Happy 14th CM...and save the date for Something Wicked Fall 2025!

I'm passionate about horror, as anyone who knows me is aware. I had some years of segue into reading mostly historical fiction, but horror is once again at the forefront of my reading, and writing (I'm currently at work writing my first horror novel). So, I've gone back to my roots since horror was the genre I mainly read when I started reading adult fiction as a preteen. 

A big thank you to all the horror lovers out there, authors and readers alike! Also, thank you for following this little corner of the horror universe. It means more than you will ever know.

Here's to many more years of horror!

Save the date for our scary fall events. Something Wicked Fall, which runs through September and October, kicks off on September 1st. I will have the kick off post live with all the info, and the reading schedule for our read-along of Richard Matheson's Hell House that day (this is a reread for me and I'm excited because it's my favorite horror novel!). The FrightFall Readathon, hosted over at my readathon blog, Seasons of Reading starts on October 1st. Sign up for that event will be posted by mid-September. 

Check out the FrightFall event button. So excited for spooky season! I hope you will join us for all the fun!

Something Wicked Fall - Happy Friday the 13th!

The rare and auspicious day who some may deem bad luck, but us witch-y folk see it as a lucky day...and, of course, horror fans rejoice. Friday the 13th movie marathons and more horror to boot. What's not to like?

I was hoping there would be a Friday the 13th film series marathon on at least one of the streaming services, but unfortunately I could not find one anywhere. I guess it's because they're going to be playing the movies in theaters (?). Oh well...it is what it is. I did find the 2009 Friday the 13th remake on Max. It wasn't terrible. I might even watch it again myself. Jared Padalecki (Supernatural) is in it so that's something anyway...lol. Also, one of my favorite horror films is also streaming on Max. Trick 'r Treat (also 2009). I highly recommend it if you haven't already seen it. I have seen it many times. It's a great one for rewatching. Never gets old.

Below are some graphics from Fangoria with all the streaming horror films streaming in September and there is a TON!! So you can definitely find something scary to watch this Friday the !3th.

As promised, I have a special treat for you today. I created some spooky fall/Halloween bookmarks that you can print out at home. You can print them out on card stock, or if you don't have it, you could print them out, cut out cardboard to size, cut the bookmarks out, and glue them on. 

I hope you like them! Just click the link below the image to download to your device for printing.

Click to download: https://tinyurl.com/swf-bookmarks

💀💀💀

What are your Friday the 13th plans? What will you be watching, or reading? 

Don't forget...the first discussion for our read-along of Stephen King's Fairy Tale will be posted here on Sunday, September 15. Here's the schedule again, and the kick-off post for the event, just in case you missed it.

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#SomethingWickedFall featuring The Woman in White #ReadAlong

It's our third year of Something Wicked Fall! Woot! Keep reading for all the details.

Everything on the agenda is on the button above, but I'm going to share more details below. If you're on Facebook, we have a Seasons of Reading group and page, where we interact during readathons so I'll be sharing info there, and also on the Seasons of Reading Instagram, and in our Seasons of Reading Goodreads group. Castle Macabre also has a Facebook page.

💀 Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White read-along. We will be reading the book for the entire two months. I've been wanting to read this one for a long time. 

Discussions will be held on this blog. I will put a new post up each week on Sunday (with final discussion post up on Sunday, November 1...we will skip Sunday, October 25 since it's the day after Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon and people will probably be recuperating) and we will read along according to the schedule below.

My edition is the Penguin Classics edition, published 2009. 672 pages, though we are only going to reading page 3-626 which includes the two prefaces and the full book text. We are going to have to wing it with page numbers only, as there are so many new chapters under each character's point of view, I couldn't figure out how to split them up. I hope this will work for us. Yikes!

