The Sandman by E. T. A. Hoffmann. If that name isn’t familiar, he wrote The Nutcracker. He’s
not an English writer so it’s a translation, but I think it’s a good one. It’s
the longest story I have here, but it’s worth it.
The Birds by Daphne du Maurier. Absolutely nothing like the movie. It takes place in England, the main
character is a middle aged man with a family—if you’ve read REBECCA, you know
what you’re getting into here.
A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner.
The horror of this story isn’t fully realized until the end, but it’s
skillfully foreshadowed. Like most of Faulkner’s work, it’s full of bitterness
and heartbreak, but in this it’s taken to an extreme conclusion, hence the
classification as horror.
The Landlady by Roald Dahl.
Yes, that Roald Dahl. Like most of
the stories here, it’s not straight up horror, but more subtle, and definitely
not like any of his children’s books. The best part is, the scare doesn’t sink
in until you’re done with the story and have time to think about it.
Miriam by Truman Capote.
I’ve always considered Capote to be a literary writer, but here he flirts with
the supernatural. I absolutely love this story, because even if you don’t
believe in the supernatural, you can still be afraid of what’s going on here.
So those are the greatest, most unexpected scary stories I’ve
found. What about you? What kin dof rare gems have you come across?
The Birds by Daphne du Maurier is definitely different from the movie. The ending of the movie was kind of slow and anti-climactic, but I won't reveal how the book ends. The movie used innovative techniques by Hitchcock, but there's nothing like reading the book.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look up some of these!
ReplyDeleteI love those short stories by Roald Dahl. They're all so deliciously creepy. I first read them as a kid after finding them on my parents' bookshelf and thinking they'd be like Willy Wonka. Boy was I in for a shock! I think I had nightmares for weeks.
ReplyDeleteI love Roald Dahl too! I remember reading "The witches" when I was a child- I had nightmares too, for weeks!
DeleteI think the creepiest short story I ever read was "The Cold Equations". I don't seek out horror, and this would be classified as sci fi. But it bothers me still.
ReplyDeleteHehe spooky!
ReplyDeletePickman's Model by H.P. Lovecraft is chilling.Most of his stories had a subtle, eerie edge to them.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you on The Birds. To this day, The Fall of the House of Usher still gives me the creeps! :)
ReplyDeleteCool Air by H P Lovecraft is chilling as Diane's choice: PICKMAN'S MODEL.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestions, will add them to the 'to read' list :)
ReplyDeleteSuzanne @ Suzannes Tribe
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