recently heard about the Case Against Satan but I absolutely have to read it because I'm obsessed with possession stories
Possession is one of my all time favourite sub genres in horror too, it's such a disturbing concept
You know obsession is a stage of Demonic attack. Obsession Oppression then Possession.
@ Rumble @ Jetson White channel video The 4/11 Rapture Event and Xenogenesis by Steve Quayle." Even now these seducing spirits are tricking mankind to commit genetic suicide. Meanwhile the replacement race stands poised to take over the planet."- Steve Quayle.
Edgar Allan Poe was the one that got me into horror. Also H.P. Lovecraft. Poe taught me the most terrifying things are in our heads, while Lovecraft taught me there's things out there we don't know about.
@ Peter Straub If You Can See Me Now & Ghost Story the two best horror stories written imo.
I’m 58 and remember sneaking into the cinema when I was under 18 to see this. It was an 18 for a reason and I was genuinely terrified. My friend Julie and I ran all the way home and I convinced myself I was going to be possessed. I was praying to God for months after to keep me safe x
One of my personal faves is Misery. What makes that book scary to me is that it lacks a lot of the fantasy and supernatural elements of King's other works. Randall Flagg is certainly scary, but he's at least confined to the fictional world. Annie Wilkes, on the other hand...
Absolutely, Annie Wilkes is one of the best villains of all time.
@@RGsDevilship I think the worst thing you could say about Misery is that it aged well. The story becomes much scarier when you look at it as a critique of the toxic side of fandoms. Toxic fandoms were around long before the internet, but now that things have advanced with the internet at our fingertips, they've become even more vocal and have used social media to harass creators or anyone who disagrees with them.
Flagg conquering using religion during the apocalypse aka COVID? I dunno, COVID has shown madness and bizarre behavior can become the normal.
As an author myself. Misery is one I return to many times. Not only a meditation on writer's block, but obsessive fans, both of which most authors have to deal with at one time or another.
@@Topdoggie7@Fall of the Cabal Parts #1-27 @ Janet Ossebaard channel @ Rumble only banned here.
Watch the 1963 version of Hill House (Directed by the same man who made West Side Story). The Haunting is one of the best horror movies of all time ( first saw it when I was 13). What I like about the book is the multiple ways you can interpret what each character is saying. Not only does the house want to possess Eleanor, but each of the characters does in his or her own way as well. In the 1963 movie I see something new every time I watch it. The book works the same way.
Also, I love ghost stories. Please try "The Red Lodge" by H. R. Wakefield and "The Ash Tree" by M. R. James.
I grew up with that version as well I still love it.
The Babysitter by R. L. Stine is by far still one of the scariest sets of books I've read to date. It's been probably 15 years since I've read them and I STILL remember exactly how they made me feel, and how they made me afraid to sleep for a few nights. Also yes. The Ring scares the shit out of me.
The Haunting Hour collection is also a great one! Always loved the Goosebumps books too!
An yes, the point horror series
I adored R.L. Stine!!
"it tries to push you away as much as it tries to draw you in." that's brilliantly put
You've definitely inspired me to get into the Ring series. I always thought it wasn't worth reading because it would be the same as the movie.
Good choices. Kafka's The Castle is basically a written version of the same nightmare I have every night, where I am in a place, have no particular thoughts about it, and then due to increasingly severe reactions from and conversations with the people in the place, I begin to feel more and more like I've done something wrong, and finally wake up wracked with a severe guilt I have no idea the genesis of. It was the most frighteningly surreal read of my life.
Speaking of the Ring, I found the Dark Water anthology by Koji Suzuki in my college library when I was about 13. Very creepy and I was instantly hooked! One of my favourites was Adrift, along with The Hold. I'd definitely recommend it!!
Absolutely second that recommendation, one of my all time favourite short story collections
@@RGsDevilship Thank you!! I've only just found your channel, but its awesome to find another lit nerd sister here!! Also, I definitely prefer the I Am Legend novel rather than the movie. The movie was less suspenseful, but the atmosphere and Will Smith helped.
Dark water is that the one with Jennifer Connelly?
@@codyclaeys2008 yes, that was the American film. But I prefer the novel.
@@RGsDevilship I read this last year and LOVED it. Heavy questions popped up from time to time as not everything is always explained. I’m thinking of the multi-level art house performance - there was an insinuation of something going on the next floor over the bathroom that was never explained, and it drove me nuts.
