I find that I enjoy his earlier works more. I agree with you that he tends to go on with back story. Dark Tower, for example, never caught me. Carrie and Misery, though I really enjoyed. I'm working on Salem's Lot now (behind the reading group). That's his second published book, I believe. He tends to write great characters that jump off the page
I tend to agree, though I did really enjoy The Dark Tower series, especially Wizard and Glass, which could essentially sit as its own story. (It is essentially an entire book of backstory, though.)
His characters are alive and have depth, for sure. Jack Torrence in The Shining is perhaps my favourite. The fact he wrote that so early on still baffles me with wonder.
But then again, perhaps there are already countless other great authors that could have been but slipped through this version of the world due to someone giving up or throwing it in the trash!
I’m a huge Haunting of Hill House fan. I’ve read it a few times. I think the house and Eleanore both fit your theme perfectly. Eleanore is definitely a haunted person. She can’t let go of anything that’s happened to her. The house is malignant and uses that against her. I always see the house as an extension of Eleanore’s dead mother, controlling her thoughts and actions.
Have you read Jackson’s We Have Always Lived In the Castle? It’s not a haunted house story, but it’s a little more traditionally satisfying in terms of horror. It’s another one of my favorites.
If a haunted place gets torn down, the “ghosts” or “spirits” go with it. However, human belief and consciousness are too powerful. Despite being torn down, once a person knows of the previous haunting, they can believe ghosts still exist there. If they give credence strongly enough, they can imagine things happening and make it haunted once again. www.SubconsciousFat.com
I don't know if I believe in haunted spaces. I certainly find the idea compelling though. You raise a good point: where do the spirits go when the place is torn down?
Maybe it's our perception and foreknowledge of these places that influences the hauntedness. Just a thought.
I always wonder how we would feel if we didn’t know the history of a place. The stories/lore seem to be what makes something feel haunted, at least most of the time.
It reminds me of the idea that you feel like someone is watching you. That almost always tends to be because we caught them out of the corners of our eyes. Again, just thoughts.
First let me say, full disclosure, I don't / haven't believed in ghosts or spirits. So one line in your discourse really spoke to me..."Our bodies are haunted places, filled with memory and experience." There in lies my answer to your fill in the blank. If a haunted house gets torn down, I believe the ghosts remain as they are in the human needs and wants that created the memories and visualizations and projections of evil or good in a supernatural form in that place. They may be passed on as real entities of a place to others that want or need to believe... Or something like that 🙃
I really dislike Kings writing, but the title of this post is a lovely line! His opening line in The Gunslinger is great as well - 'The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed. '
Yes, he’s got some really great lines. I happen to like more of them but I get it. He’s not everyone’s cup of tea. What do you dislike about his writing and who is your favorite?
I've not read 10 King books, so I might not have a big enough sample size 😆 but his tone never grips me, his prose doesn't do much for me and there is far too much chit-chat and back story in his books that I haven't got the patience for. I know a lot of people like that kind of thing though 😅 however, I did enjoy The Outsider (aside from its silly ending)
The back story is what gets a lot of people. Even minor characters will have a fully fleshed out personality just to say one line to the main character 😂 The Outsider’s ending sucked. But I enjoyed the rest of the book so much.
Haha 🙈 The Outsider read very differently to his other books. So much more engaging. But the big bad monster goes and gets killed with a snooker ball in a sock 🤣
Oh, my favourites are Lovecraft, Algernon Bkackwood, Susan Hill, Bram Stoker (only for Dracula really), Laura Purcell is good. The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements.
On Saturday's I post in the morning (8-10AM GMT-7), but people pop in and comment as they're able throughout the week. It's been pretty active so far, and a fun way to host a relatively flexible book club.
... the ghosts live on within those who want to believe.
I guess that's my thoughts on this. I'm fascinated by the notion but do not believe in anything supernatural beyond what the mind creates for itself. I think that's my view, anyway. Until I see something creepy one day ... ...
I believe both things: that there is nothing and that we go on. Both seem equally possible and I vascillate between the two on any given day. But it’s more fun to dabble in the belief than not!
Also congrats Nathan on being featured! I see nothing but good things in your writing future ❤️
PS funnily enough, I just got to the following passage in the book I'm reading (Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun). The protagonist is thinking about the nature of the body/soul:
It may be that it perishes as well, though more slowly. There are a great many haunted buildings, tunnels, and bridges; yet I have heard that in those cases in which the spirit is that of a human being and not an elemental, its appearances grow less and less frequent and at last cease.
Definitely! I think I wouldn't be so drawn to stories and tales of the weird and supernatural if there wasn't some (romantic?) part of my mind that entertained the possibility.
And thank you, Shaina, that's lovely of you to say 🙏
The same for your wtiting too 🤩
I hope it's the start of more fiction/writing on fiction that gets featured.
I find that I enjoy his earlier works more. I agree with you that he tends to go on with back story. Dark Tower, for example, never caught me. Carrie and Misery, though I really enjoyed. I'm working on Salem's Lot now (behind the reading group). That's his second published book, I believe. He tends to write great characters that jump off the page
I tend to agree, though I did really enjoy The Dark Tower series, especially Wizard and Glass, which could essentially sit as its own story. (It is essentially an entire book of backstory, though.)
His characters are alive and have depth, for sure. Jack Torrence in The Shining is perhaps my favourite. The fact he wrote that so early on still baffles me with wonder.
