Now I have taken some liberties with my list and I apologise to all you horror purists who will disagree with my ‘category’, but as I pointed out to a family member earlier today when I was compiling my list – it’s mine so I can put in whatever the hell I like!
#1 The Stand – Stephen King. Okay, for my number one spot I am cheating as I’m lumping a number of Stephen King’s novels into the number one spot. If I didn’t this my list of top ten horror novels would basically just be a list of my top ten favourite Stephen King novels! I grew up reading Stephen King and he is also the writer who has influenced me the most in my writing (not very original, I know, but what can you do..?). So there are a number of his novels I absolutely love and have read over and over again; some of them are The Shining, IT, The Green Mile, Talisman (co-written by Peter Straub). I love most of his novels, though sadly his older stuff is the best.
#2 The Magic Cottage – James Herbert. The story of a young couple who move into a cottage in the woods. The animals are particularly friendly, but before long they discover the animals are not the only creatures they have for company. Another of his books that I loved is Fluke, but he’s also written some classic horrors including The Rats and The Fog.
#3 Furnace – Muriel Gray. For those who haven’t heard of Muriel Gray, she is a Scottish writer who has only written a couple of books. Her most recent one isn’t as good, but I absolutely love this one. It is the story of a truck driver who is given a curse while passing through 
small town America. It is fast-paced and clever, with some kick-ass, but believable characters. I only wish she would write some more!
#4 Interview With The Vampire – Anne Rice. I know many people would not classify this novel as being a horror, but it introduced me to the literary world of vampires and I even studied it, together with ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’, for my final A-level thesis. It is a classic.
#5 I am Legend - Richard Matheson. I read this novel before I saw the movie and so naturally I was hugely disappointed with the film. The book has a completely different ending and adds a whole different meaning to the entire book. Just brilliant He also wrote Stir of Echoes which I read after seeing the movie (which I also loved).
#6 Funland – Richard Laymon. I read this as a young teenager, and boy did it stay with me. Violent, sexual, it exposed me to all the things a young teenaged girl shouldn’t be!
#7 Red Dragon – Thomas Harris. Okay, this isn’t technically a horror, more a crime. However it started the whole ‘Hannibal Lector’ craze and in my opinion is the best of the bunch.
#8 – The Strain – Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan I’ve only just read this book so it is fresh in my mind. There are no nicey-nicey vampires in this book. The vampires are a terrible disease that threatens to wipe out the world. An old story with a modern twist; I’ll be reviewing it here very soon.
#9 Dracula – Bram Stoker. How could I not include this novel? The master of all vampires…
#10 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins This is a classic ghost story I read as a child. Years ago I also went to see the play in London, which was absolutely brilliant. They created all of the ghostly effects with smoke and sound, and it literally made me jump out of my seat!
The Stand is definitely one of my faves too. And Funland was the third Laymon I read, after Travelling Vampire Show and Beast House. You've gotta love what went on in his head.
ReplyDeleteOne thing though, black writing on a black background doesn't really work, had to highlight the text just to read what you'd put next to each book cover.
Hey Lee, thanks for your comments! I'm a bit confused about the black on black thing though, because when I view the site it is black writing on a white background? Very strange. I will check it out though!
ReplyDeleteIf anyone else out there is having difficulty viewing the site could you please let us know! Cheers.
The Woman In White is one of my all-time favorites too! Thanks so much for posting these, Marissa. The one by James Herbert looks very good -- I'm definitely checking that one out!
ReplyDeleteI'll be here next week to go over my top 10's too!
Vampire girl..i do fancy them too, i've had nice dreams about them :)
ReplyDeleteAt least Matheson was delighted with the film version of A STIR OF ECHOES, even if they did drop the initial article from his title, and didn't use the script he had adapted himself. That's more than you can say for any of the feature-film versions of I AM LEGEND; although the first is fairly faithful, he still had his name replaced with the "Logan Swanson" pseudonym after his script was rewritten by someone else. If you're interested, you can learn more in my forthcoming book RICHARD MATHESON ON SCREEN.
ReplyDeleteFYI, RICHARD MATHESON ON SCREEN is tentatively due out in early October. Of course, you can always pre-order it. :-)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-4216-4