The top 12 best horror books not written by stephen king february 16, 2017 if youre a diehard horror fan like us, you know that just watching horror films doesnt always cut it. Stephanie mccann has been working for them as an intern. I would find some scenes to be quite scary the dead woman in the bathtub, satans fiery maw, clown in the gutter beckoning victims, but i learned that the real monsters are the people, not the ghosts or vampires. The books kept rolling off the presses, and, despite the occasional dip into fantasy, king. By the time carrie hit the big screen in 1976, king had put out another novel, salems lot. Highly recommended in the large selection of horror books. Stephen king declared ghost story the finest in its genre in 1981 with the non fiction horror critique, danse macabre, which, as weve established, is high praise indeed.
Jun 03, 2016 if your summer months are more for scary stories around the campfire than breezy first love, happily ever after tales, this list of 10 of the creepiest books of all time will fulfill all your warm. This one taps into a phobia thats both very old and very current. Top 10 nonhorror stephen king books nerd girl power. The books kept rolling off the presses, and, despite the occasional dip into fantasy, king had built himself an empire of horror by the mid1980s. Another one of kings earlier works that makes our top 5 scariest stephen king books list is the shining. May 17, 2018 you know youve hit the big time as a horror writer when even dedicated horror readers cant stomach your latest book. Top 10 scary moments from stephen king movies youtube.
Yes, its another stephen king bookno surprise that he makes the list of scariest books more than once. For example, the theme of family is huge in the shining. Salems lot is horror as well, given that its about vampires and not the sexy, sparkly kind. What is the most disturbing stephen king novel you have ever. It was the first novel by stephen king that i had ever read. But as times change, so too do the things that unsettle us. One of the best horror movies of 2017, it was a cultural phenomenon well before it was a box office success last year. The best horror books of all time horror books have been part of the literary world for years, but it seems like horror in all its mediums has been on the upswing in recent times. Ive never found his books to be scary in the same sense as jump scare horror movies. This book is super high up on my list of best horror books in terms of creativity, slow burn terror, and ideas that have haunted me for weeks. Kings hotel horror classicand stanley kubricks 1980 movie adaptation, the shiningare masterpieces of the genre. Apr 12, 2018 weve seen lists of the scariest movies based on the works of stephen king, but what are the authors scariest novels. Sep 18, 2017 living legend stephen king has published over 60 books during his 50year career and most of them are scary as hell.
And while stephen king is often considered, well, the king of the genre, there are so many other horror authors and books out there that will scratch that scary. From a fairly standard horror premise a house is revealed to be slightly larger on the inside than is strictly possible danielewski spins out a dizzying tale involving multiple unreliable narrators, typographic mysteries, and looping footnotes that manage to drag the reader into the story and then make them doubt their own perception of that story. The best horror books of all time penguin random house. Stephen king is the youknowwhat of horror, and if there wasnt this pesky rule about keeping it to one book per author, this list could.
From an oeuvre of almost 100 books, here are the best stephen king books, ranked. The surprise for nonking readers will be that those emotions may include wonder, amusement, tenderness, admiration, hope, nostalgia, awe, wistfulness, and joy. Maybe people are realizing just how satisfying it is to settle into a scary story, feel the rush of adrenaline, and then close the book, turn off the movie, or walk. Stephen king s magnum opus nearly didnt make paste s best horror novels of all time countdown, fitting, as it does, more neatly into postapocalyptic fiction or fantasy. Theres no doubt that writer stephen king is best known for the horror novels that. Top 10 modern horror novels more terrifying than a stephen. But, after much voting, pet sematary by stephen king is your top pick, and hell house by richard matheson comes in a close 2 nd. So let me paraphrase a conversation i had on facebook recently. I cant afford to keep the lights on every night for the rest of my life. Aug 30, 2018 stephen king declared ghost story the finest in its genre in 1981 with the nonfiction horror critique, danse macabre, which, as weve established, is high praise indeed. The villain is a bit scary but its a post apocalyptic novel, not really horror. The 10 best nothorror, notscary books by stephen king. Im not criticizing, though a list of most gruesome shouldnt be limited to the last decade of genre material. And if you see her in your dreams, be sure you never, ever scream.
