Matheson's Hell House Read-Along - Discussion Two

Sorry I'm a couple days late. Let's dive into what happened in our second reading section.

This part tricked me (even though I've read it before) into almost believing that Florence was making up Daniel Belasco. Then Barrett is attacked in the steam room. How could he still not believe there is more than just "energy" in that house? Stubborn man. Poor Edith being sexualized by the house. Fischer finally opened up to the forces of the house. But his fear made him close off again, and in his anger and fear, he accuses Florence of manifesting Daniel herself, but I don't think he truly believes it. The entry of Daniel's birth in the Bible in the chapel...does this prove his existence, or is it yet another trick? 

Manipulation is the key. It was the vehicle when Belasco (the father) was alive, and it's the vehicle driving everything that is happening in the house in the present. So, when Florence finally gives in to Daniel, is it really Daniel, or did Belasco (the elder) create him in order to vanquish Florence...or is it Belasco himself? What happens to Florence is horrific! 

For the life of me, I cannot remember if we finally get answers by the end of the book. I remember one detail, but it may be from the film, not the book, but I will wait to see if it plays out the way I remember. 

What did you think of this section? Let me know if I failed to touch on anything, and add your personal thoughts in the comments.

Our final discussion will be on October 30th. If you need to refresh your memory on our reading schedule, check out this post.

I'm still hoping to post more by the end of the month. Time has been getting away from me, and work for my job has increased of late, so I feel like I'm juggling at times. In case you missed it, check out my Banned Books Week post about Stephen King.

This post is part of Something Wicked Fall.

Stephen King is the most banned author in U.S. schools (Banned Books Week)

"King’s books were censored 206 times, according to PEN, with “Carrie” and “The Stand” among the 87 of his works affected.

In Florida, where more than 2,000 books were banned or restricted, a handful of counties were responsible for many of the King removals: Dozens were pulled last year as a part of a review for whether they were in compliance with state laws.

“His books are often removed from shelves when ‘adult’ titles or books with ‘sex content’ are targeted for removal — these prohibitions overwhelmingly ban LGBTQ+ content and books on race, racism, and people of color — but also affect titles like Stephen King’s books,” Meehan says. “Some districts — in being overly cautious or fearful of punishment — will sweep so wide they end up removing Stephen King from access, too.”"  PBS.org

206 total instances of book bans

Number of unique titles affected by book bans

Considered dangerous because it "contains violence and demonic possession and
ridicules the Christian religion."
Challenged by Campbell County, Wyoming, school system, 1983.
Banned by Washington County, Alabama, Board of Education, 1985.
(all from gumbopages)

Stephen King wrote this article which was published as a guest column in the March 20, 1992 issue of The Bangor Daily News.

The book-banners: Adventure in censorship is stranger than fiction by Stephen King

"When I came into my office last Thursday afternoon, my desk was covered with those little pink message slips that are the prime mode of communication around my place. Maine Public Broadcasting had called, also Channel 2, the Associated Press, and even the Boston Globe. It seems the book-banners had been at it again, this time in Florida. They had pulled two of my books, "The Dead Zone" and "The Tommyknockers," from the middle-school library shelves and were considering making them limited-access items in the high school library. What that means is that you can take the book out if you bring a note from your mom or your dad saying it's OK.

My news-media callers all wanted the same thing -- a comment. Since this was not the first time one or more of my books had been banned in a public school (nor the 15th), I simply gathered the pink slips up, tossed them in the wastebasket, and went about my day's work. The only thought that crossed my mind was one strongly tinged with gratitude: There are places in the world where the powers that be ban the author as well as the author's works when the subject matter or mode of expression displeases said powers. Look at Salman Rushdie, now living under a death sentence, or Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who spent eight years in a prison camp for calling Josef Stalin "the boss" and had to run for the west to avoid another stay after he won the Nobel Prize for "The Gulag Archipelago."

