MILAN – The scariest night of the whole year is very close, and while many think about how they will disguise themselves to terrorize their friends, book lovers want to stay up late reading a book that is capable of give great emotions. The Horror genre, loved above all by young people, offers a huge variety of choices and, on the occasion of Halloween, we certainly could not forget the great scary novels that have scared generations of readers. Here is the list, taken from the site uk.complex.com of the 10 thrilling books that inspired some of the scariest films in the history of cinema: 1. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis (1991)
Bret Easton Ellis’ novel tells of the murderous fury of a seemingly normal successful young boy, who instead unleashes his innermost instincts and impulses during the night.
It’s scary because: The book’s protagonist, Patrick Bateman, is a sadistic and cruel character who manages to scare readers for his disturbing unpredictability. The young man, in fact, within a few lines manages to completely change his identity, transforming himself from a staid successful business man to a merciless killer. For this reason, the novel by Bret Easton Ellis manages to have the same effect as a phone call in the middle of the night, it scares in an unexpected and completely sudden way. 2. The Shark by Peter Benchley (1974)
Steven Steven Spielberg’s film has terrified millions of viewers also thanks to its soundtrack but this very famous film is based on the homonymous book by Peter Benchley which tells of a great white shark that terrorizes and kills the bathers of a summer holiday island .
It’s scary because: The shark is a horror-thriller worthy of the name, full of unexpected moments of terror and unexpected attacks by the bloody animal. 3. Susan Hill’s Woman in Black (1983)
A young lawyer, Arthur Kipps, is in a small town in England where he attends the funeral of an elderly client. During the funeral, the young man notices a mysterious woman that no one else seems to notice. Kipps, while stopping to sleep in the uninhabited house and discovers that terrible secrets are hidden behind the dark figure he met at the cemetery.
It’s scary because: Although the story of “The Woman in Black” takes up many very characteristic elements of the horror genre, such as the creepy abandoned house, the screams at night and the presence of spirits, what makes this novel so scary and the use of a narrator who writes in the first person and who accompanies readers to the discovery of a horrible secret, keeping them in suspense until the last page.4. Stephen King’s Misery (1987)
Paul Sheldon, a famous writer, is rescued after a car accident by Annie Wilkes, who claims to be his biggest supporter and wants to take care of him. When the woman discovers that the writer plans to have the most famous character “Misery Chastain” die she goes mad and, after burning the manuscript, she psychologically and physically tortures Paul to force him to bring her favorite heroine back to life.
It is scary because: Stephen King’s ability to describe the character of Annie, an apparently loving and quiet woman who, page after page, proves to be a devious and mentally disturbed person, ready to do anything to save her heroine from death literary, and one of the elements that makes this novel disturbing and full of twists. Furthermore, the idea that a writer’s choices can influence a reader’s psyche to such an extent is frightening and sobering. 5. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty (1971)
A young girl named Regan is possessed by a demonic force and the only way to help her seems to be to have an exorcist intervene, even if the evil force that lives inside the child he seems to have no intention of leaving his body.
It’s scary because: Blatty’s descriptions of the most disturbing moments of the demon’s possession of Regan make this novel very scary and disturbing. One of those books that will certainly not make you sleep soundly.
