Good horror books for teenagers?

chewed

I'm trying to get my 13 year old son interested in reading again. He says he doesn't like books but might be if they were good, really scary horror books. I remember when I was 13/14 ready James Herbert and Shaun Hutson, and loving them.

I'm not sure what's out there these days. He's definitely not interested in any of those teen vampire books! It would have to be very scary!

Mr.Nice Guy

Is the Goosebumps series out of the question? I read that when I was about his age (or maybe just a bit younger). I can't recall those books being very scary but some were quite enjoyable. 'Say Cheese and Die' was a fun one involving a haunted camera, if I recall correctly.

If that's a bit too cheesy for him then you could go with the master of the horror story, Stephen King. I read Pet Sematary a year or so ago and I thought it was pretty chilling. Maybe that one's about two or three years too soon for him though, I dunno.

Aenaes

I was going to recommend Goosebumps but think they might be slightly childish.

Why not try James Herbert? I read The Rats slightly more than a year ago. I had to read it all in one night as I couldn't go to sleep once I started. It made me uneasy and I'm mid-twenties.

eviltwin

I started reading Stephen King at that age. If you feel he's too young for that Point Horror is aimed at kids.

GLaDOS

Yeah Goosebumps is too young for that age group imo. Point Horror isn't a bad shout.

I was only slightly older when I started on Stephen King, and I loved it, but maybe slightly inappropriate for a 13 y/o.

chewed

Thanks for recommendations. I also read Rats, The Domain and The Lair by James Herbert at that age (They're probably still in my folks' gaff!!!) and was terrified. Unfortunately kids nowadays seem to have a bigger tolerance for horror and can be quite cynical when it comes to what their parents liked or feared!

r3nu4l

I read my first Stephen king book at 12, it was titled "four past midnight" and it began a phase where I devoured every work of his I could find

Happy days.

Prenderb

+1 for Stephen King. Langoliers, Christine, all of the ones whose name escapes me - great stuff.

Diane Selwyn

not strictly 'teen vampire' but I remember being pretty terrified by the original Dracula by Bram Stoker - it's pretty slow moving (partly why it's so effectively suspenseful) so not sure how it would suit a modern teenager on that front but could be worth a try

Carawaystick

+1 on the Stephen King

There's the short stories he wrote too, to get a snappier read for the young fella, before he gets up to speed reading all 1200 pages of IT over a weekend like I did in 2nd year...

Also a different type of horror - Boy in the Striped Pajamas the last few pages are pretty grim
and The Road - pretty grim all through...

rock whore

anything by Darren Shan will satisfy a horror fan. Whatever the age. They are quite scary though.

fro9etb8j5qsl2

I started reading Stephen King at 12 too, having ran out of Point Horror books. Goosebumps would definitely be a bit juvenile I think. I stopped reading them at 8 or 9. Maybe one of Kings shorter books like Cujo might grab his interest?

GLaDOS

Carawaystick wrote: »

+1 on the Stephen King

There's the short stories he wrote too, to get a snappier read for the young fella, before he gets up to speed reading all 1200 pages of IT over a weekend like I did in 2nd year...

Also a different type of horror - Boy in the Striped Pajamas the last few pages are pretty grim
and The Road - pretty grim all through...

The style of writing in The Road might be a bit tricky for a young reader, though a fantatsic read of course.

DivingDuck

I agree that the Goosebumps series is definitely too juvenile, and as a result will likely have the opposite effect of what you're hoping for.

The King short stories are definitely a good bet. He has about five books (or ore?) of them out now, so that could be a good gateway into longer works.

Jonathan Stroud's books (Lockwood & Co, Bartimaeus series) are also worth considering-- and unlike King's work, they're intentionally aimed at younger readers. There's less of the adult-tone stuff, but they can be pretty chilling in places, and they're quite witty, too.

AllGunsBlazing

Read Salems Lot when I was 13. Scared the shi_t outta me. But I honestly don't think there was anything in it that was too adult for me, and the way things are now, a modern day 13 year old may actually find it all rather tame.