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Best Horror Writer
E. A. Poe 11%  11%  [ 2 ]
H. P. Lovecraft 11%  11%  [ 2 ]
M. R. James 5%  5%  [ 1 ]
Robert Bloch 11%  11%  [ 2 ]
Stephen King 50%  50%  [ 9 ]
Clive Barker 5%  5%  [ 1 ]
__________ 5%  5%  [ 1 ]
Total votes : 18
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 Post subject: Best Horror Writer
PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 12:13 pm 
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Han loled first

Joined: 13 May 2011
Posts: 8943
Location: the high 5 that Canada left hanging
WO wrote:
HanLolol wrote:
WO wrote:
Should horror actually be scary when you read it or should it just be horrible? I've never found Lovecraft to be scary. I voted for Bloch on the spur of the moment based on Psycho but probably should have gone with King for Salem's Lot. I wish Matheson had been a choice because that's who I really think is best.

Have you read "The Colour Out of Space"?
That one scared the bejeebus outta me. /shudder

Yes. I've read them all. Your previous post was what made me think of it with all the "horrors beyond description".


I agree that most of his stories come across more as creepy than poop-your-pants-scary.
The Colour Out of Space is an exception, for me. That one really, really scared me. Like, couldn't sleep after I read it and everything.
And the weird thing is, I probably couldn't even put my finger on WHAT freaked me out so much about it, either. :think:

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 Post subject: Best Horror Writer
PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 12:22 pm 
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Awesome

Joined: 16 Jan 2007
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Location: Out to sea.
So you are saying it was a horror beyond description?

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 Post subject: Best Horror Writer
PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 12:24 pm 
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Han loled first

Joined: 13 May 2011
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Location: the high 5 that Canada left hanging
Madjak wrote:
So you are saying it was a horror beyond description?


that is EXACTLY what I was trying to say. :lol:

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 Post subject: Best Horror Writer
PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 12:24 pm 
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Han loled first

Joined: 13 May 2011
Posts: 8943
Location: the high 5 that Canada left hanging
...I feel like I've somehow been pwned.

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 Post subject: Best Horror Writer
PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2012 8:32 pm 
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Shakespeare, you say? And I have to type how long?

Joined: 02 Sep 2004
Posts: 16159
Location: Virgie, Ky
(T)Eddy wrote:
While he has only written one horror book to the best of my knowledge, I must highly recommend David Wong's John Dies At The End. This book was very much influenced by H.P. Lovecraft, and indeed, this book actually got me started reading Lovecraft in the first place. However, there is one thing about it really unique, and that is the use of humour. There are some really funny scenes in this book that will make you laugh your butt off, but this isn't a "comic horror" novel in the sense that the funny parts take an edge off the scary parts. On the contrary, the funny parts actually make the scary parts MORE scary. It's hard to describe, but to use a baseball analogy, it's how good pitchers will use a change-up pitch to make their fastballs more effective. As soon as you've finished laughing at something, something else happens that makes your blood run cold.

Anyway, here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0312659148/?tag=imwan-20

Okay, so I'm reading this book on your recommendation, Eddy, and I like it. But I don't love it. It started out very strong but there was a scene about halfway through that knocked me right out of it.
Spoiler: show
The scene in the abandoned mall when they're killing the monsters and the dead bodies dissolve and leave boxes of ammo. Turning this into a video game homage did not match the previous tone or situations established earlier in the book. Why would monsters from beyond leave you ammo, giving you an advantage, when you killed them? That makes no sense.
It took me a while to get back into it. Also, I think it's gone on too long. The scenarios seem to be repetitive rather than building and increasing the tension. It's good but not great. I haven't finished yet, maybe the end will bring it back up to great.


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 Post subject: Best Horror Writer
PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2012 8:43 pm 
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Hold yourself together, (T)Eddy----it's only IMWAN

Joined: 02 Jul 2009
Posts: 7965
Wayne, it gets better later on. I'll have to re-read the part about the ammo. The one other thing I like is how David eventually falls in love with a female character. (I don't think that's much of a spoiler.) However, David Wong (the author) takes great pains NOT to have David Wong the character say obvious stuff about he's enraptured by so-and-so's beauty, and the other romantic cliches. He just likes this girl, cares for her, and his caring deepens.

If you don't like it, please accept my apologies and I'll read one of your recommendations to make ammends.


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 Post subject: Best Horror Writer
PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2012 9:54 pm 
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Shakespeare, you say? And I have to type how long?

Joined: 02 Sep 2004
Posts: 16159
Location: Virgie, Ky
Oh, I like it. But I started out loving it and that part really took me out of it. But don't worry, I'm very hard to please. "Like" is a damn good rating from me. Thanks for the suggestion. It was well worth my time.


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 Post subject: Best Horror Writer
PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 10:04 pm 
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Shakespeare, you say? And I have to type how long?

Joined: 02 Sep 2004
Posts: 16159
Location: Virgie, Ky
Finished it today and the Afterword made me understand why the book didn't seem to ratchet up the tension toward a suitable climax. It was written piecemeal on the internet and then put together for publishing. It seemed like a series of adventures patched together because it was. I didn't much like the ending either. I'd give it a B.


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 Post subject: Best Horror Writer
PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 9:31 am 
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I Want To Believe

Joined: 03 Dec 2006
Posts: 23109
Location: Smallville
Bannings: 3
WO wrote:
(T)Eddy wrote:
While he has only written one horror book to the best of my knowledge, I must highly recommend David Wong's John Dies At The End. This book was very much influenced by H.P. Lovecraft, and indeed, this book actually got me started reading Lovecraft in the first place. However, there is one thing about it really unique, and that is the use of humour. There are some really funny scenes in this book that will make you laugh your butt off, but this isn't a "comic horror" novel in the sense that the funny parts take an edge off the scary parts. On the contrary, the funny parts actually make the scary parts MORE scary. It's hard to describe, but to use a baseball analogy, it's how good pitchers will use a change-up pitch to make their fastballs more effective. As soon as you've finished laughing at something, something else happens that makes your blood run cold.

Anyway, here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0312659148/?tag=imwan-20

Okay, so I'm reading this book on your recommendation, Eddy, and I like it. But I don't love it. It started out very strong but there was a scene about halfway through that knocked me right out of it.
Spoiler: show
The scene in the abandoned mall when they're killing the monsters and the dead bodies dissolve and leave boxes of ammo. Turning this into a video game homage did not match the previous tone or situations established earlier in the book. Why would monsters from beyond leave you ammo, giving you an advantage, when you killed them? That makes no sense.
It took me a while to get back into it. Also, I think it's gone on too long. The scenarios seem to be repetitive rather than building and increasing the tension. It's good but not great. I haven't finished yet, maybe the end will bring it back up to great.


It was written by a Cracked writer...

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 Post subject: Best Horror Writer
PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 1:01 pm 
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Shakespeare, you say? And I have to type how long?

Joined: 02 Sep 2004
Posts: 16159
Location: Virgie, Ky
Yeah, I know. It was written in pieces on the net, passed around, and then collected for this.


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