Can anyone recommend books about characters with supernatural powers?

ThatWolfAgain · Apr 21, 2014

Hey guys,

I was wondering if you guys could recommend some books (or short stories!) to me about characters with supernatural powers (not vampires or werewolves or things of that nature). I'm looking for things chronologically between Wieland by Charles Brocken Brown (1798) and Carrie by Stephen King (1974).

This is such a big topic, I'm not sure where to start looking for books/stories, and I figured this would be the best place to ask for a jumping off point.

Thanks!

mellymel · Apr 21, 2014

The first thing that came to mind is Fire Starter by Stephen King. Not sure if it's "horror" per se, but it's labeled horror on Amazon.

ThatWolfAgain · Apr 21, 2014

I've already looked at Carrie, Firestarter, and Duma Key by Stephen King, but thanks. =]

The Scip · Apr 21, 2014

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill is a good one also. One of the better recent horror novels.

ThatWolfAgain · Apr 21, 2014

You know that's a good one too. I didn't even think about Vic's ability in that one because I was thinking about Charlie Manx (and wasn't really interested in vampiresque critters at this point). Thanks =]

Does anybody know any classic work with characters with supernatural powers? Or even quasi-supernatural powers? (Carwin's ability from Wieland isn't really supernatural, but it seems that way for most of the book)

redfalcon · May 26, 2014

Horns by Joe Hill fits. The Odd series and By the Light of the Moon by Koontz. I don't know if they count as horror. So Cold the River by Michael Koryta.

Marlys · May 26, 2014

If you can extend your dates to 1976, The Fury by John Farris would fit. Why the 1974 cutoff? Horror was huge throughout the 1970s.

StarWombat · Jun 7, 2014

Peter Straub, who I've always preferred to Steven King, began writing in the 1970s, but I'm not sure if he wrote within your cut-off.

williemeikle · Jun 7, 2014

Three come to mind immediately

John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos ( 1957 )
Theodore Sturgeon's The Dreaming Jewels ( 1950 ) , More than Human ( 1953 )

williemeikle · Jun 7, 2014

For short stories, there's Wells' THE MAN WHO COULD WORK MIRACLES

williemeikle · Jun 7, 2014

And just before Carrie, in 1973 was The Medusa Touch by Peter Van Greenaway

benbradley · Jun 7, 2014

Are these supposed to be HORROR novels, or does this thread just happen to be here in the Horror forum? If the latter, it might be better in the SF/F forum.

williemeikle said:
Three come to mind immediately

John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos ( 1957 )
Theodore Sturgeon's The Dreaming Jewels ( 1950 ) , More than Human ( 1953 )

I definitely remember "More Than Human," and it's definitely not horror (unless children with various supernatural powers is in itself horror to you), but I really enjoyed reading it.

Alfred Bester's "The Demolished Man" has a large proportion of the human population having telepathy, but the MC does not. He commits a murder, a rare thing in that society due to most people in law enforcement being telepaths, thus the murderer is almost always caught very quickly. The story is of the MC planning the murder as well as doing it.

williemeikle · Jun 7, 2014

benbradley said:
Are these supposed to be HORROR novels, or does this thread just happen to be here in the Horror forum? If the latter, it might be better in the SF/F forum.

I definitely remember "More Than Human," and it's definitely not horror (unless children with various supernatural powers is in itself horror to you), but I really enjoyed reading it.

Alfred Bester's "The Demolished Man" has a large proportion of the human population having telepathy, but the MC does not. He commits a murder, a rare thing in that society due to most people in law enforcement being telepaths, thus the murderer is almost always caught very quickly. The story is of the MC planning the murder as well as doing it.

Back in the '50s there wasn't much of a distinction... horror novels were routinely marketed as SF / Fantasy... it really wasn't until the '70s that Horror became a distinct market in its own right.

And yes, I know "More Than Human" is stretching it, but the other two definitely have enough horror elements to qualify.

Rhoda Nightingale · Jun 9, 2014

Clive Barker--anything. No, seriously, anything. Although for what it's worth, my faves are Weaveworld and The Hellbound Heart.

Red Barchetta · Jun 11, 2014

I don't know if I'm allowed to post this here. Mods, please delete if deemed against the rules. But my novel is right up your paranormal alley, TWA:

The Three Doors
http://amzn.com/B00AZOZ6LY

Jared Helm is transported out-of-body to mystifying destinations. One evening, his imperceptible spirit embarks on a journey to an amazing castle bordering the ocean. Though the importance of the venture eludes him at first, he eventually learns that the castle is the stomping ground of a murderous sect abducting individuals for ritual sacrifice.

An offshoot of the English and Irish Hellfire Clubs of old, the evil cult's castle is located on the seacoast of lower Maine. The group's fanatical Master, whose lineage reaches back to royalty and to rapscallion leaders of old, stops at nothing in his quest to please Satan. And although the previous clubs were known for wild and toxic behavior, this one takes those traits to malevolent heights. The story grows deeper and more sinister as the New England seasonal change enters the autumnal equinox on the approach to Samhain.

"The Three Doors" sends readers on a paranormal roller coaster of horror and thrills into the astral plane of existence that's invisible to most yet entered frequently by those who dare. But beware: this book is not for immature minds, the thin-skinned, or the vulnerable. It's primarily a horror and paranormal story, but it delves in areas of Christianity and Satanism, heaven and hell, and young love amid hatred in a contemporary world. Everything has its polar opposites, even the characters. It's about a surrounding evil, and a group's desire to confront and overpower it.

Can anyone recommend books about characters with supernatural powers?

ThatWolfAgain

mellymel

ThatWolfAgain

The Scip

...walks this way.

ThatWolfAgain

redfalcon

Marlys

Resist. Love. Go outside.

StarWombat

Burrowing Mammal Par-Excellence

williemeikle

The force is strong in this one.

williemeikle

The force is strong in this one.

williemeikle

The force is strong in this one.

benbradley

It's a doggy dog world

williemeikle

The force is strong in this one.

Rhoda Nightingale

Vampire Junkie

Red Barchetta