To keep my month as spooky as possible, I’ve been reading horror fiction as well as watching horror films. But honestly, nothing is really different from the rest of the year, except I eat a lot more Halloween candy while I’m reading / watching.

This month I’ve read a few so far, some from my own choosing, and some from a list that Oprah emailed me titled “the scariest books ever” or whatever. I don’t know. They’re always titled the same. But for once, the list I encountered actually had books I’ve never read or even heard of. There was like 3 I’d heard of, and one I’d read out of a pretty long list. It was crazy. So obviously I must now conquer the list. Which I am slowly doing over the month.

Anyway, first of all I started off with the king of horror, my personal favorite; Stephen King. Big thanks to my bonus dad for secretly pre-ordering this for me and giving me a very awesome surprise.

 

Doctor Sleep – Stephen King

“The world was the Overlook Hotel, where the party never ended. Where the dead were alive forever.”

Based on Danny Torrance from The Shining as an adult. It deals with the aftermath of the Overlook, Danny’s alcohol addiction, and what the shining really is. He be-friends a little girl, Abra, who also has the shining, but much stronger than he does, and finds out there are these creepy creatures out there who feast off of the shining. It’s a great novel; I devoured it as quickly as possible. It’s also really heavy emotionally. Danny’s worst memory of his drinking is an image that will stick in your mind and haunt you more than the scary stuff in the book. And as far as spooky imagery goes, this one was amazing. I place it right behind Bag of Bones for creepiness factor. I found this book a lot more emotional and heavy than his others lately so it was a nice change. But it does lay on your heart for awhile, so don’t read if you’re already sad, unless you want to make yourself sadder, in which case…enjoy. 

Dark Harvest – Norman Partridge

“You remember how it feels, don’t you? All that desire scorching you straight through. Feeling like you’re penned up in a small-town cage, jailed by cornstalk bars. Knowing, just knowing, that you’ll be stuck in that quiet little town forever if you don’t take a chance.”

This one was on the list that Oprah sent me and is incredibly short as it’s a novella. I knocked it out in two days. It’s set in 1963 and based in a small town where the male teens engage in a yearly ritual on Halloween where they chase down “the October boy” and kill him. The winner will then be greatly rewarded and given an escape from the town. It’s horrifying and once you reach the twist and realize who or what the October boy really is and what could possibly be happening to the winners every year, you feel your heart sink into your stomach. I found it fascinating and for the first time in awhile when reading, have actually despised a character. As in, this guy is the bad guy and I hate him so much and hope he dies.

Your House is on Fire Your Children all Gone – Stefan Kiesbye

“We set fire to home and barn. Helga’s husband— having admitted his guilt by staying home— was struck down with an axe and dragged back into the house, where his remains were buried under falling beams and collapsing walls. The whole village watched and cheered the fire and helped a neighbor when flames from Helga’s barn began licking his own.”

Another short one from the list, this time it took me longer to read because life got in the way. But also the stories in this book are horrifying and it may not be safe to ingest them all in one go. And the cover has secret writing on it, so when you tilt the book it says “If you tell on me you’re dead” so okay, I’ll keep my mouth shut. It’s about 5 kids reuniting as adults in a small German town where they grew up. They’re there because of the death of one of the kids. Each chapter is basically from one kid’s perspective and is a fucked up story involving murder, rape, witches, ghosts, the devil etc. The children are terrifying and I’m pretty sure this village all drinks sociopath juice for breakfast because even the parents have a lot of screws loose. The whole story is surreal and slightly confusing, it doesn’t translate well I don’t think. But it’s enough for you to follow along and cringe in despair at the “fun times” these kids encounter. Also, the ending is suuuuuper confusing. So if just one other person could read this and then get back to me about what the hell that ending was, that’d be greeeeaaaatttt.

You can read an excerpt here if you’re interested: Click Here!

Last month, as we all know, was September; the prequel to Halloween. And so for the last two weeks of September I read these creepy novels:

The Missing Girl – Norma Fox Mazer

“He told you not to cry, but tears keep leaking out of your eyes. And you're glad, because those tears belong to you. They're yours. Your tears. He can't have them. He can't touch them. They're all yours.

