I think it's really difficult to get scared by a book as an adult. I can think of a few audiobooks that scared me a bit, but like films, they have an easier time creating an atmosphere; with a good narrator and background sound effects, that is. A film can be scary just by setting and tension, you don't even have to like the protagonist to feel uncomfortable, which may be a requirement in a book? I think you have to fear for the protagonist (what is about to happen to him), rather than a "scene" being spooky. Poor lighting conditions doesn't have the same effect in words, after all 🙂
I don't find blood and gore scary, I can just read a medical book, if I want to be grossed out. Ghosts are only as scary as the physical threat they present; Or it is just me…
So what makes does a book scary?
by Welther
4 Comments
Horror books just scare me and it’s even more scary reading them alone at night. Maybe I’m just good at imagining things… I’ve read novels like Kaleidoscope of Death and Paintings of Terror.
Non-fiction books that depict scary and heartbreaking events scare me too bc of the emotion and the type of tension the authors deliver. Like When Broken Glass Floats and Pol Pot
The book must tap into fundamental human anxieties rather than relying solely on gore.
These types of books accomplish this by preying on our fear of the unknown and our discomfort with things that are familiar yet subtly wrong.
Ultimately, the most effective horror makes us feel vulnerable, questioning our own sanity and the safety of our world.
Semblance to reality. If something is terrifying (my personal experience), it’s because it feels very grounded in reality both in setting and psychology of the characters. Compare something like Dr. Faustus by Thomas Mann to Man, Fuck This House by Brian Asman.
For me? Nothing. But I’ve never felt scared at all by a movie either. Horror just doesn’t do much for me.
In terms of uncomfortable, when an author gets deep enough into the head of a really realistic psychopath, sadist, etc, that can do it, because I can generally follow. But it usually doesn’t hold on a second read and is somewhat rare.