Oooooh, scary!

It's the season to be scared--and I don' t mean by all those papers you have to write!

Halloween is lurking right around the corner, and while being a splendid excuse to buy candy (and taste-test it, of course), this holiday makes me think about all things scary.

Like books.

Kristen and I've been talking about scary books. Some books are frightening because the topic is dreadful (for example, I won't read any book in which children or animals are injured or killed). Others are supernaturally scary. Some simply get in the back of your mind and don't let go.

So let's talk about scary books.

The Shining by Stephen King scared the socks off me, especially the part about the wasps' nest. To this day, I will not touch a wasps' nest, even if it's old and unused. Convinced it's empty, dried out, vacant? Ha. You clearly haven't read this book.

This is why this book scares me. I was never fond of wasps to begin with (really!) so it was quite easy to make use of this natural fear. I've read interviews with King in which he talks about working off our primal fears.

The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson--you do know it's fiction, right? It is. Keep telling yourself as you read it. It's just a story. It's just a story. It's just a story....

What is YOUR favorite scary book?

Janet