2026 Something Wicked Fall featuring a folk horror read-along + stories, movies, and more!

Today is officially fall AND spooky season here at Castle Macabre! Let's get this scary party started! This is our 9th year and, as expected, I'm excited to share the fun and the horror. 🎃

😈 Social Media - 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 the Seasons of Reading Goodreads group. Castle Macabre also has a Facebook page and we're on Instagram here. Also, if you like Discord, join us on the Seasons of Reading Discord. There is a Something Wicked Fall channel if anyone is up for some live interaction. Here's the invite link: https://discord.com/invite/e6uAmXtGqA

👹 Folk horror read-along of Adam Nevill's Last Days (Factoid: Apple TV is making a new series titled Ascension, which is based on this novel!). We will be reading the book for the entire two months.

Discussions will be held on this blog. The dates for discussions and the reading schedule are below.

My edition: St. Martin's Griffin (trade paperback) edition, published in 2012, 531 pages.

Read-Along Schedule 

(some sections may be longer than others due to the length of some of the chapters)

• Start reading the first section on September 2
  Prologue - Chapter 8, pp 1- 154
  (Discussion post - September 16)
• Second section, September 17
  Chapter 9 - 18, pp 155 - 276
  (Discussion post - September 30)
• Third Section, October 1
  Chapter 19 - 25, pp 277 - 397
  (Discussion post - October 14)
• Fourth Section, October 15
  Chapter 26 - 30, pp 398 - 531 (end)
  (Discussion post - October 30)

💀 For the two months of Something Wicked Fall we focus on everything horror...Gothic (Best Gothic Books of All Time), Classics, Folk Horror (Goodreads Folk Horror List) and any other kind of horror (Best Horror Anthologies and Horror Collections - Single Author). This post will be the master post where we can post about what we're reading in the comments (or leave links) so be sure to bookmark it (I will also have Something Wicked Fall linked in the menu at the top of the blog).

👺 Horror movie/shows I'm a year-round horror girl so I watch an inordinate amount of horror movies and shows, and even more during spooky season, so I will be sharing my take on some of those, and will probably share a few book reviews as well. As always, I invite guest posts or reviews from anyone who would care to contribute. If interested, send me a message via the Contact Me button in the sidebar.

👻 FrightFall Readathon October all month long, at Seasons of Reading. Sign-up for the readathon will be open soon. 

I mentioned in my blogiversary that I've started a YouTube channel. Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to record my first video yet. I'm hoping to this week. My plan is to do some stuff for this event. I'm thinking I will for sure be reading aloud Shirley Jackson's The Lottery and The Witch. If you want to subscribe (free), here's the link: 

https://www.youtube.com/@castlemacabrehorror  

I promise I'll have a video up soon. I'm also very nervous so there's that too.

Don't forget...you can still grab the printable Halloween bookmarks I created a couple of years ago. Just download them by clicking the image below.

I believe I've covered everything. If you have any questions, feel free to comment, or contact me via the contact form (click the image near the top of the sidebar) 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.

Stay Wicked!!

15 years of Castle Macabre, a (somewhat) new direction, and save the date

As everyone knows, horror is my jam! I've always read horror, but several years ago, I was focusing more on historical fiction. But I could not silence the call of horror and it is now mainly what I read, and write. Yes, I'm writing a horror novel! 

Which brings me to the topic of the new direction I mentioned above. Castle Macabre is now my main hub for my writing journey as well. I will share updates on my writing, and I plan to get more frequent in my horror-centric posts in general. Oh, and I've started a YouTube channel as a companion to this blog, and my writing and horror journey. My first video is not up yet, but I hope to begin filming soon. Stay tuned!

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 Something Wicked Fall, which runs through September and October, it kicks off on September 1st. I will have the kick off post live with all the info, and the reading schedule for our folk horror themed read-along of Adam Nevill's Last Days that day. 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 on the Seasons of Reading blog.

I hope you will join us!

Art featured in blogiversary graphic by: 

Image by Tracy Lundgren from Pixabay

2026 I Read Horror Year-Round Challenge - Second Quarter Check-In

Here I am...late again. So sorry! Not much to report on my end. I may not have read anything matching any of the categories. We shall see below. My reading year is not going great at all.

How did the first quarter go for you?

I'm doing the Chilling level which is 12 books in a year. Plus, I'm going to try to do the Complete the Word Bonus Challenge. I picked FRIGHT. Here's how it's going so far...

• Winter - set in winter or snow on the cover or winter in the title
  Freezing Point, Karen Dionne
• Epistolary horror - found footage, told in letters and/or diaries
• Cult and/or ritual
• Haunted house
• Full moon and/or woods on the cover
• Indigenous, Asian, or Latino author
• Pumpkins/Jack O' Lanterns on the cover
• Black author
• Book published in the 60's, 70's, or 80's
• Social justice horror
• Yule/Christmas holiday themed
• Whatever scares you the most
  Marla, Jonathan Janz (creepy...creepy scares me the most. lol)

F - Freezing Point, Karen Dionne
R
I
G
H - Hell Bent, Leigh Bardugo
T

So, yeah...not doing so great. I'm still trying to turn things around. I have some good horror lined up for a four month challenge I'm participating in so that should help. I'm currently reading Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. A third time read for me!

I keep track of my yearly challenges over on my sister site, True Book Addict. There's a link to my 2026
challenge page in the menu above.

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

Thanks for bearing with me! Wishing you continued terrifying reads!

The Siren of Groves Peak by Glenn Rolfe - Be careful what you wish for

I love "Monkey's Paw/Be careful of the bargains you strike" stories and this book fills the bill. A story of a lobstering town's desperation and later, greed, and the secrets that lead to the downfall of everyone involved. We know the responsible party right at the outset, but the methodical deaths slowly begin to reveal the one secret that damns them all. This is not just a horror story of gory deaths. It's a statement on how a person's greed and hunger for power will eventually come back to haunt them. In other words, karma is a bitch.

I am a long-time fan of Glenn Rolfe's books. This is one of his best. I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys the type of story I mentioned above, and folk horror in general.

My reviews of Rolfe's other works:

August's Eyes

Chasing Ghosts

Things We Fear

Blood and Rain

Boom Town

About the book

Groves Peak, Maine is home to a dark secret. The successful lobstering community is ready for summer, but a murder at sea changes everything. People are dying in the small coastal town, and the lobstermen are on edge.

Only one man knows the truth. His closet of skeletons is about to open, and no one is safe. Not even his daughter or her best friend. As a supernatural fury, homegrown dangers, and buried secrets coalesce into a series of real-life nightmares, friendships are tested, and heroes will fall. The Siren of Groves Peak reveals the true monsters in us all.

Advance praise
"Horror hits like a hurricane in this creature-feature masterfully layered with terror, dread, and scares so jarring they just might leave you seasick without ever leaving land." — Nick Medina, author of The Whistler and Indian Burial Ground

"A rising star in the genre. Highly recommended!" — Ronald Malfi, author of December Park and Senseless

"Rolfe is the real deal, folks, and anything he writes is well worth checking out."
– Gord Rollo, author of The Jigsaw Man and The Crucifixion Experiments

"An intense tale reminiscent of classic works by Jack Ketchum or Stephen King"
– Booklist

Releases June 30, 2026

Preorder: Amazon