A Short Review of You Don't Scare Me, by John Farris

A Short Review of You Don't Scare Me, by John Farris (New York: Forge Books, 2007)


John Farris is one of my favorite horror writers, and this book was not a disappointment. True, as some reviewers noted, the characters could have been more realistically developed, but the story is fascinating--Southern horror with a twist. An evil man, a murderer and rapist, haunts a girl from the grave. She gained the "gift" (or curse) of gaining unsolicited communications from the underworld due to a near-drowning. With the help of her boyfriend, she tries to defeat the evil man before he destroys her and her beau. 

One reviewer said this was a Lovecraftean story, and in some ways it is--but I will let the reader determine that for herself to avoid spoilers. I would say that the book did not bring scares in the sense of a jump scare at a horror movie; instead, it presents a sense of unease. This book is not for every horror fan, but for those who enjoy Southern horror, redneck horror, a bit of contemporary physics, a bit of Lovecraft, and a lot of unease, they will probably like this book.