When the news stories about my latest adventure in censorship came out, however, I didn't like the way that "the author could not be reached for comment" stuff looked. To me, that line has always called up images of swindlers too cowardly to face up to what they've done. In this case I haven't done anything but my job, and I know it's all too possible to make a career out of defending one's fiction -- for a while in the mid-1980s, Judy Blume almost did make a career out of it -- but I still didn't like the way it felt.

So, just for the record, here is what I'd say if I still took time out from doing my work to defend it.
First, to the kids: There are people in your home town who have taken certain books off the shelves of your school library. Do not argue with them; do not protest; do not organize or attend rallies to have the books put back on their shelves. Don't waste your time or your energy. Instead, hustle down to your public library, where these frightened people's reach must fall short in a democracy, or to your local bookstore, and get a copy of what has been banned. Read it carefully and discover what it is your elders don't want you to know. In many cases you'll finish the banned book in question wondering what all the fuss was about. In others, however, you will find vital information about the human condition. It doesn't hurt to remember that John Steinbeck, J.D. Salinger, and even Mark Twain have been banned in this country's public schools over the last 20 years.

Second, to the parents in these towns: There are people out there who are deciding what your kids can read, and they don't care what you think because they are positive their ideas of what's proper and what's not are better, clearer than your own. Do you believe they are? Think carefully before you decide to accord the book-banners this right of cancellation, and remember that they don't believe in democracy but rather in a kind of intellectual autocracy. If they are left to their own devices, a great deal of good literature may soon disappear from the shelves of school libraries simply because good books -- books that make us think and feel -- always generate controversy.

If you are not careful and diligent about defending the right of your children to read, there won't be much left, especially at the junior-high level where kids really begin to develop a lively life of the mind, but books about heroic boys who come off the bench to hit home runs in the bottom of the ninth and shy girls with good personalities who finally get that big prom date with the boy of their dreams. Is this what you want for your kids, keeping in mind that controversy and surprise -- sometimes even shock -- are often the whetstone on which young minds are sharpened?

Third, to the other interested citizens of these towns: Please remember that book-banning is censorship, and that censorship in a free society is always a serious matter -- even when it happens in a junior high, it is serious. A proposal to ban a book should always be given the gravest consideration. Book-banners, after all, insist that the entire community should see things their way, and only their way. When a book is banned, a whole set of thoughts is locked behind the assertion that there is only one valid set of values, one valid set of beliefs, one valid perception of the world. It's a scary idea, especially in a society which has been built on the ideas of free choice and free thought.

Do I think that all books and all ideas should be allowed in school libraries? I do not. Schools are, after all, a "managed" marketplace. Books like "Fanny Hill" and Brett Easton Ellis' gruesome "American Psycho" have a right to be read by people who want to read them, but they don't belong in the libraries of tax-supported American middle schools. Do I think that I have an obligation to fly down to Florida and argue that my books, which are a long way from either "Fanny Hill" or "American Psycho," be replaced on the shelves from which they have been taken? No. My job is writing stories, and if I spent all my time defending the ones I've written already, I'd have no time to write new ones.

Do I believe a defense should be mounted? Yes. If there's one American belief I hold above all others, it's that those who would set themselves up in judgment on matters of what is "right" and what is "best" should be given no rest; that they should have to defend their behavior most stringently. No book, record, or film should be banned without a full airing of the issues. As a nation, we've been through too many fights to preserve our rights of free thought to let them go just because some prude with a highlighter doesn't approve of them." (from StephenKing.com)

Some older instances of bans/challenges of King's works. I could not find specific details on the 206 instances in 2024 of his works being banned, I imagine the reasons are along the same lines as these occurrences.

Reason: "sexual language, casual sex, and violence"

Banned and Challenged Books In Texas Public Schools

2002-2003 The Brookeland ISD reported that all Stephen King books were banned in all district schools.

The challenge was brought by a parent, and “…also brought to the attention of the Board of

Trustees.” This challenge was listed as one entry in our main report or our summary tables, since
it was not specific as to title and because of the large number of Stephen King titles in existence. (from ACLU Texas)

Considered "trash" that is especially harmful for "younger girls."
Challenged by Clark High School library, Las Vegas, Nevada, 1975.
Placed on special closed shelf in Union High School library, Vergennes,
Vermont, 1978.

