5 books that are scarier than their horror film adaptation
If you’re one of those people that actually love a good scare, it can often be better to read a book rather than see a film. After all, the mind can take you places far more frightening than that depicted on screen.
These five books are for those that love themselves a bit of horror – and these ones are actually scarier in print than on screen.
1. It by Stephen King
Want to be scared it-less? Read this novel based on a scary clown that scares small children and then comes back to get them when they’re all grown up. The clown is a lot creepier in your mind than in director Andy Muschietti’s 2017 version. Perhaps it’s because your own imagination takes you to the darkest place possible, which is always more horrifying than someone else’s version of it.
2. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
Three years after the book came out, the well-known film starring Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter completely freaked out audiences around the world. But the book gives you an intense thrill ride inside your head that you just don’t get from staring at a screen. Your imagination will be stretched to the limit as you get inside the head of this psychotic, cannibal protagonist. Unfortunately, even if you haven’t seen the film, it’s hard not to picture Jodie Foster as FBI trainee Clarice Starling.
3. The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson
With a couple of remakes and spin offs, this book may be scary because everyone can relate to moving into a new house. And once again the horror in your head is a lot worse than the blood and gore on the screen. The book is written in a diary format, listing the different phenomena experienced at the house by the new family who move in after a mass shooting. The fact that it’s based on real events gives it an edge too.
4. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
The main reason for the book being so much more terrifying is potentially the fact that in the early 1970s special effects just weren’t that good yet. So when the infamous scene of the exorcism of young Regan begins, it is almost comical rather than frightening. In your mind however, the depiction of a small child taken over by demons is enough to keep you awake at night for some time.
5. Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
Sure, you’ll miss the snappy 1960s dresses in the book, but the film just doesn’t quite capture the horror as well as the book in this instance. After moving into their new apartment, a young couple befriend their odd neighbours and soon become pregnant. Rosemary finds herself second guessing everything as she tries to determine whether she has given birth to the devil. While it doesn’t sound very true to life, the author delivers on the fear and tension scales. A literal page turner from start to finish.
Which of these books did you find the most frightening? We would love to hear from you in the comments.