It's October, and, of course, our theme is the horrors that lurk, well, everywhere! When reading a scary story, I want to flip pages faster than I can read (or click "next" on my Kindle). The thing that gets me the most is voice. A horror writer has to have a good, unique voice, otherwise it's just not scary. Something can be phrased just right, and the action written just so, and bam! You're scared out of your brains and can't put the book down without finding what happens next.
My favorite kinds of scary books are supernatural in nature, and perhaps that is why I'm drawn most to Stephen King's books. I remember reading The Tommyknockers in one night, straight through till morning at my Aunt's house in Pennsylvania, scared and loving it. It was his voice, it was the mystery that is at the heart of good horror.
Short sentences are scary. To add punch to a point, a short sentence can make me bend book covers. Dean Koontz does this a lot in his books. I love it.
Recommend some of your favorite horror writers and books in the comments if you so desire. I need some good, scary reads for Halloween month!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Scary Voices
Posted by Lisa Rusczyk at 4:50 AM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
If you've never read The Exorcist read it.
I don't mean rent the movie. I mean read the book. Totally different.
And be sure to read the forward. It's important.
In one part, the windows fog in her house. My windows fogged that night in my house and when was the last time the windows fogged in your house?
I'm with you on the supernatural spookiness. Physical danger is always there, but you can defend against it, or at least you have the chance to defend against it.
But supernatural danger, it's indefensible, invisible, invincible, and inescapable.
If you want a scary movie, watch Supernatural. I thought I'd hate that movie, but my wife made me watch it.
And I'm glad she did!
Totally agree on the voice. Horror is my favorite genre, and setting and voice are my favorite aspects of writing.
- Eric
Hmm...good scary authors or books. There are so many. Of course, Stephen King is a staple. If you think horror, his name must come up first. *laughs*
Bentley Little is great. Nate Kenyon is too.
Right now, I'm reading Ben Larken's THE HOLLOWS (book one). It's awesome and very scary. Plus, since it's book one. You'll have more books to look forward to. *grins*
Those are just a few I can think off the top of my head.
Life as We Knew it scared me so much I wanted to go to the grocery store and stock up on canned goods!
But that's a different type of scary.
I'll have to check out those books that Cherie mentioned!
Post a Comment