PSYCHOLOGICAL TERROR
Terror comes in all shapes and sizes:  a mysterious phone call, a nightmare, or a walk in the forest.  The following titles explore the depths of fear that can be found in all manner of things:
 

Wolf – Gillian Cross
Scholastic, 1990.

Something very strange is going on.  Something Cassy doesn’t understand.  Her terror begins in her nightmares about wolves, and when Cassy finds herself living in an abandoned house, the nightmares don’t stop.  In fact, the wolves begin to haunt her waking hours too.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon – Stephen King
Scribner, 1999.

Eager to escape her arguing mother and brother, nine-year-old Trisha slips away and wanders off an Appalachian Trail walking path.  Attempting a short cut to get back to her family, she loses her way and spends days and days wandering through the forests of Appalachia.  She has no way of navigating and must use her limited skills and knowledge to survive the elements.  An unidentified creature that leaves slaughtered animals in its wake stalks her.  To face her fear, Trisha uses the one item she has – her Walkman and the connection it gives her to the outside world.

The Official Stephen King Web Presence
A website dedicated to all things Stephen King.

Wolf Rider – Avi
Bradbury Press, 1986.

Andy’s journey into terror begins after he receives a phone call from someone who announces he has killed a girl named Nina.  When Andy tries to convince others of what has happened, no one believes him.  At first, they don’t believe him because Nina is not actually dead.  Later, everyone thinks he might be causing the trouble himself. Since he continues to believe that Nina is in danger, he is forced to investigate and confront the terror himself.

The Other Side of Dark – Joan Lowery Nixon
Bantam Doubleday, 1986.

Stacy wakes up in a hospital bed to discover she has been in a coma for four years.  Her mother is dead – murdered – and Stacy, injured at the same time, is unable to remember anything.  Because of press reports, the murderer knows Stacy is awake and perhaps able to identify him.  Stacy fears she’s being watched.  As she is the only witness to her mother’s murder, Stacy must remember the events before the killer stops her from revealing his identity.

Cape Fear – John D. MacDonald
Fawcett Gold Medal, 1957.

Fourteen years ago, Sam Bowden prevented Max Cady from raping a girl.  Cady is tried, convicted and sent to a forced labor prison camp for life.  Cady nurses his hatred of Bowden and lives for the day he will be free to go after him.  Fourteen years later, Cady is released and tracks down the man who is responsible for putting him in prison.  Cady doesn’t necessarily have murder on his mind, but instead, terrorizing Bowden by going after his young, innocent teenaged daughter.

The world is going to end on July 27, 2000. At least, that's what Reverend Beelson has told his congregation. 144 True Believers have gathered together to await the end; Marina's mother and Jed's father have brought them to the armed and fenced in mountain camp. Waiting for Armageddon, Marina and Jed fall in love and get caught in dangerous events they have little control over.

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LIS 304
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Spring 2002
University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign
Dana Russell