Stephen King is arguably the greatest horror novelist in history, but horror is a big genre of literature, and there’s definitely other writers who can give you a scare fix beyond King. In the 80s, paperback horror was the top of the publishing industry, and that era and beyond has produced some great horror novels. Here are some other great titles to give you frights that will keep you turning pages.
Offseason By Jack Ketchum
Jack Ketchum, who passed away in 2018, was called the scariest writer in America, by Stephen King himself. That’s a great endorsement right there. He has written a lot of scary novels, but one of his most brutal is his 1980 novel “Offseason”, which like King, takes place in Maine. A couple of friends on vacation encounter a group of violent savages in a cave nearby their cabin, and battle for their lives against the cannibals. This book is a great horror novel, but not for the easily scared with it’s violent imagery.
Demon Seed By Dean Koontz
Dean Koontz was the other major king of horror during Stephen King’s heyday, and is either regarded as another giant of the genre or just the Pepsi to Stephen King’s far superior Coke. However, Koontz has some scares up his sleeve too, and his 1977 novel “Demon Seed” is one of his most scary. What makes this novel so interesting is the horror is in a computer, as in, it’s an A.I. security system in a house that wants to entrap a woman and do something to her. You keep guessing if it wants to kill her or is in love with her. However, what's so scary is the A.I. even narrates the book, so there’s no escape from the claustrophobic terror.
The Sun Down Motel By Simone St. James
The horror in this 2020 novel lies in the small details around a motel in upstate New York. The story goes back and forth between a current day paranormal writer, and her aunt from the 1980s, who might be stalked by a killer of women. However, the paranormal elements are there, and are horrifying. There are small and weird things about this seemingly normal motel. Something is not quite right about this motel, and the motel reminded me of a smaller scale version of the Overlook Hotel from Stephen King’s classic novel “The Shining”. This was one of the best novels I read last year, and is a scary page turner.
Interview With The Vampire By Anne Rice
Anne Rice’s classic 1976 horror novel is something of a throwback. It’s a gothic novel with more in common with Darcula, but still has a modern setting. Vampire Lestat bites Louis, and he becomes stuck in the horror of being forever young, and things only get worse as a little girl is bitten, and she is forever stuck at her young age. All in all, Louis tells his tale, to an interviewer, of the world he is stuck in, controlled by Lastat, living away from what should be the actual world they live in. It’s a thrilling and well written read, and a classic of the genre. Rice passed away this year, but her books still endure.
These are some classics that will scare you up a storm. Yes, the real world is scary enough but who’s to say you can’t be scared in a fantasy world? At least it’s more entertaining. So dig up some of these classic horror novels, and go into one of the oldest literary genres. Stephen King might be the king of the genre, but even he would want you to explore other authors.
