Horror Aficionados discussion

Welcome to Horror Aficionados! There are a lot of interesting, nice people here, so come join us and tell us about yourself.

Hello!!!
This is my first post, so it is rathering fitting to do it here!
My name is Carl and I have been searching for some boards of some sort to discuss Horror novels, so this place is a form of Heaven for me!
I read pretty much strictly Horror, though do dip out for Lansdale, my favorite author, and others of his style (hardboiled mysteries).
I stick to Horror mainly due to loving the stuff and realizing their are a ton of books I have missed. I know I might be missing some great non-Horror books, but I am cooler with missing those than missing some great Horror.
Of Horror I don't have a prefered style.
Right now I am reading Bentley Little's The Summoning. After that I plan to read Bestial by William Carl or Crimson by Gord Rollo.
Nice to meet you all!!!

Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste...I've been around for a long long year, stolen many a man's soul and faith...I was around when Jesus Christ had His moment of doubt and faith...Made damn sure that Pilate washed his hands and sealed His fate...Please to meet you, hope you guess my name...But's what puzzling you is the nature of my game...

Hi, Carl. Welcome to HA. It's always good to have some fresh meat around here. I'm an old-timer at this group but I'll introduce myself anyway.

I'm a mod here and have an impressive--or pathetic, considering how you look at it--comment count of over 1,000.

I've loved horror ever since reading my first book of ghost stories as a little girl. I adored the local storyteller Kathryn Tucker Windham's stories about the haunted south.

As a teen I started reading Stephen King and Peter Straub. I used to hang out in used bookstores and discovered Alabama author Michael McDowell, who wrote the Blackwater series and the horrifying Katie ("Katie kills for kicks and cash.").

I also enjoy Scott Sigler, Bentley Little, Brian Keene, Gord Rollo, Mark Mirabello, Richard Laymon, Shirley Jackson, Flannery O'Connor, and Robert McCammon.

I prefer zombies over vampires, but if the story is well written I enjoy them all.

Thanks for the welcome!

I fell in love with Horror due to my mom introducing me to the stuff as a kid. But that was all films. My love of Horror fiction didn't start until I decided I wanted to learn more about the film PSYCHO. The film PSYCHO II was about to come out so there was all the hub-ub going on about the original. At that time also Robert Bloch was released his PSYCHO II, so I ran out and bought that, read it and enjoyed it. I also read PSYCHO at that point.
But it wasn't until a few years later that I really got hooked. It all started at that point with me really deciding I wanted to give reading another try. So I walked into a book store, and there on the new release self sat a book that had just come out. It was a bit of an omen to me. That book was Robert Bloch's PSYCHO HOUSE. It had all come full circle in a way.
From there I decided to learn all about Lovecraft and read everything available. I was getting hooked pretty good at that point.
Then I read CARRION COMFORT and SUMMER OF NIGHT. That was when I completely lost it.
I enjoy pretty much all of the standards who are beloved, though have to admit to not being overly in love with King. I like him, but again, his stuff is so easy to find I really feel like I need to concentrate on the stuff that isn't so easy to find, the rare gems. Yeah, a little weird like that.
I myself always preferred zombies to vampires, but I am honestly amazed at how huge zombie fiction has become as of late. It's like the vampire thing in the 80's...only maybe a little worse due to the small press explosion, and the internet ebook thing.

I was a rabid King fan in my late teens and early twenties, but I haven't read any of his books since Bag of Bones. I discovered what I think are better horror writers.

Carrion Comfort is a frightening book, but I've said this before, I think it could use with some editing. It sort of lost it near the end for me. The old lady is truly one of the most unethical beings I've read in a horror story. What she sees she covets, even if it's the life of a child.

I became disenchanted with vampires when I saw so many vampire romances coming through the library where I work. I think the market is just over saturated with vampire literature.

I so can't wait to introduce my son to horror, but since he's only 5 it's going to be a while.

Hi...Slasher here.

You're a man of few words, William.

Chris, I had no ides you were the devil!

That old lady in Carrion Comfort is a perfect example of someone with borderline personality disorder.

They are like vampires except they do not take your blood, they take your time, self respect and dignity, even though it is not their faults.

The old Carrion Comfort lady is definitely sociopathic.

