Books with Teeth!

With Halloween creeping up on us, this is the perfect spot to slip in a post on creepy books.

Here’s the thing though. I don’t read “creepy” books. Or rather, I don’t think I read them. I would extend this to add I don’t write them either, except if only I hadn’t written Lock Box… a paranormal mystery… and was told on a number of occasions that the story is really, really very creepy.

Honest to goodness, that was not my intention. I just so happened to be musing on extraterrestrial life, and the next thing I knew, I got caught up in this story that took all of a few weeks to write. At 70,000 plus words, Lock Box was one of the easiest stories I’ve written. And while I’m singing on that note, let me add, I also call it my best work. The story is so paranormal that it still amazes me.

And yet, I did not write Lock Box with the intention of making the story extra creepy, or even creepy for that matter, which herein lies my question.

Are really, really very creepy stories consciously written with the intent of being really, really very creepy?

The question sort of reminds me of one of the first rules comedians learn; not to intentionally try to be funny. The second rule I’ve heard is not to laugh at your own jokes, at least not before your audience has a chance to laugh.

Guess I’ll drift on over to one of the King’s lovely sites to see what their take on all of this is, since I don’t plan on dipping into any of the books listed below. Oh wait, one title down there I just bought. But I was told the book was really touching. Oh well, there goes one more book I won’t be reading.

These are the books that keep showing up on a number of REALLY creepy lists.

The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood
IT by Stephen King
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton
Ghost Story, Peter Straub
Drood by Dan Simmons
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
The Turn of the Screw, Henry James
House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
Rosemary’s Baby, Ira Levin
The Amityville Horror, Jay Anson

** And oh, I updated my to-read list. ** Extra note: I just read a really adorable collection of short stories. My thoughts here. & Sigh... I’m already a few books over on those I'll be selecting from to create my top 10 books read this year.