5 scariest books

[Nearly Sane]

Seen worst lists. But despite being a coulrophobe, Salem's Lot is a scarier King book than It

https://fivebooks.com/best-books/the-scariest-books-xavier-aldana-reyes/

[Aruntraveller]

Only read three of these:

Hill house, some of the Clive Barker and IT.

Reading the article I do wonder if the choice of IT was more to do with the memory of the TV production of which he said: "  I watched the TV adaptation with Tim Curry, which is spectacularly well done."

I think that one sentence should serve as a slight warning. Spectacularly? Really? Competent, yes. Good on the childhood stuff, yes. But spectacularly well done, no.

The recent films were more spectacularly well done, and they weren't brilliant.

[Steve H]

Dracula - the only book that's given me a nightmare as an adult.

[Nearly Sane]

Jekyll and Hyde is far scarier than Dracula as a book.
 And way better written

[Steve H]

Jekyll and Hyde is far scarier than Dracula as a book.
 And way better written

I agree that 'Dracula' is badly written, but it scared me, and J&H didn't.

[Outrider]

Not on the list, and a different sort of fear, but Bad Pharma by Dr Ben Goldacre scared me.  I read a fair bit, but horror never really piqued my interest.

O.

[Aruntraveller]

Just been going through the bookshelves and came across "Burnt Offerings" by Robert Marasco. I haven't read it for maybe 3 decades but I do remember it being ths scariest book I had read at that point.

On further reading it apparently serves as part of the inspiration for Stephen King's "The Shining" (another of his that is scarier than IT)

[Roses]

The Bible, if you believe it to be literally true, which I don't.

[Nearly Sane]

I agree that 'Dracula' is badly written, but it scared me, and J&H didn't.

There's actually only one book that scared me, and it was execrably written, I've forgotten the name of it and it was a cheap paperback that I had picked up second hand. It was about a women being haunted by a being from another universe who would take her to their ruined barren world, It came in the night and the description of the women being unable to wake her husband or child struck a chord is some fears I must have.