The key words for what I’m looking to read could be: slow-burn, uncanny, chilling, unsettling…
I like slow-paced stories where the unease and fear can almost be felt in the atmosphere. The first chapters of Junji ito’s manga “Uzumaki” could be a good reference. The stories of small towns that hide unspeakable mysteries captivate me. For this reason I think I have quite enjoyed “It” and “Salem’s Lot” by Stephen King, so it would be a plus for me if the atmosphere of the book meets these characteristics.
I’m not looking for straight up horror with pure gore and people screaming, at least not from the beginning, what I want is a very disturbing story of a character (or group of characters) facing some kind of psychological, paranormal, cosmic or earthly horror with feelings of uneasiness growing ’til the point it’s unbearable. The unknown generates a lot of terror for me, so if the story involves a plot of a paranormal mystery (or not) that does not end up having a complete explanation in the end, I would not be upset.
I am open to reading any author from any continent or country, however, I wouldn’t mind if it is a Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese or Korean author… I have never read Asian horror literature and I would like to know what’s up.
PD: I deal with Thalassophobia A LOT, so if the story involves some moments of the characters on the deep sea it would make it ten times scarier.
by Fat_N_Anxious