Friday, October 29, 2010

Too Scary to Quit

By C.L. Phillips


Do you remember the first time you read a book and you were too scared to close it AND too scared to keep reading?  Stephen King's THE SHINING was that book for me.  We lived a hundred miles from a movie theater.  Our television worked when the sun wasn't shining or when it wasn't raining.  So if you wanted to escape live, you needed a good book.

One of my junior high friends discovered Stephen King.  She kept telling me, "You've got to read this guy.  He's amazing."

"But I hate horror stories" I'd say.

"It's not a horror story.  It's a mystery."  She hooked me with that rationale.  See, she knew I was working my way through our local library, reading every mystery on the shelf starting with the "A's".  It was taking me awhile to get through "C" because of all of the Agatha Christie books.

So there I was, two days before Halloween, curled up on the sofa, when I came to the scene where I was frozen.  You know, when Jack goes into Room 237.  Trapped in my own form of hell, I couldn't decide whether to read on or throw the book away.

Stephen King won.  I kept reading.  Turned on every light in the house, played the radio, and read only one paragraph at a time, but I kept reading. 

I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but it was the scariest, spookiest night of my life.  Unless you want to talk about the night we ran from the motorcycle gang after a friend's husband was shot through the head.  Now that's a story Stephen King could write.


7 comments:

Joyce Tremel said...

I hope you plan on telling us that story!

Welcome to the Stiffs, Cindy. I hope you'll like it here.

C.L. Phillips said...

Maybe, if you twist my arm....and thanks for the warm welcome to Working Stiffs.

Anonymous said...

Welcome, Cindy! Yep, Stephen King is the only author that has required me to go to sleep with the lights on, phone fully charged next to my bed along with an arsenal of miscellaneous weaponry: insect repellant spray, walking stick (really should be a baseball bat), and a heavy flash light. lol

Wilfred Bereswill said...

Hey Cindy, welcome. King is the king. As I've said a few times on here, The Stand has always been my favorite. The Shining is way up there.

Gina said...

Welcome, Cindy. I was hooked on King for quite a few years. Clive Barker, too - his "Weaveworld" is a truly unique concept - magical beings facing the threat of destruction find safety by having themselves woven into a carpet.

C.L. Phillips said...

Thanks all y'all for the warm welcome. Stephen King's THE STAND is another one of my favorites. Makes you want to buy a motorcycle and shotgun...just in case.

Cindy---

C.L. Phillips said...

Gina,

Ok, I've got to go get WeaveWorld. As a bit pot-holder weaver, this is right up my alley. :)

Cindy---