Read-Along Schedule

• Week One (start Sept 1): Preface (1860) - starting The First Epoch (pp 3 - 77)
• Week Two (week of Sept 7): The First Epoch: XIII -  (pp 77 - 156)
  UPDATE: FIRST TWO WEEKS DISCUSSION WILL BE POSTED THIS SUNDAY, 9/13
• Week Three (week of Sept 14): The First Epoch and into Second Epoch (pp 156 - 241)
• Week Four (week of Sept 21): The Second Epoch (pp 241 - 316)
• Week Five (week of Sept 28): The Second Epoch (pp 316 - 398) 
• Week Six (week of Oct 5): The Second Epoch and into Third Epoch (pp 399 - 477)
• Week Seven (week of Oct 12): The Third Epoch (pp 478 - 555)
• Week Eight (week of Oct 26): The Third Epoch (pp 555 - 627/end)

👻 In September, we're focusing on Gothic stories (Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, and others). There's a great list on Goodreads for reference, Best Gothic Books of All Time. I'm not going to set up any read-alongs for this. I'll create a master post and you can stop by and share what you read, and your thoughts, in the comments.

👿 In October, we're focusing on horror stories. There are a couple of great lists on Goodreads for reference...Best Horror Anthologies and Horror Collections (Single Author). I'm not going to set up any read-alongs for this either. I'll create another master post and you can stop by and share what you read, and your thoughts, in the comments.

👹 We're going to have one or two horror movie watch-alongs! I'm not sure which ones we will watch yet. I will mull some titles over and then create a poll so everyone can vote. Any suggestions? Leave me a comment. Since not everyone is on the same social media platforms these days, I have a Seasons of Reading Slack group (I use it for my online book group and it's so much better than Twitter chats) for our watch-alongs. Slack is free so you don't have to worry about that. Stay tuned!

🎃 #FrightFall Readathon, is running in both September and October this year at Seasons of Reading. Sign ups for the readathon are open and you can sign up here. There is also Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon on October 24. Yay!

😈 I'm hoping to get some of my horror author friends to contribute some guest posts. If anyone else would like to contribute a post or guest review, please let me know. You can send me a message via the contact form here on the site.

I think that's it! Hope I didn't leave anything out. No official sign-up for this. Just share that you're in by leaving a comment. You can join in as little or as much as you want. Let's do this!

#SomethingWickedFall featuring a Doctor Sleep #Read-Along

Last year was the inaugural year of this event, though we were Something Wicked This Fall Comes last year (a nod to Ray Bradbury). The event name is now a bit shorter, but no less fun, and still a certain homage to Mr. Bradbury. We start on September 1st (along with Readers Imbibing Peril (R.I.P. 14) which I look forward to every year. What's better than scary reading? Nothing, I say!

Everything on the agenda is on the button above, but I'm going to share more details below. If you're on Facebook, we have a Seasons of Reading group where we interact during readathons so I'll be sharing info there, and also on the Seasons of Reading Instagram, and in our Seasons of Reading Goodreads group. Castle Macabre also has a Facebook page.

💀 Doctor Sleep Read-Along...the biggest part of the event this year! The movie comes out in November so I really wanted to read the book before then. I put up a poll in our groups and the consensus was most people wanted a read-along. And so it will be!

Discussions will be held on this blog. I will put a new post up each week on Sunday (with final discussion post up on Sunday, Oct. 20...we will end there since October 27 is the day after Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon and people will probably be recuperating) and we will read along according to the schedule below.

Read-Along Schedule

• Week One (start Sept 1): Prefatory Matters: Lockbox - Ch. 1 (pp 1 - 85)
• Week Two (week of Sept 9): Ch. 2 - 4 (pp 87 - 145)
• Week Three (week of Sept 16): Ch 5 - 7 (pp 147 - 221)
• Week Four (week of Sept 23): Ch 8 - 10 (pp 223 - 286)
• Week Five (week of Sept 30): Ch 11 - 13 (pp 287 - 364
• Week Six (week of Oct 7): Ch 14 - 16 (pp 365 - 441)
• Week Seven (week of Oct 14): Ch 17 - Author's Note (pp 443 - 531/end)

Leave a comment with your intention to participate. Please comment or send me a message (via the contact form) if you have any questions. 

