King newbie/Non-gory horror

[Jason Quinn]

I am new to Stephen King. I recently read Duma Key and 11.22.63, and really liked them. The problem I have is that I don't like horror. I would never read IT for instance. I wondered if anyone could tell me which of his books that are categorised as 'horror' would fall more into the psychological/supernatural/thriller category as opposed to gory horror? I was thinking of trying Lisey's Story next.

Thanks.

 

[Moderator]

Welcome to the Board!

 

[Doc Creed]

I am new to Stephen King. I recently read Duma Key and 11.22.63, and really liked them. The problem I have is that I don't like horror. I would never read IT for instance. I wondered if anyone could tell me which of his books that are categorised as 'horror' would fall more into the psychological/supernatural/thriller category as opposed to gory horror? I was thinking of trying Lisey's Story next.

Thanks.

You might like The Stand or The Dead Zone.

 

[Spideyman]

 

[Doc Creed]

"Come all without, come all within...you'll not see nothing like The Mighty Quinn.".

 

[Sundrop]

I am new to Stephen King. I recently read Duma Key and 11.22.63, and really liked them. The problem I have is that I don't like horror. I would never read IT for instance. I wondered if anyone could tell me which of his books that are categorised as 'horror' would fall more into the psychological/supernatural/thriller category as opposed to gory horror? I was thinking of trying Lisey's Story next.

Thanks.

You might like The Green Mile.

 

[Zone D Dad]

Welcome Jason! There are plenty. I finished Joyland not too long ago. Definitely not horror (but with supernatural elements). Most of the stuff in Different Seasons (Rita Hayward and the Shawshank Redemption, the The Body are not horror). Some of the Bachman stuff (Running Man, Roadwork). I wouldn't call Firestarter horror either. The Talisman. There are a slew of others that I'm sure the community will chime in with.

 

[Neesy]

I am new to Stephen King. I recently read Duma Key and 11.22.63, and really liked them. The problem I have is that I don't like horror. I would never read IT for instance. I wondered if anyone could tell me which of his books that are categorised as 'horror' would fall more into the psychological/supernatural/thriller category as opposed to gory horror? I was thinking of trying Lisey's Story next.

Thanks.

 

[king family fan]

 

[GNTLGNT]

...welcome Jason!....

 

[Neesy]

Welcome Jason! There are plenty. I finished Joyland not too long ago. Definitely not horror (but with supernatural elements). Most of the stuff in Different Seasons (Rita Hayward and the Shawshank Redemption, the The Body are not horror). Some of the Bachman stuff (Running Man, Roadwork). I wouldn't call Firestarter horror either. The Talisman. There are a slew of others that I'm sure the community will chime in with.

Except for the part

Spoiler: Don't read if you have not read the book

where some guy gets his hand put in a garbage disposal - ew!

Stephen King commented on that one when he was in Toronto and sort of chuckled or chortled over it - the audience got a good laugh out of it.

 

[Gerald]

Actually I feel psychological/supernatural/thriller categorizes most of his works. There are gory bits in his books, but to me they often feel like throwaway moments, it's not the core of what he does. He doesn't shy away from trying to shock with gore, but it's not what he's best at and those moments often feel similar from book to book (he always uses the same techniques to describe gory parts).

In any way, I would recommend The Dead Zone, which is a really solid book.

 

[Gerald]

I think you can even take away the gory moments from the books and it wouldn't change them much. They're far more about the psychology of the characters - even something like It.
They might get better without the gore even. Koontz for example never dwells on the gore, but when there is a gory moment it has far more of an impact.
I think you could read SK's books, skip the gory parts, and have pretty much the same experience and not miss much.

Now if you want horror that is truly about gore, then Books of Blood by Barker is pretty much the best I know. I don't even know if there are many horror-writers apart from Barker who manage to do something really special with gore, it often seems the majority are essentially psychological horror-writers.

 

[Gerald]

Look at this list for example. It's pretty extensive, but isn't the far majority psychological horror? There's Barker and there is the splatterpunk-movement, but apart from that it's all mainly psychological:

The All-Time Greatest Horror Writers

Even if you look at the basis of the genre (at least for the modern age), a story like Pit and the Pendulum is not torture-horror (or torture-porn, but I hate that term, even though I'm not a fan of the genre). It is in the end about a psychological kind of torture: the waiting for the pendulum to come down rather than the actual pain and gore of the pendulum hitting.
I would say that Poe and Lovecraft, who laid the groundwork of the modern horrorgenre, are essentially psychological writers.

(Sorry for so many posts, but there is such a short time to edit.)

 

[Anduan Pirate Princess]

Hi and Welcome, Jason!! In my very biased opinion, everybody in the world should read "The Eyes of the Dragon!"

 

[Jason Quinn]

Thanks everyone. I now have a good list to work through. I was impressed by the way he creates such a vivid setting and characters who are both very real but also strange. Particularly in Duma Key, which I believe is not one of his best loved books. Although I thought it was great.
By the way, is Lisey's Story a good one to read given my question above?

 

[FlakeNoir]

Thanks everyone. I now have a good list to work through. I was impressed by the way he creates such a vivid setting and characters who are both very real but also strange. Particularly in Duma Key, which I believe is not one of his best loved books. Although I thought it was great.
By the way, is Lisey's Story a good one to read given my question above?

Yes, I think you'll be fine with Lisey's Story.

 

[Wab]

The Hodges trilogy.

 

[Zone D Dad]

There are also some terrific short stories that aren't horror if you don't mind skipping around SK's collections. The Last Rung on the Ladder, The Ledge from Night Shift for example. Mrs. Todd's Shortcut, and what a great story that is, in...is it Skeleton Crew?

And have to agree with what everyone said about the Dead Zone. There's some horror elements, but it's not too heavy.

 

[SteveValek]

Last weekend,I saw 1922 and Gerald's Game,and after that,I'm asking "What were they? Horror Story? Ghost Story? Psychological Supernatural Thriller?"

The fact is,you're best not to place everything in a genre,but just say "Hey..it's a Stephen King written or based story..EXPECT the UNEXPECTED!"

For me personally,I like all the dark creepy stuff,and anything psychologically crazy from SK..
But you've just got to get through the works,and try through experimentation ..
Some you'll enjoy and others not...
That's the diversity of Mr.King!