You introduced me to The Case Against Satan; I just read it for the first time this month! While I found it to be a sort of cozy read overall, there were some parts where I was genuinely spooked. I'm looking forward to checking out more of your recs!
Ray Russell's short story collection "Haunted Castles" scared me a lot more than "The Case Against Satan," just fyi if you liked his novel and wanted more!! :)))
@@trina7012 It's sitting in my Amazon cart this very minute! I'm excited to get to it😁
Hope you like Haunted Castles just as much
Thanks for the memories. I read The Exorcist when I was at Fort Ord in Basic Training. I remember I was reading it in the barracks in the middle of the night while being on fire guard. Dark and guys snoring added to the creepiness. Thanks again.
Whoa- I have only just discovered your YT channel. And immediately I think you give great descriptions- not like a book snob but like a real person with visceral feelings of what you read. 👍
I also watched The Ring at a very young age and it traumatized me for sure, I have the first three books in the ring series but I haven't been able to bring myself to read them yet lol
Based on the imagery, I don't think the book is as scary as the films but they do add so much context to the story and have a heap of unlikeable characters that you can really get into rooting for their downfall
omg the girls face in the closet... scarred me as a child, i can still picture it so vividly lmao
Shirley Jackson was a genius. Her short story collection Dark Tales is completely unnerving. What I love most about her books/stories, particularly Hill House and The Sundial, is that Jackson understood the scariest monsters of all: the people whom you live amongst. I interviewed Tobe Hooper, the director of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", about 20 years ago and asked him what scared him most of all. He grinned and said: "The neighbors."
The haunting of hill house is barely a book. It's the worst thing I've ever read and the most boring and the writing was so pretentious. It pissed me off that I wasted money on it.
While I was reading the Amityville Horror, my boyfriend broke up with me, I lost my job, my pet died and I broke my favorite ring. I burned that fucking book.
Yeees! Get that sponsorship! 🤩🎉🎉
i’m so glad someone else loves the haunting of hill house 😭 i adore it and i’ve never heard anyone else talk about it and… the netflix adaption is not as good. haunting of bly manor i found to be quite good tho 🤷🏼♀️
what? the netflix adaptaion is definetly better, and bly manor was complete garbage compared to season 1
The hand holding scene is the single most terrifying page I have ever read. I had a physical reaction, and threw the book across my bedroom. "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" is also incredible. I love Shirley Jackson.
I recommend the 1963 version of The Haunting. Although it is black and white which I know doesn’t work for everyone, maybe it takes them out of it… I’m not sure since I grew up with a lot of black and white classics.
Ventriloquist puppets are absolutely the spawn of Satan, and no one can convince me otherwise.
Also, House of Leaves is fantastic.
This is a fact, 100%! They still give me the creeps from time to time 😅
House of Leaves is about as scary as Winnie the Pooh.
I read Pet Sematary when it first came out, I was 12 (it's still one of my favourite books). I still recall the fear it pulled from me! Just hearing someone say the name makes my heart jump a bit, lol. I became obsessed with King from then on. I saw The Exorcist when I was 13, and it didn't scare me much, tho I think that's because by that time I had read quite a few of Kings books, and had already seen the 70s version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers when I was 5 lol. Its still the scariest movie I've ever seen, I can't even compare it to books. I just recall being horrified that people you know and love may not actually *be* those people at all. War of the Worlds also completely terrifies me lol.
I just found your channel, and am really enjoying it!
I look forward to reading House of Leaves! I truly enjoy, and respect subtlety. When a book sneaks up behind you, taps you on the shoulder, and you go white...perfection. I can read a book with gore, but I'll take subtlety any day.
house of leaves is one of the books I'm reading at the moment. I'm only on the second part of the Navidson Records, but I can feel myself being dragged into this ride. I myself feel a little obsessed with where this book is taking me and I agree it's scary in the sense of mental health and feeling yourself slipping further away from reality
"'God, God, whose hand was I holding?'"
One of the downright creepiest lines I've ever read in a novel. I adore Hill House, and Jackson in general. We Have Always Lived in the Castle is my other favorite of hers.
Thanks for the recommendations; I'll definitely be reading Ring and its accompanying books. I didn't know it got into scifi. Not usually my genre, but I know my husband will be thrilled it goes that way, and I'm sure I'll love it.
