Horror Aficionados discussion

Not that kind of mood ;) but the mood to really experience a work of horror?

I'm new to horror (books, movies, etc.), but what I have seen I notice doesn't affect me if I read/watch it w/ chatty people and/or during the day. Now that I'm consciously trying to find stuff that scares me, I'm also trying to find my little environment that will get me in the horror zone. At the moment, I try to read/watch alone at night.

What do you guys do? Specifically, do you guys listen to any 'scary' music while you read? That's what I'm trying to work out next.

Silence. When I'm reading, the little creaks and groans a house makes will create the mood for me. White noise blots it out.

Reading by a single lamp in a dark area works well for me also.

Silence for the most part. Even if I have a lot of lights on while reading or I am reading during the day when it's nice and sunny out the silence will still create that atmosphere.

Good music does it for me

A favorite reliable, spot (couch or chair) that supports the "wonders" of natural daylight as my light source! Lately , artificial light can be a bit tiresome over long periods of time.

GuessAgain wrote: "Not that kind of mood ;) but the mood to really experience a work of horror?
."

Haaa I was wondering what group did This come from, on the notifications. LOL

Well for horror stories its reading one then I have to read more.

Thanks for the input everyone! I think I just need to dive in and try different environmental factors and see what works. The silence thing sounds promising.

Sonya wrote: "Good music does it for me"

Anything specifically? Any music you like? Or 'scary' music?

V wrote: "Haaa I was wondering what group did This come from, on the notifications. LOL"

Sorry for the clickbait haha

The atmosphere and weather gets me in the mood. If its a cloudy but breezy day with chills in the wind then I definitely want to read something scary. But I always enjoy reading scary books...

I clicked something on my Samsung Galaxy 6 tonight and found Music App and found that it had Podcasts! And I found a post apocalypse music podcast station LOL. I also found New York Public Library podcast (no need to download itunes now.)

V wrote: "I clicked something on my Samsung Galaxy 6 tonight and found Music App and found that it had Podcasts! And I found a post apocalypse music podcast station LOL. I also found New York Public Library ..."

Wait so it's a podcast w/ post-apocalyptic fiction? Kind of like an audiobook? Or is it just music? Either way, that sounds cool, I'll check it out.

I like heavy metal like Metallica

Sonya wrote: "I like heavy metal like Metallica"

Hmmm, interesting...I think I'll try silence first though, haha

I'm another one for silence, or as close to it as possible.

Solitude. Being alone in the house, especially at night. Or, during the day, reading in a deserted park. Also I sometimes park in the tractor lane between cornfields and read in my car (easy to do here in the Midwest where the cornfields come right to the city limits).

Holly wrote: "Solitude. Being alone in the house, especially at night. Or, during the day, reading in a deserted park. Also I sometimes park in the tractor lane between cornfields and read in my car (easy to do ..."

That cornfield idea sounds quite freaky Holly! And really cool :)

V wrote: "Well for horror stories its reading one then I have to read more."

Pretty much this for me. I also turn to horror when I get stressed out. I don't recommend everybody try this method to get in the mood though.

I more or less block out my surroundings so I don't do anything special like music or lights.

Either silence or a cloudy/rainy day. Other than that, I can read horror any time.

The beginning of Autumn gets me in the mood, to start reading horror. When the nights start getting colder, its so lovely to tuck up into bed at night and read a scary novel

I think being alone with my pets is best and if I listen to music it's on the lowest volume levels even if it's jazz or chill stuff. But when you find the story that grabs you you will know it's the time and that will set the rest of the mood.

Every time life goes for a s**t, I dive into horror--the worse life is, the deeper the horror.
I don't do splatter, or 'real-life horror', or anything that could possibly happen in the real world.
Horror in fiction for me is (I think Stephen King said this somewhere) an escape from horror in real life.
Horror is horrible things, that are most unlikely, happening to people somewhere else, and most often the good triumphs over evil. Which pretty much never happens in the real world.
It's perfect.

GuessAgain wrote: "Not that kind of mood ;) but the mood to really experience a work of horror?


Honestly, and I mean this in the least creepy way possible...but I find that my mood is basically the same for horror, and for "that kind"

They both appeal to that deep down excitement. They both make my skin cold, and hair stand on end. And if they are good, in either case, they both lead to some truly shocking sensations.

Mehmet wrote: "The beginning of Autumn gets me in the mood, to start reading horror. When the nights start getting colder, its so lovely to tuck up into bed at night and read a scary novel"

That's exciting b/c this will be my first cold season/Halloween since I decided to get into horror. I can't wait to dive in going into October.

Kasia wrote: "I think being alone with my pets is best and if I listen to music it's on the lowest volume levels even if it's jazz or chill stuff. But when you find the story that grabs you you will know it's th..."

I actually really enjoy jazz/chill/atmospheric music, but I never thought to listen to it with a horror story! :)

kathleen kilburn wrote: "Every time life goes for a s**t, I dive into horror--the worse life is, the deeper the horror.
I don't do splatter, or 'real-life horror', or anything that could possibly happen in the real world...."

Probably wise, I was reading Mr. Mercedes at the time of the terrorist attack in Nice this summer. I put it away and haven't touched it since. I think I moved on to something with ghosts.

kathleen kilburn wrote: "Every time life goes for a s**t, I dive into horror--the worse life is, the deeper the horror.
I don't do splatter, or 'real-life horror', or anything that could possibly happen in the real world...."

Interesting outlook. I haven't read enough horror to know how I feel, but it's interesting nonetheless.

It depends on the form in which the story is presented.

For written works all that is required is quality. I have read chapters in the dark hours, and on sunny days aboard crowded buses. As long as the authors worked their magic well, the spell played upon my imagination.

With movies and TV, I prefer a late hour in a darkened room. Proper company is a plus, but not necessary.

The spoken word is the one that is the most fickle. There is something about a tale of terror spread on breath, among friends, that requires the entrancing flickering dance of flames set against a world given over to darkness.

I love horror just to "escape" from reality for a while. I can read it anytime, but the best for atmospheric horror, for myself, is dark, with a view of the woods in my backyard...

I like reading at night in the dark with just the backlight of my kindle showing the only light - has to be absolute silence for me to read. I also seem to read more horror during the month of October - I tend to go into a horror reading faze the closer it gets to Halloween.