A terrifying and interesting quick read about a man who watches five young sisters and plots to kidnap one of them. Each chapter is from a different perspective, some of them are from the man himself and are so creepy and crawly you feel like showering after you’re done. Think the Virgin Suicides but younger mixed with Lolita except murdery. It has a surprisingly sad but also sort of happy ending. The writing itself is a little overwhelming in some chapters as it’s hard to keep track of who’s who, who’s speaking etc.

The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks

“A death is always exciting, always makes you realize how alive you are, how vulnerable but so-far-lucky; but the death of somebody close gives you a good excuse to go a bit crazy for a while and do things that would otherwise be inexcusable. What delight to behave really badly and still get loads of sympathy!”

This was a book pick on a whim. Sometimes when I’m in the library I like to just pick two or three shelves and force myself to choose one or two books at random, read the back, and if they intrigue me, I take them home. Most of the time it works, but this time it REALLY worked. This book is horrifying, as in, I would read it and think wtf why am I reading this, this is so fucked up, then I’d put it down and within minutes my hand would be reaching for it to keep reading. It’s addicting, psychotic, disturbing, uncomfortable, and strangely heartbreaking. And the twist ending is something I didn’t see coming at all. It basically punched me in the face. It follows the story of sixteen year old Frank, a deeply disturbed and confused individual. From animal torture, to a screwed up family situation, to a clearly mentally unstable person, you follow along with Frank’s story and also find yourself feeling sorry for him. You start to think, yeah Frank, that makes total sense, and then you close the book and you think OH GOD NO, WHY DID I THINK THAT?! I don’t want to say too much about the plot as it’s hard to explain without ruining anything. So read it. Or don’t. Whatever. Also there is a harrowing scene that made me almost vomit and cry and instantly email Oprah and explain the whole vivid gory moment to her. I still think about it, it was very traumatic.

Right now I am about half way through my last book for October and am enjoying it greatly;

 

The Demonologist – Andrew Pyper

“Your melancholy. Or depression. Along with nine-tenths of the afflictions I’ve studied, diagnosed, attempted to treat. Call them whatever you like, but they’re just different names for loneliness. That’s what lets the darkness in. That’s what you have to fight.”

This book was another from the list Oprah sent. I actually had an ex boyfriend hand me a book written by Mr. Pyper a few years ago called The Killing Circle which I read on a whim. I fell in love with it as I was not expecting what happened at all. I could barely put it down. And although I don’t feel that strongly about this novel, that may just be because I have a life now and as much as I would like to just sit outside and read all day, I can’t. Boo hoo. This novel is based around David, an English Professor who is going through a divorce and accepts an intriguing opportunity to go to Venice with his daughter. Shit goes down, the daughter dies in a mysterious fashion, and he goes off on an adventure that involves demons and hallucinations and strangers following him. It’s so crystal clear and flows so well, it really feels like I’m watching a horror movie while I read this. It’s confusing enough to be scary but not pretentious and is fast paced enough so that you don’t get lost or bored in the biblical talk. So I’m enjoying it so far, we’ll see how the ending turns out. But I must say, the possession scene (this isn’t spoiling anything don’t worry) in the first few chapters is one of the most well written demon possession scenes I’ve ever read. Hats off to you Mr. Pyper!

Anyway, on my to-read list for the next few weeks/months/whatever depending on when my library gets them in:

A Good and Happy Child – Justin Evans

The Little Stranger – Sarah Walters

The Crow – Norman Partridge

Pines – Blake Crouch

The Last Policeman – Ben Winters

A Prayer for the Dying – Stewart O’Nan

Cinder – Marissa Meyer

Peter & the Starcatchers – Dave Barry

Never Suck a Dead Man’s Hand – Dana Kollmann

Any horror fiction suggestions? Leave them in the comments, or don’t, again, I don’t really care. But if someone does read “Your house is on fire…..” you should definitely get a hold of me to talk about the ending. AKA; I’m looking at you Oprah. Get through Harry Potter and start reading this!!!