Bryant's Intro to Horror List
Bryant,
I think it's awesome you want to delve into horror fiction as both a reader and a writer. Horror is fun, at least in my experience, and while it often gets a bad rap, at the end of the day some of the best stories ever written have their feet firmly grounded in the horror tradition. So welcome to a strong and storied tradition!
Based on the stuff you told me you like, here are some very rough, first-swipe recommendations.
I tried to keep it to stuff that might be in the library in your area, with some harder-to-find stuff in the mix. Some of the older short stuff you could find online if you tried hard enough.
Try this stuff out and tell me what you think. Any good librarian will tell you that we work our way toward you true taste in a couple of waves of recommendations, so the more information you give me, the better the recommendations get. Librarians are the original Pandora.
A note to Bryant about the folks who may read this that aren't Bryant:
Some people may read this list and get all up in arms because such-and-such author/book isn't on it. Take that stuff with a grain of salt. In my experience, people tend to throw folks in the deep end of a pool of knowledge, only to find themselves wondering why the lesson never took. Besides: you didn't ask them (they don't even know you!) and they haven't considered what you've already told me about your reading experience (you don't even now them!). So even a grain might be too much, depending on what some of them may have to say.
Stephen King
- Night Shift
- Skeleton Crew
There is a reason why King is the most successful living author in the world: he's a master at this stuff. He's not as good as he used to be, but you try writing 50 novels and see how much wear and tar tats on your imagination. Between these two collections of short stories you'll find the DNA for much of the horror of the last 30 years in any format. King is excellent at developing characters we empathize with and feel like we know, then throwing these every day people into extraordinary situations. He writes in just about every length but I like to start a non-King person on the short stories (his strength, in my opinion) and see if they like him. You'll find no less than 10 movies that came from stories in these books. Don't hold that against them: the movies were great ideas when they were still in books.
If you dig those, try:
Stephen King
- Different Seasons
- The Running Man
DS is a collection of 4 novellas, three of which have been made into really awesome movies. I think you'll initially be drawn to DS because they're slightly longer, so you can really see him flex his muscles (in his prime, no less). What I REALLY want to draw your attention to is how horror is redefined in these tales. These aren't boogeymen or demons under your bed. These are stories featuring human monsters, regular people doing horrendous things to one another. As a fan of Chuck, I think you'll find these stories at least intriguing. I know two of them changed my reading and writing life.
The Running Man is a special story and the first novel of King's I'm recommending, again, based on what you've already told me. It's dystopian, but not utterly hopeless. Well, maybe it is, but it is again more of that human horror we know is always just around the corner. I just re-read this the other day after acquiring it again. It still holds up, and when you know that he wrote it while he was about your age, it kind of sends a jolt through you.
One more King and then I'll move on.
Stephen King
- The Dead Zone
This one is a favorite. Its premise is fascinating. I won't spoil it for you, but know that it asks a very difficult question that I believe it answers admirably. This one also happened to be one of King's good movies (generally the closer the movies stayed to his books the better they were), and the casting was spot-on. I won't spoil that for you either.
I know that was a lot of one guy, but it's Stephen King. Trying to introduce someone to horror without talking about King to even this still-meager length is like trying to teach modern science without mentioning Einstein. But if you like some of this stuff let me know. If you don't, let me know that too. It helps.
Bentley Little
- The Ignored
- The Collection
Little is a no-nonsense kind of guy. He gets into the scene and then he starts kicking over whatever's around until something starts hurting. He's really good at coming up with a cool idea and manipulating it until you don't know WHERE things are going. The Ignored started out with a really original idea - what if you were so average that you practically became invisible? - and took it WAY out. After reading that I tried a couple of his other novels but I was most taken with The Collection, which is a collection (rimshot) of short stories. If you want to see some really hardcore brutalist storytelling style (his content is moderate to risque, but never too hardcore), this is your book. He gets to the horror of a thing in no time flat.
Joe Lansdale
- By Bizarre Hands
- High Cotton
I love his mysteries, but I started off reading his horror. Talk about someone who doesn't waste any time: this guy gets you in one paragraph, sometimes a first line. These are short story collections and they feature some high octane horror written in an EXTREMELY sure voice. Lansdale is a master storyteller. If you can find his short story "Bubba Ho-Tep", do so right now. It is one of the most original, well-done tales I've ever read in any genre.