👻 In September, we're focusing on Gothic stories (Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, and others). There's a great list on Goodreads for reference, Best Gothic Books of All Time. I'm not going to set up any read-alongs for this. I'll create a master post and you can stop by and share what you read, and your thoughts, in the comments.

👿 In October, we're focusing on horror stories. There are a couple of great lists on Goodreads for reference...Best Horror Anthologies and Horror Collections (Single Author). I'm not going to set up any read-alongs for this either. I'll create another master post and you can stop by and share what you read, and your thoughts, in the comments.

👹 We're going to have at least a couple of horror movie watch-alongs! I'm not sure which ones we will watch yet, but I'm kind of eyeing Midsommar, another subtle, but scary film by the guy who did Hereditary (we watched that one together last year and everyone enjoyed it). I saw Midsommar over the summer and loved it. I believe it comes out on DVD, etc. in September. I will mull some titles over and then create a poll so everyone can vote. Any suggestions? Leave me a comment. Since not everyone is on the same social media platforms these days, I'm going to set up a Slack group (I use it for my online book group and it's so much better than Twitter chats) for our watch-alongs. Slack is free so you don't have to worry about that. Stay tuned!

🎃 #FrightFall Readathon, October, all month long at Seasons of Reading. Sign ups for that will go up at the Seasons of Reading blog within the next couple of weeks. There is also Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon on October 26. Yay!

😈 I'm hoping to get some of my horror author friends to contribute some guest posts. If anyone else would like to contribute a post or guest review, please let me know. You can send me a message via the contact form here on the site.

I think that's it! Hope I didn't leave anything out. No official sign-up for this. Just share that you're in by leaving a comment. You can join in as little or as much as you want. Let's do this!

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Week One Discussion #SomethingWickedFall

We started our read-along this past week, reading section was...

Week One (week of Oct. 1st): Prologue - Ch. 17 (pp 1 - 72)

How did it go? What did you think?

Some observations...

At the first, there's the lightning rod salesman. He is a great minor character for foreshadowing. His warning of the coming storm actually seems to have many meanings. The literal storm that may be coming. The storm that comes as a boy hits puberty and all the changes that come with it, and finally, perhaps the hugely disruptive storm that comes in the shape of the carnival rolling into town, which does so in a very strange and uncommon way.

Already, my creep factor is on alert!

I also noticed a theme (trend?) of which some of the older adults seemed to cling to. Will's father, Charles, is described as old. When he looks at the boys, a longing is sensed...for youth and all that goes along with it. He enjoys discussing books with them because then they are on common ground, but that's where it stops. Charles yearns for the youth which has long passed him by.

The two shopkeepers who stand transfixed outside their stores, one listening, the other smelling the smells of carnival food (candy). One has a tear trickle down his face. More longing for the days of youth, when visiting the carnival was probably the most exciting thing all year.

The lighting rod salesman, gazing longingly at the woman in the ice block inside the abandoned hardware store..."The Most Beautiful Woman in the World." Is she a siren encased there in the ice? Does she remind him of youthful days when beautiful girls were perhaps all around him?

Miss Foley going into the mirror menagerie, getting lost, and seeing her younger self lost in the mirrors.

So, a theme...the longing for youth, but what is it that draws Jim? Jim already has youth so what does he long for?

We shall see as we continue to read.

What are your thoughts on my observations? Any observations of your own? Share in the comments below.

Next reading section: Week Two (week of Oct. 8th): Ch. 18 - 29 (pp 73 - 145)
Discussion post next Sunday.

Happy Reading!

#Hereditary Watch-Along - Saturday, September 22 #SomethingWickedFall

It's official! We will have our Hereditary watch-along on Saturday, September 22 at 9:00 pm CT/10:00 pm ET.

I will be hosting via the Seasons of Reading Facebook group (I will create an event so we can easily interact) and Twitter (we will use hashtags #Hereditary #SomethingWickedFall).