Right?? I read Carrie, his first book, and I'm floored. The fact that lore says that his wife fished it out of the trash.... we could have missed it!
I know! Can you imagine?
But then again, perhaps there are already countless other great authors that could have been but slipped through this version of the world due to someone giving up or throwing it in the trash!
Right!!!???
I’m a huge Haunting of Hill House fan. I’ve read it a few times. I think the house and Eleanore both fit your theme perfectly. Eleanore is definitely a haunted person. She can’t let go of anything that’s happened to her. The house is malignant and uses that against her. I always see the house as an extension of Eleanore’s dead mother, controlling her thoughts and actions.
Have you read Jackson’s We Have Always Lived In the Castle? It’s not a haunted house story, but it’s a little more traditionally satisfying in terms of horror. It’s another one of my favorites.
I just bought this book! I can't wait to read it. The classics are really standing out to me lately as being way ahead of their time.
Oh nice! I hope you like it. The past shapes the future, i think we all want to get to our roots at some stage in our creative lives.
If a haunted place gets torn down, the “ghosts” or “spirits” go with it. However, human belief and consciousness are too powerful. Despite being torn down, once a person knows of the previous haunting, they can believe ghosts still exist there. If they give credence strongly enough, they can imagine things happening and make it haunted once again. www.SubconsciousFat.com
I don't know if I believe in haunted spaces. I certainly find the idea compelling though. You raise a good point: where do the spirits go when the place is torn down?
Maybe it's our perception and foreknowledge of these places that influences the hauntedness. Just a thought.
I always wonder how we would feel if we didn’t know the history of a place. The stories/lore seem to be what makes something feel haunted, at least most of the time.
It reminds me of the idea that you feel like someone is watching you. That almost always tends to be because we caught them out of the corners of our eyes. Again, just thoughts.
First let me say, full disclosure, I don't / haven't believed in ghosts or spirits. So one line in your discourse really spoke to me..."Our bodies are haunted places, filled with memory and experience." There in lies my answer to your fill in the blank. If a haunted house gets torn down, I believe the ghosts remain as they are in the human needs and wants that created the memories and visualizations and projections of evil or good in a supernatural form in that place. They may be passed on as real entities of a place to others that want or need to believe... Or something like that 🙃
Now you got me wanting to reread Shirley Jackson on top of Stephen King 😅 So many books, so little time
I really dislike Kings writing, but the title of this post is a lovely line! His opening line in The Gunslinger is great as well - 'The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed. '
Yes, he’s got some really great lines. I happen to like more of them but I get it. He’s not everyone’s cup of tea. What do you dislike about his writing and who is your favorite?
I've not read 10 King books, so I might not have a big enough sample size 😆 but his tone never grips me, his prose doesn't do much for me and there is far too much chit-chat and back story in his books that I haven't got the patience for. I know a lot of people like that kind of thing though 😅 however, I did enjoy The Outsider (aside from its silly ending)
The back story is what gets a lot of people. Even minor characters will have a fully fleshed out personality just to say one line to the main character 😂 The Outsider’s ending sucked. But I enjoyed the rest of the book so much.
Haha 🙈 The Outsider read very differently to his other books. So much more engaging. But the big bad monster goes and gets killed with a snooker ball in a sock 🤣
Oh, my favourites are Lovecraft, Algernon Bkackwood, Susan Hill, Bram Stoker (only for Dracula really), Laura Purcell is good. The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements.
Oh, I see Shaina asked that too. I should have scrolled first 🤣
😆👍
Yeah, what an opener! Hook!
Do you know what it is you dislike in his writing?
If a haunted house gets torn down, the ghosts will need to find a new place to go, and they will not be happy about it.
Love the idea of spaces as holding trauma.
One could argue there is only one story. One story and seven basic plots as Christopher Booker wrote.
I devoured Bachman/King books in the 80s (I remember 'Thinner' most), so I might have to check out your Book Club schedule and see if I can make it.
Please do! We’re going to read through Stephen Kings Nightshift, one short story a week.
What time/timezone? I am GMT+1 :)
On Saturday's I post in the morning (8-10AM GMT-7), but people pop in and comment as they're able throughout the week. It's been pretty active so far, and a fun way to host a relatively flexible book club.
👍 I thought it was “live” :) great, I will check it out!
Any spirit remains, waiting for another chance.
... the ghosts live on within those who want to believe.
I guess that's my thoughts on this. I'm fascinated by the notion but do not believe in anything supernatural beyond what the mind creates for itself. I think that's my view, anyway. Until I see something creepy one day ... ...
I believe both things: that there is nothing and that we go on. Both seem equally possible and I vascillate between the two on any given day. But it’s more fun to dabble in the belief than not!
Also congrats Nathan on being featured! I see nothing but good things in your writing future ❤️
PS funnily enough, I just got to the following passage in the book I'm reading (Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun). The protagonist is thinking about the nature of the body/soul:
It may be that it perishes as well, though more slowly. There are a great many haunted buildings, tunnels, and bridges; yet I have heard that in those cases in which the spirit is that of a human being and not an elemental, its appearances grow less and less frequent and at last cease.
Definitely! I think I wouldn't be so drawn to stories and tales of the weird and supernatural if there wasn't some (romantic?) part of my mind that entertained the possibility.
And thank you, Shaina, that's lovely of you to say 🙏
The same for your wtiting too 🤩
I hope it's the start of more fiction/writing on fiction that gets featured.
Yes! It’s incredible to see more interest being taken in the fictioneers of Substack.