New subscriber
If you haven't already, check out the film 'Shirley'. Elisabeth Moss plays Ms Jackson and does an amazing job.
The exorcist genuinely scared the hell out of me; beautifully written! I have also loved "Rosemary's baby" and "Carmilla" which is a short gothic novel :)
Rosemary's Baby is an amazing read...I was surprised how well the movie adapts the book. Having watched the movie first, it was like reading the script, I kept seeing all the scene from the movie as I read the book.
@@mikedavis979 You are so right! I have watched the movies so many times first and read the book only after as an adult too; it's really amazing how the dialogues, the atmosphere you breath in both book and movie are the same. You basically watch the book come to life.
Ah, yes, Carmilla is excellent. There are so many supernatural stories I’ve read from that time period that I love. Another good one by the author of Carmilla is “The Ghost of a Hand”
Your voice is perfect for narrating audiobooks.
True
The ring gave me nightmares as a kid too lol but nothing new since I still have nightmares every day 🤷🏽♀️😂Have you read we have always lived in the castle? I loved it! Also loved war of the worlds!
Yes that was the first Shirley Jackson novel that I read, I love it so much!
The mental health detrition and how that greatly effects character interaction is really understated when people talk about house of leaves.
Ring is one of my favourite books, it and Spiral freaked me out! They’re not scary necessarily, it’s just the way it sits in your head for ages afterwards. Love it!
The southern reach trilogy (annhilation, authority, acceptance), the king in yellow , revival by SK, The Road, The Croning, at the mountains of madness, the dark tower books,, and a short story by SK called the Ten o'clock people are mine
I love I am Legend. One of the last books to truly terrify me.
A while ago found a huge book with a collection of Stephen King novels in one volume and I think I might read some of it soon because of this video. I've never read horror before and I don't know why?!!! Lol.
Stephen King is really good if you're just getting into it since he offers different levels of horror and he tends to focus on his characters. I feel like Carrie or Misery would be good to start with if they're in the collection. Hope you enjoy it! 😊
Got me at ' shes stripping infront of the priest ' ! New subscriber
Welcome! It's certainly an interesting read 😅
Your voice and audio quality are superb on this video. Whatever you are doing keep it up.
Thank you, I spend a lot of time on the audio so I really appreciate your comment
Richard Matheson's "I am Legend" has been filmed three times. The first film is "The Last Man On Earth" starring Vincent Price which was made in the 60's. The second film is "The Omega Man" starring Charleton Heston which came out in the 70's. And finally, "I am Legend" starring Will Smith. I prefer "The Omega Man" to the others. Definitely worth a view!
Three post Apocalyptic novels well worth your time are "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, (I will also recommend his Magnum Opus..."Blood Meridian" which is a different type of apocalyptic). "Riddley Walker" by Russell Hoban is set well in the future after an apocalypse and is a truly unique book! "The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller is a tremendous story set in a very contemporary post Apocalyptic setting.
Another alien invasion story worth reading is "Footfall" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.
The mental health issues you mention resonate particularly for me. There is a"condition", the family curse, if you will, that runs down one side of my family in the men. It is a kind of cross between bipolar and seizure disorder. But it resulted in my father being, when I was a child, an incredibly frightening person at times. So the film version of The Shining hits me where it hurts, since, if you pay attention, nothing in - with the exception of the ESP thing - is supernatural. So being locked up all winter with a maniac. Yeah, see my point?
Nobody asked for your life story. Stop looking for attention.
Loved this video! Shirley Jackson is one of my favorite authors! I also agree that Pet Sematary is the novel by King that scared me the most. I still haven't finished it because getting through the scenes of grief after the son dies is too difficult. And if you haven't read The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, then I definitely recommend it! It's not horror, but it's an apocalyptical short-story collection that deals with how humans have destroyed Earth so badly that they invade Mars and end up destroying it as well. It is my favorite novel I've ever read.
The Case Against Satan sounds really interesting.
It takes the possession concept and flips it on it's head which I thought was great
House of leaves really interests me now because from how you explained it it’s giving me very Junji Itos Uzumaki vibes! (highly recommend if you haven’t read it before)
Really great to hear someone giving praise to Ray Russell. He's definitely an unsung talent. You've listed some good books here.
I hear 11 from a grown adult talking about 2003 when I was 25 and think, shit, I am old.
The cat from Pet cemetery that they buried came back. He was the same cat but he was different. What was different??....he was LIVID!!
