The phenomenally popular Book of Lists series has sold millions of copies from coast to coast, enthralling trivia aficionados with fascinating infobits about simply everything ! Now the latest edition turns an evil eye toward the strange, the blood-curdling, and the macabre with spine-tingling fun facts from the dark side of entertainment. Chock-full of creepy information from the netherworlds of movies, TV, literature, video games, comic books, and graphic novels, The Book of Lists: Horror offers a blood-feast of forbidden knowledge that horror fans are hungry to devour, including: Stephen King's Ten Favorite Horror Novels or Short Stories—learn what scares the master! - Top Six Grossing Horror Movies of All Time in the United States— which big shocks translated into big bucks? - Top Ten Horror-Themed Rock 'n' Roll Songs—maybe it is ‘devil's music' after all! - And much, much more! Drawing on its authors' extensive knowledge and contributions from the (living) legends and greatest names in the horror and dark fantasy genres, The Book of Lists: Horror is a scream—an irresistible compendium of all things mysterious, terrifying, and gory . . . and so entertaining, it's scary! The phenomenally popular Book of Lists series has sold millions of copies from coast to coast, enthralling trivia aficionados with fascinating infobits about simply everything ! Now the latest edition turns an evil eye toward the strange, the blood-curdling, and the macabre with spine-tingling fun facts from the dark side of entertainment. Chock-full of creepy information from the netherworlds of movies, TV, literature, video games, comic books, and graphic novels, The Book of Lists: Horror offers a blood-feast of forbidden knowledge that horror fans are hungry to devour, including: Stephen King's Ten Favorite Horror Novels or Short Stories—learn what scares the master! - Top Six Grossing Horror Movies of All Time in the United States— which big shocks translated into big bucks? - Top Ten Horror-Themed Rock 'n' Roll Songs—maybe it is ‘devil's music' after all! - And much, much more! Drawing on its authors' extensive knowledge and contributions from the (living) legends and greatest names in the horror and dark fantasy genres, The Book of Lists: Horror is a scream—an irresistible compendium of all things mysterious, terrifying, and gory . . . and so entertaining, it's scary! The Book of Lists: Horror An All-New Collection Featuring Stephen King, Eli Roth, Ray Bradbury, and More, with an Introduction by Gahan Wilson By Amy Wallace HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2008 Amy Wallace All right reserved. ISBN: 9780061537264 Chapter One Six Stars Who Turned Down Famous Horror Movie Roles 1. Bela Lugosi as the Monster in Frankenstein (1931): Coming off the title role in the hit 1931 film version of Dracula, Bela Lugosi seemed like the natural choice to star as the creature in Frankenstein . While make-up tests with Lugosi were indeed conducted and shot, ultimately he did not play the role, although accounts differ as to why. Lugosi claimed that he "read the script and didn't like it. So I asked to be withdrawn from the picture." However, Jack Pierce, the film's makeup designer, was quoted as saying that the star "had too many ideas of his own that didn't correspond with those of the producer, Carl Laemmle. Lugosi thought his ideas were better than everybody's." Whatever the case, the part went to a forty-four-year-old character actor named Boris Karloff, and the rest is horror history. 2. Shirley MacLaine as Chris MacNeil in The Exorcist (1973): Author William Peter Blatty used his friend Shirley MacLaine as the inspiration for Chris MacNeil, the movie star whose daughter Regan is a victim of demonic possession, right down to giving the character a similar last name. When MacLaine signed a deal with producer Lew Grade, she tried to interest him in making the film version of The Exorcist . However, the producer made a lowball offer on the hot material, which was declined, and MacLaine ended up starring in another supernatural thriller, The Possession of Joel Delaney (1972). After other major actresses were considered by Blatty and director William Friedkin, the role eventually went to Ellen Burstyn, who earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. In an odd side-story, MacLaine has long maintained that the image on the novel's dust jacket cover was a distorted photograph of her daughter Sachi that was taken by Blatty, although the author has repeatedly denied this claim. 3. Sterling Hayden as Quint in Jaws (1975): The legendary star of The Asphalt Jungle and Johnny Guitar was selected by director Steven Spielberg to play the crusty shark hunter Quint in the adaptation of Peter Benchley's bestseller. (Lee Marvin was also briefly considered.) However, Hayden was in the midst of legal problems due to unpaid taxes, and his salary would have been subject to a levy by the Internal Rev