On occasion, I’ve been asked, What horror authors have inspired you?I’d be remiss if I failed to mention there’s no doubt Stephen King, by reputation (and sales) alone, is master of the horror genre. I’ve read, enjoyed, been in awe of many of his novels and short stories. I admit that. BUT, as fantastic as his work may be, he never reached in and touched that vulnerable, terrified chamber of my heart in the way the following five gentlemen have.
Make no mistake; these five books are for the hardcore horror fans. If you liken Edward the vampire as your perfect cup of tea, then these authors would be like drinking a bottle of Absinthe on an empty stomach.
I highly recommend them as must reads for lovers of dark horror fiction.
Greely’s Cove by John Gideon
It’s a story about miracles, dark miracles in a town plagued by ghosts, necrophilia, resurrections of the dead and black magic. It’s fast, ugly and graphically mind-blowing.
Grimm Memorials by R. Patrick Gates
It’s tales of the brothers Grimm spun by an evil, modern-day witch. There’s also a healthy dose of necrophilia along with other awful sexual deviancies, child torture, and violence to the Nth degree.
They Thirst by Robert R. McCammonNo romantic and/or rock-star vampires here. These bloodsuckers want to eat you and play with your blood. It’s chock-full-of disgusting death and charged with an apocalyptic climax threatening the entire west coast.
Dominion by Bentley Little
Take’s dorm life by the balls, Greek mythology-style. Blood, guts and lots and lots of sex. If you like your stories over-the-top, this one will leave you gasping.
Creekers by Edward LeeAll I can say is strippers with three breasts, in-bred rednecks, demons, witchcraft, mutilations and B-movie dialogue. Fast-paced and relentless to the shocking end.
So tell me, What are some of your favorite horror books and authors?
Some of my favorites:
ReplyDelete1. The Bleeding Season by Greg Gifune.
2. A Choir of Ill Children by Tom Piccirilli
3. Neverland by Douglas Clegg
4. The White Road by John Connolly
5. Shadowland by Peter Straub.
(Actually I love every book all of these guys have written! Lol.)
The seeding of my horror interests was the record/book combo about Dracula, Wolfman, and Frankenstein seen here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mycomicshop.com/search?minyr=1970&maxyr=1983&TID=503601
Though most of my horror influences were mainstream movies and books (King, Koontz, Carr, Preston & Child, and Rice), I’ve recently been inspired by older works of short horror from anthology collections at Isaac Asimov, Cemetery Dance, and some edited by Ellen Datlow. I love all the dark oddities that these short horrors contain.
Thanks for the recommendations, Angel - I'll check them out.
I've liked Rice and King, but I am admittedly am a newbie in the horror genre, so this post was great for me.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of these, Ang. I'll mark this post. It's good to have some good recommendations from the horror king. I see Lee up there has Shadowlands by Straub and that is one of my top favs for sure. My memory isn't to hawt right now, so I can't pull anything from my top hat. I have weird fav authors no one has ever heard before. BUT I will say, my current read is classic horror pulp, Pigeons From Hell is just absolutely amazing and freaky as hell. All horror lovers would love it (esp if you like pulp!).
ReplyDeleteItems to add to the old reading list...
ReplyDeleteinteresant
ReplyDeleteOkay, I have been DYING to find a copy of "They Thirst" since I heard about it years ago, and same for Creekers (LOVE Edward Lee's work very much) -- I keep scouring bookstores everywhere I go but no one seems to have a copy.
ReplyDeleteI'm personally a huge Barker fan, but I like your picks.
Also, wanted to say thanks very much for the GFC add and I've returned the favour. Glad I stumbled here and hope to visit again soon :-)
Darkeva