Although this wasnt the point of the list, its interesting to. At a certain point, he started releasing books under a pseudonym just. May 20, 2017 a roundup of some of my favourite short stories from horror master stephen king. King staked his claim to the horror world when he published carrie in 1974. Pick up this novel written by stephen king s oldest son before the movie comes. I have been an avid king fan ever since, reading everything he has published, including works written under his pseudonym. Its an interesting examination, as each novel does indeed have a film counterpart. With over 60 novels published, there are no shortage of great titles to choose from. Horror books are published and read yearround, but theres just something about reading a horror novel in october that adds a certain. The author here is stephen king, though, so be prepared for the stories to bring up some strong emotions.
The body a novela in his collection of stories different seasons. To each his own but misery is the scariest book i have ever read. His books have sold more than 350 million copies, many of which have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. The mainer has a career spanning more than 40 years and dozens of titles, but there are a few. Its a non fiction, documenting the japanese atrocities in the chinese city of nanking during ww2. A list of ya and adult books that will make your hair stand on end. Apr 02, 2014 the author here is stephen king, though, so be prepared for the stories to bring up some strong emotions. The dark tower series is a mix of horror and fantasy. Salems lot by stephen king is a modern vampire story in which a small england town is being overrun by the. When stephanie asks if theyve ever come across a real unexplained mystery in the. The best horror books of 2017 will keep you up all night. Check out 50 books that will keep you up all night after.
And no, you can never go wrong with peter straubs ghost story, or william peter blattys the exorcist, or stephen kings insert 80s king novel here. But its this horrifying look at novelist and recovering alcoholic jack torrances descent into madness. It is not even the kind that keeps me up at night, wondering if a killer is lurking in the shadows. Pennywise the killer clown dwells in the sewers of derry, maine, and he preys upon the young residents of the town. From a fairly standard horror premise a house is revealed to be slightly larger on the inside than is strictly possible danielewski spins out a dizzying tale involving multiple unreliable narrators, typographic mysteries, and looping footnotes that manage to drag the reader. His books have sold more than 350 million copies, and many of them have been adapted into feature films, television movies and comic books. Hes much more than just a guy who writes scary stories. So, with the newest release of one of his novels in movie form, the mist, i present you with the top fifteen of his novels. Put simply, house of leaves is one of the most frightening books ever written. The scariest writing, to me, is the kind that incepts those intrusive thoughts, the macabre punchlines that dawn when im waiting in line at the grocery store and see something that reminds me of the narrativethe kind. Even in his scary stories, king is able to include universal themes.
In fact, this haunting tale is so popular, that the colorado hotel that originally inspired kingestes parks the stanleyhas now become a major travel destination for horror aficionados. The top 12 best horror books not written by stephen king. He also chooses his favorite films and touches on the recent flood of horror remakes and zombie flicks. Taken together, 2017s best horror books were a 2017 was filled with plenty of reallife terrors, but if you are looking for a fictional scare, these are our picks for the best horror books of 2017. That book wasnt supernatural scary like the others i had read salems lot, the shining, cycle of the werewolf, etc but rather delved into the realms of reality. The 10 best horror novels written by stephen king mydomaine. Whats scary critiques the last decade of genre cinema, from 1999s phenomenon the blair witch project to 2009s surprise smash district 9.
This book was heavily influenced by stephen kings 1974 visit to the stanley hotel, as well as his long recovery from alcoholism. Comments must be related to the list and not be clearly aimed at simply winning such as repeating the same comment over and over. King has published 63 novels, including seven under the pen name richard bachman, and five non fiction. Each is accompanied by a synopsis directly from the stephen king web presence. The 100 scariest horror novels of all time horror novel. Halloween would not be complete without some scary quotes from the master. Oct 20, 2017 sure, stoker, shelly, shirley jackson, and lovecrafts books are considered classics for a reason. Danielewski put simply, house of leaves is one of the most frightening books ever written. Firstly my favourite film stand by me is based off the body and in the aftermath of watching the film then reading the novella im not positive on what i prefer. Best scariest horror books of all time cosmopolitan. The scariest writing for me is not the bloodspattery, gorefilled prose. At 1,8 pages, its one of the longer horror books you can read but that only serves to increase its horror. Some authors really appeal to the gore lover, the thrillseeker, and the horror junky, such as cormac mccarthy, bret easton ellis, and stephen king. Mar 04, 2020 the most disturbing for me was misery.
Apr 17, 2015 so, without further ado, here are my top nonhorror stephen king books, for the the nonhorror fans in our lives. Besides, you didnt even list one of his most iconic nonhorror titles. Jul 18, 2019 whatever it is, theres no denying that stephen king knows what scares usand hes not afraid to deliver. May 29, 2008 salems lot was one of my favorites my king and i really didnt see anything too bad about it.
