What Are The Worst Horror Novels and Stories You ever Read?

[BAYLOR]

And do you think made them so?

 

[marc hallows]

And do you think made them so?

The worst horror book if it falls into the genre as it is part horror part ghost story is The Violin by Ann Rice, now normally I am a fan of her work this was published some time ago as I recall and her books like An Interview with a Vampire and Queen of the Damned ect ect were excellent but this one is the most boring tedious badly written I have ever had the misfortune to read, well it was so bad I actually didn't finish it I got through one maybe two chapters before I had to give in there are just no words to say how bad it is.

 

[Randy M.]

Most disappointing stories:
F. Marion Crawford: "The Upper Berth" -- I imagine this was powerful in its day, but I didn't feel it. Recent conversations with J.D. Worthington have made me think I should dig it out and reread it, though. I do like other stories by Crawford.

Perceval Landon: "Thurnley Abbey" -- Again, probably powerful in its day, but I think it may have sparked so many imitations that it didn't resonate with me at all when I first read it. In all honesty, I probably should give this another try, too.

Most disappointing novel:
The Cellar by Richard Laymon. Sentence by sentence he was a competent professional writer. But I found this novel repellant less for the horror content, which was extreme and sometimes distasteful, than for the lack of believable characters. They all talked like '70s TV stereotypes and acted like stereotypes from action/adventure movies, same era. On the other hand, if they had been believable characters then I might have empathized with them and been completely revolted by events described. I read the novel in part because of another horror writer's (David Garnett) entry in Horror: The 100 Best Novels (ed. Stephen Jones and Kim Newman), which otherwise offers a pretty good reading list. Now I know not to read Garnett, either.


Randy M.

 

[BAYLOR]

Dead and Buried by Chelsea Quinn Yarborough. Disappoint as was the 1981 film same name.

 

[Breinagemen]

It's always fascinating to hear about people's experiences with horror novels. While I've certainly encountered a few that didn't quite deliver the scares I was hoping for, I try to focus on the ones that truly leave a lasting impression.
That being said, horror is such a subjective genre, and what doesn't work for one person might be another's favorite read. It's all part of the thrill of exploring different stories and seeing what resonates with you the most.
Also, if you're in the mood for some spooky entertainment, why not switch gears and check out what is out in the movie theaters? There's something about watching a horror film on the big screen that really adds to the experience.

 

[Randy M.]

Dead and Buried by Chelsea Quinn Yarborough. Disappoint as was the 1981 film same name.

I rather like the movie. Dead and Buried

 

[Guttersnipe]

I don't think I've ever read a terrible horror story/novel I didn't like, but I've heard Stoker's The Lair of the White Worm was a disaster.

 

[BAYLOR]

I don't think I've ever read a terrible horror story/novel I didn't like, but I've heard Stoker's The Lair of the White Worm was a disaster.

One gets the impression Brahm Stoker was a one hit wonder.

 

[KGeo777]

One gets the impression Brahm Stoker was a one hit wonder.

But what a wondrous hit.

Lovecraft said something about having met an editor who claimed she had to rewrite most of Dracula because the Stoker manuscript was badly written.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I know quite a lot of people that have been disappointed after reading Dracula. Probably because they expected a Christopher Lee-type monster.

But to properly understand Dracula, you have to be aware, and understand, the genre of Gothic horror. For me, Dracula stands head and shoulders above all Gothic horror (second is - probably suprisingly - Jane Eyre).

 

[KGeo777]

The Howling was a very trashy book.
I wasn't expecting that.

 

[sinister42]

I read two pages of a horror novel called The Black Farm and threw the book in the trash. It was so, so badly written. Basically, this couple decides to kill themselves to avoid bills or something, and they end up in this gruesome hell dimension together. That's all I know about the thing.

 

[Rodders]

I had a great time reading horror, but it was never really my thing. I went through a horror phase in the 80's with authors such as Clive Barker, James Herbert, Shaun Hudson, Ramsey Campbell and at the end, Stephen King. I couldn't say I read any bad horror books, but I did think there was an over-reliance of the s*x scene used to titillate in the books of the time. I thought it cheapened the genre, somewhat.