Some may argue and say, "What's the big deal? It's not like his books are classics." To this I say...although his works are not considered "classics" in the normal sense of the word, King has a voice. He has written about problems in our society such as school bullying (Carrie), spousal abuse (Rose Madder), political megalomania (The Dead Zone), racial prejudice (Bag of Bones), alcoholism (The Shining) and a myriad of others. He is outspoken against political injustice and no one will convince me that his opinions have not garnered the attention of certain areas (For example: Florida, Texas, etc.) where personal freedoms are likely to be infringed upon. All this and being one of the best horror writers of all time. To not have access to his books would be a tragedy. 

(This post is a repost - with some added elements - from a Castle Macabre post published on September 27, 2013.)

2025 I Read Horror Year-Round Challenge - Third Quarter Check-in

How did your reading go in the third quarter? 

I'm doing the Chilling level which is 12 books in a year (plus, I'm trying for the Cryptid Bingo). I only have three categories left for the main challenge, and five for Cryptid Bingo. 

My planned reads for the three main categories are Slewfoot (Brom) for Witches, The Root Witch (Mexican American author Debra Castaneda) for BIPOC, and The Beast of Brenton Woods (Jackson R. Thomas) for Frightening Cover. For Cryptid Bingo, right now I have The Jersey Devil (Hunter Shea) and The Wendigo (Algernon Blackwood) on my list for fall reading.

Here's how it's going so far...

• Vampires - The Vampire Armand, Anne Rice
• Witches
• Folk Horror - Pine, Francine Toon
• Written by a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) author
• A Ghost Story - The Hacienda, Isabel Canas
• Written by a female author - Pine, Francine Toon
• Cosmic Horror - Annihilation, Jeff Vandermeer
• Frightening Cover
• Adapted as movie/series - The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
• Katsu, Ketchum, King, or Koontz - Holly, Stephen King
• Black, gray, orange, or red cover - Horseman, Christina Henry
• Book featuring a Cryptid (mark off one BINGO square!) - The Dover Demon, Hunter Shea

I keep track of my yearly challenges over on my sister site, True Book Addict. There's a link to my 2025
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.)...

Something Wicked Fall - My spooky season TBR

I've been meaning to share this since Something Wicked Fall began, but...September was a crazily speedy month! Anyway, in light of our FrightFall 24-Hour Opposite readathon tonight at 8:00 pm, here is my ridiculously ambitious spooky season TBR. Will I read all of them? Probably not, though I have finished a couple, so there is that. 

The Pale Blue Eye, Louis Bayard 
The Sorrows, Jonathan Janz (currently listening)
Hell House, Richard Matheson (currently reading)
The Reckoning, Jeff Long (currently reading)
Merrick, Anne Rice
Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris

The Keep, F. Paul Wilson
The Wendigo, Algernon Blackwood
The Long Walk, Stephen King (reread)
The Running Man, Stephen King (reread)
Slewfoot, Brom
Children of Demeter, EV Knight
The Beast of Brenton Woods, Jackson R. Thomas
The Doll, Daphne Du Maurier
Hummingbird, T.C. Parker
The Toll, Cherie Priest
The Jersey Devil, Hunter Shea
Jack, Howley & Willcocks
The Root Witch, Debra Castaneda
Frankenstein: Prodigal Son, Dean Koontz

I'll be finishing The Reckoning starting off the FrightFall 24-Hour event and will pick up The Keep next.

You can still join us for the FrightFall Readathon which lasts through the end of October and/or join us for tonight's 24-Hour readathon. Sign up for FrightFall here. Full details on the 24-Hour event here.

I was hoping to share more scary in September, but...see my comment about September above. I'm planning a review of the film, Weapons. Also, tomorrow is the start of Banned Books Week 2025. I'll be doing a series of posts on my sister site, True Book Addict. However, since learning that Stephen King is the most banned author in schools (2024/2025 school year), I will probably include a feature here as well. Stay tuned!