Great post-apocalyptic book is Swan Song. It's a big fat one! Kind of on the same lines of The Stand but I like it much better.
Your voice is soooo soothing 🖤
Thank you 😅
this is the best channel on youtube
I am so glad you brought up Ray Russell's work! He is absolutely brilliant! 🖤
You are my favourite book tuber, and I trust your recommendations - and this video gave me some great new book ideas I’ve never heard about. Very excited but also.....scared
Oh thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoy the videos 😊
Your eye makeup! 👌
Thank you so much 😊
oh gosh you're talking about the exorcist. :'D I love horror but that book just conceptually scares me so much that I really had to push myself to watch your review of it, and then my laptop randomly turned off and ever since I've been petrified of it. XD
I totally agree, the concept is horrifying. But it's actually not that bad when reading it, it's more so the reputation around it that makes it seem scary. That's mad about your laptop turning off though!
@@RGsDevilship yeah my laptop had a bad battery so that's probably why, but it scarred me a bit. For me it was mostly that my mum always talked about it as the scariest film ever, and that horror films in general just are way too scary for me. Now watching your video I think it's so funny that you had a similar experience with the bird, though. 😂
I'm reading House of Leaves now and let me tell you... the hype is REAL!!! It's truly one of only a handful of horror novels that actually crawl under my skin and really unnerve me.
I'm so glad you're enjoying it, it's so unsettling
I cant find it on kindle :(
@@ashleyrodeheffer2251 honestly this is a book you MUST read a physical copy of. Order the remastered full color edition.
I’m actively not reading through any of the comments as I just started house of leaves last night. Read through the introduction last night before bed and omg. Weird dreams for sure already…. I’m not reading it at night I don’t think. After watching your full review on that book I definitely won’t be reading it at night.
Yeah it probably shouldn't be the last thing you're thinking about before you go to sleep 😂
Pet Sematary was an excellent book. I read it in one day. I couldn’t put it down. I got turned on to Stephen King books after I read Salem’s Lot when it first came out. It was a great scare! All of King’s early books are great, not a bad one in the bunch. The Stand is my favorite book of all time. The Exorcist gave me bad dreams.
thank you for these great recommendations, the way you talked about each book was so interesting. I got a real feeling of your taste and the strengths of each of these works.
I'm so glad you got that sense for the video, that's what I was hoping would come across
i remember the resurrected son who was killed in WW2, staring at the sun, telling everyone their secrets, near 40 years and i still think about that scene...
Shirley Jackson is great. I loved The Haunting of Hill House.
I never found Shirley Jackson particularly creepy. I think almost all of her stuff is brilliant. But not very scary. Which is not bad at all. I just think a lot of people kind of expect something wrong.
I love I Am Legend. Love the reboot with Will Smith, like the Omega Man with Charleton Heston, and I plan on watching Last Man On Earth with Vincent Price
I Am Legend, Neville finally got the dog to trust him, yes. Very next sentence.. The dog was dead a week later. Enjoyed the book, one of my favs for sure, buy very sad. Your heart truly aches for him.
Thomas Lagotti is an amazing author IMO, just brilliant. I don't recommend it really, but IF you read "Conspiracy Against the Human Race" I think it gives some insight into why he uses puppets so often in his stories.
Excellent list. I've yet to read House of Leaves, but the others are fantastic.
I had wanted to read Ring for ages then found it in a charity shop for £1, couldn't believe it. It's a great book and like you, I think the book is so underrated and needs to be talked about more
Carrion Comfort and The Terror by Dan Simmons are both really good too
The original from 1960 is the Best Haunting Of Hill House
If you love sci-fi isolated invasion horror then I highly recommend “Annihilation”!! It’s incredibly creepy and so we’ll written!
I read that a couple of years ago now but I still have to continue on with the series, hopefully soon, fingers crossed.
@@RGsDevilship Same here! It's been very difficult finding the rest of the series in stores, but I'm hoping I'll find them.
Finally the freaking exercise on someone's top 10 list it's about damn time man
omg the bird event during exorcist. I had a car wreck happen while I was ready Blood Crazy from Simon Clarke and it terrified me. I was 14 at the time and was afraid to look outside.
When I tried to read the house of leaves, I didn't know how to even make sense of it tbh. I gave up after the first chapter and returned it. This is the 2nd person to bring it up in one week lately. Maybe I should give it another try.
one of my new favorite channels
I’m really interested in reading The Exorcist but I’m also really scared to pick it up! It’s very intimidating.
