Extreme Horror Lit

[Chibi]

Over the past few years I've been reading a ton of extreme horror books and splatterpunk, and was wondering if there are any other fans of the genre. If you don't know what splatterpunk means, it means horror - except 10x more morbid and disgusting than anything in the horror section at Barnes and Noble. Not for the faint of heart.

If you're a fan of horror and never read these, I'll recommend three which I absolutely adored

Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite - Absolutely everyone should read this book in my opinion. Not only is it an extremely well written and fascinating horror novel, it's one of the best novels that I've read PERIOD. It's a genuine masterpiece dealing with themes of homosexuality, love, and pain, and pleasure.

Full Brutal by Kristopher Triana - an absolute blast to read; a fun, morbid, introspective psychological thriller. This reads more like a standard splatterpunk novel and you can probably finish it in a sitting or two, but it's genuinely so enjoyable.

Off Season by Jack Ketchum - the first extreme horror novel I've read, and still my favorite, right up there with Exquisite Corpse. It reads exactly like a horror movie, I don't know how else to describe it. The atmosphere and dread in this is palpable, and reading it at night was one of the most viscerally scary experiences I've had. I would recommend this as an entry drug to anybody trying to get into the genre.

Feel free to give your thoughts, give recommendations, or call me a freak. Cheers!

 

[kuoka]

I'm curious is the fleeting excitement so worth it? Or like what good things do you get out of stories that torment characters and usually end badly?

I'm a complete softie and generally have to avoid the horror genre because it violates my emotional and aesthetic sensibilities. For me a story without a positive relationship between two characters is not a story at all, more of an engineered emotional trip.

As I get older I tend to avoid the negative emotions simply because they don't add any value and the world around us is oversaturated with them already.

Yeah I know I'm rambling off topic It's just so I get past the spam filter's post limit.

 

[Chibi]

Great

I'm curious is the fleeting excitement so worth it? Or like what good things do you get out of stories that torment characters and usually end badly?

Great question. The type of books I mentioned here have the same effect as watching a brutal horror movie. I don't know if you are a fan of horror, but the feeling you get from a horror movie is, in my opinion, an extremely real and visceral sense you can't find anywhere else. It's the same for these books. We all read to feel something, right?

The books I mentioned aren't just about a "fleeting excitement" of bad things happening. There are lifelike characters with real personalities, flaws, fears. You grow developed to them. You learn what they love and and what hurts them. And that makes the bad parts hit so much harder, and deliver an even more emotional punch.

I want to mention that, from your wording, you think these books are all mindless torture and slaughter. I want to say that that is NOT the case. There are some really, really fucking bad books in this genre, but there are just as many that have real, emotional, human stories that are extremely well written and written with heart. The three I mentioned aren't just shock value: they're real literature. I just wanted to clear that up.

 

[birdsnestfern]

I'm a wimp as well, I can handle a little bit of classic stuff from the 1930s, Dracula, Werewolf, Frankenstein, and I used to like Creature Features with Bob Wilkins. I do like some murder mysteries that are classic literature style. When it becomes classic, I will watch it. Alfred Hitchcocks work is top notch some Steven King.

 

[Chibi]

I'm a wimp as well, I can handle a little bit of classic stuff from the 1930s

We might be in different generation brackets, Birds. A lot of younger people enjoy splatterpunk books. It's semi-trending right now on TikTok and all that. I don't think you'd like it.

HOWEVERRRRR, I would STILL recommend Exquisite Corpse to you. I will recommend that book to EVERYONE. If you're squeamish, it might be a hard read. But that book is a genuine masterpiece.

 

[birdsnestfern]

Agreed,
: )