Blessed Samhain...Happy Halloween

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Erika Mailman's The Witch's Trinity

This book is not technically horror, despite its title. It's more historical horror (is that a genre/subgenre?) in the vein of the film, The Witch (a favorite). However, it's not my historical horror selection for my I Read Horror Year-Round challenge (that would be Kostova's The Historian). Instead, I read this one for the "written by a woman" category. 

As with any book surrounding the witch terrors/trials in European and American history, this book is equally horrifying. I sit there thinking, as I'm reading, I can't believe what people did to these women. Then I think, yes, I can believe it. I'm always quick to blame religious fervor, and yes, that did play a significant part, especially in America. The same goes for my feeling it was more focused on women. However, Mailman did clarify in her author's note that "Secular courts were just as eager, and sometimes more so, to capture and punish witches" and that "in the 1300s men were named as witches as frequently as women were." Interesting. Of course, we know that superstition, fear, and, in the case of this book, severe hunger played large parts in this hysteria, the latter especially holding true for the European witch craze...and that damn book, Malleus Maleficarum. The man who wrote that book was the true evil, in my humble opinion. 

Also, of note, Mailman's own ancestor, Mary Bliss Parsons was accused of witchcraft twice in 1600s Massachusetts. Jealousy and slander are what brought her to the attention of the court for witchcraft, but in the end, she had too many people come to her defense. Definitely an impressive and interesting heritage.

The Witch's Trinity illustrated that you better not grow old in a village wracked with famine in the year 1507...because you will be the first to receive an accusation of witchcraft. The elderly, especially women, past childbearing years and unable to do any hard work, are looked on as a burden. This is the situation Gude found herself in. Aged, she can't do much, she's an extra mouth to feed when there's barely enough for her son's family of four, and her mind is not what it was. She starts having fantastical and horrifying experiences with witches and the devil himself (the devil's book), but it's never quite clear if it's really happening or not. She's not even sure herself. 

The book was riveting. Just under 300 pages so a quick read and I couldn't put it down. I felt pure outrage the entire time I was reading...toward humanity, the church. It made me think of how the less of us are treated in today's society. Sure, no one is being burned at the stake, but the persecutions are still going on, purely because someone is different, or deemed of less use to society. 

Near the end, Gude said two things which really hit home and will stick with me.

"I didn't know what I thought of heaven above us or hell deep below, the fires supposed to be constantly stoked and tended. I was afraid to tell her what I feared: that both places were kingdoms of air. I had been to the churchyard to sit above Hensel's bones and to the spot where Kunne's blackened remnants lay, and when I listened to the earth, it told me they were still down there. And for all the praying I've done in my life, I fear that prayers are bits of grain the birds drop to the winds."

Exactly my sentiments.

"If there comes a day when the food is scarce again, you must equally divide what you have. It is wrong to say that one should eat more than another, or that one deserves nothing. Give it out with the hope that more will come."

If only more people thought like this. The world would be a better place.

The Witch's Trinity by Erika Mailman

The year is 1507, and a friar has arrived in Tierkinddorf, a remote German village nestled deeply in the woods. The village has been suffering a famine, and the villagers are desperately hungry. The friar’s arrival is a miracle, and when he claims he can restore the town to prosperity, the men and women gathered to hear him rejoice. The friar has a book called the Malleus Maleficarum—“The Witch’s Hammer”—a guide to gaining confessions of witchcraft. The friar promises he will identify the guilty woman who has brought God’s anger upon the town; she will be burned, and bounty will be restored. Tierkinddorf is filled with hope. Neighbors wonder aloud who has cursed them and how quickly can she be found? They begin sharing secrets with the friar.

Güde Müller, an elderly woman, has stark and frightening visions—recently she has seen things that defy explanation. None in the village know this, and Güde herself worries that perhaps her mind has begun to wander—certainly she has outlived all but one of her peers in Tierkinddorf. Yet of one thing she is absolutely certain: She has become an object of scorn and a burden to her son’s wife. In these desperate times her daughter-in-law would prefer one less hungry mouth at the family table. As the friar turns his eye on each member of the tiny community, Güde dreads what her daughter-in-law might say to win his favor.

