The other night, I went on a Ghost Walk Tour with the Junior Hall Boys and it was wicked good fun. I love a good scary story, and I especially love to have two big, strapping boys with me when goosebumps skitter up my spine and I’m positive something–or someone–is right behind me!
That’s the thing about October. It’s just the perfect time for a good ghost story. And so I thought it’d be fun to share two frightfully good places to find something wicked this October way coming.
First up, there’s Bookish, where you can see a list of 13 Authors on the Scariest Books They’ve Ever Read. (Bookish is a great site for book lovers and writers so I hope you’ll read more than the spooky recommendations!) I’ve read more than half of these books, and honestly, I was a little surprised about one or two of the books included. I was also surprised about a couple of books left off the list. But that’s the thing about lists. No one list is definitive. So if you have any thoughts about the books on the list–or what would be on your list of scariest books ever read, I’d love to hear. (The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty scared the bejeebers out of me. I’ll never know what my mother was thinking, letting a 13-year-old girl read a book like that! Just thinking about that book makes me shudder.)
Next is 19 Seriously Scary Ghost Stories That Will Haunt You For Life.
So here’s the thing about true life ghost stories: they scare me more than made-up stories. Even if they’re full of grammatical errors or the plot wanders like a drunken sailor or the characters/people make absolutely no sense at all. Because they’re real stories, y’all; that stuff happened! And that stuff stays with you, stuck in your head. I’m not even sure I’ll read these stories.
Well, unless I can get the Junior Hall Boys to come over. And maybe move in with me for the rest of my life.
Cathy C. Hall Writes 
Cathy–I like scary stories, too. Joe Hill’s “Heart-Shaped Box” is about a guy who buys a ghost. (Hill is Stephen King’s son.)
I never read the book, but I saw the movie “The Exorcist.” It was terrifying.
I think I read something by Joe Hill, though it wasn’t HEART-SHAPED BOX (That book is always on a waiting list in October)…and THE EXORCIST book was way scarier than the movie, probably because my imagination is way scarier than Hollywood stuff. (Though the movie was plenty scary. Only saw it once. And now that I think about it, probably was the last horror movie I watched in a theater. I have to be able to turn scary stuff off and hide. 🙂 )
I’m a total chicken about horror books/movies. Just can’t do them, although I have seen Exorcist (it gave me nightmares). On another note, I still can’t hear the “theme” music from Jaws without going into panic mode.
I know, Pat. JAWS single-handedly kept an entire generation out of the ocean. (Including me.)
Good thing the Junior Hall boys were with you on your ghost walk tour. I don’t like haunted houses or movies with a lot of gore and violence, but I do enjoy a good scary book. Steven King’s Salem’s Lot was one of the scariest I ever read. My husband was working nights when I started the book, and I worked days. After I started reading I was afraid to fall asleep so I kept reading, knowing the next day I would be walking around like a zombie. Really creepy. Then, of course, The Exorcist scared the wits out of me, especially when I found out the actual exorcism happened in St. Louis, performed by Jesuit priests, just down the street from where I went to high school.
Oh my word, I know, Donna! Knowing that book is based on a true story put me right over the edge! And SALEM’S LOT, whew! VERY scary!
Your links look good – thanks for sharing. I’ll check them out, although I’m not usually one to read scary books. I like writing scary stuff, but reading it . . . well, it scares me. *hangs head* I never could get through The Shining. lol There was a story that scared the bejeepers out of me when I was a kid. It was in a Rod Serling book. I’ve never forgotten it, but it set the bar for all the stories I would read (or not be able to read!) later.
Yep, that cracks me up, Lisa, because I know how scary you can write. *shivers*
I could not get through The Heart Shaped Box, scared me half to death. But I love a good ghost story and have a couple of my own.