(no subject)

[darchildre]

Hello friends! Would you like to recommend me a horror novel to read?

I just finished The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. Mr Tremblay is a compelling writer and I know that many people enjoy his work very much but I hated almost the entire book - I think I kept reading out of spite, more than anything else. Because he gets generally good reviews in horror circles, I had hoped that my extremely similar reaction to his Head Full of Ghosts was due to the fact that I tend to dislike possession horror a lot, but no. I just dislike his books.

Anyway. I want to read a different horror novel to get the taste out of my mouth, but cannot settle on anything. Would any of you like to suggest one?

Comments

[out_there]

I don't read horror, so I can't help. Let's be honest: the closest I get is Neil Gaiman's Coraline and Ocean at the End of the Lane, which are both kid protagonists accepting things that as an adult creeped me out.

[darchildre]

Coraline is really excellent, though - thank you!

[out_there]

It is!

[james]

Anything by Richard Kadrey! His Sandman Slim novels are less horror and more urban fantasy with dark humor and violence, but his newest, The Grand Dark has been very well received though you may find it more dystopian fiction than horror? IDK depends on what kind of horror you want. Kadrey is an excellent writer who treats female characters well.

[darchildre]

I'll look into that - thank you!

[aurumcalendula]

The Bone Key by Sarah Monette (a short story collection focusing on a museum archivist's various run-ins with the supernatural) and Dreadful Skin by Cherie Priest (three connected stories about a nun pursuing a murderous werewolf across post–Civil War America) are two I enjoy.

[darchildre]

Oh, I love The Bone Key - I should reread. And I haven't read any Cherie Priest. Thanks!

[littlestclouds]

Is there a type of horror you like? Like gothic, sci-fi horror, ghost stories...?

As for recs, I kinda love Douglas Clegg and John Saul (both happen to be LGBT horror authors, though it doesn't come through in their work although Saul included a gay couple in one of his later books). Clegg is kind of gory and Saul is kind of familiar.

If you like unrelenting gothic horror I recommend The Monk by Matthew G. Lewis.

I also like Final Girls by Riley Sager. It's a bit more mystery/thriller-ish than horror but it has horror elements, specifically '80s slasher.

I can dig into my piles of books if you need more recs!

[darchildre]

Thank you for the varied recommendations!

If you feel inclined to suggest more books, my favorite subgenres are cosmic horror, folk horror, and body horror, though I'll try just about anything so long as it has elements of the fantastic (except most possession horror - just not my thing).

[littlestclouds]

I haven't read any of the books, but the Southern Reach Trilogy sounds like it might contain elements of cosmic horror.

One of my favorite Douglas Clegg books is The Hour Before Dark. It's more psychological horror with supernatural elements than anything else (IIRC, I haven't read it in a while).

Another horror book I have but haven't read yet is The Ruins by Scott Smith. This one looks to be ecohorror!

[frenchroast]

I recently finished Dark Duets, which is a short story collection (edited by Christopher Golden). It leans WAY more horror than fantasy, and while there were a couple of stories that I wasn't keen on, most of them were really good. Better than the average short story collection, probably because each story was a collaboration between two authors. Might be a good way to wash the Tremblay away (and he is not one of the authors included).