Horror for readers

by Kathleen Sipling

 

 

Definition:  These are books that scare you! The books elicit fear from the reader, forbodeing, apprehension and dread.  Suspense and thrill provide entertainment and maybe a few sleepless nights!

 “Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary gives the primary definition of horror as a painful and intense fear, dread, or dismay.’ It stands to reason then that ‘horror fiction’ is fiction that elicits those emotions in the reader….It doesn’t have to be full of ghosts, ghouls and things to go bump in the night.  Is only true requirement is that it elicits an emotional reaction that includes some aspect of fear or dread… “ (From http://www.horror.org/horror-is.htm Horror Writer’s Association”)

Characteristics:  You should expect the unexpected! The setting is dark, eerie, chilling, and nightmarish with a growing sense of dread. The atmosphere is intense, the pace is fast. Often calm interludes are interspersed with sudden intense jolts to create a menacing effect. This genre often has supernatural elements or monsters. The ending may be vague and leave the reader with a sense that the menace still remains.

 

Appeal:  Horror has the storytelling appeal of listeners around the campfire. The dark atmosphere is very important: the sense of foreboding and apprehension.  The novel invokes feelings of dread as unknown footsteps are coming closer; the blackness of the night; the darkness of the room; the horror of glowing, watery eyes.

 

Benchmark:  Stephen King, the bestselling author of more than 30 novels, 13 Short Story collections and more.  Having written over 40 books, including a 4 part series of novels, a 6 part serial novel, and numerous short stories, he is among the worlds most popular writers of all time, and is undoubtedly the worlds leading horror writer. Many film versions have been made of his books.

“Whether writing about encounters with the dead, the near dead, or about the mundane dreads of life, from quitting smoking to yard sales, Stephen King is at the top of his form in the fourteen dark tales assembled in Everything's Eventual. Intense, eerie, and instantly compelling, they announce the stunningly fertile imagination of perhaps the greatest storyteller of our time.” (Fiona Webster in her review of “Everything’s Eventual” http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Bluffs/7745/king3.htm)

The Harris County Public Library in Texas has a section on its website that suggests authors similar to Stephen King:  http://www.hcpl.net/booklists/stephenking.htm

 

 

SUBGENRES

 

Visceral Horror:  Violent from the beginning and gory.  The violence continues throughout the book Graphic Violence and Sexuality.

Clive Barker – “Books of Blood”

Poppy Z. Brite – “Lost Souls”

Michael Crichton – “Congo”, “Jurastic Park”

Shirley Jackeson – “Haunting of Hill House”

Richard Layman – “The Stake”

Brian Lumley – “Necroscope” series

Ann Rice – “Vampire” series

Brian Sableford – “Werewolves of London”

S. P. Somtow “Vampire Junction” and sequels

 

Storyteller:  Author begins a story in a normal world and then gradually begins to incorporate violence and/or supernatural elements.

William Peter Blatty – “The Exorcist”

Orson Scott Card - “Homebody”

Stephen King – “Fire Starter”, “Misery”, “the Shining”, “The Stand”, “Pet Cemetery”, etc.

Dean R. Koontz - “Fear Nothing”, “The Bad Place”, “The Watchers”

Ira Levin – “Rosemary’s Baby”

Bentley Little – “The House”

John Saul – “Right Hand of Evil”

Dan Simmons – “Summer of Night”

Peter Straub – “Ghost Story”

 

Early Classical Horror: 

Shelley, Mary – “Frankenstein”

Stevenson, Robert Louis - “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”

Stoker, Bram – “Dracula”

Walpole, Horace – “The Castle of Otranto”

 

 

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF REFERENCE RESOURCES

 

ARTICLES

 

Benefiel, Candice R.  “Fangs for the Memories: Vampires in the 90’s”. Wilson Library Bulletin 69 (May ’95) 35-38.

This is an essay for on the resurging popularity of the vampire horror genre today.

 

Guran, Paula.  “Tomes of Terror and Trepidation”.  Publisher’s Weekly. 251 no. 10 (March 8, 2004): 38-42.

“After rising in the 80’s and sinking in the 90’s the horror genre is once more back from the dead.”

 

Klause, Annette Curtis.  “A Young Adult Speaks Out: Why Vampires?” Voice of Youth Advocates 21 no.1 (April 98): 28-30.

“Horror…puts teenagers back in touch with their subconscious at a time when they are exploring who they are.”

 

Hartwell, David G.  “Reader’s Advisory for Young SF, Fantasy and Horror Readers”.  Reference and User Services Quarterly 42 no.2 (Winter 2003): 133-138.

The author is a senior editor for TOR Publishers.  He makes suggestions for helping young readers read further in fantasy and science fiction.

 

Zaleski, Jeff.  “The Uses of Horror: Peter Straub Writes to Sell.”  Publishers Weekly 250 no.4 (Oct. 6, 2003): 45-49.

The author talks with Peter Straub about his writing and his new book “Lost Boy, Lost Girl”.

