My Top 4 Horror Books

Books have held a very special place in my heart since I was super, super young. They were always my outlet when I was having a rough day, or when I used to get in trouble and my parents took my television remote away so I couldn't watch anymore...they thought I didn't like reading so it was always awesome getting some peace and quiet where I could just go through my book collection.
My horror obsession started with a Goosebumps book that I read when I was in kindergarten.

It was this one, you guys! I'm so excited! I couldn't remember the name of it, and it's all coming back to me now! It had all of the alternate endings, so that's why it was called one of the Give Yourself Goosebumps books. Ah, my childhood.

Anyway, as I grew up, my taste in horror changed, and Goosebumps wasn't so scary anymore. I needed something to give me my fix of terror, but I desperately needed it in book form. There's just something about turning pages that's so satisfying.

I went through tons of books, none of which every stuck out to me. It took me a long time to really discover what I loved where horror was concerned, and I found some wonderful books in that time. 

Here are the favorites I found:

4) The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

Not necessarily a book, it's actually a short story, but it's wonderful and so classic. This one gave me such anxiety as a kid when I read it. I used to carry around what looked like a textbook with Poe's complete works in it, and this one was the one that I read over and over, followed by the Cask of Amontillado.

A synopsis:

The narrator of the story commits a murder, and essentially has to convince himself he isn't going completely insane as he hears what he believes to be his victim's heart still beating under the floorboards. (He hacks up the body, for those of you that like gore.) 

I was always terrified of the fact that I truly believed that maybe the body was alive under the floorboards, and always somehow found myself hoping that the narrator wouldn't ruin it for himself. If you haven't read this one, I highly suggest it, along with all of Poe's work. He's classic.

3) The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

I only read this one recently, but it shot up my list to my top 4. I couldn't put this one down, I finished it in 48 hours and I was at work when I read it. I got really lucky, actually, because I went to a comic book store close to me that had a bargain bin full of old, used books. I got this one for $2, it's beat up and falling apart, and that makes me love it even more.
This one was one of my favorite films before it was one of my favorite books, as you guys know. I talk about it all the time. But there's something so terrifying about reading it because you picture it in your own way, and I like to create the scariest scenarios possible. I won't even give a synopsis, because I hope most of you have seen the film (or at least know of it). But I highly recommend reading the book. It's amazing. Good job, WPB.

2) The Dead Zone by Stephen King

This is another one I got from that bin at the comic book store! $3! What a steal! I had no idea what the deal was with this book, I saw Stephen King on the cover, and I knew I loved his work (no one is going to be surprised when they see my number 1) so I went for it, and as it turns out, I absolutely loved it.
There's a film adaptation with Christopher Walken in it, I still haven't seen that one though.
A synopsis:
Johnny Smith is injured in a car accident and wakes up from a coma 5 years later with the ability to see things in other people's lives by touching them, like their family history, and future things they're wondering about.
This thriller is incredibly entertaining; I wasn't sure how I was going to like it until I got a chapter in and really got addicted to the story. There was something about Johnny Smith's character and the turmoil he goes through that is so captivating, plus there's a second story that is going on during all of that that's even more disturbing and strange.
Basically, what I have to say about this story, is it's gripping to the point where it's near impossible to put the book down until you know exactly what happens at the end...I should reread this one.

1) No one is going to be surprised...it's Stephen King's IT. Duh.

Alright, I'll be honest. When I read this one the first time, I totally hated it. I was about 200 pages in and I completely stopped and told myself I'd never pick it up again. I remember where I was at that exact moment. I was waiting for my sister to have her hair cut, and I shut my Kindle off and stared into space, shook my head, and said "nope".
But, something that summer told me to try it again. I was working, but not enough. I had a decent amount of time on my hands. So why wouldn't I try reading something so classic?

And so it began. I sat, I sighed, and I powered my Kindle on. I clicked the title. I sighed again. I read two sentences. Then I sighed again. There was a lot of huffing and puffing in the beginning...but I've come to learn that sometimes, Stephen King likes to start things off slow. That explained so much! And so I dove in headfirst.
About a week later, I was finished, and I was obsessed. In love. Infatuated. Pennywise was always a favorite of mine but that secured him (or her, for those of you that know the real deal that they never explain in the film...you have to read it if you're a fan of the movie. It'll change everything.) as my number two favorite villain.
I feel like this one doesn't require a synopsis because the story is so well-known, but what I DO have to tell you, is if you've seen the film and you've enjoyed it, read the book. If you saw the film and hate it, read the book. If you saw the film and you're indifferent, read the book. The film is long, but it leaves out incredible and insanely important details that change everything. Read it. Seriously. Then report back and let me know how much you love it.