Pennywise the killer clown dwells in the sewers of derry, maine, and. I wont be passing the book along to friends who like stephen king, because, well, for one thing its not written by stephen king, and two, i wouldnt do that to my friends. Stephen king has been scaring readers for 45 years, starting with 1974s carrie. If your summer months are more for scary stories around the campfire than breezy first love, happily ever after tales, this list of 10 of the creepiest books of all time will fulfill all your warm. Stephen king has evolved into one of literatures most complex. Below, we rank the ten most frightening king books ever.
Joe hill has written a fair amount of horror novels, and while i havent read all of them, the couple ive. But besides stephen king, clive barker, some dean koontz, etc. Discussion is there any stephen king books that arent horror. Like other answers, i was in my early teens when i read it. Considered the king of horror, its hard to choose the best stephen king books, but with a combination of a creepy monster lurking in the sewers preying on children in a small town it has proven to be one of the best horror books of all time. King s bestselling books overall are the non horror dark tower series while there are certainly horrific elements in those books, they are clearly more sff than horror, but it has been a juggernaut for the writer since its publication.
But however you know him, from the films or his books, there is little doubt that stephen is the king at what he does. Stephen edwin king born september 21, 1947 is an american author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, and fantasy novels. It goes without saying that stephen king is the master of the macabre, and quite possibly the most famous horror scribe in history, with apologies to the likes of edgar allen poe and h. It by stephen king, the shining by stephen king, pet sematary by stephen king, salems lot by stephen king, misery by steph. Regardless of ones interests, one can find a book he or she finds engaging. See where misery, the shining, pet sematary, and the dark tower land and which horror gem takes the top spot. The gruesome scenes helped make it so, but there was alot more to it. You know youve hit the big time as a horror writer when even dedicated horror readers cant stomach your latest book. Oct 27, 2017 stephen kings uk editor philippa pride picks out some of stephen kings scariest quotes. Salems lot by stephen king is a modern vampire story in.
Which stephen king non horror book would you consider the. From these writers and more, here are the ten most disturbing books ever written. Check out our other videos of the top 10 horror movies that did something brand new. The following is a complete list of books published by stephen king, an american author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. And bullying is also a huge theme in stories such as dreamcatcher and it. It can be hard to make a distinction between kings true horror books and. But then again, i havent really read all of stephen king s books as of yet. While king s most famous works include carrie, it, misery, the shining and the green mile, the writer has produced over 50 books in the last 40 years, each and every one different in its content. Pet sematary isnt just horror, its one of the scariest books ive ever read.
New on the site are horror books for lovers of fantasy. Looking for scaryhorror novels not by stephen king. The 10 best stephen king books for those who love horror. King has published 61 novels including seven under the pen name richard bachman and six non fiction books. And, by all means, if theres a king book that somehow scared you even more than these did, tell us about it in the comments. Stephen king books that wont scare the crap out of me because 1. Are you looking for horror books for teens please check our top ten young adult horror books.
Six scary stories kindle edition by king, stephen, harper. Apr 11, 2018 8 stephen king movie fan theories that will blow your mind duration. Another year has passed, delivering us a terrible bounty of new horror books to terrify us on quiet nights. The 10 scariest stephen king novels horror freak news. Stephen king and clive barker have their moments, especially barker in his early stories published in books of blood, but neither are as consistently gruesome as the big three. The 10 best stephen king books your picks for the horror masters scariest, most suspenseful pageturners, from it to the dead zone. Which stephen king non horror book would you consider the best. Whether its the writers noholdsbarred depiction of violence or the fact that no subject is off limits, not even innocent little kids, these controversial horror books are some of the most disturbing ever written. Weve seen lists of the scariest movies based on the works of stephen king, but what are the authors scariest novels. Some birds are not meant to be cagedtheir feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild.
But while youve heard of many of the ultimate horror authors tales. However, its part of a list detailing his 10 best non horror works. Of all the authors and literary universes crafted in the modern era of books, the one author who stands out more than any other is none other than stephen king. May 07, 2018 watchmojo counts down the top scary moments from stephen king movies. The 10 best horror books you should have read by now. Everyone knows stephen king is prolific but how prolific is he, really. His books have sold more than 350 million copies, many of which have been adapted into feature films, miniseries, television series, and comic books. So, without further ado, and with a little fanfare, we present to you our pick of scariest books ever written, the best horror books no matter what kind of horror you are into. Jul 22, 2016 his name might be synonymous with horror, but its not easy to pick out stephen king s scariest books.
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