Tag Archives: Horror

Summerween: When fall is so close and you need a tide-me-over

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New this year to my home decor, my own Pine-O-Lantern. And yes, that’s a Pennywise rubber duck beside it and yes, he floats.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of things I like about summer. The slow sunny vibes. Not having to deal with snow. The sense of vacation and rest and time spent outdoors and pools and parties. Plus strawberries (my favourite fruit).

One thing I cannot stand about summer? The heat! My gosh, the heat! If the temperature stays between 20 and 25 degrees that’s pretty perfect. Over that, especially when it’s humid out? It’s miserable and sweaty and hard to sleep in or work out in.

OK, rant over. Why am I bringing this up? Well, because as much as there’s lots to love about summer, there is, in my opinion, an even better season following it. Fall.

*happy sigh* Ah fall, my favourite. Cool breezes, beautiful colours, you can still spend time outside without melting or freezing, pumpkin spice everything, delicious food in general. And, what may be best of all, HALLOWEEN! Yes, I am a Halloween fangirl. Have been my entire life. Horror and creepy things in general are my jam, not anything too extreme though, fun scary (though your mileage may vary on that), and Halloween is when we celebrate all of it. And after a long year of snow and rain and heat, we Halloween Heads are ready to embrace it. But we have a few more weeks to go and summer can still be fun.

But did you know there’s a compromise? A way to soak in the summer sun and still feed that need for scary season? If you haven’t been properly introduced to Summerween yet allow me to be the first to do so.

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Secret Santa 2: 2 Secret 2 Santa

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Cover-image-for-Such-Sharp-Teeth-by-Rachel-Harrison

Continuing our new holiday tradition, next up we have my recommendations for fellow blog team member Maya. After conducting extensive research, including scouring Maya’s previously published posts, I’ve come up with some bespoke picks for her enjoyment. For those among you who may enjoy horror with a supernatural/paranormal tinge, graphic novels, Kate Beaton, and the like, these choices just might do double for you. I hope there’s something here that you haven’t already heard of and that interests you, Maya! Since Maya is an undisputed horror fan (with several blog posts in evidence), I had to include a horror novel in my gift of recommendations. This one was on Book Riot’s 2024 Summer Scares List, which is an annual tradition the website has in collaboration with the Horror Writers Association in the US and several other book and/or library-related organizations. What better way to play to Maya’s steadfast and unceasing love of summer and hatred of winter then to pull from this list. It aims to boost the popularity of the horror genre for readers at any age and for all seasons. Too often the spoopy and gothic are linked to Halloween, the colder months, and autumnal vibes. Check out the list linked above if you’re interested! There’s books for adults, young adults, and middle grade. Such Sharp Teeth is about Rory Morris. After a move back to the place she was born and an encounter with a man from her past, she gets in an accident with a wild animal, or so she thinks. Paranormal transformation ensues, along with romance.

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Spooky Stories for Scaredy Cats

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image-of-jack-o-lanterns
Photo by Ross Sneddon on Unsplash

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—I am not a fan of horror. And yet…there are definitely spooky stories out there that, despite my self-proclaimed scaredy cat status (I dare you to say that three times fast), I enjoy! I don’t seek them out, necessarily…but much like Wikipedia research rabbit holes, I get lured in by one thing or another and then I’m hooked before I know it.

Before we jump into a list of recommendations though, I was curious as to why we’re drawn to horror at all. According to this article by The Washington Post, “[horror offers] a combination of an adrenaline rush and an opportunity to learn about dealing with scary situations in a safe environment”. And according to this more recent article by Crime Reads, “[horror] provides us with a distraction from the terrors of the real world” but that “there’s something beyond distraction and catharsis that horror gives us. The gift of control.”

That makes sense to me, but I still like my scares to be slight, so I’ve put together a non-exhaustive list of movies, shows, and books that I can recommend if you, like me, are horrified by horror, grossed out by gore, and scared of suspense…and yet can’t help but be curious of the creepy.

(Can you tell I’m having a lot of fun with alliteration?)

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