Favorite Horror, Scary, Spooky or Ghost Story Writers

[Shasta542]

The scariest and most horrifying novel I've ever read is "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote. Not a horror story but a novelization of a horrific murder of an entire family in Kansas circa 1959. Based on true events and real people it is the only novel i can recall that gave me chills and goosebumps. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up for two reasons: First, the recounting of the senseless and brutal killing of a blameless and innocent family, and the subsequent tragic consequences for all, including Truman himself and second, the exquisitely tight prose that vibrates with tension.

That was a terrifying story. Isn't the movie "Capote" about the TC interviewing one of the murderers as part of the research for the book? I think so.

[Shasta542]

I voted "other".

John Saul. I've read about half of his books, but the first 6 were the scariest. The first one...Suffer the Children gets the gold tho.  

Suffer the Children (1977)
Punish the Sinners (1978)
Cry For the Strangers (1979)
Comes the Blind Fury (1980)
When the Wind Blows (1981)
God Project, the (1982)
Nathaniel (1984)
Brain Child (1985)
Hellfire (1986)
Unwanted, the (1987)
Unloved, the (1988)
Creature (1989)
Second Child (1990)
Sleepwalk (1991)
Darkness (1991)
Shadows (1992)
Guardian (1993)
Homing, the (1994)
Black Lightning (1995)
Presence, the (1998)
Right Hand of Evil, the (1999)
Nightshade (2000)
Manhattan Hunt Club, the (2001)
Midnight Voices (2002)
Black Creek Crossing (2004)
Perfect Nightmare (2005)
In the Dark of the Night (2006)
Devil's Labyrinth, the (2007)
Faces of Fear (2008)

[Ellemeno]

I was all set to do a write-in vote for Shirley Jackson, but you had her on the list, A!  When I was about 9 or so I read this big thick compilation of all her works.  Some of them were light-hearted and really funny.  Some were really scary.  Very confusing.

I also voted for Ira Levin (Rosemary's Baby, Boys From Brazil, This Perfect Day, and more), and Edgar Allan Poe.  Although now when I think of his stories, my mind is overtaken by Bart Simpson saying, "Quoth the raven, 'Eat my shorts.'"

[Brown Eyes]

I was all set to do a write-in vote for Shirley Jackson, but you had her on the list, A!  When I was about 9 or so I read this big thick compilation of all her works.  Some of them were light-hearted and really funny.  Some were really scary.  Very confusing.

   I'm a huge Shirley Jackson fan.  Have you read The Haunting, or seen the movie (I mean the good one from the early 1960s)?  Totally awesome.

[serious crayons]

I loved "Harvest Home," by Thomas Tryon!

[retropian]

That was a terrifying story. Isn't the movie "Capote" about the TC interviewing one of the murderers as part of the research for the book? I think so.

Yes, the movies "Capote" and "Infamous" (which is arguably the better film) were both filmed the same year and cover the period in Truman's life when he came up with the idea of novelizing a true story, researching  it and how it ultimately destroyed him personally and artistically.

[delalluvia]

I loved "Harvest Home," by Thomas Tryon!

Just read the synopsis on this book.  Wow, that's some serious 'alternative' stuff going on.

[mariez]

I loved "Harvest Home," by Thomas Tryon!

Oh, now, there's a blast from the past!  I'd totally forgotten about that book.  Now I remember reading this in high school - and staying up all night to finish it. 

[serious crayons]

Oh, now, there's a blast from the past!  I'd totally forgotten about that book.  Now I remember reading this in high school - and staying up all night to finish it. 

I'm glad you remember it, too, Marie! That book actually sparked my interest in ancient pagan harvest rituals. Years later, this led to interests in witchcraft, Wicca, Halloween origins, the European witch burnings ... I'm not pagan or Wiccan and I can't pretend to be deeply knowledgeable about this stuff, but I've always had a soft spot for it and have written a little bit about it -- all thanks to "Harvest Home"!

Oddly enough,  Thomas Tryon is better known for "The Other," and although I think I read that one first, I don't remember a thing about it.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I'm glad you remember it, too, Marie! That book actually sparked my interest in ancient pagan harvest rituals. Years later, this led to interests in witchcraft, Wicca, Halloween origins, the European witch burnings ... I'm not pagan or Wiccan and I can't pretend to be deeply knowledgeable about this stuff, but I've always had a soft spot for it and have written a little bit about it -- all thanks to "Harvest Home"!

Oddly enough,  Thomas Tryon is better known for "The Other," and although I think I read that one first, I don't remember a thing about it.

Of course you all know that Thomas Tryon the author was first known as Tom Tryon, the actor? Quite handsome, too. If I knew that he died in 1991, I had forgotten it. 

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0874502/

Maybe I should read Harvest Home some day.