It is but once you get into reading it, it's not that bad. Like if you read it on a nice sunny day you'll be fine, but if you read it at night with stormy weather it would probably be way more creepy 😂
Great list! George Romero said that I Am Legend inspired his movie Night of the Living Dead. I didn't care for the I Am Legend movie. There is another film adaptation of I Am Legend called Last Man On Earth starring Vincent Price that you might enjoy.
Yes I still need to watch Last Man on Earth!
I ordered I Am Legend in October because it is gonna be on my November tbr. Too embarrased to say I haven't read it yet, so now is the time. =)
I really hope you like it, it's a pretty quick read
suffer from night terrors and still read horror. You're amazing for having that bravery
Ah it only happens if I'm really stressed
@@RGsDevilship ahhh, imagine NOT being stressed.oh wait, I can't. Idk how to not have like explosive anxiety.
Hi Roya! Thanks for a great book list and review. I never knew about The Case Against Satan, so I just bought it on Amazon! I recently read Under the Skin by Michael Faber. You mentioned liking all things extra-terrestrial-- if memory serves -- so I thought I'd mention it. I REALLY enjoyed it (movie's great, too). Peace.
Nice to see some Ligotti love!
If you like older movies, “The Haunting” is an excellent and faithful adaption of The Haunting of Hill House, and “The Innocents” is a great film version of The Turn of the Screw.
I had to check your profile to be sure of your origin. Sounded Irish yet was kind of Nova Scotia or thereabouts :-) King's Pet Sematary is well done and adheres to the philosophical principles of the horror genre. Fritz Leiber rocks the horror. . . the horror
That was a great presentation, thank you !The last one you mentioned really looks terrrifying as I still have nightmares involving a surreal rotting room inside of a tilting house .I will most definitely look for these books that I have yet read and , many thanks fot endorsing my Shirley Jackson !!
Great screen personality (not saying it's a put-on; you seem to be quite genuine and sincere.) Admirable openness about what you fear and why you enjoy fearing it...except when you don't. Oh, you have many other strengths, as well, and your video on your favorite horror books provided me with an intro. to your work which I knew would be interesting and enjoyable...and it was that and more! Must go because my keypad seems to be possessed, but has, in ugly old reality, is a part of this tablet I have that has fallen off my bed, my favorite chair, the kitchen table, an obscene number of times and is now revenging itself by behaving in a way too funky...hell...cruel is a better word, to serve as my collaborator any longer.
I have to say, though, that I, too, really "enjoy" the tales of Thomas Ligotti, which I first heard on RUclips. (Score at least ONE for the much-maligned YT.) Thanks for the memory (ha!) Keep well, and continued success to you. k.k.
I completely understand you about the movie The ring. For me it's the american version i watched (well only the beginning) when I was 9 or 10 and I was so traumatized by the death girl in the closet. 20 years and a lot of horror books and movies later, I still absolutely don't want to watch the movie because of that scene.
Love Pet Sematary and War of the Worlds (also the musical SLAPS). A lot of classics on your list that I need to get to though! Underrated H.G Wells novel is The First Men on the Moon, if you like aliens it's basically the reverse of War of the Worlds! It's more of a science fiction novel but it's worth a look!
How anyone could NOT like The Haunting of Hill House Netflix adaptation is unthinkable. It’s a masterpiece of horror.
I'm going to give it another go this month
Yeh it was really good. Apart from that kid meeting up that older guy for sex just randomly being thrown in there. That was just weird and gross. But Netflix has a history with pedo crap. Any who and the other hand the book was absolute sh it. The worst and most boring book I've ever read. There not even any ghosts in it I dont get why people keep saying it's a good book.
@@leestirling4623 what? I don’t think you are talking about the right show, there’s nothing like that in HOHH.
Pet semetary is my all time favorite book. The characters and what they go through is so gripping. Absolute wonderful book
It's one of those stories that gets scarier the older you get.
@@PIB2000 for sure. I’m a dad of 2 sons so it really hit me hard
I haven't read The Exorcist but have seen the movie many times. I grew up not too far from the actual 'Exorcist Steps' so we would watch the movie then go climb the steps. I'll have to check out The Case Against Satan. I own The War Of The World's but haven't read it yet, now I'm really looking forward to it. Great list!
That's so cool that you lived near by the steps!
