General Horror Books: How horny is it?

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hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

Retro Futurist posted:

Been thinking about it and realized I'm basically looking for Dead Space. Has anyone read any of the novels based off it and are any good?

They're written by Brian Evenson who is pretty good, so they might be worth a shot at least.

e:

GrandpaPants posted:

Weirdly enough, Bundle of Holding (which normally does tabletop RPGs) is having a horror bundle from Night Shade books. I don't know how good these anthologies are, but it's probably worth a look for people in this thread: https://bundleofholding.com/presents/BestHorror

I've read a couple of these anthologies and they've been pretty drat good.

hopterque fucked around with this message at 19:04 on Oct 6, 2021

# ¿ Oct 6, 2021 18:56

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# ¿ Dec 14, 2025 22:14

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

Blackwood's "The Willows" is my favorite weird fiction story, period. it's just so evocative imo, it's incredible.

# ¿ Oct 20, 2021 18:47

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

Oxxidation posted:

All That You Love Will Be Carried Away, iirc

good title, though imo outstripped by Jeremy Robert Johnson�s �Everything You Hope For Will Be Utterly Destroyed�

That's a good one, one of my personal favorite titles is "Without Purpose, Without Pity"

# ¿ Dec 1, 2021 20:55

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

Chas McGill posted:

I pre-ordered a medieval horror anthology with Buehlman, Evenson et al in it. Can anyone recommend horror novels set in the middle ages (or earlier)? Doesn't matter where in the world they are.

What's this collection called? I LOVED Between Two Fires and I'd be interested in some more stuff

# ¿ Apr 11, 2022 00:12

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

Franchescanado posted:

Finished up Phantoms by Dean Koontz over the weekend.

I thought it started off strong, but lost it's way halfway through with redundancies, extraneous subplots that don't add much to the story or world or characters, and what felt like the author trying to figure out what the actual monster in this book was going to be.

It's an interesting homage to Lovecraft in many ways. Not just the amorphous Eldritch Horror that is the books "villain", but in the prose, the small town setting, the Learned Protagonist(s) observing things and spouting long passages of theories, even the prosaic fake-outs that Lovecraft loved ("They had no way of ever knowing it, but, in fact, that very moment would be the last that one of them would be a living creature..."). It's one of the few Lovecraft-inspired stories that reads like a Lovecraft story, but also realizes that modern audiences expect actions and resolutions and not just dream logic and characters musing on how insane they've become.

I was surprised by the conservative streak through-out the book? Cops are good guys and heroes (except for the one cop who is bad, which we know because he has aspirations to sexually assault an underage girl), the government is super helpful and believes the heroes, a product of capitalism used for environmental recovery is the secret weapon against the villain... Even more bizarre misplaced fear occurs, like how bikers are coded as evil (Satanists, in fact), and they boast about rape and murder while they're getting high on marijuana; marijuana is, in multiple passages, referred to as a dangerous gateway drug that leads characters to use PCP or other hard substances (which has been proven false, and, in fact, is the opposite; marijuana use cuts back on harder substance abuse) or murder. Of the four sets of villainous characters, two of them are rapists and there's a bizarre section about bikers kidnapping girls for gangbangs. Just really strange stuff, Dean.

The book concludes with a lot of passages of "Good vs. Evil", which feels incredibly shoe-horned and also, uh, irrelevant. There's this idea that the creature at the heart of the novel is Pure Evil, but it's also a reflection of Mankind's Penchant For Evil, but that also means there's Pure Good and possibly guidance from an Almighty. Except a wolf isn't evil for killing a deer, a snake isn't evil for killing a rat, a dog isn't evil for killing a bunny. Arrogance, narcissism and egotism isn't inherently evil, even if an Eldritch abomination is the one feeling them; they're human mental constructs we've built out of the belief that we're the best and smartest species on the planet. So the novel manages to posit that "Maybe this creature is only 'evil' because it learned it from humanity?" but then concludes that there's this binary of Good/Evil, which doesn't really make sense with actual human behavior, and how nature works. (Are humans Evil for factory farming? Yes. But does that mean we are ONLY Evil? No. etc.)

