"A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."
~Hannibal Lecter, The Silence of the Lambs
I was talking about scary books with a co-worker the other day. She was looking for some recommendations to take to her children (her adult children!) and asked me "What's the scariest book you've ever read?"
After some consideration, because yes I like to be terrified by horror books sometimes, my first answer was Stephen King's It. I read It when I was in college and though I can't recall all the details, I do remember children discovering dark secrets about a horrifying evil that lives in the sewers and sometimes appears as a creepy looking clown. Nearly 30 years later they are drawn back to the town and face the terrifying danger they thought they had escaped. Mostly I remember my hands shaking as I got to the end of the book because I was afraid to turn the pages, and I slept with the lights on for several nights. Eek! I also got freaked out/enjoyed The Stand, The Shining, The Talisman, and The Running Man.
Other scary books I would suggest are I am Legend by Richard Matheson, Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill, The Terror by Dan Simmons, The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris, and if you like unsettling true crime, I just finished Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi.
Now I think it's time for me to read a nice happy story with a nice happy ending.