I'm thinking next on the list are some works by Clive Barker. You guys know me and my Hellraiser...Hellbound Heart is probably next.

I also just recently finished some works by my good friend Zach Bohannon called Dark Reveries. It was a collection of 4 short stories were completely wonderful. I won it in a giveaway, and it turns out I loved it so much that I emailed him in a panic about needing more of his work. Check him out, he's awesome.

I'm always very open to book suggestions, let me know in the comments if there are any I've been missing and/or overlooking all this time!
Thanks for reading, my ghouls, see you next time!

Nightbreed (1990) Review: WTF Why Didn't I Watch This Sooner?!

Excuse me, why didn't any of you guys tell me about Nightbreed? It's okay, I forgive you.
I'd heard of it in passing, but in my true fashion, I was the last to watch it. I'm sure this movie is huge, because it's directed by the beautiful Mr. Clive Barker (he also wrote the book that inspired the film), and I somehow just never watched it. It's on Netflix, Taylor. WHAT have you been doing?

As a Hellraiser fan, you would think that I would go ahead and try to find all of the works by Mr. Barker, but I don't necessarily work that way. I probably should, considering it seems like his works are all very similar, it just depends on the date. Take Midnight Meat Train for example. I adored it, and found out it was Clive after the fact. (If you haven't seen it, the story is wonderful, Bradley Cooper is wonderful (and not bad to look at), the antagonist is thrilling. But I'll save my love for that one for another time.)
This one reminds me a lot of Hellraiser in the sense that there are a group of crazy-looking fools running around wanting to kill humans, that kind of look like they would be Cenobites, but they are in fact Nightbreeds. What does this mean, you ask? Here's a synopsis:

***SPOILER ALERT, IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO RUIN IT STOP READING...I'll still love you.***

Aaron Boone is slightly mentally unstable, seeing a psychotherapist to help with his crazy dreams he's been having about a place called Midian. He's never been there, but he sees it vividly when he's dreaming, so he knows exactly what it looks like and who the creatures are that live there. His therapist is a huge jerk, and convinces him he's a serial killer. He gives him what Aaron believes is Lithium to calm him down, but it turns out his (SUPER HUGE JERK) of a therapist gave him a hallucinogen. He ends up in the hospital, meets a patient who also knows of Midian, and he gives Boone directions to get there. He then promptly rips the skin off of his face (hooray!).
Since he was in the hospital (after jumping in front of a truck while tripping out of his mind), he escapes when the doctors come to help his roommate. This sets off a police chase to go find him, but he's at Midian (because why wouldn't you go to a crazy-looking graveyard while you're high?!). He meets a few of the Nightbreeds there, tries to join them, and they tell him no, but not without trying to attack and eat him. He does get bitten, though, and that's when all the fun starts.

I don't want to give away too much, although the synopsis in itself is probably pretty confusing. I guess you'll just have to watch. But here's my review:
The film itself is really entertaining. I'm normally very picky, I like to find things wrong with films, but this one was great. They brought two (or three if you also want to count the love story smooshed in between a serial killer and a "mental patient"-turned-Nightbreed. Honestly, it's a great story about tolerance between social groups, if you want to get really deep.
I loved the makeup, I loved the personalities of the characters, and I loved that half of the Hellraiser cast was in it. Doug Bradley, Nicholas Vince, and Simon Bamford were all prevalent in this film. The only Cenobite missing was Miss Barbie Wilde.
The music was also a big factor in my love for this film. It was so, so awesome to listen to. That's something I don't typically look too closely at, but this time it stood out to me as a really important part of the story. It pulled everything together.
If this film was out of 5 stars, I would give it a 4.5, taking away that .5 only because I was never really scared, but it was graphic enough to cover that up.
If you haven't seen this one already, I absolutely recommend it! Leave me a comment to tell me if you love it as much as I do. Until next time!