@macromeh@RiotDemon I read Salem’s Lot as a kid in our camper in the woods, everyone else was hanging at another site, so I was completely alone, pitch black outside. The only time I ever got freaked out by a scary book or movie was the scratching at the window part. I got up & closed all the curtains. Good times!
I started Conjure Wife the other day, and while not scary, and extremely dated, it’s about witches! But then Miss Mercy’s memoir Permanent Damage was a daily amazon deal and I immediately bought and began it instead. Conjure Wife is good, though. One day I’m going to watch the movie version starring Peter Wyngarde (it was on amazon for awhile, but I forgot to finish it and then it was gone).
@mossygreen That movie looks super familiar, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it. Plus it’s in the VUDU 2 for $12 sale and I’ve had my eye on The Mummy’s Hand. Maybe I’ll watch it tonight!
I just started Home Before Dark by Riley Sager. So far it’s a classic haunted house story. haunted houses are the best. As long as you don’t live in one.
Don’t know if it’s spooky, more than half the reviews are bad, but for some reason Ritual by David Pinner is free on amazon right now. It’s the inspiration for The Wicker Man, although if you want to read The Wicker Man you should probably just track down the novel based on the movie by the scriptwriter and director. And you should read it at the end of April, not October. https://smile.amazon.com/Ritual-Cornwall-Murders-Book-1-ebook/dp/B015899058
If you like anthologies of shorter stories, “Soft and Others” by F. Paul WIlson is one of my favorite books EVER. “20th Century Ghosts” by Joe Hill, and “The Bazaar of Bad Dreams” by Stephen King are pretty good anthologies. “A Winter Haunting” by Dan Simmons is a really creepy, thoughtful modern ghost story.
@roninido I bought A Winter Haunting a while back and read reviews that I should read Summer of Night first, which neither me or the library owned. Just checked and Summer of Night is on sale so now I can get started. Thanks.
I also bought Soft and Others because it’s cheap. Turns out I already own the King and Hill books so I’m set for the month!
@sammydog01 I didn’t know about Summer of Night, I’ll have to get it. I listened to the audiobooks of all of them except Soft and Others, really good performances. Thanks for the response!
Update: I finished Conjure Wife and it was amazing. Much better than I remembered, and I remembered it being good. Really liked that Tansy’s magic was specifically Hoodoo-based rather than Western European.
@mossygreen I finished Home Before Dark- didn’t like it. The people on horror lit at Reddit have terrible taste in books sometimes. Or maybe it’s just me.
@sammydog01 Aw, the description sounds so good! But the sample on the Kindle page turns me off a little bit, the sentences (and sentence fragments) are too short. Wait, we’re definitely not talking about Susan Cheever’s memoir of her dad, right?
@mossygreen Riley Sager. It had some good ideas but the writing seemed maybe too simple? And of course you need romance. Ewww. I don’t think I’ll try another one.
@sammydog01 I’m going to assume you found the sentences too short as well. If you feel like reading something about witches with some very dated sexual politics and didn’t buyConjure Wife whenever I posted about it being cheap, whisper me an email and I’ll lend it to you.
@Kyeh@mossygreen I finished Conjure Wife a while back and forgot to report in. It was amazing. Even though there are a lot of husbands ordering their wives around it’s definitely the ladies who have the upper hand. I’m pretty sure they didn’t dress like on that cover but they would have done it if they felt like it.
Amazon just offered it to me for free after two dollars worth of shipping credits. I can read it every Halloween now.
I was a school kid when I last read Dune. I admired it, and read a few of the sequels, which I thought weren’t as good.
(my impression at the time: as though Herbert had not expected to write a bestseller or a multi-book saga; and then, when the original book went crazy successful, he wasn’t sure at first how to keep story going in a manner that would make the readership stay interested and wanting more.
I have no idea what the actual history of the writing of the series is, or whether Herbert planned a series from the start, vs did he came up with the sequels and the galactic pre-history, etc, after the first book took off.)
So now the Dune universe is lotsa lotsa books.
And the big film is out (a friend has seen it and says "decent, but not quite the quality this friend would have expected from that director)
I’ll prob watch the film. (in the trailer, it’s clear that they make the Dune universe look great.)
And I might do a re-reading: this time of the whole huge shebang, including the stuff I never knew existed.
If the material holds my attention.
So: Is the extended saga with the time? What about the even more extended in-universe pre-history stuff?
Worth the time?
What’s a recommended reading order (if anyone has done the whole thing)?
Start with Dune, or start back in time with the galactic history?
/youtube Dune trailer
(If I do this, I’ll be doing the audiobook version).
