2026 Something Wicked Fall - Quick Update!

I just wanted to apologize for being rather ghostly of late. I will disclose now that I have a lot on my plate right now and I've been struggling with some mental health issues the past few months (incidentally, I have started therapy again). For this reason, I have decided to postpone the official launch of my YouTube channel until the new year. It's a busy season and it's only going to get busier with the holidays coming up. Probably not a good time to be a beginner and dipping my toes in when I'm dealing with overwhelm. A sneak peak into what has had my attention the past several days. Crafting with my sister last Monday through Thursday has really helped in the mental health department. Here's what we're working on...

We're almost finished. We just have to finish up the scenes in each room. As you can see, there is a skeleton yoga room on the bottom floor, left room. On the right is going to be the witch room, and the second floor, left room is the mummy/embalming room. It has been a lot of work, but we are enjoying it. Halloween is my favorite! Duh, right?!

Regarding the Last Days read-along, I got behind again. I've decided to combine discussions two and three so will plan to have that posted no later than the 14th. That's firm because the 15th is my birthday and I have a pretty busy birthday weekend planned which will include a lot of reading since Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon is on the 17th. Yay!

For those of you participating in the I Read Horror Year-Round reading challenge, I will have the third quarter update posted soon. I'm also failing miserably on that challenge this year as well. *sigh*

Now that I've shared what's going on in my life, how are things going in yours? Feel free to share. I'm always willing to listen. 

Thanks so much for being a follower of this blog, and for bearing with me. I appreciate it more than you will ever know.

Adam Nevill's Last Days Read-Along - Discussion One

Possible spoilers ahead. Enter if you dare.

First of all, thank you for bearing with me on my lateness. I had quite the week and just could not get caught up. I finally sat down this weekend and read the first section. Wow! Just what I would expect from a Nevill novel. Starting off with a bang with that prologue, and then not too long after, the creeping dread begins.

The first foray of Kyle and Dan into the house on Clarendon Road, the original headquarters of the Last Gathering, was definitely edge of seat. I can only imagine how scared they were. I was scared right along with them. They stuck around way longer than I would have. Also, the revelation that Max had been part of the Last Gathering. I thought he acted kind of weird. Makes sense that he would run a spiritual, new age type production company, though after his experiences with the cult, I wonder why? There is definitely something more about his involvement than he is letting on. At least in my opinion.

Onward with the creepiness...to Normandy and the dilapidated farm. Thinking about those poor children kept in the barn/temple with the dogs. How weird anyway. Kyle touched on it when he thought about how strange it was that Sister Katherine would want the followers to procreate when she mostly expected them to be celibate. A definite contradiction in the cult by-laws so to speak. I kept screaming in my head to Kyle. Why was he exploring that place by himself after Dan went off to help Gabriel? I knew something bad was going to happen there. But back to Kyle and his ill-advised solo mission inside the barn/temple and then Katherine's fermette. What exactly are these beings or figures he is seeing? Something nefarious for sure, and not sure what they're waiting for because they sure seem to be poised to do something. What, who knows? 

I just wonder what makes people want to stay in "cults" like that. Sister Katherine clearly was cruel and probably a lunatic. Even after they discovered she was living high on the hog while they were suffering, some of them still stayed. The psychological trauma after experiencing something like that had to be significant. Well, we witnessed it with the woman in the prologue, and also with Susan and Gabriel's obvious apprehension on returning to those places.

I have to say I'm intrigued AND creeped out. This is why I love a Nevill novel. He never disappoints.

What are your thoughts? Any ideas on the mysterious and creepy figures? Add your thoughts in the comments.

Our next discussion will be on September 30. I will try very hard not to get behind again. If you need to reference the reading schedule, click the link to the master post below, or in the blog menu at the top.

This post is part of Something Wicked Fall.

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