Then one terrible night Güde follows an unearthly voice and the scent of charred meat into the snow-filled woods. Come morning, she no longer knows if the horror she witnessed was real or imagined. She only knows that if the friar hears of it, she may be damned in this life as well as the next.

The Witch’s Trinity beautifully illuminates a dark period of history; it is vividly imagined, elegantly written, haunting, and unforgettable.

30-Day Horror Movie Challenge: The horror film you most relate to...The Witch

I thought this would be a fun challenge to participate in. According to the rules (see below), you don't have to participate every day. That's good because I'm going to have to skip the first prompt. There really is no "horror film no one would expect you to love but you do" since I pretty much love all of them. lol So, I'm starting today with the second prompt "The horror film you most relate to." I've included all the details below in case you want to join in. Thanks to Leah at Unleash the Flying Monkeys! for hosting this fun challenge (originally created by Dollar Bin Horror in 2011).

Here’s how to join the 30-Day Horror Movie Challenge:
You can start on whatever day you like.

(1) Make your picks and share it on your blog or site;

(2) Or, just leave a comment on the individual blog posts (linked above).

Here are the rules:
Simply pick your favorite horror film for each day based on that day’s theme. But there’s a catch: you can’t pick the same horror film more than once. So, if you pick SCREAM (1996) for your favorite slasher film, you can’t use it again for any other day including favorite horror film.

Collected below are the 30 prompts for the 2019 challenge:
Day 01 – A horror film no one would expect you to love but you do
Day 02 – The horror film you most relate to
Day 03 – Your favorite slasher film
Day 04 – Your favorite werewolf film
Day 05 – Your favorite monster movie
Day 06 – Your favorite vampire movie
Day 07 – Your favorite supernatural horror film
Day 08 – Your favorite anthology
Day 09 – Your favorite exploitation / grindhouse type film
Day 10 – Your favorite psychological horror film
Day 11 – Your favorite science fiction horror film
Day 12 – Your favorite horror film involving the occult
Day 13 – Your favorite horror comedy
Day 14 – Your favorite zombie film
Day 15 – Your favorite horror film involving serial killers
Day 16 – Your favorite childhood themed horror film
Day 17 – Your favorite horror film remake
Day 18 – Your favorite foreign horror film (outside of your country of origin)
Day 19 – Your favorite horror film involving the powers of Hell or Satanism
Day 20 – Your favorite horror film involving a killer animal
Day 21 – Your favorite medical horror film
Day 22 – Your favorite horror-themed TV show
Day 23 – Your favorite made-for-TV horror film
Day 24 – A horror film in which you prefer the edited version over the director’s cut
Day 25 – A horror film you used to hate but now like
Day 26 – Your favorite horror film to watch as a child
Day 27 – Your favorite guilty pleasure
Day 28 – Your favorite horror film no one’s ever heard of
Day 29 – Your least favorite horror film of all time
Day 30 – Your favorite horror film of all time

Tagline: Evil takes many forms

Synopsis: In 1630 New England, panic and despair envelops a farmer, his wife and their children when youngest son Samuel suddenly vanishes. The family blames Thomasin, the oldest daughter who was watching the boy at the time of his disappearance. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, twin siblings Mercy and Jonas suspect Thomasin of witchcraft, testing the clan's faith, loyalty and love to one another. (Google)

The horror film you most relate to...The Witch

The reason I relate to this one? Because religious persecution and hysteria, as occurred in the Salem Witch Trials, and other similar events across Europe during the witch craze, are things I think about quite frequently. What made this film scary was how the family's deep-seated religious beliefs basically tore the family apart, and led to tragedy after tragedy. Was there really witchcraft in The Witch? Well, yes, though we really don't see much of, or about the witches. What was far more frightening was how readily a mother would turn on her own daughter and accuse her of being a witch. Also, how easily a family who falls on hard times was much more likely to blame witchcraft and superstition for their hardship, rather than taking a good hard look at what led them to the hardship in the first place. 

