3. Rosemary's Baby - Ira Levin
When I first settled down to read Rosemary's Baby I certainly didn't think I would read it in a day, nor did I think it would particularly scare me. I was wrong on both accounts. Ira Levin's 1967 novel really encapsulates the horror genre. Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse have just moved into their dream home but are quickly warned by a friend that the apartment has some bad history that they shouldn't overlook. The couple choose to ignore their friend's warning and begin to contemplate starting a family. Soon Rosemary falls pregnant, but a chain of mysterious events begin to unfold and Rosemary's delight at carry a baby turns to paranoia that there is a satanic power at large in her own apartment block. As the book progresses it becomes obvious that Rosemary's Baby isn't a jumpy horror novel but a fast-paced story which builds up and up as the reader's terror mounts, just knowing that something terrible is going to come. What makes it even more terrifying is that the novel centres on an aspect of life that almost everybody encounters in some way or another: pregnancy, making the fear all the more real and leaving you with that nagging feeling over something which should bring such happiness. If you're sure you don't want children then go ahead and read Rosemary's Baby but be sure to tell all your broody friends about it, just to give them a good scare.