Castle Macabre is 13 today...and update on Something Wicked Fall

I have always been a horror reader, but around the time of this blog's inception, I was reading more historical fiction than anything else. A lot has changed since then and horror has once again become the forefront of my reading passion. Back to my roots, I would say...since horror was the genre I mainly read when I started reading adult fiction as a preteen. I also write horror and I'm currently working on my first horror novel. 

Anyway, A big thank you to everyone who follows/reads the blog, and to those who participate in events and reading challenges. Here's to many more years of horror!

Update on Something Wicked Fall

The votes were counted and our Stephen King read-along winner was Fairy Tale. I'll have the reading schedule for you in the kickoff post on September 1st. Here's the updated event graphic...

Save the date for the FrightFall Readathon in October at Seasons of Reading...

Save the date...and a poll for our scary fall events

Save the date for our scary fall events. Something Wicked Fall, which runs through September and October, kicks off on September 1st. We will be having another Stephen King read-along and you get to vote for your choice. Just click this link when you're ready to vote: https://forms.gle/u8Pcb2QMEsk83LGK8 

Please only vote for one title. Voting is anonymous, but feel free to share what you voted for in the comments below.

I will have the post live with all the info, and the reading schedule for our TBD read-along on the kickoff date. The FrightFall Readathon, hosted over at my readathon blog, Seasons of Reading starts on October 1st. Sign-up for that event will be posted before mid-September on the Seasons of Reading blog.

Check out the preliminary event button for Something Wicked Fall below. I hope you will join us!

I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones - Review

There's a recently released horror movie called "In A Violent Nature" which is a slasher film told mostly from the killer's perspective. I saw it. Didn't love it, but didn't hate it either. If you like a lot of gore and creative dispatches of victims, this would be for you. I, for one, felt it needed a better story.

So if you want a better story told from the killer's perspective, this is the book you should read. Never in the history of my love for horror books and movies have I ever read a premise this creative and just plain interesting. Finally we get the inside workings of what everything a slasher is about, right down to how and why he (she) never seems to be killable. And it's really a juxtaposition between a ruthless killer and a likable teenager. I really can't say more, as I don't want to spoil it. I'll also mention that there are creative killings so for the fans I mentioned up there, you will like this too. 

One final note: Amber's beat-up Rabbit truck, with the passenger seat that slid forward on its rails every time she braked. I had a car with a seat like that, except mine was a beat-up 1974 Mustang. My friends loved it. I was a bit older than the book's characters, graduated in 1986, but the 80s nostalgia never truly leaves us.

2024 I Read Horror Year-Round Challenge - Second Quarter Check-In

How did the second quarter of the challenge go for you?

For the Chilling Level, I read one book for the word "Dark" in the cover. That was Children of the Dark by Jonathan Janz. I'm planning to knock several out during Quarter Three. My planned reads below...

Animal Kingdom by Iain Rob Wright for Nature Gone Wild

Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne for Gothic novel

I Found Puppets Living in my Apartment Walls by Ben Farthing for Creepy Object

Lone Women or Don't Fear the Reaper for BIPOC author

I (try to) keep track of my yearly challenges over on my sister site, True Book Addict. There's a link to my 2024 challenge page in the menu above.

Fun reminder...Something Wicked Fall starts in just two months!! Trying to decide on a read-along selection. Maybe Stephen King.... Stay tuned.

I hope you're enjoying your horrific reading! Share your progress in the comments (update, links to posts/reviews, etc.)...