Some short story in a Hitchcock anthology about a guy who slit throats and hid in a wax museum.

I can't think of a specific book--I'm not really into horror fiction. But I became interested in ancient Egyptian stuff at an early age. I was never bothered by any of the mummy stuff. One time, though, I must have been 8 or so, I was reading something about the seven ancient wonders of the world. It was talking about the Colossus of Rhodes, and it referred to a king... it said something like, "Built in the reign of King Ptolemy I, the colossus stood in the harbor . . . . etc." I didn't realize that was a Roman numeral and not the word "I." So I interpreted as, the colossus wrote this sentence(!) and was explaining how he stood in the harbor during the reign of King Ptolemy. EEEEewwwwwwwwww it just creeped me out to no end. I still remember it.

It.

Harlan Ellison - "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" freaked me out and depressed me for days.

Ellison can be really depressing, the story you mention Sheldon has to be one of the most disturbing. I would say Harlan Ellison can be scarier to me than Stephen King.

God, when he described what the computer's thoughts were like in his head, like blinding-bright neon being etched directly into his brain with acid, or something. Amazing writing, describing sensory perceptions that don't exist in reality.

A Clockwork Orange.

I read it in high school, just picked it off the shelf for fun, and have no idea how they allowed it into the high school library of a private, Catholic all-girl school. Scared the crap out of me, on many levels.

Also, The Handmaid's Tale.

I don't usually read horror fiction. Some of the speculative/sci-fi stuff is scarier, IMO, than anything Stephen King could write.

Was that the British version, or the American version with the last chapter deleted?

The Cask of Amontillado. Weeeeeee-hooo!

:reaper:

The Exorcist, which I read around the time the movie came out, since I was too young to get into the movie, which means I was about 11.

I had gotten in trouble in Catholic school in 4th grade for reading The Ratman's Notebooks (book Willard was based on) during class. I was easily bored by the teach and so spent more time reading books I would hide in my desk. Catholic school 4th grade was essentially a repeat of what I had done in 2nd and 3rd grade in public school in another state, so I had a lot of spare time on my hands. Willard, though, was more icky than scary.

Sphere by Michael Crichton.

When I was a kid, my dad travelled a lot. We were living in South America at the time, so my access to books in English was rather limited. Dad used to pick up novels as he stopped in airports here and there, and then pass them along to me -- so I ended up reading books like Jurassic Park and Sphere at the age of nine because they were all I could get my hands on.

Anyway, Sphere scared me badly enough that when I was done reading for the night, I would put the book in the freezer so that nothing could manifest out of it while I was sleeping. I had heard about little kids getting trapped in the fridge, so I guess I thought that any evil creatures that manifested would not only be trapped but would also freeze to death.

ETA: I just glanced at the bookburning thread and am amused to find that several people seem to have hated this same book.

The Tell-tale Heart.... He was staring at me I tell you! His EVIL EYE!! I had to do it!


Oh oh, and the Masque of the Red Death... *shiver*

Yup, that's proper scared! I piled things on top of The Shining for exactly the same reason. I remember one of the things that creeped me out most - Danny looking at the hose, feeling uneasy, and the hose falling off. Why? It's never explained. And technically nothing happens. That's real-world creepiness.
You read it at the right age :)

OH, I love reading The Tell-tale Heart. Good one!

I didnt hate it, but I do remember feeling a bit ambiguous about the ending. Still, Im pretty easy on most Sci Fi.