Horror Genre Discussion

[Tstrickland84]

I finished my book/story for the month. It was Herbert West-Reanimator by H.P.Lovecraft.

I learned about Lovecraft in college, but I did not read any of his work until I found H.P. Pod craft, a H.P. Lovecraft literary podcast. They did an episode on every story Lovecraft ever wrote. I really liked the episode about this novella so I decided to read it.

I thought it was pretty funny. You don't think that horror is funny, but it really is. The only difference between slapstick and some horror is the outcomes, but in this case the humor was in the observations from the narrator.

If you guys want to read more, my review is posted under the horror genre of reviews here on the forum.

Happy Haunting.

[Ryan]

I always thought Bunnicula was cute

-- 09 Oct 2015, 22:38 --

A good example of an implied, yet never (really) seen threat, in my opinion, is in The Shining, when Danny's on the playground.

That scene was very well done

Agreed. I think Stephen King is best when he's merely tickling our nerves instead of trying to sever them

[Heidi M Simone]

Do you know I have never read anything by Stephen King. I've seen part of the movie 'It', I was not a fan. I was young and very scared

I do have a couple of books that I would like to try out of his that were mentioned earlier in the month. I just have to get around to them!

[Tstrickland84]

Stephen King has great ideas, but doesn't really know how to end his stories. "It" is a classic though. Strongly suggest that one.

[Ryan]

Stephen King has great ideas, but doesn't really know how to end his stories. "It" is a classic though. Strongly suggest that one.

I thought 'The Shining' ended well and the rest of the endings of the books of his I've read were okay. The ending of 'The Green Mile' could've been better, however. Maybe I haven't seen one of the bum endings yet. Then again, I've only read a few of his novels

[Tstrickland84]

"Dreamcatcher" was one of those with a bum ending.

[Heidi M Simone]

So, The Shining is good then? Maybe I'll add this to my list.

[Gravy]

So, The Shining is good then? Maybe I'll add this to my list.

I enjoyed it
I can't say much about how scary it is (I think I'm immune to fictional fear ), but I've heard mixed opinions on it.

[kio]

You're lucky @GraveRobber. I'm ok with most fictional fear until it deals with ghosts and apparently, zombies

[Ryan]

The Shining by Stephen King.

I enjoyed this book and I ended up giving it 3 stars. It's much more psychologically based than many of his novels and the threats in the books mostly depend on the character's perception of various situations in states of anxiety. The threat is from within and Jack -- the protagonist -- struggles to overcome his feelings of inadequacy which give him an intense rage and which ultimately makes him a threat to the other characters in various forms. His painful associations with the abuse of his father and his own over his son creates a sense that horror is unavoidable and omniscient. Certain parts, for example, make us question whether there is any threat at all, which is undoubtedly a metafictional comment on the genre: there is a threat if you believe there is a threat. Ultimately, however, its Jack's inability to recognize his inner turmoil and propensity to externalize it that blinds him to his inevitable fall into madness.

The Monk by Matthew Lewis.

An early novel and one which is considered Gothic, which of course predates our own "horror" genre. The novel switches between several characters and the various ways in which they meet and interact. Here, the horror is also within: sexual desire. Ambrosio as a monk is the perfect figure to demonstrate the incredible power that desire can wield and the novel traces his fall from grace into which he is plunged when he carries a lust for the beautiful Antonia. What follows is a plot involving murder, rape, decomposing babies and fulfilled sexual desires uncommonly captured within the period. The story is a religious fable, however, so much of this internal struggle is linked exclusively to either God or Satan and not simply as desires found within us all. Complex and well-crafted, I gave it 4 stars.

[Gravy]

You're lucky @GraveRobber. I'm ok with most fictional fear until it deals with ghosts and apparently, zombies

I used to be freaked out by zombies
I have no idea why nothing fictional seems to scare me. I actually look for things that may effect me that way.

The Shining by Stephen King.

I enjoyed this book and I ended up giving it 3 stars. It's much more psychologically based than many of his novels and the threats in the books mostly depend on the character's perception of various situations in states of anxiety. The threat is from within and Jack -- the protagonist -- struggles to overcome his feelings of inadequacy which give him an intense rage and which ultimately makes him a threat to the other characters in various forms. His painful associations with the abuse of his father and his own over his son creates a sense that horror is unavoidable and omniscient. Certain parts, for example, make us question whether there is any threat at all, which is undoubtedly a metafictional comment on the genre: there is a threat if you believe there is a threat. Ultimately, however, its Jack's inability to recognize his inner turmoil and propensity to externalize it that blinds him to his inevitable fall into madness.

The Monk by Matthew Lewis.

An early novel and one which is considered Gothic, which of course predates our own "horror" genre. The novel switches between several characters and the various ways in which they meet and interact. Here, the horror is also within: sexual desire. Ambrosio as a monk is the perfect figure to demonstrate the incredible power that desire can wield and the novel traces his fall from grace into which he is plunged when he carries a lust for the beautiful Antonia. What follows is a plot involving murder, rape, decomposing babies and fulfilled sexual desires uncommonly captured within the period. The story is a religious fable, however, so much of this internal struggle is linked exclusively to either God or Satan and not simply displayed as simple desires found within us all. Complex and well-crafted, I gave it 4 stars.

Awesome

[Heidi M Simone]

Hm...all this talk about horror makes me want to dive a little more into it. Honestly, I never would have thought that one day I would say this, but here I am saying it

I'll definitely add The Shining to my to-read list, I'm not sure about The Monk. But, thank you, ryanj1, for taking the time to write about each. It helps to see what I'm willing to try!

[Ryan]

Hm...all this talk about horror makes me want to dive a little more into it. Honestly, I never would have thought that one day I would say this, but here I am saying it

I'll definitely add The Shining to my to-read list, I'm not sure about The Monk. But, thank you, ryanj1, for taking the time to write about each. It helps to see what I'm willing to try!

I hope you enjoy 'The Shining'

[kombuchi88]

"Breed" by Chase Novak was pretty scary, and hellish. Easy, but good read.

[Topcho]

Whew, I finally finished my October horror novel. I was planning to have it read by 15th, but finished it week later.

My book was Queen of Nightmares, the sequel to Anna dressed in blood. In few words: it was awesome and I give it a full set of stars!!!

In more words I think this duology is one of the best YA horrors that are actually scary. The ghosts that Cas encounters and battles are every bit tettifying. And the forest, oh the forest! I don't want to get into spoilers, so I better shut up and don't discuss some details, but I will say again that the horror part were very well done. In the same time, there was a lot of humour - a much needed comic relief. There was a bit of love drama too, but rest assured it wasn't anything too overwhelming!
I thought it was a pity Anna wasn't as active as in the first novel but she was nevertheless amazing. And let's not forget Cas' team - love them too.

So, I can whole-heartedly recommend these books