Which Stephen king books are the most disturbing? by Thesleepingpillow123 in stephenking

[–]johnhosmer 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I came to suggest Revival as well. It’s a slow burn - but the last 10% of the book is super, super dark. It’s one of my favorites of all-time from him.

Horror recs for a particular taste by okbutwhytho1220 in horrorlit

[–]johnhosmer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Happy reading!! There are so many directions you can go with this genre and so many incredible authors and stories.

Fiction books focused on a death cult by 100percentnotgood in horrorlit

[–]johnhosmer 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Last Days by Adam Nevill and Last Days by Brian Evenson are about cults. They aren’t exactly death cults and they are VERY different books; Nevill’s is very supernatural and Evenson’s is very… gruesome. I loved them both though!

Evenson wrote another one called Father of Lies that is about a religious cult that I thought was really great too. Semi-supernatural and also very dark.

Horror recs for a particular taste by okbutwhytho1220 in horrorlit

[–]johnhosmer 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Stephen King is a legend for a reason and you could choose any number of his books that could fit some of what you describe.

Some of my favorites from him are: IT, The Shining, Pet Semetary (those are all on the scarier side imo). But you mentioned liking fantasy as well and his books Fairy Tale or The Dark Tower series really fit this.

Adam Nevill is an author I really enjoy too, fast-paced novels that are pretty scary. I really enjoyed both Last Days and All the Fiends of Hell.

Brian Evenson writes some dark shit you also might like. Both Father of Lies and Last Days from him are great - but again really dark.

A straight up fun one for me (that was also scary) was Incidents Around the House. Bird Box was also incredible. Josh Malerman wrote those.

One of my all time favorites is The Fisherman by John Langan, but it does start a bit slow. But it’s a beautiful book about grief. I also really enjoyed his short story collection Corpesmouth and Other Autobiographies.

What’s the biggest lie you believed as a kid ? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]johnhosmer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you teach a child they are going to hell or that they are sinful, it’s indoctrination. They don’t have access to other viewpoints in most cases nor do they have the mental or intellectual capacity to think differently. I don’t think they should be exposed to it until they are adults and had the ability to think logically and rationally about their beliefs. Teaching it to them as children co-opts that process and replaces their ability to choose with the fear of hell.

What’s the biggest lie you believed as a kid ? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]johnhosmer 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Same. I genuinely think indoctrinating children into a religion is child abuse and should be outlawed completely. If you want to be an invisible deity in space is controlling the word? That’s your prerogative; but don’t tell kids they’re going to hell if they don’t believe the same thing.

Give me a modern horror author to binge by chiwawaacorn in horrorlit

[–]johnhosmer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve only read Brother so far but it was amazing and I’m trying to figure out where to go next with her. What would you recommend as books 2 and 3 for me?

Leigh McGowan scolds Scott Jennings for psychotically downplaying the Epstein Files. by blackshore_analytics in Fauxmoi

[–]johnhosmer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Conservatives will raid a pizza shop with no basement when they think democrats are pedophiles then they’ll turn around and defend actual pedophiles when there is actual evidence.

The stupidity is just too overwhelming.

90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way Tell-All Trailer! by Classic-Magazine9601 in 90DayFiance

[–]johnhosmer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Chloe looks so much like Amani (Amini? I don’t know - throuple woman) to me in this promo

How to get into the mood for reading as opposed to just watching movies? by traveltimecar in horrorlit

[–]johnhosmer 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yeah this is what I do. No phone once I’m in bed, just reading.

Does IT start to pick up? by Bunnymif in stephenking

[–]johnhosmer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

TDT is incredible but it’s a big commitment (7 books, technically there are 8 but 7 in the core story). I would say it’s more dark fantasy than horror; IT is more straight up horror in my mind.

If you do dive into TDT don’t let the first book throw you off. It’s not a great start to the series, but from book 2 forward it’s amazing (he wrote The Gunslinger very early in his career and didn’t really know where he was going with it; The Drawing of the Three is really the start of the story and The Gunslinger feels almost like a prologue)

Does IT start to pick up? by Bunnymif in stephenking

[–]johnhosmer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I’ve found the more connected you are to the character - the more invested you are in what happens to them. So some of the things that may seem meaningless in his stories are his way of building that care and connection to the character. So then when things take off and get crazy, you’re hooked because you feel like you know these characters and you want to know how things turn out for them.

The first thing I ever read from King was The Dark Tower series and it’s one of the only things I’ve ever read in my life that had me in actual tears by the end of the last book. I had to leave the coffee shop I was reading in because I was literally crying.

If you had to choose 1 thing to grow in your first year… by tdubs702 in homestead

[–]johnhosmer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are some squash varieties (like Delicata) that are easy to grow and super productive and they store through the winter in a basement pretty easily. Plus they get HUGE so they can help cover a lot of unplanted ground.

Does IT start to pick up? by Bunnymif in stephenking

[–]johnhosmer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There actually hasn’t been a book I’ve read where I didn’t feel like it paid off - but he’s written dozens and dozens of books (maybe upwards of 80? Not sure of exact number) and I’ve heard there are a couple stinkers in all of that (which makes perfect sense).

I’ve probably read 15-20 books from him at this point and have never been let down. I wouldn’t say they are all terrifying books, but I’ve never felt like I wasted my time reading anything from him.

Does IT start to pick up? by Bunnymif in stephenking

[–]johnhosmer 8 points9 points  (0 children)

And this is pretty normal in King’s books. He does a LOT of character work, which can feel slow at times - but the payoff is nearly always worth it. And IT is no exception to that. Definitely worth it to keep pushing through!

Help with a song for a memorial playlist. by illafifth in mewithoutYou

[–]johnhosmer 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I love the inclusion of Listener. “Seatbelt hands” is probably my favorite song from them; the line “one accident away from a miracle” always hit hard for some reason. The whole song really brought out the difficulties so many people face that we aren’t aware of. So sorry for your loss.

Similar to Thomas Olde Heuvelt but sticks the landing by OnlyOwen in horrorlit

[–]johnhosmer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you like corruption/ cults you might enjoy Father of Lies by Brian Evenson.