What kind of scary have you been getting up to?

This post is a part of...

Matheson's Hell House Read-Along - Discussion One

My favorite horror novel, or at least a top five favorite, just as I remember it. A total feeling of unease as I'm reading. I don't know how he did it, but Matheson makes me feel like I'm there, experiencing what the characters are experiencing. 

I had to laugh over the paragraph below. I don't remember noticing it back when I read it the first time. This is Edith ruminating on page 21 (in my edition):

Still, she had to go. She'd face anything rather than be alone. She'd never told Lionel how close she'd come to a mental breakdown during those three weeks he'd been gone in 1962. It would only have distressed him, and he'd needed all his concentration for the work he was doing. So she'd lied and sounded cheerful on the telephone the three times he'd called--and, alone, she'd wept and shaken, taken tranquilizers, hadn't slept or eaten, lost thirteen pounds, fought off compulsions to end it all. Met him at the airport finally, pale and smiling, told him that she'd had the flu.

Not to sound judgmental but give me a break. I realize this was published in 1971 and at the time, many men were not convinced about women's equality (something we are clearly steering back toward in the current social climate of our country. Egads!). Still though. Something I've learned in my almost 57 years on this earth...the best gift you can give yourself is learning how to be alone. Because if you don't have yourself, you have nothing. 

Okay, climbing down off my soapbox now.

I had forgotten the utter depravity of the Belasco/Hell House backstory. Wow. If you've never watched the film based on this book, The Legend of Hell House, you should watch it. I first saw it in the late 70s or early 80s and I've watched it many times since. I think it's an excellent film. However, I don't remember them going into such detail on what went on in the house. I plan to watch it again either during or after reading the book. I definitely picture the actors as I'm reading, even though Edith and Florence look quite different in the film from their descriptions in the book. 

As I was reading, I was sitting there thinking that I would not be in that house with only candlelight...and then going off to bed BY MYSELF in that pitch blackness...NO WAY. When Florence experiences the ghost/spirit who keeps having the bedclothes land over (his) body...nope, not happening. And then he utters BOO. That really threw me off. She didn't even scream. I would have at least screamed, or maybe fainted, or ran out the door screaming. 

What do you think about the poltergeist occurrence when all the dishes are flying seemingly on purpose at Barrett? Do you think it was done subconsciously by Florence because of her anger? I'm coming down on her side. I think the entity in that house is trying to divide them.

So, I'm thoroughly enjoying this reread. Just as unsettling as I remember. It's refreshing to read a horror story that is just scary in more subtle, less obvious ways. I love horror, but sometimes the blood and gore can be too much. Stories like this remind me of Edgar Allan Poe and similar authors. A more Gothic tone. 

What did you think of this first section? Let me know if I failed to touch on anything, and add your personal thoughts in the comments.

Our next discussion will be on October 12th. If you need to refresh your memory on our reading schedule, check out this post.

I've been slacking a bit with posts, but stay tuned. I'll be sharing my scary fall reading plans, and I'll do a short write up on the horror film, Weapons. 

This post is part of Something Wicked Fall.

2025 Something Wicked Fall featuring a Hell House read-along + stories, movies, and more!

September 1st is officially fall AND spooky season here at Castle Macabre. Commence with all things scary! This is our 8th year and, as always, 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

👿 Richard Matheson's Hell House read-along. 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 is the Quality Paperback Book Club, through St. Martin's Press (trade paperback) edition, published in 2006. This is an omnibus edition containing I Am Legend, several short stories, and Hell House. Hell House in this edition begins on page 9 and ends on page 301. (I will probably read the short stories too. If I do, I will share in a separate post.)

Read-Along Schedule

• Start reading the first section on September 1
  Chapters - December 18, 1970 - December 22, 1970, pp 9 - 117
  (Discussion post - September 21)
• Second section, September 22
  Chapter December 23, 1970, pp 119 - 213
  (Discussion post - October 12)
  
• Third Section, October 13
  Chapter December 24, 1970, pp 215 - 301 (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. Reader's Imbibing Peril (R.I.P.) is going on right now as well. This year, they're doing a buddy read of Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I read it a few years back...it's really good.

