Halloween Challenge

Hey friends, for October this year I decided that I was going to challenge myself with some “spooky” and “thrilling” books. This is definitely stretching my comfort reading zone, as I DO NOT read these types of books. My Dad reads stuff like this all the time, and to be frank, it scares the S*** out of me. I’m not saying that I am only reading these types of books, but I am going to try to read some and see why so many people enjoy this genre!

So here are some of the books I’ve been considering to read:

Dracula, by Bram Stoker. This is the most obvious choice on my list… but I’ve never read it. If you haven’t read it, think Gothic atmosphere, vampires, love, and loneliness. From my understanding it follows a young English lawyer, who travels to Castle Dracula in Transylvania to finalize a real estate transaction with a nobleman named Count Dracula. Ekkk… I’m scared already!

 

IT, by Stephen King. Dad, if you reading this… I am finally going to take the plunge and read some Stephen King! This book is about seven adults who return to their hometown to confront a nightmare they had first stumbled on as teenagers…an evil without a name: It. It’s super long, but everyone raves about it! And immediately after I will be watching the movie.

 

 

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. I recently (as in today) listened to the WSIRN Podcast, and the guests were talking about this book. Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place—he’s the only living resident of a graveyard. He was raised from infancy by ghosts, werewolves, and other mystical, spooky, creatures… I’m intrigued!

 

Horns, by Joe Hill.  So, in case you don’t know, this is Stephen King’s son. He’s written several books, but I haven’t read any… even though my Dad thinks they are great, so I think it’s worth a shot! Ignatius Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things. He woke up the next morning with a thunderous hangover, a raging headache . . . and a pair of horns growing from his temples. This sounds like the worst hangover ever!!

 

The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath. This book seems like it’s a little closer to being in my wheel house. It is the story of Esther Greenwood who begins an internship at a popular women’s magazine, but her hopes for a career as a writer are dashed when she returns home to Massachusetts to discover she’s been rejected from a prestigious writing seminar. This is her story of a downward spiral.

 

The Shining, by Stephen King. Here’s another one influenced by my Dad. It sounds super creepy as well… Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as winter arrives, the location feels ever more remote . . . and more sinister.

 

The Witches, Roald Dahl. Okay… so if you were playing the game “Which one doesn’t belong?!” this would be the winner. But, I have always been a huge Roald Dahl fan, and this one is great. I actually re-read his books all the time, and when I re-read this one recently, I realized how actually scary it is. It’s a story about… witches! You guessed it.

Do you read scary or creepy books? If you could comment with your suggestions I would love to explore them. And hope you will take my October Spooky Reading Challenge with me!

Until next time, happy reading!