Some time in grade six in between learning how to whistle with two fingers and french braiding my friend's hair I managed to fit in reading The Amityville Horror.
For the life of me I can't understand why my mother would let me read The Amityville Horror in grade six but she did. She also let me watch Jaws and the Exorcist around the same time.
I have a feeling my mother was drunk a lot while I was in grade 6.
It was the first really grown up book I remember reading and it stuck with me. Not because it was a grown up book, not even because it was terrifying, but because it was true. Or so everyone was told.
The basis of the book, the fact that the house was home to a monstrous suburban bloodbath is fact. In 1974, 18 year old Butch DeFeo, murdered his entire family in the home they lived in on 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, New York. A few months later a new family moved into the house.
They fled 28 days later.
They said it was because the house was haunted. That horrible paranormal things happened. These accounts were never proven true and in fact were often proven false. I didn't know that in grade 6.
For this last weekend before Halloween I have a list of the 11 (10 seemed so predictable) scariest books of all time.
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rktrixy
Ahhhh! Snooookkkiiiiiiiii! EEEEEEEK! Seriously, that whole "Jersey" thing just makes me sad. Which is horrible, but not horrifying.
Horror books: "Let the right one in". OMG! "The Passage". EEEEEEK! We are Screwed! "The Strain". We are screwed even more!
Lately, picking up the newspapers to hear grey-haired men define rape is my definition of horror. I swear, they should play the "Psycho" screech (EEEE! EEEE! EEEE! EEE!) in the background when showing the video of these guys!
Brenda
I just reread Bram Stoker's "Dracula". Not too bad. And I don't do "scary" any more. "Amityville Horror" still creeps me out. My college roommate was from Long Island and when I went home w/ her for a visit, she took me to the actual house. CREEPY! But my all time scariest book is Stephen King's "It". I hate clowns, but Pennywise made it that much worse. I have shielded myself from all things "Snooki" and "Jersey Shore". Although, she does scare me....
Patti
HAHAHAHA SNOOKI!
Mary
I forgot to mention that I was about 10 or 11 at the time; prime age for impressing scary thoughts. Now as an adult, when I am alone in the house, and either hear a weird noise or 'feel' something's not right, I can easily remember many sorts of scary scenarios and just freak myself out. Like imagining there's a scary vampire sort of thing on the other side of my back door, just waiting for the right time to enter and kill me.
Good times.
Mary
I loved reading Salems Lot, and The Shining multiple times. Once I knew what the scary stuff was, and at what point it would happen, I could handle reading it. But eventually I would creep myself out so bad that I would slam the book shut, hide it under the bed, and go downstairs and watch some inane tv show (like Three's Company or Mr. Belvidere) to get the scary stuff out of my head so I could sleep.
Netmiff
I was living for a week in the apartment of a friend of a friend in Brussels, all alone, about 18 years old, and the only book in the place in English was Rosemary's Baby.
felicity
It is amazing what we were all allowed to read in 6th grade, I also read the flowers in the attic series and a bunch of stephen king. I read the twilight series before allowing my 12 year old to read them and they were certainly very tame compared to flowers in the attic. Yikes!
Marion
bahaha, I just started laughing out loud at my desk at Snookie!
great list though! perfect for a relaxing Halloween weekend, snuggle up with a good book and a bottle of blood (i.e. red wine :)
Brenda J. M
Great line-up. BUT...for a scare The Little Girl that Lived Down the Lane.
Melody Madden
Salems Lot was one of the scariest books I've ever read ... The Shining as well.
Vicky Smith
Back in '78 we'd been married for about 1 1/2 months and deer hunting season came along 11-15-78. My new hubby was an avid hunter so off he went and I went to the bookstore to get 'Salems Lot. By the time Dave got home, I had garlic over all the windows and never took my cross off!
Shannon
Wahahaha!! I was leaning right into the screen when that horror popped up. Well played Karen, my Friday chuckle!
Auntiepatch
I was working the graveyard shift for the police department and on my "day off" I sat reading "The Exorcist" in my living room at about 3 am. Just as her head started spinning I heard a crash from the kitchen and literally threw the book into the air. Not knowing what I would find, I creeped into the kitchen with a baseball bat. A glass had fallen into the sink from the dish drainer. Cleaning up the broken glass gave me time to jump-start my heart so that I could go back to finish the book!
Jodi T.
Ahahahahahahahha... Shhhhhhh. I am at work and just guffawed. Will definitely be adding some of these to my list.... I'm still trying to get through Geek Love. It's disturbing and I needed a little happy in between. I am surprised it didn't make your list. It's pretty damned scary. To me at least.
Karen
Jodi T - Geek Love didn't actually scare me. I just found it fascinating. Slightly disturbing, but not frightening. I'm not sure what that says about me. ~ karen
Darla
snort,hee hee!
Rosemary's Baby is another good one - or was at the time,anyway.
ev
That last one scared the hell out me--the cover, that is. I have read most of the other ones. Good choices, Karen! "Passages" (Cronin) is worth reading, also.
Jamiek
One that still remains one of the scariest to me is Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. Made the mistake starting it one windy, Friday summer night. I read straight through the night because I was afraid to go to sleep (that's was back when no one locked their doors).
Ann
Silence of the Lambs is #1 for me. Then Rosemary's Baby. But honestly, I can read any book and it does not really scare me. But see a movie of the same book and I am terrified. Must be that visual and aural element.
Jenny
When my sister and I were in fifth or sixth grade someone gave us a box of books they didn't want--included were Stephen King's "it", "Dolores Claiborne", "insomnia" and The Bachman Books. I was actually reflecting last night that our mom and dad were obviously not paying attention to the books we read at the time. :)
Mondo
The Bachman books are awesome. My favorite is The Long Walk. It's not scary, but what a story! It's always stuck with me.
Adam
The long walk was as scary for me as 1984. I will never again read Roadwork, that is one depressing scary novel.
Caroline B
I just laughed so hard I have tears streaming down my face. I have read several of the books listed (Salems Lot having left the biggest impression on me) but when I came upon the Snooki book I about fell out of bed I was laughing so much. Thanks for the great wake up giggle!