Which horror film do you most relate to?

The King of Bones and Ashes by J.D. Horn #Review

My thoughts
I won this book in a giveaway...a signed copy! I entered the giveaway because when I read witches and New Orleans, I immediately thought of Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches series and I was intrigued, as everyone knows Rice is one of my favorite authors. The similarities end at witches and New Orleans, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a good story. While it had somewhat of a slow start, it eventually picked up momentum and I became engaged with the story. I've heard a few people mention that the story was hard to follow. I didn't find that at all. The individual story lines of each character/group of characters were interesting. Eventually, how they were all tied together was revealed. What a reveal it was! There are some genuinely scary moments as well, and a quite gory part toward the end (just to make anyone faint of heart aware...be prepared). In all, it was an enjoyable paranormal/horror novel.

This is the first book in a trilogy so I'm looking forward to reading the subsequent books. J.D Horn is also the author of the Witching Savannah series. I'm definitely going to check that series out as well.

First book of the Witches of New Orleans trilogy...

From the bestselling author of the Witching Savannah series comes the first book in a fascinating trilogy following the quest of a young witch to uncover her family’s terrifying secret history…

Magic is seeping out of the world, leaving the witches who’ve relied on it for countless centuries increasingly hopeless. While some see an inevitable end of their era, others are courting madness—willing to sacrifice former allies, friends, and family to retain the power they covet. While the other witches watch their reality unravel, young Alice Marin is using magic’s waning days to delve into the mystery of numerous disappearances in the occult circles of New Orleans. Alice disappeared once, too—caged in an asylum by blood relatives. Recently freed, she fears her family may be more involved with the growing crisis than she ever dared imagine.

Yet the more she seeks the truth about her family’s troubled history, the more she realizes her already-fragile psyche may be at risk. Discovering the cause of the vanishings, though, could be the only way to escape her mother’s reach while determining the future of all witches. (Goodreads)

Season of the Witch - October means #WitchSeasonCM

First, an update on Gothic September. I really dropped the ball there. I couldn't even keep up with reading short little Poe stories. Well, I read the first three. I just have one to go. I will post my final thoughts on the four some time this week.

Now on to the late start of Season of the Witch. As mentioned in my earlier post, we will be reading the following (thank goodness The Witch is only five pages!):

The Witch by Shirley Jackson
Ancient Sorceries by Algernon Blackwood
You can download a PDF copy of the story, or any of Blackwood's stories, at Blackwood Stories (the site is up and running again), or you can get a Kindle copy of Blackwood's Complete Works on Amazon for 99 cents.
The Witch of Ravensworth by George Brewer for Kindle on Amazon $2.99

 I'm going to try to keep to this schedule:

The Witch - Discussion post up on October 11
Ancient Sorceries - Discussion post up on October 20
The Witch of Ravensworth - Discussion up on October 30

I hope you will read along with me!

Also, I would love some guest reviews on some scary reads...or if you have a spooky story to share, or a spooky memory...I would love to have you. Just shoot me a message via the contact form.

Don't forget...the FrightFall Readathon is going on ALL MONTH LONG! Join us here 

Come read along with us at Gather Together and Read...Anne Rice's The Mummy, or Ramses The Damned. All the info here! 

Happy October!

Announcing Season of the Witch - October 2015 #‎witchseasoncm‬

One of my most favorite times of year is just around the corner. The month of all things scary...October (and my birthday *wink)! This year, we're having a read-a-long with the normal festivities of Season of the Witch here at Castle Macabre. And don't forget about the FrightFall Read-a-Thon over at Seasons of Reading!