It was a bit too long in the tooth. The characters bleeded together. The finale felt a little forced and too convenient. But you know what? It was fun and memorable.

now you need to watch the movie

# ¿ May 17, 2022 14:37

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

sephiRoth IRA posted:

Just FYI I'm about seventeen chapters into between two fires by Christopher buehlman and it's amazing, 10/10

The characters are all compelling, it's dark and gritty and full of weird hope and the depictions of horror are incredible

Yeah i really, really loved it. I recommend it to basically everyone I can now and it's one of the favorites of the last few years for sure.

# ¿ May 21, 2022 16:45

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

Xiahou Dun posted:

It's literally almost all set in the same river valley. Like a solid 95% of his stories are either in "Huguenot", "Wyltwick" or the surrounding area : the former is actually New Paltz, a little hippy college town where he used to teach and the latter is Kingston which used to be the state capital back in the 18th century ; they're about 20 miles North-South of each other with the house I grew up in smack in between lol. The Fisherman takes place mostly up by the Shokan Resevoir up in the foothills North of Kingston/Wyltwick, and Wide Carnivorous Sky (the eponymous story) is a bit North of that in the Catskills proper. Hell, in one of the short stories in Wide Carnivorous Sky (the one with the werewolf), he actually does a literal lay of the land geography survey of "Huguenot" where he's shouting out where the college and the local student bars and the loving Indian Restaurant is with an aside to the reader about how he moved the police station because it's in a lovely, non-dramatic spot in real life.

I got so addicted to him cause it's really fun noticing specific landmarks, like down to individual streets and stuff ; my dad gave me The Fisherman so we've been keeping track for funnsies and we even went to the stream/hiking trail up there.

Laird Barron does this with Washington State and often very specifically the Olympic peninsula as well, which is where I grew up and so a lot of his stories 'connect' with me a lot because I know exactly the places he's talking about and have been there personally etc. I really enjoy that kind of stuff a lot, and it helps make the stories feel more grounded I feel.

# ¿ Jun 23, 2022 13:01

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

elpaganoescapa posted:

New book by Blake Butler is out, it's called Aannex. This one seems more sci-fi and also probably very experimental, but everything by Butler is at least horror-adjacent, so maybe check it out

I just finished reading 300 Million last week so I don't think my brain is sufficiently prepared for more of his particular style of uh, madness, and this sounds absolutely insane again.

# ¿ Jul 20, 2022 19:58

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

PsychedelicWarlord posted:

Hi friends. One of the thread faves, Laird Barron, is very ill with a life-threatening condition. He's hospitalized after being sick since September, and John Langan among others are raising funds for his healthcare costs (he doesn't have health insurance).

here is the GoFundMe if anyone feels inclined to kick it some cash.

gently caress that's awful news

# ¿ Jan 14, 2023 20:30

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

escape artist posted:

what do people iTT think of Christopher Buehlman, specifically Between Two Fires?

It's loving amazing and one of my favorite books and I wish there were more stuff like it

# ¿ Mar 21, 2023 13:13

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

nate fisher posted:

I�m so happy right now

Edit: He did announce there will be a special hardback edition of Wounds coming out, under the name of Atlas of Hell later this year. Limited edition and he will announce it on his Twitter.

I did ask him if any hope of The Butcher�s Table adaption, he said way too expensive. He said a few of his stories have been optioned, but we all know how that goes.

that's sick congrats

# ¿ Mar 22, 2023 08:40

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

Pretty wild, I would have had no idea considering the general feel and content of her stories and even the stories she chooses for her collections.

# ¿ Feb 10, 2024 17:50

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

I agree that Paver's Dark Matter is outstanding, one of the best horror books I've read in years, up with Between Two Fires imo.

# ¿ Jun 13, 2024 09:45

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

Kestral posted:

I wish from the bottom of my heart that there were more books like Paver�s Dark Matter, the way I wish for more books like Between Two Fires.

same, they've both stuck with me ever since I've read them.

# ¿ Jun 14, 2024 21:26

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

buglord posted:

Hi horror thread. I'd like some recommendations for a certain type of horror that seems kind of hard to find. Below is a list of qualities im looking for, but in short im looking for this above all else: a book that makes me want to keep the lights on at night. I haven't really been genuinely scared since I sank my teeth into the Stalker videogame series, and I've pretty much squeezed every last drop of horror from it.

Things that would scare me:

- ghosts, mutants, humanoids/humans, supernatural/crypto-zoological
- pursuits, close encounters, sharing the environment with the above things.

