Recs for Halloween
Oct. 31st, 2011 02:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ninety6tearsWhen Halloween was approaching I found myself trying to think if I had ever read a fic that managed to really creep me out. It was hard to think of a few. Scaring people is pretty hard to do.
But to start with, (gasp) some original fiction!
I...don't often (or like, ever?) read horror but on a whim that started off having something to do with listening to the soundtrack for the movie Nightbreed I became curious about the short stories of Clive Barker. This guy...is nuts. He basically has a tendency to take human flaws and turn them up to caricature in a way that's often disturbing. Not all of his stories will really creep you the hell out unless you have a pretty low tolerance for gore - some of them are almost more philosophical - but one of his more highly acclaimed stories is In The Hills, the Cities which definitely left me a bit unsettled. I've still not put all my thoughts together about it, but I think it's ingenious in that it manages to be somewhat horrifying without there being any real malice or monsters involved. (Be warned, at the link the story has one or two places with wonky indents that aren't supposed to be there, but meh, it's free.)
A short Harry Potter fic that sets you on edge is Thestrals, in which James won't shut up with a very creepy nursery rhyme he keeps singing to baby Harry, and Lily has a bad feeling. (The author wrote out the entire rhyme, which is also brilliant.)
I don't know if there's a single Supernatural fan who hasn't heard of Red (I've never seen so many comments on a gen fic in my life), but it's amazing and could probably easily be read by someone who doesn't watch Supernatural. It goes in places that feel perfectly suited for SPN but in a way that the show itself would probably never do and couldn't really depict in a way that's as cool as leaving things up to the imagination. There are dangers that are realistic and relatable, and then there is the monster, which has something of a history with Dean that Sam knows nothing about.
The creepy factor of this one is more vague, but I've always loved this House of Leaves-inspired Star Trek fic "and this great blue world of ours (seems a house of leaves moments before the wind)". The novel it's based on is sometimes considered more of a love story than a thriller, and appropriately this is too. It's Kirk/Spock, and an example that I want to shove in the face of anyone who assumes that all fic narrated in first-person is crap; Jim sounds like Jim but Jim also sounds intelligent, which is kind of a tough balance to strike with reboot fic.
But to start with, (gasp) some original fiction!
I...don't often (or like, ever?) read horror but on a whim that started off having something to do with listening to the soundtrack for the movie Nightbreed I became curious about the short stories of Clive Barker. This guy...is nuts. He basically has a tendency to take human flaws and turn them up to caricature in a way that's often disturbing. Not all of his stories will really creep you the hell out unless you have a pretty low tolerance for gore - some of them are almost more philosophical - but one of his more highly acclaimed stories is In The Hills, the Cities which definitely left me a bit unsettled. I've still not put all my thoughts together about it, but I think it's ingenious in that it manages to be somewhat horrifying without there being any real malice or monsters involved. (Be warned, at the link the story has one or two places with wonky indents that aren't supposed to be there, but meh, it's free.)
A short Harry Potter fic that sets you on edge is Thestrals, in which James won't shut up with a very creepy nursery rhyme he keeps singing to baby Harry, and Lily has a bad feeling. (The author wrote out the entire rhyme, which is also brilliant.)
I don't know if there's a single Supernatural fan who hasn't heard of Red (I've never seen so many comments on a gen fic in my life), but it's amazing and could probably easily be read by someone who doesn't watch Supernatural. It goes in places that feel perfectly suited for SPN but in a way that the show itself would probably never do and couldn't really depict in a way that's as cool as leaving things up to the imagination. There are dangers that are realistic and relatable, and then there is the monster, which has something of a history with Dean that Sam knows nothing about.
The creepy factor of this one is more vague, but I've always loved this House of Leaves-inspired Star Trek fic "and this great blue world of ours (seems a house of leaves moments before the wind)". The novel it's based on is sometimes considered more of a love story than a thriller, and appropriately this is too. It's Kirk/Spock, and an example that I want to shove in the face of anyone who assumes that all fic narrated in first-person is crap; Jim sounds like Jim but Jim also sounds intelligent, which is kind of a tough balance to strike with reboot fic.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-11-01 03:36 am (UTC)How many Thestrals do you see?
LOVE IT!
no subject
Date: 2011-11-02 09:59 am (UTC):D
also, Clive Barker is *very* nuts. I've only ever read Weaveworld, Abarat and the Cube, but each was pretty much awesome. *Especially* the Cube (I still remember being acutely disappointed after watching the film, though I never watched any of the sequels).
no subject
Date: 2011-11-03 05:05 am (UTC)Well, that's much more Clive than I've read...I'm definitely curious about his stuff that's more in the fantasy genre since that's more up my usual alley.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-03 08:50 am (UTC)Well, the Cube is horror. Good one, too. Weaveworld is horror/fantasy, but the horror part is just gore, which for me isn't horror by itself. :P
And Abarat is in 2 parts (haven't got the 2nd book yet), and it's meant to be a children's book, which means no horror per se (though there are still plenty of creepy things, oh yes lots), but it's my favourite 'cause it's weird and strange and quirky.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-03 08:43 pm (UTC)AND HERE, LET ME GIVE SOME BACK
I Am Become Death. Sherlock fic with creeeeepy-ass scientific possibilities. It's short and effective.
In the Land of the Blind, another fucking creepy Sherlock fic (BY THE SAME PERSON) but this one's creepy on a whole different scale. (yeah, this girl writes some of my favourite fics in the fandom)
aaand The Most Ridiculous First Name I've Ever Heard, a Harry Potter fic so fucking dark I've only read it once but never ever forgot about it. I saved it to my memories and when I read this post INSTANTLY thought to rec that one to you (and then did a control+f search for other ones I had that aren't sexy but creepy-awesome. There was also another one I remembered, South Park-themed, about what it's like for Kenny who dies all the time, but it seems that writer's deleted their journal. Woe.)
OH AND ALSO THIS VIDEO I JUST FOUND YESTERDAY, it's an Avatar fanvid. Remember that episode where Aang kept having nightmares, and most were funny and involved no pants, but one of them was actually pretty terrifying? Some smart person put that to Silent Hill music. :D
no subject
Date: 2011-11-03 11:33 pm (UTC)I read the HP one D: D: D: Dark fic is dark but kind of brilliant. And I will totally be ready for some Sherlock fic when I am done getting my ass kicked by my big bang deadline, so :D Thank you, dear.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-05 01:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-06 04:31 am (UTC)