Good lord! Peake's illustrations for Bleak House are awesomely gothy.

Lady Dedlok

Mr. Grindley

Miss Smallweed.

From the Rime of the Ancient Mariner: Life in Death

Nobel literature head: US too insular to compete

"The U.S. is too isolated, too insular. They don't translate enough and don't really participate in the big dialogue of literature," Engdahl said. "That ignorance is restraining."

There's something about Lady Dedlok that has me thinking "No Capes!"

Did y'all know there was an official Gormenghast website?

Oooooooooh.

Shiny.

Didn't you guys see those illustrations when you read the book?

(I don't own it - but those were the illustrations in the copy of Gormenghast in my local library.)

No, but I just have cheapo paperbacks. I had seen some of those -- I think they might be in the Art of Gormenghast book I picked up -- but my copies of the novels aren't illustrated.

Does anyonw have some suggestions for some really actually creepy horror novels?

They can be modern; that's fine. As the seasons turns, a young girl's fancy turns to horror, and all that. I tried Bentley Little, on the rave reviews, and I was "Eh." I was hoping he'd be like old-school Stephen King, but NSM. Some really disturbing images, but a trite and jacked-off ending (I read "The Academy" -- maybe I was just too close to the subject -- charter schools, and he seems to like analaguous storytelling in the place of an actual story too much for my taste.)

I think one of the most creepifying stories I have ever read is "The House on Haunted Hill." If it's late at night when I'm reading that scene where the knocking happens and...well, if you haven't read it, I won't spoil it. But it creeps me the fuck out!

That's what I'm looking for. Thoughts?

Does anyonw have some suggestions for some really actually creepy horror novels?

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill was really good. But for me, the closest I've found to the level of creepy that The Haunting Of Hill House sets the standard for* are some of Caitlin R. Kiernan's novels. Silk, Threshold, and Low Red Moon, specifically.

I haven't found any other really good, creepifying horror novels lately. I'm sure they're out there, but I haven't run across them.

• I can't read THOHH after dark, or if I'm alone in the house. CAN'T.

I may try Heart-Shaped Box. I've read Silk and one of the other Kiernan's; I thought Silk was nicely done and oogy (and I'm amazed you read it, Jill1!), but I couldn't make it through the other one; I just didn't find it compelleing.

I've been trolling through the web (hee) and I think I might try The Observations. I don't think it's horror per se, but I have read several rather good commentaries. It seems to be a nice little Victorian Gothic-esque, which I quite like when done by modern authors.

In fact, if you haven't read it, I think you might enjoy Affinity by Sarah Waters. She writes (mostly) lesbian Victorians, but she is GOOD. I really enjoy her. Her last book was set in the early 20th century, and while I certainly liked it, she really comes alive writing about the Victorians.

Have you tried The Ruins? It seems to get mixed reactions so it may not be what you're looking for, but I thought there was a Stephen King vibe to it in some ways. For better and worse.

Joe Lansdale might be worth a look. It kinda depends on what kind of creeps you're looking for. The Bottoms is basically To Kill A Mockingbird as a suspense story -- it's not fantasy/horror, but it's certainly got some scares. The Nightrunners has supernatural elements, and also a lot of extreme violence, so it's definitely not for everyone. And then the Drive-In novels are, as you'd expect, pulpy popcorn horror.

I usually go to short stories for horror, though.