All 3 Uses of

lurid
in
The Lords of Discipline

It would have been odd indeed if I had not fallen victim to some of the more lurid fantasies of the military mythology.†
Chpt 1.10 *

Panic blossomed in grotesque and lurid forms among the freshmen in the sinking half-light of a luminous and mysterious dusk.†
Chpt 2.16

There is always a lurid sense of menace to Southern forests at night, especially when the oak trees are centenarians and their branches, braceleted with thick vines and draped with their scarves of moss, bend low to the earth to make the darkness darker.†
Chpt 4.38

Definitions:

(1) (lurid)
shocking, as from disturbing details of a horrible story, or a color more vivid (bright or deep) than would be expected
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
meaning too rare to warrant focus:

Long ago, lurid referred to a yellowish color or things and from there to things so shocking they make someone turn pale. Later, but still in the 18th century, it was used to describe a vivid red and is still used to describe vivid colors--especially red.