I hereby posit that there is no such thing as the perfect horror story. To my mind the absolute perfect horror story would be so utterly terrifying that the reader would drop dead upon reading the story. He or she would be literally “scared to death.”
As far as I can tell, no such story exists. But how would I know? How would anyone know? The deceased reader would obviously be mum on the subject. An innocent bystander could have witnessed the reader falling dead, but how would the bystander know that the story was what killed the reader? A quick glance at the title might give a clue, of course, but who would have the wherewithal to even look at what was being read when the dead body is lying there on the floor, or in the reading chair (or wherever)? And the doctor, upon examination of the body would simply find that the person died of a heart attack. I mean, isn’t that what we all imagine, being so terrified that the heart stops? Though I suppose there could have been another cause of death—perhaps some powdery poison sprinkled on the pages which then got ingested through the pores of the reader’s fingers, or perhaps by way of the reader licking his or her fingertips to help with turning the pages (does anyone actually do this? And what about digital copies?)—but this scenario wouldn’t technically be the horror story itself as culprit.
I’m sure there have probably been scads of people who have passed on while in the midst of reading, and probably quite a few who have simply been reading in bed and then peacefully placed the book face down on their front sides, intending only to rest their eyes for a moment or two, whereupon they died of natural causes. An ideal way to go in my opinion.
But who keeps statistics on such things, in any case?
There have, of course, been numerous stories and novels about murders occurring in libraries and bookshops, etc. And, perhaps there are a few stories out there where a character was terrified almost to the point of death, and so too, the reader.
I can say that as a twelve-year old reader I came close to being so terrified that I thought I was going to die. I was sitting on the couch in the living room of my childhood home, reading The Exorcist (1971), the novel by William Peter Blatty (which, arguably, I probably shouldn’t have been reading at such a young age). It was Saturday afternoon and everyone else had gone off (to church no less). The afternoon light was fading and I had just gotten to the part where the main character, Regan (an eleven-year-old girl who has become possessed) starts levitating in the bed. It was then that I noticed the late afternoon shadows around me and realized that I was very much alone in the house. I became aware of every little sound, and my skin was tingly with the fear that was not just swiftly rising up within me, but also swirling all around my body. Images of the possessed little girl levitating rose up in my mind. I pictured her bed spinning round and the harsh voice of the devil speaking. I tossed the book to the other end of the couch and sat stock still, very much in the thralls of terror as I waited on the family to get home. I was far too terrified to move to turn on a light as the darkness gathered around me, becoming total. It was perhaps somewhere between a half hour to a full hour that I sat terrified. I don’t recall whether I confessed the overwhelming relief I felt at the final arrival of everyone returning home. I certainly felt a huge wave of relief though. In spite of the incident (or rather, non-incident as the fear was all in my mind.) I did eventually finish the book. Just not right away.
So, I didn’t die that day. Nor did anything bad happen years later when I visited the steps in Georgetown where the scene was filmed for the movie of the priest falling or getting thrown down the steps.
And well, since my idea of the perfect horror story doesn’t seem to exist (at least as far as I know), I guess we, as readers, have to settle for simply being scared out of our wits as a second-best option (not that death is something yearned for) to the perfect horror story.
And if there was such a story, one that truly caused death upon reading it, would you actually read it? Probably not.
Furthermore, there is the fact that each reader usually defines “scariness,” or horror in his or her own particular way. Each reader has different expectations. For some, goriness is what they look for, or in-your-face violence. For other readers, a general creepiness suffices . . .
What’s my favorite type of horror? Well, I have to admit, for me it’s actually the old-time classic ghost story (is a ghost story a sub category of horror?). In any case, a prime example, and one of my favorite ghost stories of all time is “The Monkey’s Paw,” by W. W. Jacobs. This story has all of the essential elements: miserable weather, a blazing fire in the hearth, an old Army man who is hesitant to tell the tale . . . and what could be more exotic than a monkey’s paw? I for one am almost giddy with excitement as I rub my hands together and smile at the thought of settling in for a story like this. And then there is the anticipation . . .
We anticipate that something is about to happen, something that is evil. And with this particular story as it nears the end, what is IT that is just beyond the door? While we wait, unsure whether the door will be opened, our imagination works overtime presenting all sorts of images. What malformed creature is waiting to be revealed? What now stands upon the doorstep?
If you desire to read “The Monkey’s Paw,” it is freely available on The Project Gutenberg website. Just type the story title into the search box.
Or Click Here https://markstattelman.com/selected-stories/
There is even the option to listen to an audio version of the story. You can find the link to the Mp3 audio version through the link above. Though the audio version has good clarity, it isn’t the best narration IMO. It is free, however. Perhaps you should read the story first.
I strongly encourage everyone to support and contribute to the Project Gutenberg site!
And now back to our discussion.
There is another good example of a more recent story that leans toward being what I consider a good ghost story. This story is a Stephen King story, and can be found in his book The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. “Under the Weather” is the name of the story. The power of this story lies in the subtlety of the presentation, the narrator’s take on the situation. I can’t discuss it here without revealing too much. You’ll have to read it for yourself to see what I mean.
And speaking of Stephen King . . .
This brings to mind another type of horror story—the kind of story that makes a person squirm (with delight?). The more discomfort the reader feels, the better the story. And King’s story “Survivor Type” from his book Skeleton Crew is a story that just might make you squirm.
The amount of squirming any particular reader does, depends on the squeamishness of the reader, and what he or she is squeamish about. I’ve written several such stories. There is a story in my book Daguerrotype Dreams called “House of Unspeakable Things” that you might not want to read if you have a fear of spiders and cobwebs. I don’t really think I went all out with the specific intent of causing the reader to squirm excessively. I simply wanted to tell a good tale of two men getting caught up in something quite surreal, a situation that happened to involve spiders and cobwebs.
I have another story in the same book that might make you mildly uncomfortable if you suffer from claustrophobia or have a fear of being buried alive.
And then there is the story “Marching Orders” from my book And You Shall Not Live!
Imagine being paralyzed and lying on a field. You are awaiting help, of course, but in the mean time you are noticing ants close by . . . first there is one, and then another, and then a few more moving up onto your body, moving under your sleeve and emerging from beneath your collar, up your neck and onto your face. You can’t feel them exactly, at least not at first, but your mind starts working and you do feel them as they move into your nostrils and ear . . .
Well, I won’t torture you with this scenario any longer—unless you feel the need for such torture, in which case you only need to follow the link I provided above. The story “Marching Orders” is just below “The Monkey’s Paw.”
So, I ask again the question I posed at the top of the post.
What scares you?
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Esmirana’s Trunk
by Mark Stattelman
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