 

BOOKS

 

Cox, Greg and Daryl F. Mallett. The Transylvanian Library: A Consumer’s Guide to Vampire Fiction. San Bernadino,CA: Borgo Press, 1993.

This book lists 250 authors of vampire novels.  It includes information about novel plots and characters and critical evaluations.

 

Fonseca, Anthony J. and June Michele Pulliam.  Hooked On Horror: A Guide to Reading Interests in Horror Fiction.  Englewood,CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1999.

         A reference tool for reader’s advisory librarians to help serve their patrons.  This book can be used to explore the horror fiction genre and mto make recommendations based on what the patron currently enjoys reading.

 

King, Stephen.  Bare Bones: Conversations on Terror,  New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988.

This book is a series of interviews in which Stephen King talks about fear, horror fiction and his writing.

 

Saricks, Joyce G.  The Readers’ Guide to Genre Fiction, Chicago: American Library Association, 2001.

A guide to helping readers choose books to read from different genres.  A large section on the horror genre is included.

 

Spratford, Becky Siegal and Tammy Hennigh Clausen.  The Horror Reader’s Advisory:  The Librarian’s Guide to Vampires, Killer Tomatoes, and Haunted Houses.  Chicago: American Library Association, 2004.

This book provides ready-reference of annotated lists for a wide variety of horror options.

 

 

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WEB SITES

 

http://darkecho.com/darkecho/review_index.html  Dark Echo Website of Horror Reviews.

The reviews focus on recent visceral thrillers with titles listed alphabetically by author’s last name.  It is easy to use and navigate with links to other pages across the header: Main, About, Interviews, Features, Reviews.  The erotica reviews are marked with an (e).

 

Dark Echo website grew out of the  DarkEcho weekly email newsletter for horror writers and others that was produced by Paula Guran a Bram Stoker Award winner (1998 and 1999), an International Horror Guild Award winner  (1999) and a World Fantasy nomination (1997).  This site also incorporates all of the content of DarkEcho OMNI Horror, originally produced (1996-98) under editors Ellen Datlow and Pam Weintraub.

 

http://www.horror.org/  Horror Writers Association Website. “The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is a worldwide organization of writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting dark literature and the interests of those who write it. HWA was formed in the late 1980s with the help of many of the field’s greats and the organization is now the source of the prestigious annual Bramn Stoker Award for “Superior Achievement” in horror writing.  

 

This site was written for horror writers but offers a suggested reading list, an excellent essay on “What is Horror Fiction?,” yearly lists of Bram Stoker Award nominees and winners, conferences, writing tips and more.  It has an easy navigation system using a side bar of links to other pages. 

 

http://www.house-of-pain.com/  The House of Pain – Dark Fiction for a Dark World.  This website is an on-line newsletter for contemporary horror readers written and edited by horror readers and writers.  The contents include new fiction, short stories, twisted interviews, book reviews, strange product finds, etc. This site publishes original short stories and serial works.  The Producer is Brigit Dawn Knox (AKA Wraith).  The website does have a disclaimer because of some sexual and violent content.

 

http://www.brian-oshaughnessy.com/horror_books.html  Visions of Terror:  All your horror needs on-line.  The Visions of Terror horror review section includes over 200 books of contemporary horror reviewed by horror fans.  This is an interesting, dark black web site with links to authors, horror news, horror books, games, movies and other on-line sites that are of interest to horror readers.  This is a website created Brian Oshaughnessy, a lover of Vampire fiction and Italian horror movies.  Its audience is other horror movie and fiction lovers.  This website was created in 1998 and has grown substantially since then. 

 

http://www.oceanstar.com/horror/amrevs.htm  Fiona’s Mini Reviews for Amazon.com.  This is a very interesting on-line horror site created by Fiona Webster who reviews the horror books for Amazon.com.  Fiona presents us with a huge list of horror title which link you to her short review for Amazon and the other reviews sent in by readers.  This is a great on-line reader’s advisory for horror.  You get first hand accounts from other readers.  It is easier to navigate than Amazon.  The site focus on different types of horror books ie: stories, novels, anthologies, comics, etc. and lists the authors alphabetically within each category.  This is a simple web site by a horror reader/reviewer for other readers of the genre. 

 

 

ANNOTATIONS OF BOOKS READ THIS SEMESTER

 

The Bad Place by Dean Koontz. (1990)  381 pages.

This story starts like a thriller with two likable detectives, Julie and Bobby Dakota and a shootout with bad guys. But Koontz begins to weaves in a parallel dark universe where something or someone is stalking Frank Pollard.  Frank develops a fear of sleeping because every time he wakes he finds strange, frightening objects in his hands and pockets. Frank seeks help from the Dakota detective team and the tension builds to unimaginable horror.

 

Dracula by Bram Stoker.  (1988 Tor Book Edition; originally published in 1897) 366 pages.

