Top 5 Horror Picks of all Time

Do you want to be scared? Really scared? Then welcome to my parlour oh dear, sweet, delicious reader.

I’ve always loved Horror, good horror that is. I’m not much for splatter horror, I know what blood looks like and I know heads get squished when something stands on them. I prefer the horror that leaves you running frantically across the landing after a midnight wee; the need to wrap yourself in your duvet for fear of losing an uncovered toe to an unspecified thing, or the gentle scraping that has you hurrying down the street, looking over your shoulder and clutching your bag to your side.

I’ve been reading horror for almost 40 years now and these are my (not yours, not definitive, just my own) top 5 pant wetting novels.

1. IT – Stephen King

It has a Clown, a really f’kin scary clown that eats children. Do I need to go on? This is classic King, long, involved and unnerving; if you ever read anything by the modern master of horror, read this.

IT – US
IT – UK

2, Meat – Joseph D’Lacey

This is scary in a truly unique way, there are no monsters, there are no aliens and there’s no fantasy. Just we humans and a daily occurrence that happens today, now, here and most of us turn a blind eye to it. The victims don’t matter, do they? It’s all just a matter of perspective.

Read Shan’s Review of Meat

3, Coraline – Neil Gaiman

What’s behind that strange locked little door? A really disturbing and creepy tale written in classic Gaiman fashion. It’s a little short perhaps but it really is truly one of the best scary books I’ve ever read.

Coraline US
Coraline UK

4, Heart Shaped Box – Joe Hill

Judas Coyne collects the macabre, the distasteful and the downright disgusting so when the opportunity to buy a ghost turns up, he jumps at it. Joe has definitely inherited daddy’s creepy gene and this, his debut novel remains in my top five.

Heart Shaped Box US
Heart Shaped Box UK

5, Dolly – Susan Hill

The author of The Woman in Black, Susan has a beautiful writing style, old fashioned, much left to the imagination and yet still, truly frightening. A boy orphaned and sent to live with his spinster aunt in the inevitable huge old house, his flighty, brattish cousin brought along for company and a dolly.

Dolly US
Dolly UK

I’ve tried to encompass a range of Horror styles in my picks, I know I’m going to receive myriad, “What? No Lovecraft?” comments but this is my list and I got to pick them so there! If you have a problem, go tell the Breathstealer Troll that’s hiding under your bed, I’m sure he’d be fascinated to hear all about it..

By Shan Williams

Top 5 Horror Picks of all Time