Favorite Horror Novels and Writers?

I'm currently about two-thirds of the way through The Historian by Elisabeth Kostova. Unless the wheels completely fall off towards the end, it's going to wind up being one of my all-time favorite books. It might be heresy to say, but this just may be a better Dracula novel than Bram Stoker's original.

At any rate, I've seen threads here about "favorite novel" and "favorite science-fiction" novel, so...

What's your favorite Horror novel and/or writer? (Or two, or three favorites -- most people have a hard time limiting themselves to just one.)

Here are some of mine:

Dracula by Bram Stoker -- the king-daddy of them all. A terrific adventure story featuring one of the greatest monsters in all of literature. Just so damn much fun to read.
'Salem's Lot by Stephen King -- Dracula meets the EC Comics aesthetic in modern-day small-town America. Genuinely scary at times.
Ghost Story by Peter Straub -- the title is a subtle joke on the reader; this is about something much, much worse than a ghost.

I also very much like the short stories and novellas of H.P. Lovecraft and Algernon Blackwood. "The Willows" by the latter is one of the scariest things I've ever read.

How about you all?

Baack

anne rice no dout anything by her or screen writen
interview with the vampire has to be the best i have read so far
she writes about the famuse lestat

Yeah, I've read most if not all of the Anne Rice stuff. She has an interesting take on the whole vampire thing. Some of Stephen King's stuff is ok, but he tends to be a bit overrated.
Except for the Dark Tower series, but that isnt really Horror. Really good stuff though.
If you want some good classic horror though, I suggest HP Lovecraft. He was one of the first masters of the short Horror Story. I hate to sound like a fanboy, but just about anything by him is worth a read. Check out Pickman's Model or what the moon brings. Both very good reads.

favorite authors....

Dean Koontz (all time favorite..I love his style)
Stephen King
Peter Straub
John Saul
Anne Rice
Clive Barker
and from my teenage years... VC Andrews

H.P. Lovecraft-"At the mountains of madness", "The Dunwich Horror"
Steven King- "The Talisman"( with Peter Straub), "The Shining"

While I love the work of Dean Kuntz, I don't view his work as strictly Horror.

For me, this is a very easy answer.

Stephen Kings BOOKS are great. Most of his movies aren't so good. The Shining, The Green Mile, and The Shawshank Redemption were all pretty good movies though. Sorry, I got off track there........
Anyway Stephen King is by far my favorite horror writer, and my favorite book is "The Stand". The unedited version of "The Stand" is outstanding, it is MUCH better than the edited version.

Dean Koontz is also very good - "The Watchers" is my favorite novel by him.

Clive Barker's 'Imajica' is an excellent read and highly original -also, 'I am legend' by Richard Matheson is highly recommened (and quite unsettling)

I am not much of a novel reader. I read more non-fiction than I ever have fiction. However, I have to say that King and Koontz are probably the two best in the horror genre. One complaint I have against Stephen King is that he tries to be too detailed. He'll spend thirty pages describing a freaking leaf laying on the ground. It kind of bores me really.

Peter Blatty's "The Exorcist" scared me so bad I was even scared of the paperback itself.

H. P. Lovecraft though tapped into something in my psyche that should have been left alone.

well i love most of stephen kings books i have read

IT was a classic! desperation and the regulators were also great, i love how he intertwined the stories but at the same time didn't.. i would love to read more of his book just err.. havn't got the time right now (i guess)

i hear good things about Dean Koontz, my grandmother let me borrow on of his books.. im anxious to check him out once i get some .. er...... more time on my hands

Another vote here for Clive Barker.

WEAVEWORLD is one of my favorite books...you know, one of those you pick up every couple years because you MISS it.

Like most other people, I love Stephen King's books.

Cell is currently my favorite by him right now, but my all time favorite horror book by him would have to be his collection of short stories, Night Shift. The short story Trucks still scares me.

I've read some Dean Koontz, but I just have a hard time getting in to his work. I did however like The Hideaway, and Odd Thomas.

Another horror novel that I loved was Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Originally posted by whaaa


H. P. Lovecraft though tapped into something in my psyche that should have been left alone.

H.P Lovecraft was an odd fellow. He wrote such that it almost made it seem real. Many say that he was actually the one who wrote the Necronomicon. If so,he was strange indeed.

I have two favorite authors- Dean Koontz and John Saul. I have read most books by both authors, and could not possibly pick a favorite.

Like so many others, I have to add my voice to those who believe that Stephen King is one of the best writers of novels in the "horror genre". I am always astounded that Stephen King is able to be so prolific and, yet, remain interesting and, most importantly, creative.

I would be hard pressed to pick just one Stephen King novel as being "my favorite" so I'll simply name a few that stand out; The Stand, It, The Shining and Christine. A Stephan King book is a great way to while away a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Of course, I do have other "favorite" authors of horror. Dean Koontz is certainly an author that is worth reading. I must admit, however, that Koontz seems to be sort of a "King Clone". Nevertheless, he's almost always worth the read.

Another favorite would have to be Clive Barker. If any horror writer deserves to be considered an author of fine literature, it would have to be Clive Barker. Weaveworld is one book that, in my opinion, will be cherished as great literature in the future. The Books of Blood is an astounding series of short stories that will frighten the bejezus out of anyone with a wit of imagination. And, finally, Imajica is an amazing example of imaginative story telling. What I love the most about Clive Barker is his ability to utilize language to it's fullest. He is able to paint the most amazing images directly into the brain which eventually seep through the conscious directly into ones dreams.

I tend to have favorite authors.

Stephen King, naturally. I read Salem's Lot and the Shining on the same weekend when I was in high school and scared myself so bad I couldn't sleep for 48 hours. The Stand is a masterpiece. Even his dross is gold compared to most, though I must say I couldn't really get into Desperation or Tommyknockers.

Though I can't say I LOVE HPL anymore, he had an influence on my own adolescent writing and I spent many happy hours playing Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu. I prefer HPL's Dreamlands and other dark fantasy to some of the other stuff about the Elder Gods.

I'm over Anne Rice. She lost me with the Mayfair Witch stuff. I did not like it, Sam I Am. But in high school, Interview With the Vampire was IT.

I like splatterpunk short fiction. Skipp & Spector, et al. Nancy A. Collins.

I like some of the short fiction of the old masters. Enoch by Robert Bloch is with me to this day, and I read it when I was eight.

Originally posted by whaaa
Peter Blatty's "The Exorcist" scared me so bad I was even scared of the paperback itself.

H. P. Lovecraft though tapped into something in my psyche that should have been left alone.

You are sooo right. Thr first time I read "The Exorcist", I got so scared that I slept with the light on for a week. and Lovecraft was worse, I was looking over my shoulder all the time expecting to see the "Old Ones" coming for me!

HP Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe. They touch something in me that really shouldn't be touched.

I guess I'm in a minority when I say I don't much care for Stephen King. I used to like Koontz, but so many of his books all read alike now...but Phantoms was Great. Lousy movie, but great book.

I love HP Lovecraft, his stories are so freaky and awesome. I finished "At the mountains of madness", which I loved now im reading "The Terror" by Dan Simmons, any1 heard of it, or read it, its pretty big, 769 pages

Just finished Stephen King's "Cell" over the weekend, and I admit to being disappointed. It was sort of a "The Stand" lite.




>>SPOILER ALERT