Things that would turn me off:

- overdone gore, torture porn
- sexual violence
- possession, post-apoc zombies

I was recommended some stephen king stuff and while the writing was fine, dude writes some weird sequences/characters that skeeve me out more in the disgust kind of way than fear.

so yeah. the above is what im looking for but preferably something that makes invokes genuine fear and makes me wanna keep the lights on. thank you!

You should definitely read Michelle Paver's Dark Matter.

Also, with the STALKER mention, I'd recommend the Southern Reach Trilogy if you haven't read it, the first book was adapted into the movie Annihilation from a few years back which you may have seen.

hopterque fucked around with this message at 11:15 on Jun 29, 2024

# ¿ Jun 29, 2024 11:13

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

value-brand cereal posted:

No Problem. Come under the deck. With us. Dont be afraid. We're are unarmed, and you should be too. The beneath deck is so good and welcome.

I've heard rumors that its very cozy and there's lots of books down there. might be worth looking into.

# ¿ Jul 3, 2024 10:57

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

Opopanax posted:

Vandermeer just dropped a prequel to Annihilation out of nowhere

what the gently caress

# ¿ Oct 27, 2024 09:59

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

MNIMWA posted:

Authority rocks and is this super specific vibe of overextended, crumbling, but also powerful and esoteric bureaucracy trying to make sense of an alien other that is even more opaque than itself

I wish there were more books or things like it, but Control is really the only other piece of media I've stumbled across hits that spot imo (please prove me wrong)

Control is HEAVILY inspired amongst many other things by the SCP foundation, which definitely has a lot of that sort of thing, although obviously the quality swings wildly between entries. I did really enjoy the SCP story turned book "There Is No Antimemetics Division" by Sam Hughes (aka Qntm)

# ¿ Jan 23, 2025 21:03

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

Jedit posted:

I'm a whole two pages into Once Was Willem by Mike Carey, and I'm already pretty sure this is going to be the next Between Two Fires. The writing style isn't really authentic - use of brackets is sticking out - but it's setting mood.

well,

�In Once Was Willem, M. R. Carey�s gorgeous prose weaves a fable full of dread and wonder, a deeply intelligent and emotionally gripping story boasting one of the nastiest sorcerers you�ll ever meet, and a narrator as inwardly gentle as he is outwardly monstrous. A masterpiece of medieval dark fiction. I love this book. Highest recommendation.�
―Christopher Buehlman, author of The Blacktongue Thief

Apparently Buehlman agrees with you

# ¿ Mar 15, 2025 12:53

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

tuyop posted:

hey is this Thomas Ligotti?

https://files.catbox.moe/etk9gh.mp4

it does kind of look like him

# ¿ Mar 23, 2025 21:29

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

Big Mad Drongo posted:

Few horror stories do atmosphere better than Algernon Blackwood's The Willows.

It's my favorite piece of weird fiction and probably overall "horror" ever. It's just incredibly evocative and strange and frightening and wonderful

# ¿ Jun 2, 2025 12:36

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

Jedit posted:

Ellen Datlow is a loving psychopath and having her name anywhere on the cover is a good sign to avoid it.

she is?

# ¿ Jul 28, 2025 12:59

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

That's completely crazy. You think all of the stories in her collections (hell, even most???) feature rape or sexual abuse?

# ¿ Jul 28, 2025 14:51

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# ¿ Dec 14, 2025 22:14

hopterque: Mar 9, 2007; sup

Big Mad Drongo posted:

Blackwood is very good overall. His stories can be a bit slow, but that's just because they're busy dripping with atmosphere, and most are worth reading just for that.

That said he never reaches the heights of The Willows again, because The Willows is the best horror short story ever written.

Anyway his stories are all(?) public domain so you can find them online free. The Wendigo is another great if you want a suggestion.

I think I've posted about my love for The Willows ITT (or maybe the cosmic horror thread?) before, but yeah I completely agree that its the best horror short ever written. It's just so incredibly evocative and strange. I don't think i've ever felt more transported to the setting of a story than I was the first time I read it, it's just this incredible combination of something so real and grounded that you can practically smell and touch it and then peeling it back with this completely bizarre, awe inspiring, frightening series of events

# ¿ Nov 3, 2025 17:59

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