Trick or Treat, Give Me Something Frightening to Read...

Every year, close to Halloween, I like to revisit a few of Stephen King's scariest short stories. I'm not much of a horror movie fan, but I am never more impressed than when a written work is able to terrify me. As I've mentioned previously, I do not regard King primarily as a horror writer, and usually his scariest works are not among those that I esteem most highly. But there is no doubt that he is a master of terror, and when the mood strikes, there are a good number of his works that will get the job done.

While there are frightening passages in most of King’s books, I find his short stories especially unnerving, since (being so concise and direct) they very often pack a strong, shocking punch.

The stories I usually like to crack open around Halloween are:

· "N."

· The Road Virus Heads North

· Riding the Bullet

· 1408

· The Children of the Corn

· The Man in the Black Suit

There are moments in each of these stories that really frighten me. I like to read them late at night, when the house is quiet, and I can really be pulled into the stories.

1408 and “N.” are scariest to me overall, but the others contain at least a few passages that raise the hair on the back of my neck and leave me a little breathless.

For me, there is nothing more terrifying than when Stephen King writes about indiscriminately evil forces preying on children. The Man in the Black Suit is a prime example of this. When the young protagonist meets the titular character, it is immediately and forcefully frightening. The descriptions are vividly disturbing, and the dialogue is downright chilling. That one was a tough read, sitting alone in my dimly lit living room at around midnight!

As I say, the pleasures of reading King extend far beyond his horror stuff. But the fact remains that when he is in scare-the-pants-off-you mode, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone better.

Happy Halloween!

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