I ran some searches for teen horror books and came upon Scholastic's Point Horror set. I am definitely going to purchase and read some of those books, since I spotted Richie Tankersley Cusick's name as the author of a number of them. I recently read Evil on the Bayou by Cusick and greatly enjoyed it. Evil on the Bayou is one of her first books, and authors typically get better as they write additional books. I have to try some of her Point Horror books since they came later.
Of course this means that I am also interested in sampling some of the Point Horror books by other authors. The other author that interests me is Diane Hoh and her Nightmare Hall set. I want to try at least one of those. Has anyone ever read books by Diane Hoh? If so, what did you think of them?
And then there's that other author who shows up in the Point Horror Set: R. L. Stine.
I read most all of Christopher Pike's teen horror books in the 1980s and 1990s. Pike is an author I hold in high esteem. I lived and breathed those books. I read them over and over again. Last Act, Spellbound, Gimme a Kiss, and all the rest. I still remember many of them vividly even though I haven't read them in around 15 years. I plan to read them again sometime in the next year.
I read exactly one R. L. Stine book during the time that I was reading Christopher Pike. I believe it was Stine's Blind Date, which happens to be the first book in the Point Horror set. I did not like it very much. When I read it, all I could think was how it paled in comparison to Christopher Pike. I never purchased another R. L. Stine book, and they were shelved in abundance in bookstores in those days. I saw them everywhere but refused to buy them.
I want to make sure that I still would not like R. L. Stine, so I need to purchase at least one to try. I am quite reluctant since I can't get Blind Date out of my mind. Have any of you read R. L. Stine's books and do you like them? How does Blind Date compare to Stine's other books?
As I have looked to see what is available in the Point Horror series, I have spotted other teen horror books. If you are familiar with any teen horror books from the 1980s and 1990s, let me know what you think of them. I want to go on another buying spree.
2 comments:
Hmm... I do really enjoy Christopher Pike too, although I tried out the first book in the Last Vampire series and found it hilarious instead of frightening. That disappointed me. Then again, I was around 15 when I was reading Christopher Pike originally, and twice that age when I tried the Last Vampire book.
I recently started reading/re-reading Lois Duncan's teen thrillers. Daughters of Eve was really, really good. Down a Dark Hall, Stranger With My Face, Don't Look Behind You, Killing Mr. Griffin... those are really good. Gallows Hill and Locked in Time are pretty good. A Gift of Magic is okay, but it's not really in the same class.
One book I really, REALLY enjoyed (when I was 15) is Peter Lerangis's The Yearbook. I think that was his only teen thriller, but I thought it was awesome.
R.L. Stine books: I haven't read Blind Date (although I found a bunch of his books and bought them to get back into that, so I own it now). Apparently that was his first book, so it makes sense that it might not be as good as his later ones, and I don't think it's a Fear Street book. I thought the Fear Street books were creepy (Silent Night was highly recommended to me, and he has a Fear Street Cheerleaders series too that I remember people liking). The Fear Street Saga books terrified me: The Betrayal, The Secret, The Burning. Oh man. So scary. I'm not even sure if I could reread them now without having nightmares (although, admittedly for me, that doesn't take much).
Pike's books declined in quality sometime between 1994 and 1999. That led me to quit reading them. It also didn't help that Pike quit writing young adult books for around a decade.
Lois Duncan was also recommended by someone else. I will have to purchase a few to see what I think.
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