Our read-a-long is for the book The Bell Witch by John F.D. TAff...

The Bell Witch by John F.D. Taff is an historical horror novel/ghost story based on what is perhaps the most well-documented poltergeist case to occur in the United States. It tells the story of the Bells, an early 19th-century Tennessee farm family who begin to notice strange occurrences—odd noises, bangings, gurglings. Eventually, an entity reveals itself to the family, calling itself, simply, the Witch, and makes it clear from the outset that it was sent to kill the patriarch of the family, John Bell, for a reason it never makes quite clear.

The Witch’s antics, while not exactly endearing it to the Bells, make the spirit somewhat of a novelty. Word of its existence spreads, first through the Bell’s slaves, then through the rest of the community. It tells jokes, makes predictions, offers unwanted advice and even sings. It shows an intimate knowledge of The Bible and of history and politics.

It harasses those who annoy it most, saving its ire for John Bell and his teenage daughter, Betsy. These two people become the focus of the apparition’s attacks, both verbal and physical. Ultimately, the Witch fulfills its promise of killing John Bell, while also forcing Betsy and her mother, Lucy, into considering their own roles in what created the spirit.

The Bell Witch is, at once, a historical novel, a ghost story, a horror story and a love story all rolled into one. (from Goodreads)

The book is available on Kindle from Amazon for $2.99

We are also reading this book for my TuesBookTalk read-a-long group's October read on Goodreads. You can find the group here, if you care to join, and/or join us each week on Twitter at 8:30pm CST/9:30pm EST to discuss each week's reading section. Hashtag #TuesBookTalk

Here is the reading schedule we will follow at TuesBookTalk. I will post discussion posts here the day after our Tuesday Twitter chats. I will also post this in the sidebar when the event officially starts on October 6.

week of October 6 - Part I (discussion post October 7)
week of October 13 - Part II (discussion post October 14)
week of October 20 - Part III & IV (discussion post October 21)
week of October 27 - Part V (discussion post October 28)

I would really love to have some guests this year so if you have something scary you would like to write about, whether it's favorite horror books or movies, an original story or tale, or just a spooky experience you may have had, please contact me at truebookaddict AT gmail DOT com  I would love to have you as my guest!

The hashtag for Season of the Witch: #‎witchseasoncm‬

How to Tell If A Member of your Book Club is a Witch

In 1692, the Salem Witch Trails were in full Swing. Using the methods during this time, here is how you can tell if a Member of your book club might be a witch.

*Feed Their dog a Witch Cake! What is a Witch cake, you ask? You take the urine of the person who are thought to be under the spell of the witch in question, mix it with rye meal and make a little patty. Then you feed the patty to a dog. Because some of the powers the witch used to cast a spell on the afflicted people were in their urine, when the dog eats the cake, it will hurt the witch and she'll cry out in agony.
*Check for The Devil's mark. Moles, birthmarks, scars, or extra nipples - they're marks of the Devil. That's a sure sign right there, but if you need even more proof, try pricking the Devil's Mark with a blade. If it doesn't bleed or hurt when it's pricked, you've definitely got a witch on your hands.

*Observe them talking to themselves. During the Witch Trials, one accused woman, Sarah Good, was partially damned based on the fact that she was sometimes seen muttering to herself, and sometimes this even happened when she was leaving people's houses. Her accusers knew she was casting spells on people, even though Sarah claimed she was just reciting the commandments or a particular psalm. Her claims weren't enough to save her, because she was hanged on July 19, 1692.

*See if they can say the Lord's Prayer. If they don't, they're guilty. If they do, they're guilty too. George Burroughs, the only minister to be executed during the Trials, ran across this problem. He was standing at the gallows to be executed when he recited the Lord's Prayer to prove his innocence - it was believed that a witch would be unable to utter the holy words. People were momentarily convinced that the jury had wronged him until a minister named Cotton Mather told the crowd that the Devil allowed George Burroughs to say that prayer to make it seem as if he was innocent.