This post will be shared in the Facebook group (link above), and on Twitter, so comment on this post, or respond to one of the social media posts if you're in.

Can't wait! I actually saw this at the theater, but looking forward to watching again. It's that good.

Gothic Stories Master Post #SomethingWickedFall

This is the master post for Gothic books or short stories read during Something Wicked This Fall Comes. I will be updating this post with my thoughts on stories I've read during the event.

Please share what you've read/your thoughts on what you've read in the comments. I think this will make for some hearty conversation!

Note: I've included a tab in the blog menu so you can find this page easily. 

UPDATE: I've extended Gothic stories through the end of October since I didn't get to finish reading any of them yet. 

Something Wicked This Fall Comes #somethingwickedfall

So, yes...a new event! You might ask what happened to Gothic September and Season of the Witch. Well, I decided it was time for a change. I wanted to create an all encompassing event that would include everything here and connect with my FrightFall Readathon in October at Seasons of Reading. I know fall doesn't officially start until September 22, but fall in my mind always starts on September 1st (or around there). I guess it's because being from up North, we always started school around September 1st (after Labor Day). Plus, Readers Imbibing Peril (R.I.P. 13) also starts on September 1st...how appropriate!

We are going to have some fun this year! Everything is included on the button above (pretty much), but I'm also going to outline here. If you're on Facebook, we have a Seasons of Reading group on there where we interact during readathons so I'll be sharing info there, and also on the Seasons of Reading Instagram.

💀 48 Hour Kick-Off Readathon this weekend at Seasons of Reading (September 1 - 2). You do not absolutely have to read horror, unless you want to. I will be focusing mostly on horror/scary.

😈 In September, we're focusing on Gothic stories (Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, and others). There's a great list on Goodreads for reference, Best Gothic Books of All Time. I'm not going to set up any read-alongs for this. I'll create a master post and you can stop by and share what you read, and your thoughts, in the comments.

👻 We're going to have at least a couple of horror movie watch-alongs! I've been wanting to do this for years. I for sure want to watch Hereditary, which was in theaters this summer. It was SO good. One of the best horror movies I've ever seen. It comes out on DVD (and Amazon) on September 4th. So, I'm thinking September 8th or 15th (on a Saturday night) and we can either watch-along on Twitter (which would be cool with a hashtag and everything), or I can create an event in the Seasons of Reading Facebook group. I'll put a poll up in the group, or you can weigh-in here in the comments. I'm open to suggestions for another movie(s) to watch-along during the two months. I had thought about the original Suspiria since the remake comes out in early November, but I'm worried about availability.

🎃 In October, we will be having a read-along of the book which is our event's namesake...the Ray Bradbury classic, Something Wicked This Way Comes. There will be a separate post coming soon with complete details and a reading/discussion schedule. For the sake of simplicity, the read-along discussions will be held here on this blog.

💀 #FrightFall Readathon, October, all month long at Seasons of Reading. Sign ups for that will go up at the Seasons of Reading blog within the next couple of weeks. This year, I'm adding some additional readathon fun to the mix. A 48 Hour pre-FrightFall Readathon on September 29 - 30 and a 48 Hour post-FrightFall Readathon on October 31 - November 1. There is also the Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon in October so it's going to be readathon heaven (or hell, to go along with the horror theme. lol).

😈 I'm hoping to get some of my horror author friends to contribute some guest posts. If anyone else would like to contribute a post or guest review, please let me know. You can send me a message via the contact form here on the site.

I think that's it! Hope I didn't leave anything out. No official sign-up for this. Just share that you're in by leaving a comment. You can join in as little or as much as you want. Let's do this!

Review - Hell House LLC: Director’s Cut DVD #WitchSeasonCM

I have a special treat for you today...on my birthday of all days! Why is it special? Well, I haven't done a horror movie review on this blog for a LONG time. I was sent this film for review by the director, Stephen Cognetti. Here is the synopsis and following that, some words from the director himself.

