Horror Literature

Horror...Its a genre that many say Stephen King invented, but if one digs deep enough, horror stories have been told around the campfires of the world, in every remote part of every region, for generations.

I've always enjoyed a good scare while reading. In fact, I enjoy being frightened, period.
I think the books which got me into horror were actually 'Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark' by Alvin Schwarz (drawings by Stephen Gammel) which I picked up when I was very young. It turns out that many of the stories are based upon urban folklore.

These days I find myself drawn to the works of HP Lovecraft (In the Mountains of Madness), Alfred Hitchcock collections (Stories for late at night) and especially Clive Barker. I mention this because I had a chance to meet Doug Bradley today (Pinhead from Hellraiser) and he read excerpts from Clive Barker's 'Hellbound Heart'.

I think my favorite piece of literature from this genre is a collection of short stories on behalf of Clive Barker entitled, 'Books of Blood Volume I-III'. Barker is truly a visionary and works perfectly well with coinciding practical writing and believability with imagination.

Do you appreciate horror literature? If so, what?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Skexis

I love stuff that deals with breaking the fourth wall, or blurring the line between fantasy and reality.

Thats what interests me as well. Incidentally, there is a film in the movie night thread (In the Mouth of Madness http://www.gamingforce.org/forums/my...wnloads-6.html) which is based upon Lovecraft mythos which you might find interesting. Its themes are heavily related to how fantasy and reality can literally blur together.

But yea. I find that its difficult to get into a story if the line between fantasy and reality is not credibly (or at least interestingly) drawn. It either becomes too unbelievable to take seriously, or it becomes far too subtle to stimulate the imagination. Its a difficult balance...

Quote:

This one story called Gray Matter really freaked me out when I read it many many years ago.

Sounds cool!

edit: Btw, Divest, you are a punk. Quit rating down my posts because you have a vagina instead of a penis. Thanks!

There's nowhere I can't reach.

^^^ What kind of books?

I've recently acquired a few horror novels (for my birthday). One of them: Stephen Kings, "Nightmares and Dreamscapes" and Clive Barkers, "Weaveworld".

So far, the Stephen King literature is pretty intense. I am not sure what it is about his writing, but it seems to be almost too relatable, or accessible. It makes the imaginative element of his stories seem more probable- as if we were right there experiencing the ordeal along with him. That's true horror, to me. (That we in essence become a part of the writing.) Making sense of non-sense and whatnot. Clive Barker has a similar gift for making magic of ordinary everyday situations and putting a surreal twist upon them.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.