I just bought this short book because I don’t seem to be able to stop myself from spending $25 on kindle books to get $6 book credit. The hardcover is probably cooler to own, but the ebook is only $1.99! Dangerous Games to Play in the Dark https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RD8S4R2
Mirror by Graham Masterton for me is one of the best books to read. But I don’t usually read such books, not my favourite genre to be honest, but that one was really interesting. I like reading psychological books more because I’m into psychology. A Primer of Operant Conditioning by G. S. Reynolds was the last one I read. And also I read a few more articles, where I managed to Get more info about it. Yes, not the best genre to read when it comes to Halloween, but if someone is into psychology, I recommend it. I hope this year I’ll finally find some more time to read more books and feel the whole atmosphere of Halloween better.
@MaryLewis21 Thanks, Mary, looks like I own Mirror on kindle and I’ll take a look at it. It’s a buck on Amazon if anyone wants to read it on spammer Mary’s recommendation.
I’ll skip the Reynolds book though. Sounds super boring.
I just finished Mirror by Graham Masterton. It started really well and then kind of went nuts. Nuts is OK sometimes. I’m glad I read it.
Stephen King - The Dark Half
It’s at the top of my favorites, and the movie is actually pretty good. Timothy Hutton is great in it.
Of course the book is better.
@RiotDemon For creepy/spooky King books, I would go with 'Salem’s Lot or Pet Sematary.
@macromeh @RiotDemon I read Salem’s Lot as a kid in our camper in the woods, everyone else was hanging at another site, so I was completely alone, pitch black outside. The only time I ever got freaked out by a scary book or movie was the scratching at the window part. I got up & closed all the curtains. Good times!
@ircon96 @macromeh @RiotDemon
The Shining!
Only book I could only read during daylight hours!
Redrum!
When I saw the title “Spooky Books”, I thought this was going to be about a certain CPA who haunts these forums…
I started Conjure Wife the other day, and while not scary, and extremely dated, it’s about witches! But then Miss Mercy’s memoir Permanent Damage was a daily amazon deal and I immediately bought and began it instead. Conjure Wife is good, though. One day I’m going to watch the movie version starring Peter Wyngarde (it was on amazon for awhile, but I forgot to finish it and then it was gone).
@mossygreen That movie looks super familiar, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it. Plus it’s in the VUDU 2 for $12 sale and I’ve had my eye on The Mummy’s Hand. Maybe I’ll watch it tonight!
I’m re-reading Dean Koontz’s, Lightning. While it’s not really scary, it does make me think. AND THAT’S SCARY.
I just started Home Before Dark by Riley Sager. So far it’s a classic haunted house story. haunted houses are the best. As long as you don’t live in one.
@sammydog01 I think the stories of Edgar Poe are best for Halloween.
@zaleschki I’m not sure which is worse, being a spammer or cheating on a paper. I’m gonna go with cheating.
/giphy cheater
Don’t know if it’s spooky, more than half the reviews are bad, but for some reason Ritual by David Pinner is free on amazon right now. It’s the inspiration for The Wicker Man, although if you want to read The Wicker Man you should probably just track down the novel based on the movie by the scriptwriter and director. And you should read it at the end of April, not October.
https://smile.amazon.com/Ritual-Cornwall-Murders-Book-1-ebook/dp/B015899058
@mossygreen The price is right. Picked it up. Thanks!
@mossygreen Same here, free is awesome!
VAN MURALS! GROUND SQUIRRELS! SPIT CURLS! AWESOME!
Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore is two dollars today. It’s not exactly spooky but it does have a demon in it and it’s really funny.
https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Demonkeeping-Pine-Cove-Book-ebook/dp/B000GCFBYW/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=practical+demonkeeping&qid=1634302956&sr=8-1
If you like anthologies of shorter stories, “Soft and Others” by F. Paul WIlson is one of my favorite books EVER. “20th Century Ghosts” by Joe Hill, and “The Bazaar of Bad Dreams” by Stephen King are pretty good anthologies. “A Winter Haunting” by Dan Simmons is a really creepy, thoughtful modern ghost story.
@roninido I bought A Winter Haunting a while back and read reviews that I should read Summer of Night first, which neither me or the library owned. Just checked and Summer of Night is on sale so now I can get started. Thanks.
I also bought Soft and Others because it’s cheap. Turns out I already own the King and Hill books so I’m set for the month!
@sammydog01 I didn’t know about Summer of Night, I’ll have to get it. I listened to the audiobooks of all of them except Soft and Others, really good performances. Thanks for the response!
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. Good spooky murder mystery.
@mossygreen mentioned M R James. Amazon has a kindle book of his ghost stories for $2. Sounds like they might be off copyright but sometimes a couple of bucks is worth it.
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Ghost-Stories-M-James-ebook/dp/B07KFKKL48/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=Mr+James&qid=1634590109&sr=8-6
@sammydog01 You can find a lot of MR James free. And I do recommend for classic chills.
I just recently bought a bunch of old Alfred Hitchcock collections from Thriftbooks; gonna see if they hold up to what I remember.
I’m about halfway through the Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig. Good creep factor.
