For the love of fear…

I love, love, love a good horror novel! It’s my dad’s fault. He introduced me to John Saul and Dean Koontz and Stephen King when I was barely out of middle school. The scarier the better. I don’t know what it is about them, but I can open the cover and be lost for hours.

Maybe it’s because they make us feel alive. Books that make you afraid somehow remind you that you are alive, that you feel. Or maybe it’s the adrenaline rush that fear gives you. And even with the most horror-filled, supernatural novels, there is familiarity. Fear is universal, and so is the idea of conquering demons, even if they’re one’s own. There’s a sense of satisfaction when those demons are conquered between the pages of the book, too.

Here are some of my favorites:

• It by Stephen King
• The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson
• The Shining by Stephen King
• Suffer the Children by John Saul
• Slasher Girls & Monster Boys by April Genevieve Tucholke
• The Right Hand of Evil by John Saul
• Whispers by Dean Koontz
• Manhattan Hunt Club by John Saul
• The Witching Hour by Anne Rice