What was your first horror story reading experience?

My mum's aunt forgot her book at our place. I was in grade 3. The cover said "mama" with a doll's innocent face against a pitch black background. Of course it was intriguing! I had to open it. And it was about a little girl too! Moving houses with her mother and siblings. The new house was where she found the doll. Anyway so in a few weeks time I was a few chapters in and the girl had prayed for the doll to come to life and breathed out into the doll's mouth. I had to put the book down because of class tests... But the next thing I know is that my mother got her hands on it and threw it out because it wasn't appropriate for us. We had a cupboard in our backyard with all kinds of recyclables. A few weeks later I saw the book in one of those shelves. I was afraid to bring it inside because my mother could be extremely violent when my parents got into fights. Fast forward a month later I found the book INSIDE the house under the bed. I froze. Oooohhhh. Tiny me was spooked OUT!! I believed that the book wanted to be read... Nay... It DEMANDED to be read!! The doll must be real! It must be alive! Living through this book, cursing all those that pick it up, cursing them into finishing what they've started!! So I had to read it. But my, my was it long!! So I cheated and skipped most chapters. Just read the last one.... Then I put the book back on the paper shelf in the backyard cupboard..... But several weeks later the books appeared AGAIN!!! This time in our guest bedroom. Dammit!!! It won't leave me alone! This doll is scaring the living shite out of me!!! I HAD to finish the book. So I read it cover to cover before again putting it back onto the paper shelf.... I never saw the book again.
Years later I asked my sister if she had read it back then. She said yep and had had the same thoughts about its reappearance as I had had!!

...Now we think my mum was secretly reading the book all along!