T. Kingfisher also has some good creepy stuff that’ll have you staring at the dark places.
Update: I finished Conjure Wife and it was amazing. Much better than I remembered, and I remembered it being good. Really liked that Tansy’s magic was specifically Hoodoo-based rather than Western European.
@mossygreen I finished Home Before Dark- didn’t like it. The people on horror lit at Reddit have terrible taste in books sometimes. Or maybe it’s just me.
On to a second read of Bloodsucking Fiends.
@sammydog01 Aw, the description sounds so good! But the sample on the Kindle page turns me off a little bit, the sentences (and sentence fragments) are too short. Wait, we’re definitely not talking about Susan Cheever’s memoir of her dad, right?
@mossygreen Riley Sager. It had some good ideas but the writing seemed maybe too simple? And of course you need romance. Ewww. I don’t think I’ll try another one.
@sammydog01 I’m going to assume you found the sentences too short as well. If you feel like reading something about witches with some very dated sexual politics and didn’t buyConjure Wife whenever I posted about it being cheap, whisper me an email and I’ll lend it to you.
@mossygreen I just checked it out of the library- I’ll give it a shot.
@sammydog01 Hope you like it! Even if you don’t, I suppose I’m not any worse than horror weirdos on reddit. But still, I hope you do.
@mossygreen @sammydog01
I like the vintage cover, because of course you’re required to perform spells while clad scantily in a whispy sheet:
@Kyeh @sammydog01 That’s just delightful!
@Kyeh @mossygreen I finished Conjure Wife a while back and forgot to report in. It was amazing. Even though there are a lot of husbands ordering their wives around it’s definitely the ladies who have the upper hand. I’m pretty sure they didn’t dress like on that cover but they would have done it if they felt like it.
Amazon just offered it to me for free after two dollars worth of shipping credits. I can read it every Halloween now.
https://www.amazon.com/Conjure-Wife-Fritz-Leiber-ebook/dp/B00J84KXKQ/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Conjure+wife&qid=1638485124&sr=8-1
I watched the movie about half way through the book. Love the movie too. Love the book more.
I was a school kid when I last read Dune. I admired it, and read a few of the sequels, which I thought weren’t as good.
(my impression at the time: as though Herbert had not expected to write a bestseller or a multi-book saga; and then, when the original book went crazy successful, he wasn’t sure at first how to keep story going in a manner that would make the readership stay interested and wanting more.
I have no idea what the actual history of the writing of the series is, or whether Herbert planned a series from the start, vs did he came up with the sequels and the galactic pre-history, etc, after the first book took off.)
So now the Dune universe is lotsa lotsa books.
And the big film is out (a friend has seen it and says "decent, but not quite the quality this friend would have expected from that director)
I’ll prob watch the film. (in the trailer, it’s clear that they make the Dune universe look great.)
And I might do a re-reading: this time of the whole huge shebang, including the stuff I never knew existed.
If the material holds my attention.
So: Is the extended saga with the time? What about the even more extended in-universe pre-history stuff?
Worth the time?
What’s a recommended reading order (if anyone has done the whole thing)?
Start with Dune, or start back in time with the galactic history?
/youtube Dune trailer
(If I do this, I’ll be doing the audiobook version).
@f00l
Apologies to all for my omission:
If I’m going to bring up the Dune series, I ought at least to post this obligatory and necessary pix of Sting, from in the 1980’s David Lynch film.
/image Dune Sting
/giphy spice
@f00l Truly a charming contrast, if a little whiplash-inducing.
I just bought this short book because I don’t seem to be able to stop myself from spending $25 on kindle books to get $6 book credit. The hardcover is probably cooler to own, but the ebook is only $1.99!
Dangerous Games to Play in the Dark
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RD8S4R2
My bad. I thought the topic title was “Spooky Doots”. You’re welcome.
/youtube spooky doots remix
@mike808 Could have happened to anyone.
@mike808 @mossygreen He’s riding that one till the wheels come off!
@ircon96 @mossygreen Only 3 doots left.
@mike808 @mossygreen Oh no! You’ll have to pace yourself, luckily Halloween’s almost here!
Mirror by Graham Masterton for me is one of the best books to read. But I don’t usually read such books, not my favourite genre to be honest, but that one was really interesting. I like reading psychological books more because I’m into psychology. A Primer of Operant Conditioning by G. S. Reynolds was the last one I read. And also I read a few more articles, where I managed to Get more info about it. Yes, not the best genre to read when it comes to Halloween, but if someone is into psychology, I recommend it. I hope this year I’ll finally find some more time to read more books and feel the whole atmosphere of Halloween better.
@MaryLewis21 Thanks, Mary, looks like I own Mirror on kindle and I’ll take a look at it. It’s a buck on Amazon if anyone wants to read it on spammer Mary’s recommendation.
I’ll skip the Reynolds book though. Sounds super boring.
My favorite holiday!