Scariest book you ever read?

[alexandralamb97]

I try not to let myself get creeped out by novels, especially ones in which things happen that could never really happen in real life, but every now and then, one of them really gets to me. "Grey Matter" by Stephen King flat-out ruined a full week for me when I read it a year ago, and if I start thinking about it by accident, I recall the horribleness of the whole story, and it sticks on my mind for ages. There's just something about how King is able to tap into all your senses and make you really feel as if you were in the story which makes his books seem so real and frightening, even when the plot is totally out there. Of all the stories you ever read, what scared you the most?

[TerryRodgers]

Interesting topic. I don't believe I have ever been frightened while reading a book.

[pls]

[TerryRodgers]

[wdarcy]

I rarely get scared by a book, and I read a lot of horror. One story that did frighten me, though, was Henry James's "The Turn of the Screw." I read it as a youngster, and man it scared the bejesus out of me. Some years ago I re-read it as an adult, and although it didn't have quite the same effect, it still creeped me out.

I am no Henry James fan, but I do feel "The Turn of the Screw" is the best--and scariest--ghost story ever written.

--Warren

[His Majesty]

Naturally, as a child, it was a one-two punch of The Shining and 'Salem's Lot.
As an adult, it would have to be Helter Skelter or any other human horror stories about cults.

[CantSkate]

For me this is easy, as a young child I read Robert Heinlein's The Puppet Masters. For whatever reason it scared me out of my wits. I spent the next few months slapping people on their backs before I would talk to them.

[Terry T.A. Rodgers]

[roda havet]

I didn't read scary books as a child but man I wish I could find now. I have been looking for a scary book but I can't seem to find myself. I asked my husband to find me a good book to read yesterday and he found me "Darkness Brutal" (The Dark Cycle Book 1) by Rachel A. Marks. I just started reading it and I'm up to chapter 2 but it's not scary but so far it is a good book.

[robjvargas]

I can't say that a book has ever scared me. A short story did the trick once, though.

Shirley Jackson.

.

I still get uneasy about it.