What's In a Scary Reading Experience?

Welcome to my newest instalment on the theme of 'reading experiences'. We can all Google what a book is about but what the 'experience' of reading it was is something special to you and you alone. Previously, I had published an article relating to reading experiences and what they are all about, giving you some of mine from the past decade that have stuck out to me. A reading experience doesn't necessarily have to be you reading your favourite book. It just needs to be a memorable and meaningful experience that you can recall. However, for the sake of this article, I will be diving into the scariest books I have ever read and what my experiences of them were. Yes, we are all aware of The Exorcist and American Psycho being fairly terrifying, but what about these absolute horrors...?

What's In a Scary Reading Experience?

(Note: these books are in no particular order)

Salem's Lot by Stephen King

Something tells me I read this book far too young. I was perhaps in my mid-teens when I was introduced to the concept of Salem's Lot and that was mainly because I was a big fan of The Vampire Chronicles. You have to imagine how outcast I was amongst the Twilight fans for being a fan of the 'wrong vampire series'. But this recommendation kept me up at night and not in a good way. There were certain scenes in the book that I simply remember being absolutely terrifying concerning the heavy threat and great amounts of violence. But more than that, there was a genuine feeling of fear regarding the amount of danger the town was in. I've read this book since and the shiver that book sends down my spine is a great reminder of the first time I ever picked it up.

Dreamcatcher by Stephen King

Yes, it's another Stephen King novel. Not many people I've met have actually read this one but it's actually pretty good. In my late-teens I was introduced to this novel because for some reason, I hadn't heard of it yet. Dreamcatcher has some sort of alien monster thing, an isolated cabin and all the terrifying stuff you can think off in a Stephen King novel. There was some points where I had to stop reading this because it either frightened me or grossed me out too much. I still remember reading this even though I haven't picked it up again - that memory of just being scared shitless has not left me. Thanks a lot Stephen King.

Starve-Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley

When I say I remember this book, I am saying I definitely recall that horrid creeping and churning feeling in my stomach. It's not really gory, but it's definitely conceptually terrifying. The adaptation definitely lacked the emotion that the book gave to me and had nowhere near the same impact. The symbolism is driven around a rabbit skeleton and there's a dead child involved as well. The whole book has an atmosphere that feels often 'off' or 'incomplete' - definitely making the reader shiver. I wrote about it a few years' ago in my list of Modern Folk Horror novels. There's something about that book that still makes me feel weird even to this day.

The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

I think I remember tweeting the author after I read it, telling him I was just bloody terrified or something along those lines. Well, needless to say I read this book in one sitting and by the end, I was covered in a layer of sweat that was definitely gross but was also bound to happen. A couple and their child encounter an apocalyptic cult. Honestly if that doesn't sound frightening to you then read the book, at night, with the lights down. I will never make that mistake again. Since I read the book about a month after it came out, the author was still aware that the wording would scare the hell out of everyone.

The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill

Have you ever read a book which felt like the literal embodiment of a painting by Goya? Well, this is probably the book you read. The feeling of sinking dread about the painting never really leaves and a grand mixture between the writing style of Edgar Allan Poe and all the atmosphere of a Shirley Jackson novel makes Susan Hill's The Man in the Picture far more frightening than The Woman in Black. I just remember not being able to fall asleep properly that night. I was a teenager. What was I thinking?

The Sun-Down Motel by Simone St. James

This is both a funny story and not a funny story at all. It was a weekend morning and I was sitting at my desk reading this book. I was literally on the part where she starts investigating the weird ghost-like things that have happened at the motel when the postman literally knocked so loudly on my door that I jumped. I could've been on the damn ceiling. But wide-eyed, I opened the door and even he looked like he had no idea what was wrong with me. I very quickly got back to reading the book, but this time I made sure to keep an eye out for anyone coming to my door.

Conclusion

I know this was shorter than the other one, but I am bringing something back for Halloween, so I hope you wait around for that. I'm also planning a writing challenge soon. This is one of the hints towards where that might be going.