🎃 In case you missed it last year, I created some printable Halloween bookmarks for you guys. If you would like to download them for printing, just click 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!!

Recent reads - Mastodon by Steve Stred and Viy by Nikolai Gogol - Reviews

In the Afterword, the author mentions frequent visits to cryptozoology.com dating back to the early 2000's. First of all, as a cryptozoology fangirl, how did I not know about that website? Secondly, the same sentiments he mentions...footage of crypto creatures is exciting and always has me hoping it's real. But should we be hoping these creatures are real? After reading this book, I'm not so sure. 

I was fully engrossed in Mastodon. Missing parents, restricted government area, mind-blowing and terrifying creatures created in secret government experiments, and a story with heart that had me rooting for Tyler. All of this kept me coming back every chance I had. There are some definite shocking gross-out moments, and it will make you cringe at one point, but everything is necessary to convey the horrifying reality of what is going on in that facility. The ending left me cold, but not in a bad way. Overall, this is a solid cryptozoology government conspiracy mashup. If that's your thing, I recommend it.

Oddly enough, I discovered Nikolai Gogol from watching the Russian TV series, Gogol (an excellent series for horror fans - you can watch it for free on Tubi). Episode 6 is actually titled Viy. I developed an interest in the real Gogol and set about obtaining his works. I also watched the film, Viy (1967) which was rather comical in addition to the various horrific elements (watch the full movie for free on YouTube).

Preceding the story, Gogol's author's note: 

The "Viy" is a monstrous creation of popular fancy. It is the name which inhabitants of Little Russia give to the king of the gnomes, whose eyelashes reach to the ground. The following story is a specimen of such folk-lore. I have made no alterations, but reproduce it in the same simple form in which I heard it.

Viy is an entertaining story. Not so very scary, as it has a dark comedic tone (deftly reflected in the 1967 film), but I can see where this would have been a terrifying tale at the time it was written in regards to the folktale and the religious and superstitious beliefs of the time. The Viy episode of the TV series was much more frightening. All this being said, I enjoyed this tale, and I'm looking forward to reading more of Gogol's works.

Scene from 1967 film:

Gogol TV series trailer:

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!

2025 I Read Horror Year-Round Challenge - Second Quarter Check-in

Late again. I really need to set a reminder. Apologies.

So, how did the second quarter go for you?

I'm doing the Chilling level which is 12 books in a year (plus, I'm trying for the Cryptid Bingo). Here's how it's going so far...

• Vampires - The Vampire Armand, Anne Rice
• Witches
• Folk Horror
• Written by a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) author
• A Ghost Story - The Hacienda, Isabel Canas
• Written by a female author - Pine, Francine Toon
• Cosmic Horror - Annihilation, Jeff Vandermeer
• Frightening Cover
• Adapted as movie/series - The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
• Katsu, Ketchum, King, or Koontz - Holly, Stephen King
• Black, gray, orange, or red cover - Horseman, Christina Henry
• Book featuring a Cryptid (mark off one BINGO square!) - The Dover Demon, Hunter Shea

I can't believe there are still two more quarters and I've already read eight! I also have three squares marked on Cryptid BINGO. I've read...

Loch Ness Revenge, Hunter Shea

The Dover Demon, Hunter Shea

Rogue, Luke Phillips (Bigfoot)

I keep track of my yearly challenges over on my sister site, True Book Addict. There's a link to my 2025
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.)...

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - Review

I've had this book on my TBR for a long time. I am glad I finally read it. I've long been an Oscar Wilde fan. I was in his play, The Importance of Being Earnest in high school.

 
Dorian Gray is a good novel. It raises questions about narcissism, morality, even the association of ugliness with aging (and with evil), and the old being less than. It also has one of my favorite quotes, "The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame." So true.

The only problem I had, and it's a minor one, were the long passage describing Dorian's interests, his fleeting passions, and Lord Henry's various monologues. Yet there's no denying that this is an excellent novel of Gothic fiction.

