Spine Tingling Suggestions for All Hallows' Eve
All Hallows' Eve is one of my favorite holidays and I make a point of reading or watching at least one spine tingling, shiver inducing, lights kept on, looking over my shoulder, type of story each year around this time.
Some of my recent favorites include Bird Box by Josh Malerman, the Stranger Things series on Netflix, Short stories by Edgar Allen Poe (try our new graphic novel version for a new experience of these classic tales), and The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins.
Bird Box is a dystopian horror novel in which the protagonists are avoiding an unknown horror (man, animal, or monster?) and must journey to safety while blindfolded to avoid death and mutilation. Clear your schedule, because once you pick this book up you won't want to put it down. The suspense is so good it is agonizing.
Stranger Things is an addictive scifi-mystery TV series that is a glorious throwback to the 80's. Think Dungeons & Dragons, synthesizers, big and bad hair do's, etc. In season one a boy goes missing, "As friends, family, and local police search for answers, they are drawn into an extraordinary mystery involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces, and one very strange little girl."
It is always fun to revisit the classic short stories written by Edgar Allen Poe. Some of my favorites are The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Pit and the Pendulum. We have a collection of his stories in print, graphic novel version, and a large selection of downloadable audiobook options available through Hoopla. Try experiencing one of Poe's nail biters in a new way this year!
The Library at Mount Char is a horror-fantasy novel that is full of suspense, gore, and imagination, "After she and a dozen other children found them being raised by "Father, " a cruel man with mysterious powers, Carolyn and her "siblings" begin to think he might be God; so when he dies, they square off against each other to determine who will inherit his library, which they believe holds the power to all Creation." This one is more graphic and gruesome than I usually prefer, but the unique and suspenseful story captivated me.
If none of these suggestions have sent a shiver up your back then you may want to try some of the popular authors and novels in the slideshow below.
And please let me know your favorite horror-suspense suggestion next time you see me at the front desk!
Happy All Hallows' Eve,
Mat Bose - Assistant Director