Can books have an adverse effect on you?

[melanie2]

Especially evil books or books written about evil people..i've been reading volume one of Adolph Hitler..and last night i had several nightmares..this got me to thinking back to other books that gave me adverse reactions..starting with The Amityville Horror..i had borrowed it from David's parents..and no sooner than i began reading then i had nightmares..i would see evil visions in fireplaces..my mom's appendix burst..our neighbor borrowed it..that summer he was burning out a bee's nest in his drive way wall..when it suddenly exploded..knocking him backwards..

I had a different type of reaction reading The Song of Bernadette..each time she had a vision of The Virgin Mary..i got this strange feeling that coursed through my blood..

The Exorcist i couldn't even get past the preface..or intro..too much evil..
_________________

 

[juggernaut]

No.

 

[melanie2]

No.

Thank you for that well thought out and eloquent answer...short and to the point..:stickout

 

[Journia]

Hmmm....I don't know. Maybe the book itself was cursed, and the book wasn't evil.

 

[QueenBeeBeeMari]

I don't know but,with that knowledge I will stay far away from such books lol.

 

[the_jimmy_james]

Yes, Marie. Staying away from books is a good idea for you. You wouldn't be the same charmingly naive person if you were well-read.

 

[FeatherDaemon1]

I don't know but,with that knowledge I will stay far away from such books lol.

Or if you must deal with such books at least remember the proper incantations when using them.

In most cases, "Klaatu! Berada! Ni*coughing & mumbling*" just won't cut it.

😳

 

[melanie2]

Yes, Marie. Staying away from books is a good idea for you. You wouldn't be the same charmingly naive person if you were well-read.

Hmm..i'm well read..and i'm all what you describe Marie as being..:stickout

 

[QueenBeeBeeMari]

Yes, Marie. Staying away from books is a good idea for you. You wouldn't be the same charmingly naive person if you were well-read.

Well,I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or insult,Jamie,lol but,I didn't mean I was going to stay away from all books,just the bad ones.I like reading fantasy type books.Such as vampire books.I just got through a book on fairies,the last in the series was Ironside by Holly Black.Now I am on The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen.Then,I can finally get to You're So Vein by Christine Warren which I'm really excited about getting to.I was going to be able to start on that after I finished Ironside but I was by my brother's with nothing to read so,I ended up starting another book to pass the time.I had woken up very early when everyone was asleep.

 

[Slaver123]

Evil books should be BURNED along with their authors!!! Muwahaha! (Bet you weren't expecting the Spanish Inquisition?!?!)

Seriously, nightmares are good for you, they're healthy until they get REALLY extreme...



And btw Feather Demon, the correct book-reading incantation is "Ia! Cthulhu fthaghn!"

 

[the_jimmy_james]

Well,I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or insult,Jamie,lol but,I didn't mean I was going to stay away from all books,just the bad ones.I like reading fantasy type books.Such as vampire books.I just got through a book on fairies,the last in the series was Ironside by Holly Black.Now I am on The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen.Then,I can finally get to You're So Vein by Christine Warren which I'm really excited about getting to.I was going to be able to start on that after I finished Ironside but I was by my brother's with nothing to read so,I ended up starting another book to pass the time.I had woken up very early when everyone was asleep.

It's neither a compliment nor an insult. It's a joke!

BTW, Ironside!!

 

[sadi]

I do think that some books have a strong negative effect attached with them (spirit or whatever you may want to call it). Upon recommendation from my mother and relatives, I'm doing an experiment, and removing any books I feel have a negative 'message' attached to them, to see if that will improve my health at all, as a result.

Call it silliness, nonsense, or whatever you might, but if it works for me, whether it's from a "placebo" effect or not, I'll do almost ANYTHING to stop these headaches! 😛issed

So yes, I do think that books can have an adverse effect on you, Izzy.

 

[kopfhorer1]

I think TV can have far more wide-reaching effects than any book, if only because it teaches people to think in sound-bites and reinforces conventional wisdom.

 

[chicag0]

I think it depends on how easily influenced the person reading the book is and if it is age-appropriate for said person. For the most part, I think books are relatively harmless, unless of course the reader has trouble differentiating between reality and fantasy. I've read a lot of books on World War 2, Hitler, serial killers, and so on, and I while I find those things morbidly fascinating, I'm not about to go on some kind of genocidal warpath.

 

[Frost King]

Yeah there's a few books that had a effect on me but not a bad one like when i read marilyn mansons book about his career and life growing up there was some stuff in there that i found very sad and it had a effect on me because i could relate to some of the stuff in it. but i was sadened by some of the stuff that happened to him and there's a few other books that had some effect on me but like i said before none of them were really a bad effect on me. so far atleast i haven't read any that has had a bad one yet. but i think it just depends on the person someone might read a book and they may look at in a way that another person might not.

