I’m excited to be participating in a Halloween blog hop on October 30-31. Special thanks to Katie O’Sullivan for organizing it! If you’re a follower of my blog, you may already know that having been born and raised in Massachusetts, autumn is my favorite season, next to winter. Here in Maryland the leaves are just starting to turn and we had our first frost last week. I missed apple picking this year, but I have some apples from a local orchard ready for baking and the colder weather is making me want to hunker down and be more productive inside. I think the magic of Halloween, when the veils between the worlds grow thin, has inspired me to really dive back into my writing.
For the Halloween blog hop, I’m going to share a few of my favorite scary/creepy stories. I don’t like watching horror movies because I can’t handle the gore, but I like reading old-fashioned ghost stories and weird tales of things that go bump in the night. After you read my list, leave a comment and share some of your own favorites during the hop on October 30 or 31. I have a $10 Amazon gift card to give to one lucky commenter to use on your favorite tricks or treats.
In no particular order:
1. The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
The monkey’s paw grants three wishes, but be careful what you wish for. The end of this short story gave me shivers. I love the implied horror.
2. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
I read this for the second time last year. Creepy! I will never look at a carnival the same way again.
3. Don’t Look Now by Daphne du Maurier
A while back someone recommended that I read Daphne du Maurier’s Jamaica Inn and I fell in love with her gothic stories. She also wrote Rebecca and a short story called “The Birds,” both of which became Hitchock films. Don’t Look Now is a collection of stories, including “The Birds” and some frightening gems like “Blue Lenses,” about a woman who after eye surgery sees the heads of animals on people, reflecting their true nature, and “Don’t Look Now” (which was also made into a movie), about a couple on vacation who recently lost their young daughter and experience and unsetting series of events. Perfect Halloween reading.
4. The Festival by H.P. Lovecraft
It’s hard to choose just one Lovecraft story, but “The Festival” is pretty well known. New England setting, primal horror, typical Lovecraft. He has a distinctive, flowery style. I think you either like him or you don’t. I happen to love his writing.
5. The Tell-tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
I don’t think any list of horror favorites would be complete without one story by Poe. This one has stuck with me all these years. And if you can tell me which Simpsons episode featured this story, you get a gold star.
You can tell I haven’t read a lot of modern horror. What are some of your favorites, old or new? Please share and then check out the other blog hop participants! And happy Halloween!
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6. Maer Wilson
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10. L. V. Pires
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12. Iyana’s Rainbow
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Today I’m blogging about summer memories. I’m a fall/winter person, and I hate the heat and humidity we get here in the Mid-Atlantic, but I do love summer treats like ice cream and popsicles, sandals and bare feet, lazing about on a summer afternoon, twilight that seems to stretch on forever, and catching fireflies. My favorite summer memories are of being a kid and playing outside all summer long. That was back in the dark ages, before computers and the internet, even before VCRs, back when we were let loose on the neighborhood and didn’t have to come home until it was dark (yes, I’m old). We’d ride our bikes around and use our imagination to play cops and robbers or Star Wars or house, or we’d have a parent drive us to the town beach to go swimming. Often we’d engage in my favorite summer (and all year round) pastime: reading.
Cindy Young-Turner 