Saturday, October 27, 2012

Ten novels that are scarier than most horror movies

At io9 Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders came up with ten horror novels that are scarier than almost any movie.

One title on the list:
Haunted: A Novel in Stories by Chuck Palahniuk

The one-star and five-star reviews of this book actually say the same thing — it's absolutely disgusting and disturbing. A group of would-be writers answers an advertisement for a three-month writing retreat. When the attendees arrive, they're locked in an old-theater, with dwindling supplies. The novel is actually a series of short stories strung together under the artifice of the captives telling tales, and the tales become more horrifying and grotesque as the situation deteriorates. A situation made worse by the participants themselves, as they begin to practice murder and self-mutilation in the belief they are in some kind of reality show. It is said that when Palahniuk read the first tale "Guts" on book tour, people were fainting left and right. The reader is freaked out, not just by the graphic violence and unnerving supernatural bits — but also, the uncomfortable questions about what people will do for fame.
Read about another novel on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue