Who is your favourite horrorwriter AFTER King?

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Gerald

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Sep 8, 2011
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I think King is generally the most beloved, mainly because of his characters. When people talk about King they talk about Jack Torrance, Carrie, Cujo, Pennywise, Roland, John Coffey, Annie Wilkes etc.
I think he works so well, because you follow the complete psychology and thoughts of the characters in close detail. This is not what a lot writers do, or at least not to the extensive degree as King.
On top of that he often has an intriguing central idea, that is also very relatable and recognizable for people.
And he uses a lot of pop culture references, making the books even more relatable. They feel directly imbedded in the culture around you that you live in yourself.

Those are the main reasons why he is by far the most popular and best known writer in the field.

It's hard to pick a favourite from other writers. I've read Clive Barker, H.P. Lovecraft, M.R. James, James Herbert, Poppy Brite, Peter Straub, Dan Simmons, Ramsey Campbell and many short stories from other writers.
I would say when it comes to the purely fantastical Lovecraft is the best. When it comes to actual scariness James Herbert is very good, but also M.R. James - M.R. James always has that out-of-the-corner-of-your-eye feel that is very effective: I once had a nightmare about that beach scene from Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad!

I would say I'm inclined to go most with either Lovecraft or Barker, because I like that really extremely fantastical. It's hard to say who my favourite is of those two - they're about equal to me. But I think in his best moments Lovecraft slightly has the edge, so I'm inclined to pick him first.
Also they're both writers whose prose itself is written very beautifully.
 

Gerald

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Sep 8, 2011
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Actually I forgot to mention Richard Matheson and Dean Koontz amongst the writers I've read. But neither regard(ed) their work as horror: Matheson talked more about 'terror' and Koontz about 'suspense'.
Actually quite a lot of writers don't use the term 'horror'. M.R. James talks about ghost stories (although not all his stories are strictly about ghosts, they're about demons and other things too) and Lovecraft about 'weird fiction'. Also the term 'Gothic fiction' abounds and 'fantastic tales'.
But 'horror' to me always speaks most clearly of what it is, probably because it's Latin, it sort of feels at the basis of all these things.
 

Wayoftheredpanda

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A gun reference from Ms Mod? Now I’ve seen it all. :)
Speaking of guns, I’ve always felt the placement of the second admendment in the list is a little weird. It goes from “yeah you can say whatever you want” straight to “yeah you can own weapons”. I dunno, just think that’s a bit of a quick escalation.
 

kingricefan

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Jul 11, 2006
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I would list Clive Barker but he ventured too far into fantasy for my tastes a few years after he hit the scene with his mind blowing horror tales. Whitley Streiber's early books are on the list. Thomas Tryon's first few novels are there. Robert McCammon. Peter Straub. Joe Lansdale has written a few great horror novels. Ray Garton. John Ajvide Lindqvist's Let The Right One In is a new 'classic'. Michael McDowell. Joe Hill. Dan Simmons has authored quite a few great horror novels.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
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I would list Clive Barker but he ventured too far into fantasy for my tastes a few years after he hit the scene with his mind blowing horror tales. Whitley Streiber's early books are on the list. Thomas Tryon's first few novels are there. Robert McCammon. Peter Straub. Joe Lansdale has written a few great horror novels. Ray Garton. John Ajvide Lindqvist's Let The Right One In is a new 'classic'. Michael McDowell. Joe Hill. Dan Simmons has authored quite a few great horror novels.
....good list my great friend....all noteworthy scribble freaks....
 

Gerald

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Sep 8, 2011
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Actually i
I would list Clive Barker but he ventured too far into fantasy for my tastes a few years after he hit the scene with his mind blowing horror tales. Whitley Streiber's early books are on the list. Thomas Tryon's first few novels are there. Robert McCammon. Peter Straub. Joe Lansdale has written a few great horror novels. Ray Garton. John Ajvide Lindqvist's Let The Right One In is a new 'classic'. Michael McDowell. Joe Hill. Dan Simmons has authored quite a few great horror novels.

When you get down to it, there are always more horrorwriters than you immediately can think of. It's just that few get into that atmosphere where basically everybody in the world has heard of them, like King or Poe. Even someone like Lovecraft is probably not well-known to people that are not into the genre. To get out of that genre and get known to the world at large is really quite exceptional. When a horrorwriter is named in a film, it's always King or Poe.

I also always wonder why some writers get so big internationally and others don't take off. Quite a few writers get translated here, but it's almost as if when that particular book didn't do well it just stops. Ramsey Campbell only had one novel translated here and a bunch of short stories, but that's it.
Actually even some bestseller writers, like Koontz and Barker didn't have their latest books translated here anymore.
I think to a large extent it depends on whether a book is filmed or not. Poe and King had many film-adaptations. Lovecraft had a fair number filmed, but in comparison it's less.

It's not a problem for me to read in English and sometimes I prefer it, but English as a language is so big, that inevitably I come across words I have to look up - even when I daily write in English on a site like this.
This is not a problem really, but it's always slightly more relaxing to read in your own language where you don't have that.
 

Gerald

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Sep 8, 2011
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The Netherlands
I would list Clive Barker but he ventured too far into fantasy for my tastes a few years after he hit the scene with his mind blowing horror tales.

It's hard to say where the line is between horror and fantasy sometimes. The main criterion to me is that for me to call it horror, it should be dark. There should be a dark sensibility to it. Barker always had that I feel. King too: The Dark Tower (well, the title alone gives that away) is fantasy with dark elements.

I personally sometimes prefer dark fantasy more than horror, because it feels richer to me. The thing about horror is that at a certain point you start to come across similar story elements over and over: ghosts, demons, vampires, werewolves, witches, the dead coming back. In dark fantasy you can have these elements, but do new things with them. And Barker has always been good at coming up with new subjects and ideas that feel fresh.