The first time I ever read Laird Barron's "The Croning" was the only time a segment of a horror book ever "unsettled" or ever managed to actually, sincerely mildly "spook" me. I remember it because I relish the feeling. There's a part of the book where the main character and his family members swap ghost stories and I either must have been in the mood to FEEL spooked or maybe I was just cold at the time or something, I dunno. I remember it making my spine tingle with a lil' bit of realistic dread and its novel to me because it remains the only time that has ever happened, ever. The rest of the story isn't even particularly spooky, just that short segment and I was never able to elicit the same response ever again neither upon rereading the story years later, nor with any other work of horror fiction since. Dunno nigguh, it's really weird.

⬆ upvote 0