I have seen two film adaptations of Dorian Gray. The 1945 and 2009 films. Both of them changed the story and I have to say I much preferred the book. Not really a surprise though, right?

2025 I Read Horror Year-Round Challenge - First Quarter Check-in

Sorry I'm late! Big thanks to Marla for posting her update on Instagram...a nice kick in the pants since I forgot. 

So, how did the first quarter go for you?

I'm doing the Chilling level which is 12 books in a year (plus, I'm trying for the Cryptid Bingo). Here's how it's going so far...

• Vampires
• Witches
• Folk Horror
• Written by a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) author
• A Ghost Story
• Written by a female author
• Cosmic Horror
• Frightening Cover
• Adapted as movie/series
• Katsu, Ketchum, King, or Koontz - Holly, Stephen King
• Black, gray, orange, or red cover - Horseman, Christina Henry
• Book featuring a Cryptid (mark off one BINGO square!) - The Dover Demon, Hunter Shea

I'm currently reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde which will fit the "adapted as movie" category. I watched the 1945 film last week when I started the book.

Here's my updated Cryptid Bingo Card

I keep track of my yearly challenges over on my sister site, True Book Addict. There's a link to my 2025

challenge page in the menu above.

My Spring into Horror Readathon is going on this month over on Seasons of Reading so I expect I'll get some categories knocked out. If you would like to join us, stop over there. You can join in at any time during the month AND we're having a 24-Hour Readathon on April 12. 
Here are my planned reads for the readathon:

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

Holly by Stephen King - Review

I always say, "If you have anything you're supposed to be doing, DO NOT pick up a Stephen King novel." Truth! I read this in three days, which is pretty good for me...it is 450 pages after all. I've said this before and I'll say it again. Holly Gibney is one of my most favorite characters, certainly in my top three of King's characters. This case in particular had no supernatural element, as in other Gibney tales, but it is no less riveting. Holly says it best on page 442 (paraphrasing slightly):

"...Roddy and Emily Harris were worse. Why? Because there was nothing supernatural about them. Because you couldn't say their evil came from outside, and comfort yourself with the idea that if there were malign outside forces, there were probably good ones as well. The Harris' evil was both prosaic and outlandish...Holly isn't sure she wants to revisit a world capable of holding people like Rodney. Or like Emily, who was...more calculating and at the same time much, much crazier."

I can't wait to read what Holly does next.

2024 I Read Horror Year-Round Challenge - Wrap-up

That's year four in the bag! On my part, I managed to complete my chosen level, the Chilling level...read 12 books. Here's what I read...

• Witch, dark, blood, bone, or body in title
  Children of the Dark, Jonathan Janz April 16
• Nature gone wild (when plants or animals attack)
  Animal Kingdom, Iain Rob Wright August 26
• Creepy character/object (House, doll, child, etc.)
  Cunning Folk, Adam Nevill December 13
• Holiday horror (Christmas, yule, etc.)
  Christmas and Other Horrors: An Anthology of Solstice Horror December 23
• Short story anthology or collection
  Out There Screaming, Jordan Peele, editor February 25
• Takes place during Halloween season
  Mischief Night Massacre: Ten Tales of Halloween, Jason Parent October 24
• Winter theme, or winter on cover
  A Winter Haunting, Dan Simmons January 14
• A book that is also a movie
  I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Iain Reid March 2024
• By BIPOC author
  Lone Women, Victor LaValle August 24
• Classic horror novel
  The Necromancers, Robert Hugh Benson October 30
• Dark Academia novel 
  Ninth House, Leigh Bardugo February 14
• Gothic novel
  The Dismembered, Jonathan Janz April 28

How about you? Share your wrap-up in the comments, or link to a wrap-up post on your blog (or social media, shelf on Goodreads, etc.).

In case you missed it, sign-up for I Read Horror YR 2025 is open. This year I've added a fun (optional) BINGO challenge with a specific theme. Here's the link to the post.
I hope you will join me again!