Take a look; it's in a book, Reading Rainbow! Wait a second here...what the hell is a book?! Okay, I'm just messing around when I say that, but I do say it because the physical written word has become almost extinct and taken over by things like movies, video games, pod casts, Internet porn, shit like that...and no, reading on your computer doesn't count! Same deal goes for magazines, newspapers, etc...stuff like that has been murdered by the ease of access to specific content - thanks to the machine that sits right in front of you - glowing with the warmth of knowledge and information all right there with the movement of a mouse and a left click.I am not one to throw stones at all...that is not my purpose here. I still buy magazines, but I often find that I barely read them cover to cover, like I did even a few years ago (save for Paracinema!). I have a read a few books over the past two or three years - I would say probably about five maybe? That is not very many at all, and I hate the fact that I do not read at least one book every month or two...shit is fundamental, right? I just get wrapped up in reading a disgusting amount of movie news that is to be found on the Internet, listening to pod casts, watching movies, making baby batter, reading and writing blogs. I just do not have the time. But that is a bullshit excuse, I should make the time, because nothing is more rewarding than reading a good book, a good horror book to be exact.
I am a very nostalgic person, and I think of my youth very fondly, and a big part of my childhood that I loved most was reading a great horror novel, or short story, and letting my imagination carry me to spooky land! The Muppet Babies had their finger on their pulse of what is fun, imagination, and nothing inspires imagination quite like books. They truly do make your dreams come true.
Why the crap am I all about books right now you ask? Well, even if you didn't, I'm gonna tell ya anyways! B-Sol over at The Vault of Horror invited a group of black belt worthy bloggers to put together their top 10 list of favorite horror literature (Just in time for Chucktober!). When this was posed to me, I thought about how I have not read enough books in so many years and that my list would be a little difficult to put together. It wasn't too bad when I sat down, thought about it, and looked through my book collection, but outside of Zombie Survival Guide, I haven't read any of these books in over ten years - at least! Moreover, these are books that made my list too! I have seen all of the movies that make my top ten favorite horror films list probably once a year! That is sad to me, slightly embarrassing to be honest, and hopefully this little experiment in ultimate horror literature results in me doing a little more reading now.
The stipulations were really just that the choices had to be horror. Books, short stories, and poetry were allowed equally, and I'm fine with that. I am not a big poetry guy though, so none of that on my list...this is Chuck Norris Ate My Baby, not Jessica Tandy Ate My Rose Petals! Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
Below is my list, I really don't have full rhyme or reason to the order outside of the first five or so, but as I always do, I tried to keep it somewhat varied, while putting books that I love, or loved growing up. I also added a few honorable mentions that I didn't even send to Mr. Sol, but put them on here because they are all *this* close to making the list, but ultimately, had to be axed.
1. Bram Stoker: Dracula
2. H.P. Lovecraft: At the Mountains of Madness
3. Clive Barker: Books of Blood: Volumes One through Three
4. Mary Shelley: Frankenstein
5. Richard Matheson: I Am Legend
6. Stephen King: Pet Sematary
7. H.P. Lovecraft: The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
8. Whitely Strieber: Communion
9. Clive Barker: Cabal
10. Max Brooks: Zombie Survival Guide
Honorable mentions...
Robert Bloch: Psycho
Stephen King: Salem's Lot & Cycle of the Werewolf!
Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451 (Easily would have made it, but more Sci-Fi than horror)
Six of my picks made the list, not that it's a surprise, and I am happy to see my number one pick, Dracula made its deserving position in this ultimate list too. Maybe I should read that again in honor of this revelation that I hope I am able to maintain. Now to see the results of my list and another 20 or so horror bloggers, check out "The Greatest Fright Fiction of All Time! The Cyber-Horror Elite Takes on Literature!" over at The Vault of Horror. Please comment, as comments are always welcome, I'm sure there will be some interesting dialogue about the ultimate list that was put together, but I can back it as being a proper one in my non-reading ass opinion. Any comments on my personal list, I would love to hear them, and I would love to read a book with you sometime...maybe swinging in a hammock 69 style while listening to California Dreamin'...maybe?
