spooky recomendations? film or book

[lindyloo]

i love to curl up with a good book and a hot water bottle, especially when the wind is blowing a gale. what are your recomendations for a good ghost story, or a gothic tale, or a thriller. not adverse to watching a decent dvd either- no slasher types, but a good old ghost story or who- dun- it. has anyone seen the film 'let me in' recently advertised on telly?

[taff]

yup, the book was better but the original film followed the book almost exactly. I liked it.
unthinkable is good, does make you think...

[Glutton4...]

I love a good book, and was recently loaned 'Panic' by Jeff Abbott - Excellent! I also liked 'The Girl who.../Millennium' Trilogy very much, too. Couldn't put any of them down.

[Two_Sheds]

Rebecca is still a good ghost story

I enjoyed Fingersmith too (a bit creepy)

[Florence Fennel]

Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake

[Pumpkin Becki]

I'm a Hitchcock girl, you can't go wrong with the master of suspense. Some of my favourites are...in no particular order:

Rear Window - the bit with the flash bulbs scares the bejeezus out of me!
Psycho - can't watch this after dark.
Frenzy - much more near the knuckle than his usual psychological thriller
Rebecca
Notorious

[Seahorse]

For 'oooh, creepy!' films I love The Sixth Sense and The Hours. Both have nice twists but are enjoyable even if you know whats coming.

Have you read any of Phil Rickman's books? They're hard to define - a bit thriller, part horror, some crime, a touch of romance... but definitely page turners, especially on a dark and stormy night!

[northepaul]

For true gothic ghost/horror stories:
MR James
Henry James (esp Turn of the Screw)
Robert Louis Stevenson
E Nesbit
Ambrose Bierce
Conan Doyle
Gertrude Atherton
May Sinclair
Sheridan Le Fanu
Oliver Onions
Wilkie Collins
Edith Wharton
Alice Askew and
Charles Dickens of course.

The original film version, Let The Right One in is top of my christmas list

NB. Alot of these writers are available for a very reasonable price on Amazon.

[northepaul]

Oops I forgot Algernon Blackwood, H.P. Lovecraft and Gilchrist
AND for more modern ones, Roald Dahl...
(I'll be quiet now )

[dogsbody]

I just always remember the Tales of the Unexpected episode when the jail breaker does a deal with the guy who nails down the coffins......

.....short but shivers every time

[northepaul]

I just always remember the Tales of the Unexpected episode when the jail breaker does a deal with the guy who nails down the coffins......

.....short but shivers every time

Most of Dahl's stories have an element of the macabre, particularly his kid's books - I refuse to read my 7 year old 'The Witches' until she's at least 10!

[Rhona]

Film

Let The Right One In
The Others
Paranormal Activity
Whistle And I'll Come To You (BBC Ghost Story For Christmas 1968) - very chilling.

Book - The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters is a perfect 'curling up with an old-fashioned scary ghost story' book (love Fingersmith too).

[coreopsis]

The Ring-movie.Ghostly story.Scared the s*** out of me.Enjoy

[Caro]

The master of the enthralling tale is Stephen King. But only some are scary. The Shining, either book or film, is hide-behind-the-sofa good, or The Green mile is fabulous too (again, book or film).

[lindyloo]

thanks all, i have read or seen about half of your suggestions, but i am getting up a list of all of your other suggestions, and will do a browse on amazon & ebay.

i have some titles that haven't been mentioned, which were good, but i can't recall titles just now; i will have a look through later and post again; some of you might be interested.

a film that comes to mind which i thought was better than average , was 'skeleton key' i also enjoyed 'half light' with demi moore- not scary at all, not even that good on the storyline as it was predictable, but the most beautiful scenery.

northpaul; you forgot edgar allen poe- he 's one of my favorites, and adore his poems, 'annebelle lee' and 'the raven'