Kristy, I thought everybody at HA knew that Chris was the devil.

Tressa wrote: "The old Carrion Comfort lady is definitely sociopathic.

Kristy, I thought everybody at HA knew that Chris was the devil."

Sorry to let the devil down, but I accidently left my soul in the Human Resource Department in my old job as a social worker. : /

Still after all of these years and all of these books, Melanie (old lady in Carrion Comfort) is still the most *vile character in a book I have read. That final chapter, final line, caused me to actually scream and throw the book!

(I am excluding the aunt in The Girl Next Door)

Patrick, are you still haunted by your job as a social worker? It would make me lose sleep to think of what was happening to the children in my case files. I'd want to grab them up and take them home and feed them and bathe them and read to them and tuck them into bed and make them feel safe. But I know that's not possible.

Carl, Melanie has zero conscience. She just collected people and manipulated them to her wishes. That little boy she orphaned and turned into a husk scared the hell out of me. Vile old bat.

Ya know, you kids are making me a real happy ol' git. I've searched for sooo long for a place to discuss these books...and now I have found you!!! This is going to become a VERY bad addiction!

Carl, thus the reason I have over 1,000 posts at HA. I hardly knew anyone IRL who read horror, and was really happy to find GR and HA. Anytime you want to discuss a particular book, feel free to create a thread. I'm sure someone here has read it and would like to discuss it. Or someone hasn't read it but puts it on their TBR lists.

Hi, I'm Sue. I've been on the board for a bit. I haven't had a chance to look over a lot of it. But I was so glad to find this board. I've read a book that was suggested here and it was awesome, I'm reading a second book that I seen on here. I love horror books and it has to be a good one.

I am in love with HA, the books that are suggested so far have been awesome. I am in a couple of groups and they suggest books but a lot of my friends are into the love dovey stuff as well as the serious stuff. I like the carpathian smut as my husband calls them and my horror books.

I'm reading The Tooth Fairy right now and have just got a couple of Hannibal Lecter books to read. I love vampire books as well as just plain out books that will scare the heck out of you.

I have found that everyone here so far are really nice and it's awesome. I love this site.

Nice to meet everyone.

I've read a book that was suggested here and it was awesome

Is this book Afraid? Infected?

Welcome to HA, Susan. So glad you started posting.

What is it with people's avatars? I thought yours was a monkey until I clicked on it and see that it's a bear.

There's a guy named Phillip around here who had an orange-ish avatar that looked like a flying robot. I found out a year later it was him playing the saxophone. I'm going blind!

Tressa wrote: "I've read a book that was suggested here and it was awesome

Is this book Afraid? Infected?

Welcome to HA, Susan. So glad you started posting.

What is it with people's avatars? I thought y..."


It was Afraid and I think I was going to check into Infected.

My avatar is a pic of my husbands carving. I never knew it looked like a monkey til you said something. LOL. My husband does chainsaw carvings and it's one of them.

I don't think you are going blind, they are just too small to see sometimes.

In the thumbnail it's dressed like one of those toy monkeys that bangs the cymbals...*shudder*

Chainsaw carving is awesome. In the fall our zoo has an area set aside and a man demonstrates how he carves animals out of blocks of wood. Pretty neat stuff.

Ahem...you specifically left out Lee. You Lee-hater. Trying to get my all riled up, aren't you...

Tressa wrote: "Hi, Carl. Welcome to HA. It's always good to have some fresh meat around here. I'm an old-timer at this group but I'll introduce myself anyway.

I'm a mod here and have an impressive--or pathetic,..."

Oh yes I am...didn't you see my horns? ;)

Kristy wrote: "Chris, I had no ides you were the devil!"

I live to rile you up, Chris.

Chris, I so want to put you on my list of writers. Send me something you've written. Pleeeze?

Really, lil' ol me? I am flattered...

Tressa wrote: "I live to rile you up, Chris.

Chris, I so want to put you on my list of writers. Send me something you've written. Pleeeze?"

Well, I haven't read anything yet.

