Stephen King’s It & 9 More Horror Books That Are Scarier Than Their Movies – Screen Rant

Some of the most beloved horror movies of all time are nothing when compared to the arguably more frightening books they were based on.

A great deal of popular films are based on books, and when it comes to the horror genre, both can thrill and chill fans. However, the written word provides more details thanlive-action scenes can, and a reader's mind can imagine things even scarier than the monsters that appear on the big screen.

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While the ten movies below are full of frightening moments, their printed source materials give and spook more, making them true classics. And just in time for the Halloween season, horror fans have all of these flicks to watch or rewatch and stories to read or re-read!

The Mist is a Stephen King novella from 1980 that later appeared in King's short story collection Skeleton Crew. It is set in a small mist-covered town, where a man and his son must try and survive creatures that are in the mist, as well as other survivors who are trapped in a supermarket.The novella brings fright in a couple of ways, as there are unknown monsters in this thick mist and stressed-out and scared people doing whatever it takes to live.

In 2007, a film adaptationdirected by Frank Daranbont starred Marcia Gay Harden, Toby Jones and several actors from The Walking Dead, including Melissa McBride, Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn and Juan Gabriel Pareja. While Daranbont's ending was darker than Kings, the novella and its open conclusion left more to the imagination.

The Woman in Black is a novel by Susan Hill from 1983, it is written with a Gothic style, and it focuses on a haunting in a small English town. In 2012, Daniel Radcliffe starred in The Woman in Black, which was set in England in the early 20th century.

Radcliffe played a widowed lawyer who discovered a vengeful ghost in a remote village. His performance -- along with the films cinematography, atmosphere and nod to classic Gothic horror stories -- was praised. However, this is another book that's scarier than its film adaptation, which wasdeemed safe and generic by modern horror standards.

The Grudge, which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar in 2004, was a remake of a Japanese film titled Ju-On: The Grudge from 2002. While critics enjoyed the direction and Gellar's performance, they were disappointed with the plot and the lack of scares. Still, this movie was followed by The Grudge 2, The Grudge 3 anda 2020 reboot in The Grudge.

Some of the most notable scenes include the crawling and the bathtub and while these are creepy, they can look a little strange and goofy. Luckily, there are written versions of these stories, allowing the spookiness to come off in a different (and even better!) way.

On a similar note, there is Ring, a Japanese novel by Koji Suzuki. Released in 1991, it is the first installment in a book seriesthat hadvarious movies and TV shows. For instance, in 2002, there wasGore Verbinski's The Ring, which featured Naomi Watts as a journalist who found a videotape that killed people seven days after they watched it.

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After that, The Ring Two and Rings came out. At least that's the case for the American remake series, since the Japanese series considerablyhas more entries. Both versions ofRingbecome modern horror classics, as no one could forget Sadako's haunting look and long hair. Still, reading about Sadako'surban legend is scarier than just watching it.

For many children, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was a staple of both best-seller lists and their nightmares. These collections of short stories are are best known for being inspired by folklore and urban legends that are accompanied by iconic charcoal and ink artwork.

In 2019, a film adaptation was released, and many were anxious to see these tales come to life on the big screen. However, Keith Uhlich of The Hollywood Reporter said it best: It was a lackluster adaptation" straining and failing at relevance.

Written by Ira Levin, Rosemary's Baby came out in 1967. It was only Levins second book to be published, yet it was the bestselling horror novel of the decade and led to a boom in the genre. In 1997, he wrote a sequel, Son of Rosemary, which he dedicated to Mia Farrow.

Farrow starred in Rosemary's Baby in 1968, portraying a pregnant woman whothinks a cult wants to use her baby in rituals. The movie received universal acclaim, won awards and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. There is just something more about the book, which is considerably more harrowing than the already frightening film. If there areRosemary's Babyfans who have not read Levins work, go do so now.

In 2004, John Ajvide Lindqvist published Let the Right One In, which centers around a young boy and a vampire child. While vampire stories are always popular, this one also includes themes such as existential anxiety, isolation, alcoholism and murder, and it became a bestseller in Sweden.

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In 2008, a Swedish film adaptation, Let the Right One In, was released, and it won a variety of awards. In 2010, an English adaptation, Let Me Infeaturing Chlo Grace Moretz was celebrated for staying true to the original story. If these flicks did that well, just imagine how good the novel is.

Ritual, by British actor and author David Pinner, came out in 1967, telling the story of a Christian police officer whoinvestigates a ritualistic child murder in a rural village. What follows are lies, seduction and ancient religious practices.

In 1973, a British folk horror film titled The Wicker Man was released, and it also focused on a Christian police sergeant, an isolated location, an investigation and a strange discovery about religious practices. This film won awards, but in 2006, another version came out; starring Nicolas Cage, this remake received negative reviews and is more of a punchline than anything. For obvious reasons,Ritualis better than the remake but it does make for a great companion to the original 1973 adaptation.

John W. Campbell, Jr. wrote Who Goes There? under the pen name Don A. Stuart, and this novella was released in 1938. In 1973, the Science Fiction Writers of America called it one of the most influential, important and memorable pieces of science fiction of all time. A movie based on this impactful story is John Carpenter'sThe Thing from 1982, itself a remake of the 1951 adaptationThe Thing From Another World.

It centered around a group of researchers in Antarctica and a thing that could take on the form of other organisms. These characters were scared of this parasitic extraterrestrial lifeform and of each other, as anyone could have been The Thing. Despite how exciting that sounds, The Thingwas negatively received and reviewed in its initial release, beingcalled instant junk and possibly the most-hated film ever by Cinefantastique. While The Thinghas since been vindicated by time, Who Goes There?didn't need the benefit of hindsight to prove its worth.

It is a Stephen King novel from 1986,centeringon seven children being terrorized by an entity that can take the form of fears and that usually appears as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Like many King stories, It focuses on trauma that follows a person from childhood to adulthood and overcoming evil. Itwon the British Fantasy Award and was the best-selling hardcover fiction book in 1986.

A two-part miniseries aired in 1990, and it was ABC's biggest success of the year; it also won awards and Tim Curry's portrayal of Pennywise has gone down in history. Itwas later remade into a theatrical two-parter withIt Chapter On (2017) and It Chapter Two(2019).The first part became the fifth-highest-grossing R-rated movie ever and is considered to be one of the best King adaptations out there. Both incarnations ofItare fan favorites, but the novel has 1,138 pages, each full of intense details on The Losers Club, the evil entity, and so much more.

NEXT:10 Best Stephen King Movies & Books (That Arent Horror Stories)

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From a tiny Texas town of 300, I made my way to the University of Texas at Austin to study journalism, which spurred me on to write for publications like New Yorks Resident Magazine, Austin Home and Us Weekly and to cover events such as South by Southwest, Austin Film Festival and New York Fashion Week. Now, I have my own brand, and I'm able to create social media posts, press releases, news pitches and more. When I'm not writing, I'm probably playing with my cat, vacationing with my family or watching Netflix with my husband.

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Stephen King's It & 9 More Horror Books That Are Scarier Than Their Movies - Screen Rant