This is a dark, haunting, classical vampire horror story that is still popular today.  The story is told through the letters, journals and diaries of the main characters, Jonathan Harker, his fiancé Mina, her friend Lucy and Dr. Seward.  The novel begins with a young man, Jonathan Harker taking a trip to Transylvania to see a certain Count Dracula about a property deal.  Jonathan begins to fear for his life when he becomes trapped in a secluded, dark castle with a mysterious, evil count. The pace is fast and the setting is dark and chilling.  When a ship arrives in London with everyone on board dead(!) and mysterious deaths begin to occur in the city, the reader will have a hard time putting this book down. 

 

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. (1996 Scholastic Library Edition; originally published in 1886) 107 pages.

This is a dark, disturbing story told by John Utterson who has begun to question the strange behavior of his good friend Dr. Henry Jekyll. It is a story of the two sides of man’s nature and the evil that we battle within us. Dr. Jekyll seems to be harboring a man who is rude, violent and criminal.  As the tension and suspense build, you can almost hear the foot steps approaching on the dark, foggy London streets.

 

 

Fear Nothing by Dean Koontz.  (1998)  338 pages.

Koontz chooses a small, secluded town for this terrifying story of genetic manipulation gone haywire.  The story opens with the death of Christopher Snow’s father who whispers, “Fear nothing” to his son as he dies.  As he is leaving the hospital where his father died, Christopher accidentally witnesses strangers stealing his father’s body! He tries to search for answers and becomes entrapped in a nightmare of horrors as he uncovers the truth about his parents’ early deaths and the strange “becomings” of the people of Moonlight Bay.

 

Fire-Starter by Stephen King.  (1980) 371 pages.  The book opens with Andy McGee and his 8-year old daughter Charlie running and hiding from people who are after them.  Charlie’s mom and dad had been paid to be experiment guinea pigs while in college which cause mutations to their genes. Now government agents from the “Shop” are after Charlie because of her unusual pyrokinesis power.  They have already killed Charlie’s mother and Andy is exhausted from a life of running and hiding.  The story is complex and frightening as the reader sympathasizes with a little girl who just wants to live a normal life.

 

 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. (1993 Modern Library Edition; originally published in 1818) 303 pages.

A dark, classical story about a brilliant student, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, who strives to create life and to his horror creates a monster.  Dr. Frankenstein abandons his creation who then roams the countryside instilling fear and terror upon all who see him.  The monster grows to hate his creator and begins to seek revenge.  This story is eerie, dark and foreboding; the reader never knows when the monster will strike next. 

 

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.  (1959)  246 pages.

This novel is an intense, psychological horror story.  Dr. John Montague is a professor who is interested in “Supernatural manifestations” and invites 3 other people to study with him in an old abandoned New England house that is notorious for being haunted.  Eleanor Vance is a shy, lonely woman who has cared for her aging mother for 11 years.  She joins Dr. Montague, Theodora and Luke Sanderson at Hill House for a few weeks of summer adventure. We watch the visitors explore the house through Eleanor’s eyes and we experience the terror of the dark nights and the horror of Eleanor’s  rollercoaster of emotion.  In the end, the horror wins out!

 

 Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton.  (1990) 399 pages.

This novel contains all the horror of genetic manipulation gone wrong. Two people are mauled to death and a baby is eaten alive as the first chapter of this book quickly builds the suspense.  Dr Allen Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler are paleontologists who get invited to inspect a theme park resort built by an eccentric billionaire, John Hammond. Arriving at the island park they are shocked to find huge dinosaurs are being recreated from DNA strands.  The velociraptors, t-rex, and other creatures from the Jurassic Era are contained by computer controlled electric fences.  The suspense builds quickly as the reader sees that the creators of the park are not taking careful precautions.  When someone shuts off the power in order to steal dinosaur embryos, the terror begins!

 

Misery by Stephen King.  (1987) 310 pages.

 

This novel is a psychological horror. It opens with writer Paul Sheldon slowly gaining consciousness after a serious car accident.  He finds he has been rescued by Annie Wilkes, an obsessive fan of Paul’s historical romance novels.  This novel takes a fast pace from the pain and horror of Paul’s shattered legs to the nightmare of being trapped in a secluded farmhouse with a sociopathic woman. “She gave only one thing…a feeling of unease deepening steadily toward terror.”  This is one terrifying story.

 

 

Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.  (1995) 474 pages. 

A famous archeologist disappears while looking for artifacts in the Amazon Basin and then two young boys are savagely murdered in the basement of the New York Museum of Natural History. The fast pace of this novel builds the suspense to terrifying levels.  Margo Green is a graduate student doing research in the basement of the museum when someone or something begins a series of murders.  The museum tries to keep the horror from the public because a major exhibition is about to open, but something is stalking the dark hallways of the museum!  Margo tries to discover if the terror could have any relationship to the horrible Mbwun figure with the reptilian claws that was brought back from the Amazon basin. This is a realistic story of escalating fear that moves at a fast pace to a horrifying climax.