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Roger,
Before I begin, I very strongly recommend that you avoid spoilers (like on Amazon) for the books below, because they will ruin the effect...
To start: I highly, highly recommend Jeff Long's book "The Descent." (No relation to the British horror film of the same name, although *that* is one of the most genuinely terrifying films I've ever seen. Just ask Jeff, who watched it on my recommendation.)
Long's book begins as a horror novel, then turns into a gothic adventure set deep in the bowels of the earth... and if the first 3-4 chapters don't seriously scare the hell out of you, then nothing will.
In an SF/horror vein, go grab Richard Paul Russo's "Ship of Fools," a really disturbing gothic horror novel set on a giant spaceship. It's a mixture of Alien, Event Horizon, and Hellraiser, and as an exercise in pure mood, I thought it was very creepy.
I also second the nomination of Scott Smith's The Ruins -- pure, creeping horror (no pun intended; you'll understand when you read the book.)
Since you mentioned Dan Simmons, Summer of Night was great -- but you should also read Carrion Comfort (long but rewarding) and especially Children of the Night, which would make a great movie. (His first novel, Song of Kali, also is scary.)
Finally, for horror of a different kind, read Cormac McCarthy's The Road -- a very disturbing book that I couldn't put down.
-- Jon
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