Read Part Two at Abbie's blog, The League of Extraordinary Readers.

Thank you, Abbie, for putting this together!

Season of the Witch--Guest Post from Nova at My Seryniti

It's my pleasure today to welcome Nova from My Seryniti.  Nova is sharing with us a great write up about everything witches.  Enjoy!

********

I have the lovely task of bringing to you a guide to witches. When I was talking to Michelle, our lovely host, she mentioned Witches would be our October theme! I love it! And then I thought hmm, how exactly did we come to think of witches as these ugly, old, long wart speckled nosed women?

Then as I was searching I found that there have been witch hunts in Sub-Saharan Africa, India, Papua New Guinea and Saudi Arabia, the latest was in 2012!!!

On December 12, 2011 Amina bint Abdulhalim Nassar was beheaded in Al Jawf Province after being convicted of practicing witchcraft and sorcery. Another very similar situation occurred to Muree bin Ali bin Issa al-Asiri and he was beheaded on June 19, 2012 in the Najran Province. - Wikipedia

There has to be some kind of starting line when this thought moved forward to killing these women and men.

• Why was it ok to torture or burn witches (anyone for that matter!)?
• When did it start?
• More importantly how did it start?
• And how do people feel about witches today compared to in our past?

Exodus 22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

Leviticus 20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

Circe by John William Waterhouse

Fantastically enough, the word witch is actually translated from Hebrew, kashaph which means to whisper. The priest that wrote this most likely meant, one that whispers, as in whispers a spell. The priests were speaking to the Jews and probably wanted them to listen to their own priests and not listen to the religions of the tribes around them.

In 906, the Canon Episcopi by Abbot Regino of Prum condemned as heretical any belief in witchcraft, sorcery, etc. Of course we are also talking herbal remedies. The church didn't understand how and why someone would try to heal the sick, it was God's will one way or the other. If they were sick they were probably being punished by God anyway!

It seems that the church was very upset in the 1100 & 1200's by heresy, " the belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs." Pope Innocent III openly attacked the Cathar heretics who believed that God and Satan were at war. The church spread rumors saying that the Cathar heretics actually worshipped Satan and everyone's opinion of Satan went from trickster to deeply sinister force.

In time the word Witch was turned around to mean one that was a heretic, a non-believer. The healing these women could do was most likely a form of demon worship. The powers derived from Satan himself! And now that everyone is thinking that Satan is a real evil-doer, so must be these witches.

Because of the many groups of heretics Pope Innocent IV approves papal inquisitors to use torture in heresy cases although in 1200, killing of witches had already become authorized by Pope Gregory IX.

But soon most of the heretical groups were wiped completely off the map. This left the church looking elsewhere for scapegoats: Those Satan worshiping witches!!

These women were condemned for nearly everything from living alone, having an animal, to such things as the bubonic plague! Anything and everything that someone could not explain would be explained off as Satan's work. And if there was an old woman living in the outskirts of a village, or someone that the village didn't understand, they were starting to become the ones people would point to.

Edward Frederick Brewtnall - Visit to the Witch, 1882

Funnily enough these same people became very superstitious and because of their fear, superstitions ran rampant. A few of those are...

• Witches were able to fly ( this explained how witches could move quickly across impossible distances. A broomstick was then added to the superstition as these became common household articles used by women)
• A witch was often portrayed as an old crone or hag ( with no man to defend her against accusations of witchcraft) 
• Witches are closely associated with living alone ( house in the wood) 
• Witches were known to keep animals like the Cat, Frog, Pig, Raven, Goat, Wolf, Goose, Crow, Bat and Mouse which were believed to be the forms adopted by a Witches Familiar (an evil spirit, in animal form, who was used by the witch to perform evil deeds and cast malevolent spells) 
• Witches brewed magic potions over a cauldron (Wise women had knowledge of herbs such as mandrake, datura, monkshood, cannabis, belladonna, henbane and hemlock) -- Elizabethan Supersitions

Papal Inquisitors in this day had a lot of power. With the ability to torture at will anyone that they suspected of heresy they could walk into a village and arrest based purely on circumstantial evidence. Bernard Gui published Practica in 1320, an instruction manual for the now all powerful inquisitors. He wanted them to pay particular attention to the women that worshipped the Goddess Diana. Four years later, Alice Kyteler was accused of witchcraft in Kilkenny, Ireland. Her nursemaid was burned at the stake, Alice however was able to get away.

