Lush Library discussion

I'm having a horror-themed month of reading, but find I keep going back to the same authors in this genre (Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert) and never try anything else. Has anyone got any good recommendations for something different to scare the pants off me?

I'm going to watch this thread - I'd really like a good scary/chilling book too. I've heard Joe Hill mentioned on here (think Kathabell even nominated him last month) and the forum - he's SK's son. I'm sure there must be other books and authors than those high profile names.
If all else fails I might make a horror/thriller shelf and then click on recommendations to see what it comes up with. I'd rather personal suggestions though.

P.S. Check out the Bram Stoker awards

I've seen mixed reviews of Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill, with some saying it's really chilling and others saying he's not a patch on his famous dad. I guess I'll just have to read it for myself to find out!

A link to the Bram Stoker awards www.horror.org/stokerwinnom.htm

Anne Rice, Interview with the Vampire, or even Thomas Harris Red Dragon or Silence of the Lambs, another decent one is Blue Eyed Boy by Joanne Harris (I am detecting a pattern in the last names here!)

I wouldn't recommend Peter Straub even though he's on that list, it really wasn't scary or even particularly interesting.

I do like Tess Geritsen, The Mephisto Club was good alhough spooky scary rather than graphicly scary and I read one of Mo Hayder's books recently which was stomach churningly horrific!

Oh thanks for that, there's lots of good ideas on there. Though I notice some of the entries are quite surprising and not what I would necessarily call horror (The Lovely Bones is there, for instance). Where do you think the line is between thriller and horror?

Oh thanks for that, there's lots of good ideas on there. Though I notice some of the entries are quite surprising and not what I would necessarily call horror (The Lovely Bones is there, for instance). Where do you think the line is between thriller and horror?

No I wouldn't say the Lovely Bones is a horror, I'm not sure where the line is as something that scares the life out of me might not bother someone else.
I still remember the first Dean Koontz book I read that really scared me, I had to sleep with the light on that night!

Jo wrote: "No I wouldn't say the Lovely Bones is a horror, I'm not sure where the line is as something that scares the life out of me might not bother someone else.
I still remember the first Dean Koontz boo..."

what book was it???
I watched the end of lovely bones last night and it was freakier than I remember. I read it when it first came out and remembered it being sad but now that I have kids it seemed so much worse. Abduction, unsolved murders by a serial killer, spirits and a brief possession. I'd call it more of a thriller chiller (which is a genre I have just named;)

Going back to Heart Shaped Box, I thought some of the writing was really very bad actually. I did like the story (and the fact that Nine Inch Nails gets more than a mention) and well there were some great ideas going on and some quite scary parts. It did get a bit silly towards the end though ...

He's not as skilled a writer as his Dad, but it's worth a read.

I quite liked this one.

It's a good page-turner and I liked that real-life characters like Aleister Crowley were woven in there.

Very good plot but if I could find any criticism then the ending seemed a little rushed. It's a great read for people who like a ghostly/horror tale.

The House of Lost Souls looks good from the blurb, I'll see if I can get it cheaply as an ebook. My current read is Once by James Herbert, which is good, but starting to turn decidedly weird.

I can't remember what the Dean Koontz book was called, does anyone know?
It was about a girl who goes to stay with a friends family and this man breaks in during the night and kills the friend and her parents. The girl then follows him home and he's a serial killer who keeps the bodies in his house.

That sounds like Intensity. Dean Koontz is another one who hovers on the border between horror and thriller, but more thriller I think.

Ah thank you, I spent ages looking at his books on Amazon trying to work out which one it was!
Oh well I count him as horror because that scared me, so maybe you should ignore any recommendations from me, I'm obviously much more of a wuss than you! :)

I always think of a thriller as something that could potentially happen (serial killers etc) and where the enemy is of human origin. Horror is more supernatural (ghosts, monsters, the devil). But sometimes thrillers can be much scarier than horror books, especially with Dean Koontz, who I love :-)

I'd recommend Clive Barker for more fantasy type horror. I love his books, they're so unusual and usually really well-written. His short stories are good as well.

The Clive Barker I've read has been good, but yes, definitely fantasy. Weaveworld was amazing, and I also enjoyed Imajica and The Great & Secret Show. I've heard he wrote more horror at the start of his career and then turned to fantasy later, so maybe I should try an early novel. What are your favourites?

I think House of Leaves is fantastic, but it's a really strange book. It's classic "odd house" horror, but it's written and set out in such a creative way -- there are bits written backwards (so you have to read it in a mirror), footnotes and digressions, some parts in screenplay, pages with only one or two words, photographs, different font sizes. It sounds awfully gimmicky, but it's a fabulous read if you can be bothered with it.

Sarah wrote: "I think House of Leaves is fantastic, but it's a really strange book. It's classic "odd house" horror, but it's written and set out in such a creative way -- there are bits written backwards (so y..."

You should enjoy White is for Witching if you liked that. I just finished it and it's very strange, but sort of good too. The house is one of the narrators.

I really like Cabal by Ckive Barker and the Books of Blood short stories.

Sarah wrote: "I really like Cabal by Ckive Barker and the Books of Blood short stories."

Books of Blood sounds good - I love short stories :-)

is an amazing vampire story. Second to Dracula, in my estimation.

Sarah wrote: " is an amazing vampire story. Second to Dracula, in my estimation."

Now that is a statement! ;)

I know, but that's how I feel about it :)

I've read a lot of vampire novels (it was my masters dissertation topic lol) and this one is good.