999: New Stories of Horror Suspense (edited by Al Sarrantonio)
This collection was a big deal when it came out, and for good reason: it was a sympathetic snapshot of the scene at the time, practically designed for people in your situation (new to horror). I think I bought it for 99 cents on Amazon at some point.
Next, something from the web-strewn vault, from the source, from the wellspring of horror that is Lovecraft:
H.P. Lovecraft
- "The Music of Erich Zann" (short story)
- "Pickman's Model" (short story)
Anybody writing horror in the last 70 or so years owes Lovecraft the biggest blank check of all. His mythos is beyond epic, beyond legendary...it is arguably the SOURCE of horror as we know it. That said, I offer you two stories that are probably his last horrific. What can I say: much like a character in one his more typical and cosmic-based tales, to gaze directly into the face of the Ancient One is to invite madness. Start with these and see if you can get into the language and flow. These are accessible stories. "Pickman's Model" is, by and large, my favorite Lovecraft tale of all time.
Ray Bradbury
- "The Foghorn" (short story)
This one is by America's greatest storyteller of the 20th century, period. He didn't do a lot of horror, but when he did, it was usually rife with resonance and never about the terror presented. Bradbury was always writing toward a deeper human truth, and this story is full of human truth...even if it is about a big sea creature.
Finally, one that's hard to find but SO worth the trouble:
Freak Show (edited by F. Paul Wilson)
This is a collection of short stories that feed into one solitary narrative about a traveling circus on a dark mission, utilizing different authors and different characters in the show to tell the ever-developing and creepy tale. With this one you get a couple of great tools: you get to see a cool device well-handled, and you get to experience multiple writers, and conversely multiple styles. Treat yourself to this one off of Amazon or something. You'll be referencing it for life if you decide to stick with horror.
I could do this all day and night, but this is a pretty good start. Give this stuff a go and see what sticks. There are no wrong answers at this point. It's all about finding what helps you as a reader and a writer.
Good luck!
I think it's awesome you want to delve into horror fiction as both a reader and a writer. Horror is fun, at least in my experience, and while it often gets a bad rap, at the end of the day some of the best stories ever written have their feet firmly grounded in the horror tradition. So welcome to a strong and storied tradition!
Based on the stuff you told me you like, here are some very rough, first-swipe recommendations.
I tried to keep it to stuff that might be in the library in your area, with some harder-to-find stuff in the mix. Some of the older short stuff you could find online if you tried hard enough.
Try this stuff out and tell me what you think. Any good librarian will tell you that we work our way toward you true taste in a couple of waves of recommendations, so the more information you give me, the better the recommendations get. Librarians are the original Pandora.
A note to Bryant about the folks who may read this that aren't Bryant:
Some people may read this list and get all up in arms because such-and-such author/book isn't on it. Take that stuff with a grain of salt. In my experience, people tend to throw folks in the deep end of a pool of knowledge, only to find themselves wondering why the lesson never took. Besides: you didn't ask them (they don't even know you!) and they haven't considered what you've already told me about your reading experience (you don't even now them!). So even a grain might be too much, depending on what some of them may have to say.
Stephen King
- Night Shift
- Skeleton Crew
There is a reason why King is the most successful living author in the world: he's a master at this stuff. He's not as good as he used to be, but you try writing 50 novels and see how much wear and tar tats on your imagination. Between these two collections of short stories you'll find the DNA for much of the horror of the last 30 years in any format. King is excellent at developing characters we empathize with and feel like we know, then throwing these every day people into extraordinary situations. He writes in just about every length but I like to start a non-King person on the short stories (his strength, in my opinion) and see if they like him. You'll find no less than 10 movies that came from stories in these books. Don't hold that against them: the movies were great ideas when they were still in books.
If you dig those, try:
Stephen King
- Different Seasons
- The Running Man
DS is a collection of 4 novellas, three of which have been made into really awesome movies. I think you'll initially be drawn to DS because they're slightly longer, so you can really see him flex his muscles (in his prime, no less). What I REALLY want to draw your attention to is how horror is redefined in these tales. These aren't boogeymen or demons under your bed. These are stories featuring human monsters, regular people doing horrendous things to one another. As a fan of Chuck, I think you'll find these stories at least intriguing. I know two of them changed my reading and writing life.