"With regard to the other heretics and sorcerers who belonged to the pestilential society of Robin, son of Art, the order of law being pre, served, some of them were publicly burnt to death; others, confessing their crimes in the presence of all the people, in an upper garment, are marked back and front with a cross after they had abjured their heresy, as is the custom; others were solemnly whipped through the town and the market-place; others were banished from the city and diocese; others who evaded the jurisdiction of the Church were excommunicated; while others again fled in fear and were never heard of after. And thus, by the authority of Holy Mother Church, and by the special grace of God, that most foul brood was scattered and destroyed." -- Sacred Texts.com

Also 1320 Pope John XXII had witchcraft added to the list of heresies.

Pope Innocent VIII was so upset by the "spread of witchcraft" in Germany in 1484 that he created Summis Desiderantes Affectibus, which approved two inquisitors to stamp out all signs of witchcraft or demonology. Those two inquisitors, Henry Kramer and Jakob Sprenger published Malleus Maleficarum which refuted anyone who thought that the work of demons was done only in troubled minds. To believe other than what was written in this book was, you guess it, heresy!! It went on to say, anyone that consorted with demons and became a witch must recant or be put to death. Christians had the obligation to find said witches and put them to death. This book also said that these women would have sex with demons, kill babies and steal penises.

The book also went on to say that the priests should strip the women down to search for moles, which is a sign of consorting with the devil, and they should be brought into court backwards so they could not cast spells on the officials.

It wasn't until the late 1500 that these powers began to diminish however in 1580 Jean Bodin wrote De La demonomanie des sorciers and had witches burning at the stakes once again. This new book said you could use the testimonials of children, entrapment and instruments of torture. Basically any evidence that could be gathered would be used against the accused!!! This may sound appalling to us today but back then they were scared out of their wits and would do anything to entrap someone they suspected of witchcraft.

80% of those killed in Europe between the years of 1500 to 1660 were women, 50,000 to 60,000 suspected of witchcraft were executed! England and Ireland have the lowest death tolls, Ireland having only four due larger to the fact that they had better procedural safeguards to protect the defendants.

Alexandre-Marie Colin. The Three Witches from "Macbeth," 1827

1606 Shakespeare performs MacBeth where the witches were old, bearded hags.

A dark Cave. In the middle, a Cauldron boiling. Thunder. Enter the three witches.

1 WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.

2 WITCH. Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin'd.
3 WITCH. Harpier cries:—'tis time! 'tis time!
1 WITCH. Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.—
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

France, 1643 in Languedoc 650 arrests due to the atmosphere of unrest but most countries had started doing away with witchcraft trials. The last witch ever to be executed in England was Temperance Lloyd in 1682. However Lord Chief Justice Sir Francis North wrote, "The evidence against them was very full and fanciful, but their own confessions exceeded it. They appeared not only weary of their own lives but to have a great deal of skill to convict themselves." His criticism may have helped discourage more witch prosecutions.

Examination of a Witch, by T.H. Matteson 1853.

