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Elfen Lied was too guro for me. Lain was quite the opposite; it's psycho-horror because of the themes it presents, (loss of identity, addiction, loosing reality), while Elfen Lied is horrific because of what physically happens.

Series like Elfen Lied are not what I'm looking for.

Lisey's Story by Stephen King. I'd say that's one of his best stories. Despite the King name, it's not really a horror story...there are elements of horror in it, of course (c'mon, it's Stephen King xD), but it's mostly a twisted view of reality.

If you've quite a bit of time, the Dark Tower series is also a good read (also by King). I like the earlier books better (1-3 are the "older" books; I count #4 as well because I like it, though 5's not bad...I didn't like 6 or 7 much, but they finished the story [as much as the story can be called "finished", anyway], so meh), but the ending of the series blew my mind. And if you're well-versed in the King universe, you can see a lot of influences from most of his other books...it's as though the series ties together most of his stories into one huge book-world (which gains significance when you read the series).

I too would suggest reading Cujo, but not because it fits the genre you're craving, because I don't think it does (unless I completely misunderstand what you're asking for). It is a good story, though.

Insomnia (also by King) might be up your alley. It's a good stand-alone story, but it also fits in well with the Dark Tower books.

Any movie/tv version of The Shining sucked a**. The book was way better. And it's more-or-less just a ghost story, anyway (one could argue that the hotel itself was sentient, which I find to be an interesting idea, but mostly it was just ghosts). It's been a while since I read it, but I don't even think the line, "Here's Johnny" is in the book. Stupid movies and their stupid ways of making stuff from the book stupid. >.<

(*is a King-ophile as well as a book-purist, so opinions may be a wee bit biased*)

For video games, I'd suggest Indigo Prophecy (I have it on the PS2; dunno what other systems it's for). It's a really short play-through (I think I logged about 10 hours on it), but the replay value is decent - it might be good for a rental, unless you find it on sale; then I'd suggest buying it, because it really is quite good. The game plays differently depending on what choices you make. I don't want to give too much away, but I will tell you that the first task is to cover up a murder your character committed in the opening scenes, and there are many ways you can go about it ^.^

So far as ******** go, I'd recommend the Fatal Frame series (video games also; I have the three in the series on PS2 and dunno what other consoles they're on). They're essentially ghost stories, but they scare the s**t out of me (which I would call a ******** haven't gotten through the first one yet =O

For a bit of a twist on small-town life, I'd give "Hot Fuzz" (movie) a once-over. It's about half-comedy and it's kinda campy (though in a good way), but it made me look twice at neighborhood watch associations xD

My bf says he's heard good things about "Pan's Labyrinth", a foreign film. He says it might be something about fairy tales, but like darker, more twisted fairy tales. Anyway, it's something he's heard about and might be something to look up.

"Clockwork Orange" is also good (of course the book is better than the movie, but the movie's not bad - though it's somewhat old). It offers a view of a possible future and explores issues of morality and freedom of choice. The movie has some trippy visuals, too ^.^

EDIT: There are actually a few more King stories which I think would fit the bill, Rose Madder and The Stand among them, but I think I've rambled on quite enough sweatdrop If you (or anyone) want some more King recommendations, feel free to ask, though ^.^

Anime is fine. but you should watch Suicide Club, a japanese live action movie. Now that's some ******** up s**t. I highly recommend it. Also Ichi the Killer but i'm sure you've already seen that.

Other japanese live action ******** you should see:
Battle Royale I & II
Old Boy
http://www.deathmusic.co.kr/ This hasn't hit theaters yet but it looks kinda promising.

An old game, called System Shock 2, does a good job of messing with you from start to finish.

The graphics are dated (1998, actually), but the gameplay is still solid and the sound is awesome.

By the way, I loved the book Something Wicked This Way Comes

Have you tried watching the Masters of Horror series? I think you have to have HBO though.

im not much on movies, but i likes the sixth sense, and butterfly effect, the ring, ect. the game geist was good, i think its in that category, i dunno.

also!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_psychological_thriller_films

Official Von Helson Division Bunnypire

Many of Takashi Shimizu's movies are pretty good. He's best known in America for his work on his remake of Ju-On (The Grudge). I recently watched his movie Rerincarnation. It was very, very good.

Pan's Labyrinth is also very good. Not scary as far as, well, scaryness goes, but rather more of a twisted fairytale.

Secret Window (♥), Donnie Darko (BEST MOVIE IN THE HISTORY OF EVER) or The Butterfly Effect are pretty good if you like getting your sense of logic totally torn apart. :B