15 people died on the opening night of a Halloween haunted house attraction. A documentary crew revisits the scene of the tragedy to find out what really happened.

"Hell House LLC was shot in May of 2014 while working full-time at another job. I was only able to edit a little each morning or a little at night. That lead to a year-long editing process until I had my locked version of the film.

My intent for Hell House LLC was to produce a slow burn of subtle, yet building scares. I have never been a fan of jump scares or music aided scares. My favorite type of scares in horror has always been the little things caught in the background that the protagonists are not immediately aware of. I worked to embody these sensibilities in Hell House LLC." ~Stephen Cognetti

My thoughts on the film
A "slow burn of subtle, yet building scares" is exactly what this film is, and it's what makes it so good. At first, the viewer might think, "Oh great...another found footage film." Personally, I tend to like those types of films. I'm a huge fan of The Blair Witch Project. This movie is similar to that in some ways, and in others, it's much more scary.

Of course, the hotel where the attraction is put on, the Abaddon Hotel, has a creepy back story. This is the point where any horror movie buff (I don't care who you are) is saying, "Why would you want to put on a haunted house attraction in a location with such a past?" We always say/think this, but there wouldn't be any horror movies if the people in them were really smart...or maybe just had some common sense. All the more fun for us.

This movie just works. There are isolated (subtle) creepy moments right from almost the beginning and these build to a killer crescendo. Anyone who has ever enjoyed going to haunted house attractions, something I've always loved doing, has probably wondered what would happen if the attraction turned deadly. Come on...you wouldn't be a horror buff if you didn't. Putting yourselves in the shoes of the protagonists is what makes the fear more palpable. Even if the horror is ultimately caused by a supernatural force, there is a part of us that still thinks "what if?"

I highly recommend this movie to anyone who loves horror movies. My fourteen year old son, and my sixty-seven year old mom, watched it with me and they thought it was great too. Perfect movie for this spooky, season of the witch time of year.

This film is a DVD-Only Release...

Here is some important information about the DVD:

1. Extended feature includes Director Commentary
2. Additional footage showing the chaos in the basement near the end. The original cut was scripted to be a much bigger payoff. We shot green screens for some VFX, but due to budget and other reasons, we had to use alternative shots. For the Director’s Cut, we brought on a visual effects expert to finish the VFX. 
3. Additional character development scenes. My original rough-cut ran almost 100 minutes and was screened in fall 2014 in New York City. While the film was received well and the scares were effective, the run-time bothered some of the producers. So, I spent the next few months trimming the film by eight minutes. We didn’t lose our best scares but we lost some character development that I was reluctant to part with. I added some of these scenes to the Director’s Cut.
4. DVD Release Date: October 1, 2017 – DVD only. Purchase at http://hellhousellc.com

 Check out the website and support the sequel: Hell House LLC 2: The Abaddon Hotel (Yes, there's going to be a sequel!) DVD sales will help fund the production costs for the Hell House LLC sequel!

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Shirley Jackson's The Witch - Discussion #WitchSeasonCM

A couple days late with this discussion post. I'm sure you're not surprised.

There are spoilers ahead so if you haven't read the story yet, tread lightly.

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What a strange little five page story! I look at this one as a horror story for parents. The man with the cigar, or as the little boy calls him, "a witch" is a parents worst nightmare. Whether he was teasing or not, one could not deny sharing the mother's unease when she heard what the man was saying to her son. I mean, who sits down next to a four year old and starts telling a story like that? Such a conversation might be looked at as comical until he starts going into the (literally) gory details..."and then I took her and I put my hands around her neck and I pinched her and I pinched her until she was dead...And then I took and I cut her head off and I took her head..." Of course, the four year old gasps and yet he's still curious, as any four year old who doesn't quite know yet what a threat is would be. The man goes further with this talk and that's when the mother steps in.

So, not quite the "witch" story I was thinking it would be, but no less interesting with its underlying meaning. Shirley Jackson has a true knack for subtle horror.

What did you think?

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