Dracula by Bram Stoker was the first book in which I encountered the essence of spine tinglers, where you aren't shoved into the blood and gore, but rather, you're seduced by something that's charming, yet there's an obvious harmfulness to it. This was the first book in which I saw how perverse temptation mingled with an underlying sexuality gave this book a wonderful spine tingle-ness to it.
Later, as I got older and found out that the book was actually based on a real person, Vlad the Impaler, the real Count Dracula, knowing this just made Dracula the ultimate vampire novel. If you read this, you will get spooky castles in foreign countries, you will get lovely, gothic women and intriguing, evil characters, and you will have a battle between good and evil.
I will let you know that because of this book, I couldn't sleep without covers over my neck, and on those summer nights where I keep the windows open to let in a breeze, I insist on having the covers on me, no matter how stifling it can get.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
The Shining
When I found Stephen King books you could find my prepubescent self, on any day of the week, huddled under my covers, with a flashlight in one hand and a pillow clutched to my chest, trying to keep the pages open, reading intensely until the book was read in one night.
One night, while in the middle of reading The Shining, my flashlight's batteries gave out and I was plunged into darkness and silence, except for the faint ringing in my ears. It was one of the scariest things that happened to me and added to the scariness of this book. And that's why we're starting with it.
The Shining haunted me for weeks after I read it. You'll hear this time and again, that the book and Kubrick's movie are very different from one another and it's true. The thing that makes scary books scary is your imagination. No author has to describe the blood and gore because you can see it already.
The Shining is about a family of three: mom, dad and little boy. The dad has gotten a job as a caretaker of an old hotel for the winter season while it's closed. The family will be the only occupants of that lonely place for months... or will they? If the hotel were not a character itself you would get the movie, but the hotel, Jack's (the dad) past, the beaten wife, the special little boy, and the isolation make for a horror-filled book and a wonderful read. Try it, I dare ya.
One night, while in the middle of reading The Shining, my flashlight's batteries gave out and I was plunged into darkness and silence, except for the faint ringing in my ears. It was one of the scariest things that happened to me and added to the scariness of this book. And that's why we're starting with it.
The Shining haunted me for weeks after I read it. You'll hear this time and again, that the book and Kubrick's movie are very different from one another and it's true. The thing that makes scary books scary is your imagination. No author has to describe the blood and gore because you can see it already.
The Shining is about a family of three: mom, dad and little boy. The dad has gotten a job as a caretaker of an old hotel for the winter season while it's closed. The family will be the only occupants of that lonely place for months... or will they? If the hotel were not a character itself you would get the movie, but the hotel, Jack's (the dad) past, the beaten wife, the special little boy, and the isolation make for a horror-filled book and a wonderful read. Try it, I dare ya.
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