Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because The Broke and Bookish are particularly fond of lists (as are we!). Each week a new Top Ten list topic is given and bloggers can participate.
Today’s Topic: Scariest Topics
These topics give us nightmares.
Ricki
1. Serial Killers
Ever since I was very young, I’ve found the idea of serial killers to be terrifying. Books about this topic scare me!
2. Death of Family Members
Because this is my greatest fear, reading about others who have lost family members makes me feel a wealth of terrifying emotions.
3. Drownings
Luckily, many books don’t feature drownings. When I was about five years old, I almost drowned, so reading drowning scenes makes me very frightened.
4. Bugs
I am embarrassed to say that I am very frightened by ladybugs. If a book has a bug scene, I flip a few pages.
5. Scenes in the Woods at Night
Do the woods creep anyone else out? I won’t go camping with my husband because of it.
Kellee
1. Realistic Apocalypse
I can read dystopian books without ever being afraid, but a realistic apocalypse in a novel freaks me out because there is such a chance those events could happen. The Living and Life As We Knew It are the ones that scare me the most.
2. Poltergeists
I don’t believe in ghosts, but I don’t not believe in ghosts, so realistic ghost stories with freaky poltergeists can give me some interesting dreams.
3. School Shootings
As a school teacher, this is too close to home.
4. Breaking & Entering & Killing
This is a real life fear, so anytime it is in a book, it really freaks me out.
5. Children Dying
No words for how terrifying this is. Sad and scary.
What topics give you nightmares?
and 
the bugs thing? yep. totally with you on that one! My TTT
I’m another teacher who is freaked out by school shooting storylines. But also strangely compelled to read them.
Stalkers. The Holocaust. And yes, Life As We Knew It had me checking my canned good supplies.
Wow, I haven’t known people to be THAT scared of bugs. Scared, yes, but not refusing to read parts of books. The real-life stuff I can understand. I hate anything that could possibly happen to me, no matter how unlikely it is
Here’s my TTT on my favourite magical creatures: https://victoriajaynesbooks.wordpress.com/2015/10/27/top-ten-tuesday-28-halloween/
I love your topic – I think some of those are scary as well! Mine is zombies and dead babies.
Great lists! Ladybugs, Ricki? I shouldn’t make laugh at your fear, but that one is a bit amusing – ladybugs are the friendliest of bugs, with those playful spots! ha ha – just teasing you. I shouldn’t say anything because last week, I saw a mouse in our kitchen and screamed so loud, he flopped on his side and died – seriously. It was the freakiest thing. As for scenes in the woods, you might want to stay away from the YA novel I read recently: What Waits in the Woods, which hits 2 of your fear factors – a serial killer on the loose in the woods where a group of teens are backpacking.
Kellee, I’m with you, that the realistic stuff that could really happen is the scariest. My husband won’t watch any movie or TV show that includes the death of a child.
Really great lists, both of you!
Sue
Book By Book
If you want to read a truly chilling and unsettling post apocalyptic fiction that feels realistic, I would strongly recommend picking up a copy of AMM by Nick Totem. http://www.nicktotem.com
The author comes from a medical background which gives the core of the story a real sense of authenticity and makes it feel very real. This story is so well conceived and written with excellent characters and careful attention to detail. I couldn’t put it down long enough to eat.