I'm not into reading but you really, REALLY made me want to read.
Great video! Thanks.
Have just come across your channel. Love your list! I’ve not really read much horror and have been thinking I should try something, and looking for top notch recommendations. Your list is the first one I’ve watched and actually been really sold on almost all the books, rather than just thinking “meh” to it all. So thank you!
Going to read ALL the ones I haven't read, so thank you for this video. I love your taste. I hope you do more. :)
Also, now I've finally finished watching: I really agree with the books you picked! I feel like so many horror novels aren't actually scary, but some of them, haha. Strangely enough, the one that really frightened me was Bird Box, even though I thought it was kind of awful? I had such a bad nightmare about that and ever since it's made me very uncomfortable. Also, I'm currently reading Arthur Machen's collection The Great God Pan, and while it's not about the things you mentioned here, I still really want to recommend it! It's from the 19th century so has that nice atmosphere, but then it is so different? Usually I kind of feel like these books can't really surprise or shock me anymore, simply because at this point I know Dracula is a vampire, and a lot of the horror is implied bc Victorian England was easily upset. But this is about the occult, and is immediately just so different from anything I've read before - you actually don't know what's going on, and stuff.
Also, congrats on the sponsorship!!
I wasn't a fan of Birdbox, but I understand that all the unknown aspects about it and especially the trip down the river was really creepy. I've been wanting to read The Great God Pan for ages and plan to ask for it for Christmas 😂 I'm so glad you recommend it!
Horrorbabble has an excellent audio reading of ‘Thr Great God Pan’ here on RUclips if you don’t get it as a Christmas gift? Also: for what it’s worth I find Stephen King to be maddeningly hit or miss but I’ve found ‘Salem’s Lot’ to be far and away his best work, but including the two short stories ‘Jerusalem’s Lot’ & ‘One For The Road’ as prologue and epilogue are essential!
Ring was fantastic, but the sequel, Spiral, blew me away. I definitely agree the sci-fi elements take it to a new level. I also kinda loved the whole cryptography element.
Just discovered your channel. Thanks! I've read all but last novels & share many of the opinions.
Richard Matteson has been a favorite author since I was a kid about 100 years ago.🤣 No matter the genre his work is so involving.
Appreciate you sharing your Shirley Jackson love.
Wm. Peter Blatty says he wrote The Exorcist as a mystery novel, not intending it to be a horror novel at all. He was a mystery writer before it popped out. The subject matter darkened things beyond mere mystery and the supernatural came waltzing in to turn some heads.
And, you haven't included H.P.Lovecraft in this list!?! If you haven't read any Lovecraft, especially with the other books on this list being your favorites, you seriously should consider doing so!
Thomas Ligotti is terrifying on a level that I haven't been able to find in other writers. He's a hard drug. Love his work. Also House of Leaves was the most interesting giant disappointment I've ever read hands down. How he messed up such a perfect set up and premise... it saddens me so much cause damn, that first 100 pages or so is just perfect. I get he was trying to deconstruct postmodernism and literary theory itself, making an "infinite" story, but man, it was too much I think. I just couldn't get into it after the initial discovery of the hallway cave abyss. It was soooooo over indulgent. But it's still a perfect premise, I gotta say
I just want to say that I just discovered your channel from this video and I really enjoyed it. I haven't read all of these books on your list but some of them have gotten my interest so I may try and find them. The Exorcist is one of my favorite books and I don't hear a lot of booktubers talking about it but then again, I haven't really looked. I saw the movie first and then wanted to read the book and I loved it. there are some scenes though that got really intense especially during the exorcism. Pet Semetary is another favorite of mine. Well, I just wanted to say hi and let you know how much I enjoyed this video. I'll take a look around at some of your others.
John Dies at the End truly scared me, while making me laugh...like being slowly roasted over hot coals while being forced nitrous oxide...
That book was like a fever dream 😅
Omg I just discovered your channel and I love it!! You’ve definitely gained a subscriber from me ❤️
Yay! Thank you so much for subscribing, that means the world to me 💜
I love that you have Ring here!
I tried to read the exorcist but a few pages in I was like ….Nope lol
I think you would enjoy The Possessors by John Christopher, an English author. The novel was published in 1964. He wrote a number of post-apocalyptic/sci-fi (Death of Grass; Wrinkle in the Skin; World in Winter) but The Possessors was absolutely superb. Very creepy.