Horror novel recommendations?

[Steev]

The OP could do a lot worse than to check out (or buy a subscription to) SPECTRAL PRESS (http://spectralpress.wordpress.com/), who are a small, independent publisher of "chapbooks" and novellas. The quality is high- and they're currently up for some high-falutin' awards.

I'd also recommend 'Ritual', by Adam Nevill- which is genuinely one of the creepiest novels I've read in a long time. It fair crawled under my skin, it did, and resulted in me having to put it down for a few weeks as it was honestly upsetting my mood. Can't praise it highly enough, and very pleased to see it's also up for an award.

Steev

[mikehadfield]

For me, one of the best horror/ghost novel writers is James Herbert.

[Braveheart]

The Monstrumologist series by Rick Yancey. They are actually Young Adult novels, but very well written and the two main characters are excellent.

[Robert Mammone]

The OP could do a lot worse than to check out (or buy a subscription to) SPECTRAL PRESS (http://spectralpress.wordpress.com/), who are a small, independent publisher of "chapbooks" and novellas. The quality is high- and they're currently up for some high-falutin' awards.

I'd also recommend 'Ritual', by Adam Nevill- which is genuinely one of the creepiest novels I've read in a long time. It fair crawled under my skin, it did, and resulted in me having to put it down for a few weeks as it was honestly upsetting my mood. Can't praise it highly enough, and very pleased to see it's also up for an award.

Steev

The first half of The Ritual is very, very good, relentless, grinding horror. The second half falls away badly, unfortunately. His Banquet of the Damned is a very good first novel. Apartment 16 is rubbish. Nevill is a bit overrated, but he may get there in time.

[Robert Mammone]

For me, one of the best horror/ghost novel writers is James Herbert.

The Spear, The Fog; all great stories.

Actually, any early books by Graham Masterton are equally worth tracking down. The Pariah is brilliant. I've a soft spot for The Devil's of D-Day as well.

[Lee R]

For me, one of the best horror/ghost novel writers is James Herbert.

There we disagree. He's too mainstream and formulaic for my tastes. And of the ones I've read, I've been let down by the endings. That last one I read, The Secret of Crickley Hall, I gave up on halfway through and admitted to myself I just don't like James Herbert books.

[nebiroth]

James Herbert is OK, but tends to get a bit repetative - he's probably most famous for his Rats novels but really there's a limit to the variations you can do in novels that are based around giant, carniverous rats with a decided taste for human flesh. The plots are entirely credible and believable but are really just variations on a theme (even with Lair, which has the added spice of the rats making a comeback in a nuclear holocaust struck London).

Likewise, his novel of The Dark is almost a carbon copy of The Fog - although I actually enjoyed the former rather more.

I was going to recommend the Graham Masterton novels - espescially the early ones. Again, they tend to repeat a theme - ie, ancnient magical force of evil released, everyday chap gets involved, finds out all about it through a convenient academic, partners up with an equally convenient expert, defeats ancient evil force. But the stories are very good - I'd recommend The Manitou (Native American magic) (so succesful it has a lot of sequels and got made into a film), The Devils of D-Day (Christian Demons), Death Trance (Balinese demons), Tengu (Japanese demons), The Walkers (Druidic magic). I found his later works much weaker - it weas evident he had run out of ancient evils!

An interesting and later sequence is his Night Warriors - ordinary people who have the power (as did their ancestors) to enter people's dreams and fight the demons that exist there. Unfortunately the later novels tend to turn into more comic superhero stuff, since each Night Warrior is a specialist with specific powers. The scope of those powers tended to get more as the novels progress and they all call each other by their Night Warrior names...

I would also very strongly recommend F Paul Wilson's Adversary cycle, which begind with possibly his best novel: The Keep. A vampire novel...sort of, with a big twist. There are several sequels and it end with Night World. You should also read The Tomb and The Touch which link into the Adversary novels (as does his Repairman Jack which are less horror/supernatural although they have minor elements of it)

[Rob]

How about Clive Barker? Books of Blood, Damnation Game, The Hellbound Heart, Weaveworld are all highly recommended.

[Lee R]

This looks rather good. Apocalypse Cow

[mcnpauls]

Can't remember the title, but here's the author himself reading from a horror novel classic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNfQ0ORwSDM

[omega2]

Anyone got recommendations for Haunted House novels? I very much liked Hell House, so anything along those lines I'd be interested to hear.

[mcnpauls]

Anyone got recommendations for Haunted House novels? I very much liked Hell House, so anything along those lines I'd be interested to hear.

Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House". David Lindsay's "The Haunted Woman". Stepehn King's "The Shining".