[neverending]

I think books stand a great chance of being scary. For one thing, book reading is a solitary activity. Even if you're in a public place you're engrossed in the book and you close off what's going on around you. Often books are read late at night just before bed time and this adds an atmosphere to what you're reading.

Also, as has been noted by many down through the ages, reading actively engages the imagination as you fill in details not provided by the author.

So yes, books have frightened me, creeped me out, and disturbed me many times. The first time I read Lovecraft's stories, even though his creatures are so outlandinsh, his skill at building atmosphere often left me unsettled as I read.

Most recently I read a book by an author I know - Knock Knock by SP Miskowski. It involved some school girls that perform a ritual in a graveyard and end up really summoning a demon. It tapped into many childhood fears, and reminded me how scary being a child could be at times. It scared me. And I'm not the only one- it was nominated for a Shirley Jackson award.

So, for me, personally, if a horror novel is well written it has a greater chance of scaring me than a movie does.