I found this thread buried and left for dead in the General Discussion folder. Thought I'd bring it back to life by introducing myself. I'm Dustin from Colorful Colorado and I like a good scary story but I haven't branched out much - I read Dean Koontz, John Saul, and I've recently started reading Stephen King. I like that this group has a group read and lots of activity so I recently ditched the other horror group I was a member of and joined this one. I'm thinking of reading Ghost Story by Peter Straub. I'll be one month behind but since there isn't really a group read for January... Is there a discussion thread set up for Ghost Story?

Welcome to the group Dustin, you'll receive plenty of good authors and books to try depending on your tastes.

Thanks. Is there a thread for Ghost Story - if so which folder should I look under to find it?

I didn't see one, feel free to start a thread. If not request it from one of the mods.

Ok - I'm not shy about starting new discussions :-) I'll try to get the book from the library first.

Hi, Dustin. Welcome to the group. Feel free to start any thread that pops into your head. Well, almost any thread.

Welcome Dustin...Welcome to the group. We are lively here and i think we have a great group. The is a poll set up for the February read...be sure to check that out. And oh...by the way...watch out for Tressa. We are not sure she is exactly stable!

Welcome Dustin!!! I plan to start reading GHOST StORY in about a week. That will be my January read.

Not sure? Come on. You guys are 100% sure I'm not stable.

Hello
I am Patrik from the rainy Switzerland.
My first contact with horror was with Lovecraft and the film Jaws I saw when my parents were out in the theatre...
From there on I got some problems with the swimming lesson at school. lol.
PS: sorry for the grammatical mistakes. My mother tongue is French and German ;-)

Welcome, Patrik. Jaws and Lovecraft are good first introductions to horror.

Carl wrote: "Welcome Dustin!!! I plan to start reading GHOST StORY in about a week. That will be my January read."

Great! I'll try to read along. Whoever starts reading it first can start the discussion thread (if there isn't one already)

I can't believe the warm welcome from everyone... I hope you can put up with me. Btw, if anyone is a big fan of Dean Koontz, please join a group that I created just over a week ago. It's called Koontzland - Dean Koontz. Hope it's okay that I mention it here - I need a break from Koontz once in a while so I'm glad to have found this group. One of my co-moderators in Koontzland is Matt K. or is it Matt R. anyway, I heard about this group from him :-)

William wrote: "Welcome Dustin...Welcome to the group. We are lively here and i think we have a great group. The is a poll set up for the February read...be sure to check that out. And oh...by the way...watch o..."

I already voted for the collector :-)

Oh, and yes it's Matt R. who can be blamed for bringing me here :-)

Thanks for recruiting, Matt.

No problem Tressa, I am sure Dustin could use a nice dose of horror :)

What's up Dustin? Haven't seen you in a while. Don't be fooled, all the mods around here are unstable! ;)

William being the most unstable.

He's not called The Slasher for nothing!

He's really a big old teddy bear.

Oh yeah! I seen that movie. The Slasher Teddy. :)
But the book was more gory.

Carl wrote: "Welcome Dustin!!! I plan to start reading GHOST StORY in about a week. That will be my January read."

Yesterday I requested Ghost Story from my local library. They're gonna inter-library loan it. I'll get started on it when I get my hands on it :-) I hope its a good one. I didn't realize it's from 1979 - hope it's not too dated. I'm gonna give it a try :-)

Lori wrote: " What's up Dustin? Haven't seen you in a while. Don't be fooled, all the mods around here are unstable! ;)"

I was gonna ask you the same thing :-) Haven't see YOU around. I've been around and around and around - seems like my head's been spinning lately I've been around so much.

Did you know I created a new Dean Koontz group. Maybe that's why it doesn't seem like I've been around. Dean Koontz is my main author I read and I haven't been commenting much in the old Dean Koontz group. I sent you an invite to join the new group - did my invite get tossed away with the Christmas cards that didn't have money or gift cards inside? Please, Please, Please join the new Koontzland - Dean Koontz group. We'll have lots of fun with you over there I guarantee - lots of new people and some old faces too :-)

It's okay - I'll tell you a little secret, I'm unstable too! So, hopefully I'll fit in here just as well as I fit in with the Misfit toys on Rudolph :-)

Wow! this group is a lot more fun than Horrifying Fiction already. Okay the cat's out to the bag - that's the name of the group I was in - I made a total of 2 comments there in 6 months time!

I keep getting invites for similar groups here, but what would be the point? I can say all I need to say about horror right here.