The Running Man is a special story and the first novel of King's I'm recommending, again, based on what you've already told me. It's dystopian, but not utterly hopeless. Well, maybe it is, but it is again more of that human horror we know is always just around the corner. I just re-read this the other day after acquiring it again. It still holds up, and when you know that he wrote it while he was about your age, it kind of sends a jolt through you.
One more King and then I'll move on.
Stephen King
- The Dead Zone
This one is a favorite. Its premise is fascinating. I won't spoil it for you, but know that it asks a very difficult question that I believe it answers admirably. This one also happened to be one of King's good movies (generally the closer the movies stayed to his books the better they were), and the casting was spot-on. I won't spoil that for you either.
I know that was a lot of one guy, but it's Stephen King. Trying to introduce someone to horror without talking about King to even this still-meager length is like trying to teach modern science without mentioning Einstein. But if you like some of this stuff let me know. If you don't, let me know that too. It helps.
Bentley Little
- The Ignored
- The Collection
Little is a no-nonsense kind of guy. He gets into the scene and then he starts kicking over whatever's around until something starts hurting. He's really good at coming up with a cool idea and manipulating it until you don't know WHERE things are going. The Ignored started out with a really original idea - what if you were so average that you practically became invisible? - and took it WAY out. After reading that I tried a couple of his other novels but I was most taken with The Collection, which is a collection (rimshot) of short stories. If you want to see some really hardcore brutalist storytelling style (his content is moderate to risque, but never too hardcore), this is your book. He gets to the horror of a thing in no time flat.
Joe Lansdale
- By Bizarre Hands
- High Cotton
I love his mysteries, but I started off reading his horror. Talk about someone who doesn't waste any time: this guy gets you in one paragraph, sometimes a first line. These are short story collections and they feature some high octane horror written in an EXTREMELY sure voice. Lansdale is a master storyteller. If you can find his short story "Bubba Ho-Tep", do so right now. It is one of the most original, well-done tales I've ever read in any genre.
999: New Stories of Horror Suspense (edited by Al Sarrantonio)
This collection was a big deal when it came out, and for good reason: it was a sympathetic snapshot of the scene at the time, practically designed for people in your situation (new to horror). I think I bought it for 99 cents on Amazon at some point.
Next, something from the web-strewn vault, from the source, from the wellspring of horror that is Lovecraft:
H.P. Lovecraft
- "The Music of Erich Zann" (short story)
- "Pickman's Model" (short story)
Anybody writing horror in the last 70 or so years owes Lovecraft the biggest blank check of all. His mythos is beyond epic, beyond legendary...it is arguably the SOURCE of horror as we know it. That said, I offer you two stories that are probably his last horrific. What can I say: much like a character in one his more typical and cosmic-based tales, to gaze directly into the face of the Ancient One is to invite madness. Start with these and see if you can get into the language and flow. These are accessible stories. "Pickman's Model" is, by and large, my favorite Lovecraft tale of all time.
Ray Bradbury
- "The Foghorn" (short story)
This one is by America's greatest storyteller of the 20th century, period. He didn't do a lot of horror, but when he did, it was usually rife with resonance and never about the terror presented. Bradbury was always writing toward a deeper human truth, and this story is full of human truth...even if it is about a big sea creature.
Finally, one that's hard to find but SO worth the trouble:
Freak Show (edited by F. Paul Wilson)
This is a collection of short stories that feed into one solitary narrative about a traveling circus on a dark mission, utilizing different authors and different characters in the show to tell the ever-developing and creepy tale. With this one you get a couple of great tools: you get to see a cool device well-handled, and you get to experience multiple writers, and conversely multiple styles. Treat yourself to this one off of Amazon or something. You'll be referencing it for life if you decide to stick with horror.
I could do this all day and night, but this is a pretty good start. Give this stuff a go and see what sticks. There are no wrong answers at this point. It's all about finding what helps you as a reader and a writer.
Good luck!