This all leads up to the US's own Salem Witch Trails. There are many things that helped the prosecutors there. The church had laid the ground for prosecutors to basically do whatever they needed to obtain the confession. As well all know after being tortured for however many hours we would all confess to witchcraft! Hundreds faced persecution and dozens were jailed but surprisingly only 19 people were convicted in Salem. To add insult to injury scientists today think that the town was infested with Ergot, a fungus which invades developing kernels of rye grain. Convulsive ergotism causes violent fits, a crawling sensation on the skin, vomiting, choking, and--most interestingly--hallucinations. The hallucinogenic drug LSD is a dervivative of ergot. -- An Account of the Salem Witchcraft Trials

You would hope that it stopped there right? It doesn't. As I stated above, the last reported incident was in June of this year.

Belief in witchcraft has been shown to have similarities in societies throughout the world. It presents a framework to explain the occurrence of otherwise random misfortunes such as sickness or death, and the witch sorcerer provides an image of evil. Reports on indigenous practices in the Americas, Asia and Africa collected during the early modern age of exploration have indeed been taken to suggest that not just the belief in witchcraft but also the periodic outbreak of witch-hunts are a human cultural universal.

Apparently in some cultures the ideas of witches have not changed. Now THAT is scary!! Perfect for Halloween.

Fabulous resources:

Wikipedia 

A History of Witchcraft Persecutions
Irish Witchcraft and Demonology
An Account of the Salem Witchcraft Trials
Elizabethan Supersitions

What a great article! Nova did such a great job.  Thanks, Nova! In regards to the book, Malleus Maleficarum, mentioned in the article, the plot of the book, The Witch's Trinity by Erika Mailman, is centered on that book.  It is on my list of witchy reads for this month.  I think I will pick it up next and have a review for you later on this month.

Season of the Witch--Witchy Mini-Reading-Challenge Reviews

Important detail missed! A place for us to link up our reviews.  Sorry, guys!

When you've reviewed your witchy book, add the link to your review in the linky like so:

Castle Macabre (The Witching Hour)

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Season of the Witch Starts Today!

Welcome to the month long scary event, Season of the Witch and the Witchy Mini-Reading-Challenge.  I've got a month long schedule of frightful posts for you, with a few giveaways thrown in here and there.  I will be reading and reviewing American Psycho for Banned Books Week this week and for Dueling Monsters and I'll be posting a review of Breed by Chase Novak (a new favorite).  As previously mentioned, and in conjunction with the mini-reading-challenge, I'll be reading as many books about/featuring witches as I can.  Here's some titles I'll be choosing from (I know I won't read them all):

• A Mirror for Witches by Esther Forbes
• The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
• The Last Witchfinder by James K. Morrow
• The Witch's Trinity by Erika Mailman
• The Witching Time by Jean Stubbs
• The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
• Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt

If you haven't signed up for the reading challenge yet, you can still do so HERE.

I'm still looking for people to share a guest post or even a guest review.  Just let me know if you'd like to share something scary or witchy this month.  You can leave a comment or email me at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom

For today's kick off, I'm spotlighting Shadow Slayer by Laura A. H. Elliott and she's offering a giveaway.  You can visit the post HERE.

Happy Witching!

Season of the Witch...coming this October

My first annual month long October event, Season of the Witch! I hope you will join me for some scary fun this Halloween season.

GUEST POSTS/PROMOS/
GIVEAWAYS

Of course, we all know that the focus of Castle Macabre is always the scary (and the speculative), but in October, I'm hoping to have some scary almost every day.  For instance, during Banned Books Week, I will be reading and reviewing American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis.  I'm also seeking guest posts from authors and bloggers alike.  Authors, if you would like to promote your book with a guest post, spotlight, and/or giveaway, this would be the place.  The topic does not have to be witch related (I'll get to the witchy part in a moment), but if it is, that's great! Please email me at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom, if you are interested in participating.

MINI-READING "CHALLENGE"

The other part of Season of the Witch is that I'm challenging myself to read as many witch-related books (from my shelves) in October as I can and I'm challenging you as well.  Let's call it a Witchy Mini-Reading "Challenge."  If you think you're up for the challenge, sign up in the linky below.

I would love for you to join me.  Please grab the button at the top of the post and please spread the word.  Thanks!

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