Have you ever read something that still haunts you (so-to-speak) to this day?
Of course, every great book will forever be etched in one's mind, but is there one that is so moving as far as human struggle that it still haunts your mind ... hundreds of non-fiction comes to mind. But then there are just as many fiction too. Thank you for answering.
Hi Faith. Wuthering Heights is that book for me. It lingers as a hauntingly tragic romantic tale of ill-fated Heathcliff and Catherine. I read the book at least once a year. It is an original edition and is getting pretty raggedy, but it is very dear to me. Good question.
This is almost the exact answer I was going to give! Wuthering Heights has been my favorite book since I was 13 years old. I absolutely love the way Emily Bronte wrote. Her characters have such a strong hold on my mind and my heart.
Hi Phyllis, Wow, look at all of these great answers here. You are so right about Wuthering Heights being a hauntingly tragic romantic tale! You know it is a beloved book when it starts showing wear and tear. Thank you so much for sharing & Kayla
Me, too, Kayla. Bronte's characters seem so real to me. I love the works of Emily Bronte.
Thank you for asking this question Faith Reaper. As I answered with the first choice I discovered I ran out of space. So, I copy/pasted to my Hub Idea folder on my PC. We may see something in the future . . . I dun'no yet.
That said, that choice was 'A Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley published 1931. I have read it more so many times rather than several since about '73. I have taken a Power Reading class at the community college level about every ten years. The same professor always assigns that book as a required reading. Interestingly I discover when in awe and maybe disbelief at times muttering to myself or quietly to someone . . . 'A Brave New World'.
Hi Tim, oh, you know when you answered you can select the option here to write a hub about it. I do hope you write a hub! How interesting and great choice too. Thank you so much for sharing!
For me it was the book "Helter Skelter" ( The Charles Manson Story) I was in my late teens and, I had the book laying around for years. One day I had no other books to read so I picked it up and read it. It took me months to sleep well after that, and twenty years later, I still get chills when I think or hear about it.
Hi Dana, yikes ...I don't think I could handle reading that book, but I did see the movie. I can imagine you do get chills. Not sure I want my mind filled up with such violence. That is certainly a haunting one there! Thank you for sharing.
"Make Room! Make Room!" by Harry Harrison. We had to read that novel in my sixth grade class. Just hearing the name of the book conjures up visuals that I will remember forever. There was a movie made from the novel. The movie, "Soylent Green" brought the images in my head to full blown out life. I'm scared forever. Thanks for the memories.
Hi Marlene, Eeks for sure on that one! Oh, I saw the movie, but haven't read the book and I will not. Reading does certainly wear a memory path into one's brain. I can understand about be scared ...forever. Sorry about the memories : (
Lord Of The Flies by William Golding. We studied it a while back in teacher's college, but I have never completely forgotten it. If you have ever wondered about the darkness that exists even in the human heart, even in the hearts of children, and what could activate it to cause those children to kill one another, read that book. It will keep you up many nights.
Woo, really good one, Angela! Darkness in the minds and hearts of children is both horrifying and terrifying. I will pass on the sleepless nights. Thank you so much for sharing.
Read this for gr 11 English class, it was a good book, not exactly my favourite, but definitely a good book. I'd have to say my favourite book is 1984 by George Orwell.
For me, it was "In cold Blood", by Capote. Four ordinary Americans, including two teens, brutally murdered for money they were rumored to have, but did not have.
Hi Will, Oh yes, truly a haunting read there. Yes, that one boggles the mind and then some! Thank you for sharing. All have certainly come up with truly haunting writes. I may not have thought it through on using the word "haunting" but I love it.
I read "In Cold Blood" and had nightmares for weeks. Because the story is true it was just too frightening.
Yes- I once read the hitchhikers guide to the universe and I've been lost ever since
Yes, the galaxy ...thank you for the clarification.
You wanna know what book really got to me? Plain Kate, I forget the author's name but it was rated as a children's book. I don't understand why though, because that book was terrifying, for a fantasy novel it didn't gloss over the diseases, witches, or state of the countries during the medieval era. I'm not very good with describing things, you'd be better off reading a summary of it on good reads!
Hi Noshin Rahman, Oh really, wow, this is unusual especially for a book for children! Thank you for answering. Makes one wonder how decides what genre a book comes under.
Yes, I have read works that haunted me ever after. I try to choose works to read that do that, and I long to write stories that do that. I no longer recall much detail, but the gist and feel of books I read when I was 11 years old have stayed in my mind, such as THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV by Dostoyevsky, THE DIVINE COMEDY by Dante, and WINESBURG OHIO by Anderson. Many other stories, novels, poems, plays, movies, and paintings that I have experienced through the years have haunted me. A small, random sampling: Shakespeare's KING LEAR, O'Neill's LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, Auden's LULLABY, Joyce's THE DEAD, Camus's THE PLAGUE and THE STRANGER, THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by McCullers, .... There have been many others, including some which other answers have mentioned.
Wow, Brian, thank you for sharing of all the works that still haunt you! You sure have a great list there that are sure to leave a lasting impression. Yes, I believe that is every writer's dream ...for their work to be memorable.
Pretty much everything that Thomas Hardy wrote still haunts me to this day. A lot of Dickens as well.
Hi Faceless, thank you so much for answering. Oh, yes, I can understand your choice of these two as haunting writers for sure.
1. Dracula, the original by Bram Stoker.
2. Don't know the name or the author or even if it is a real story but what I remember is a short story we had to read in school about a piece of bubble gum that the dad in the family had sealed in a jar waiting for it to die. Talk about creepy. I wouldn't chew bubble gum for days...
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