Fruiting Bodies is a very eerie story by Brian Lumley that deals with a home by a seaside cliff and fungus. The collection Fruiting Bodies and Other Fungi is worth tracking down. Another creepy story from the book is The Thin People which is about some people who fold themselves up so to speak.
I have
"Fruiting Bodies" in a hardback collection of
Weird Tales - one of that mag's late incarnations had published that story and it found it's way into a great anthology. It's been many years, but I have not forgotten that story or the bones of the
"little 'un".
I really have a preference for short stories and rarely read novels anymore. Novels that stand out as having had moments of genuine dread:
THE STAND,
THE SHINING, and especially
SALEM'S LOT... all by
KING as I know you all know, but I think his other books tend to be overrated. I do think the first chapter (only) of
IT to possibly be his finest bit of writing, and
MISERY was damned upsetting, and a fast riveting read. Not really scary, but haunting, I think
THE DEAD ZONE was his best of those I read (and unlike some of you all, I was not so impressed by
CHRISTINE, PET SEMATARY, THE TOMMYKNOCKERS... )
In the realm of great:
SHIRLEY JACKSON's
We Have Always Lived In The Castle was creepier even than her
The Haunting of Hill House... Your local library probably has a copy.
JOHN W. CAMPBELL's
"Who Goes There?" was the source material for both film versions known as
THE THING and it's well worth a look see. About 54 pages, it's novella length.
LOVECRAFT's
"The Shadow Out of Time" is another great one that I don't think was mentioned.
I collect story collections, particularly ghost stories, SciFi and Horror. I have the bad habit of reading stories and then forgetting if I'd read them or not.
Some stories, however, you never forget. Two unforgettable stories bracket a great collection for the Ghost Story enthusiast:
Victorian Ghost Stories pub. Oxford. The first,
ELIZABETH GASKELL's "The Old Nurse's Story" mid 19th century chiller perfection and
ALGERNON BLACKWOOD's marvelously atmospheric rainy night creeper,
"The Kit Bag".
RAY BRADBURY's
"Mars is Heaven" is pretty damned scary SCIFI and also
LEWIS PADGETT's
"Mimsy Were the Borogoves".
