Horror Aficionados discussion

I've seen this author mentioned in a few other discussions...(perhaps asked before)is there a good, representative book to start with?

Thank You

I started with Mama. That.was good. Then I read House of Illusions, also a good read. I also have Celia and Wait and See staring at me from my bookshelf. I have yet to read them. I really enjoy her stories.

I considered making a Ruby Jean Jensen thread myself! I just started reading her stuff this month. The only one I've managed to get hold of so far is "Chain Letter." I enjoyed it, but it also had an edge of corny, B-horror. That's my thing, but it might not be yours. Hell, she does have multiple novels out about killer dolls, so... not entirely surprising. But I was thoroughly creeped out while reading "Chain Letter" due to the atmosphere alone. So- throw my vote in for that one!

Yeah I've also seen this authors name quite a bit. Would love to check her out.

I've never heard of her.

I recognized her book covers before her name rang a bell.

Tressa wrote: "I've never heard of her."

I have not heard of her either. I looked her books up on the internet but none of them looked familiar.

Ruby Jean Jensen wrote most of her novels throughout the 70s and 80s. It's kind of hard to find some of her books. I'd imagine some are for sale on Amazon, second-hand most likely. I found one of hers (House of Illusions) in Half Price Books. She's a pretty good writer. I'm surprised she didn't get more readers.

They have quite a few on amazon.

Ruby Jean Jensen is great, glad to see she has her own thread here now. I have and read a majority of her books and they are always very entertaining. Not mind blowingly amazing ot stunningly original, but always entertaining. To think that all these occasionally pretty brutal horrors came from a mind of a sweet kindly looking southern grandmotherly lady.
All the covers of her books are great too, super cheesy 80s style. She moved from writing romance to horror as she got older. Either it sold better or it's a life lesson in itself :)

Bandit wrote: "Ruby Jean Jensen is great, glad to see she has her own thread here now. I have and read a majority of her books and they are always very entertaining. Not mind blowingly amazing ot stunningly origi..."

I was sold the second I saw those ridiculous covers. RIGHT up my alley. You know it's a horror novel from the Nineties or earlier if it has a skeleton with its eyes intact on the cover.

or dolls, let's not forget the covers with evil dolls

The mark of Zebra Books
If one cover had a skeleton or doll on it, they all did.
Even if there were no dolls or skeletons in the book.

I stand corrected- Zebra books! I was rather fond of all the skeletons wearing lovely evening dresses to set off their soft, flowing hair. Man, I didn't appreciate these books when they were around. Now I'm regretting it. Better late than never.

Paperbackswap is a fairly good source for them if you don't want to go the Amazon route. I've also had some luck getting Jensen's books through Interlibrary Loan.

Some of her stuff is corny and some just dark and completely demented. She was one of my favorite 80s horror style growing up. Had a lot of killer doll books too. No one was safe in her books, almost everyone died

yeah, that was like the best part, you never knew what to expect...she'd totally go and kill a main character midway through the book, such a brutal old lady :)

What's the "best" title by Ms. Jensen to start with?

Which of her books will give me a good sense of her writing?

I dont know what the best book is, but I started with Mama and I was hooked. Killer doll novel of course.

The Reckoning was good. It's a creepy ghost story involving a gang of ghost children that wreaks havoc on a small town years after their respective disappearances.

Bob wrote: "What's the "best" title by Ms. Jensen to start with?

Which of her books will give me a good sense of her writing?"

Celia is good. It's quite dark, disturbing, and interested me. Some of her stuff is cheesy and not worth it really (like Chain Letter, okay but like a budget movie!)

You'd think by now her books would be appearing in ebook format...

I keep having people hit that 'request' link on Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com in hopes publishers will get the message. I rather enjoy the cheesy elements of "Chain Letter" because that's the sort of horror fan I am. It's currently one in the morning and I'm still awake because "Victoria" has me too scared to sleep.



To put it like a lady: Fuck that doll. Fuck that doll to hell.

Oh yeah she did eerie dolls like no other

"Victoria" knocks "Mama" out of the park with a ball peen hammer.

Is that Mama movie that's currently playing in theaters Ruby's Mama ?

I scored a huge lot of paperbacks and there were quite a few Ruby Jean Jensen. I've never read her before. Has anyone read:

The Haunting
Baby Dolly
Wait and See
Jump Rope
Lost and Found
Pendulum
Death Stone
Smoke
The Lake

Has anyone read these and what are your thoughts?

I've only read one Ruby Jean Jensen, The Haunting, and really enjoyed it! Gave it 4 stars.

I read The Haunting and loved it. I’m definitely planning to read more of her work.

I’ve discovered that she’s got quite a cult following due to her crazy 80s covers. People are paying some serious coin for her paperbacks in near mint condition.

I did manage to get Annabelle awhile ago for a reasonable price (about $12 I think) but I haven't read it yet. Though my copies of The Haunting and Annabelle are not what one would call "good condition" but I can read them, so i'm happy lol.

I got a near mint copy of Vampire Child for a buck at a library sale last year and a beat up copy of House of Illusions at a pretty low price at a used bookstore, though I haven’t read either of them yet.

Yeah, I sucked up everything a local used bookstore had and even grabbed a few off eBay lot sales. A couple are in nice condition, but the rest have been well loved and read. Lol.

ooooh never heard of her, but Creepy dolls, 80s horror sounds awesome!
There goes my new years resolution...guess my TR list will not be shrinking any time soon. Well, there's always next year...

Yeah, those resolutions went bye-bye at about 9am on Jan 1st for me. Too many good ones to pass up!

Out of your list, I've read , , , and .

The Haunting is the only one I didn't like. IMO, Jensen does much better when she sticks to writing from a kid or teen perspective (half of The Haunting is from an adult POV, and I hated that part. The first part of the book I thought was good).

I have a few others by her on my shelf I haven't read yet; I hope to get to them sometime this year.

Interesting observation, Kelly. I’ll keep that in mind. I’ve found that so many authors struggle to get children’s POV and dialogue right. They either make a 12-year-old act like a toddler or a toddler like a teenager.

I've been picking up a few of her paperbacks off of used book stores, eBay, etc. Some of those are going for a small fortune. People love those old skeleton covers from Zebra!

i have never read anything by her. i don't remember coming across any of her books but those covers are great! i'll be on the look out now.

This thread got me to bump up House of Illusions in my ridiculous TBR list. I’m about 90 pages in and definitely enjoying it so far.

Ken wrote: "I scored a huge lot of paperbacks and there were quite a few Ruby Jean Jensen. I've never read her before. Has anyone read:

The Haunting
[bookcover:..."

I've read most of these as a teen. I can't remember details, of course, but read Pendulum as an adult and didn't find that one that strong. It was passable though, rated it 3/5

I grew up on Ruby Jean!! I have been slowly reteading her books! 😊