Basement X

I haven't been able to find it to verify it, but this short list is supposed to be Simple Living Magazine's Top Six Scary Books. Anyone care to agree or disagree with their (alleged) findings?

1. The Exorcist - William Peter
2. The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson
3. The House on the Borderland - William Hope Hodgson
4. Our Lady of Darkness - Fritz Leiber
5. The Shining - Stephen King
6. The Monk - Matthew Lewis

I love scary movies, but I don't read nearly enough scary books and stories. Anyone care to add some of their favs to this list?

I was on a horror novel kick in Junior High, but the only one that really freaked me out was The Totem by David Morrell.

I remember I chose to read it when I was home alone for the weekend and I greatly regretted that timing.

Out of that list I've only read The Shining (surprise, surprise) but didn't really find that scary. It was definitely good, but not "best scary book" good.

I almost picked up House on Haunting Hill cause I thought the (newer) movie was great, but decided against it since it was probably uber-upgraded...

Dan Simmons - The Terror is fantastic.

Any list that lists horror stories without including Richard Matheson is a fail, in my book.

I'm a big fan of horror but most of the books I've read are pretty bland and forgettable. Aside from some novels written by horror masters (King, Straub, Matheson etc...) there haven't been any stories that I've read that have have really stood out in my mind.