 

[leenotler]

I think it depends on how easily influenced the person reading the book is and if it is age-appropriate for said person. For the most part, I think books are relatively harmless, unless of course the reader has trouble differentiating between reality and fantasy. I've read a lot of books on World War 2, Hitler, serial killers, and so on, and I while I find those things morbidly fascinating, I'm not about to go on some kind of genocidal warpath.

"Easily influenced", yes, that reminds me. They say good readers also make good hypnotic subjects. Something about the ability to concentrate to the exclusion of all else. Maybe if one is able to get deeply involved in a book, the conscious filters are lifted and the subconscious accepts the book experiences almost like the real thing. I'm no physiologist, just a thought.

Lee

 

[Duke Diablo]

Anything can have an effect on you, isabeau. Hell, to some people, mere sound of waves splashing against the shore can trigger an urge to go on a killing spree. But, speaking in lesser terms, there is also the part of how easily affected you are, how much thought you give it, etc. etc.

 

[Budweiserbob!]

Yes, if you drop a big one on your foot. I can't see that having many positive effects. 😛

 

[QueenBeeBeeMari]

yes,that would have a pretty bad effect lol

 

[melanie2]

I think TV can have far more wide-reaching effects than any book, if only because it teaches people to think in sound-bites and reinforces conventional wisdom.

It's so true about certain movies..the other day i watched two rather gory movies..Saw II and Children..the latter movie was disturbing as the children were so young..they didn't bother me at the time..but later that night i had some rather intense dreams..and "The Ring" i shall never watch again, as that night i dreamt it was my mom crawling out of the TV...does that make me gullible? i don't know..

i know i do not believe in demonic possessions or ghosts..

 

[QueenBeeBeeMari]

It's so true about certain movies..the other day i watched two rather gory movies..Saw II and Children..the latter movie was disturbing as the children were so young..they didn't bother me at the time..but later that night i had some rather intense dreams..and "The Ring" i shall never watch again, as that night i dreamt it was my mom crawling out of the TV...does that make me gullible? i don't know..

i know i do not believe in demonic possessions or ghosts..

I don't think that makes you gullible;I think that means you have an overactive imagination.Or,just a really good imagination.I think that can be a good thing.You can probably do Guided Imagery really well.

 

[Frost King]

I don't think that makes you gullible;I think that means you have an overactive imagination.Or,just a really good imagination.I think that can be a good thing.You can probably do Guided Imagery really well.

Yeah, i agree i mean there's some songs i listen to that effect me in a emotional way. because they are sad or they just make me sad and i will feel this way after hearing it. and some movies there's this movie called see no evil and i kinda got sad and felt bad for the killer because his mom abused him and made him think that he was doing good killing for god and it kinda got to me. i was surprised at first that i felt bad for the villain.

 

[QueenBeeBeeMari]

Yeah, i agree i mean there's some songs i listen to that effect me in a emotional way. because they are sad or they just make me sad and i will feel this way after hearing it. and some movies there's this movie called see no evil and i kinda got sad and felt bad for the killer because his mom abused him and made him think that he was doing good killing for god and it kinda got to me. i was surprised at first that i felt bad for the villain.

yeah I saw that movie

 

[Slaver123]

It's so true about certain movies..the other day i watched two rather gory movies..Saw II and Children..the latter movie was disturbing as the children were so young..they didn't bother me at the time..but later that night i had some rather intense dreams..and "The Ring" i shall never watch again, as that night i dreamt it was my mom crawling out of the TV...does that make me gullible? i don't know..

i know i do not believe in demonic possessions or ghosts..

You are blessed- so many people are unaffected by movies or books. It's a gift to allow yourself to be moved by something that's not real...

The Ring is a masterpiece, and so's the original Japanese version "Ringu"- it SHOULD bother you or cause healthy nightmares.

Sometimes I jump at shadows from irrational fears; I'll picture the unstoppable masked killer outside my window, I'll hesitate to look in the mirror for fear of who (or what) may be staring back from it, I'll expect to see the ghost from The Grudge crawling beneath my bedcovers- I hate it at first, but then I realize it's just like childhood, these irrational fears make me feel alive again. These little terrors are our friends...


If I'm jumping at shadows it means my mind's not dwelling on bills or jobs (or lab results from the Dr).....

Only book that ever did me harm was a true crime book about "the girl in the box"... I leafed through it at Borders; what happened to her was so awful, so beyond any nightmares, I nearly passed out in the store! As much as I love S&M and fetish "torture" scenarios, the real thing is unbearable; I can't bear the thought of this sort of atrocity, especially against a woman...

 

[Spawn190]

Evil books?
Read Red Dragon.