Halloween

Some Halloween Reading Ideas!

Angela29 Comments

Yes; I am one of those people that as soon as it is October, it is basically Halloween! This is my absolute favorite time of year, from the cool weather, to the beautiful trees here in West Michigan, to the baking of breads, and casseroles, and of course, boot and sweater weather 😊

Gale’s Pond, Shelby, Michigan, 2017
McGraft Park, 2016
Gale’s Pond, Shelby, Michigan, 2017
Gale’s Pond, Shelby, Michigan, 2017
Gale’s Pond, Shelby, Michigan, 2017

I have a few favorite books that I like to read during the Halloween-Thanksgiving seasons, as well as some cozy mysteries that I have read that are perfect for this time of year.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow-Washington Irving

Sleepy Hollow

This is certainly one of my all-time favorites books; a quick read, a classic story, and how can you not cheer for Ichabod Crane? Determined to win the hand of Katrina Van Tassel, Ichabod needs to deal with both the Headless Horseman, and the determined suitor of Katrina, named Brom Van Brunt. This story has been retold in movies and television series alike, and I have been a fan of all of them.

Ghastly Glass: A Renaissance Faire Mystery-Joyce Lavene, Jim Lavene

Ghastly Glass cover image

I read this cozy mystery earlier this year, along with the other books in the Renaissance Faire Cozy series. This is book two, and takes place during Halloween. Jessie is the main character, and in each book, she is apprenticing at a different vendor for her thesis for her PhD. In this story, she is apprenticing with the glass blower. There is the necessary murder victim, and the personal life issues that are standard with cozy stories. I really enjoyed this whole series.

Anything by Stephen King…I have a few favorites, but you definitely need to plan ahead, as most of his books are very, very long.

From a Buick 8 Cover Image 2

My favorite King book is From a Buick 8. I have not heard from too many readers who have actually read this story, and if put on the spot, I could not exactly explain what draws me to this book, but it is fantastic! I am not sure how I ended up owning 3 copies of it; but I do 😊 Other great King stories are the classics, such as Cujo, Carrie, and Misery.

What are your favorite books to read during this time of year?

What Are Your Halloween Reads?

Angela3 Comments

I love my classics: Sleepy Hollow, Pet Cemetery, Dr. Sleep, and oh so many more scary Halloween stories. But the stuff you find now is all children’s books.

sleepy-hollow-cover-image

Wait….What???

No one is writing sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-bed-with-every-light-on-in-the-house stories?

It seems not, my friends.

What have you read that has completely kept you awake? Blown your mind? Made you change religions?

Okay; all joking aside. I can no longer watch scary movies, but I will always pick up a scary book.

Edgar Allen Poe? You can never go wrong. Halloween is a great time to pick up Sherlock Holmes if you never have before.

edgar-allen-poe-cover-image

 

I would love to know what you are reading that keeps you up at night. That way I can stay up too!

Finally! My Etsy Store

Angela5 Comments

I have many things to add, and many projects in the works. But with the help of a WordPress technician, my store finally shows up! Top of my page, click on “store”.

I am currently working on some amazing pine book boxes, painting book covers, and spines, of some classic novels.  I am also painting book covers on canvas, 11×14 to start, until I get a good idea of what everyone is interested in buying.

I am homeschooling a 10th grader, have another going to public school in 7th grade, and another MBA class starting for me on September 22. I am editing a fantastic book that I cannot wait to introduce to the masses, and still reading for enjoyment to post some book reviews.  Oh, and I work about 45-50 hours a week; did I forget to mention that?

I have the most understanding boyfriend ever, because my life is just crazy busy, and he accepts it! I am looking forward to Autumn, the most awesome time of the year! I will be holding a raffle for a couple of book bags with a great Halloween story, mug, hot cocoa or tea, and a smelly pumpkin type candle. Stay tuned!

Thank you for your support, your kind words, and your amazing stories!

 

The Faust Syndrome – Jaysen True Blood

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The Faust Syndrome CoverJust in time for the upcoming All Hollow’s Eve, one more story to make your hair stand on end while you fight the overwhelming urge to turn on every light in your home. Yes, it’s that good. This was my first read of Jaysen True Blood’s work, and I could not have been more pleased!

We all have the basic understanding of right and wrong; correct? Good. And we all try to do good by our hearts, and what we know we should be doing.

But what if you had the ability to do whatever you wanted? Anything: right, wrong, or indifferent. Could you still do the morally correct things and follow the rules of society as society dictates? What if you could have it all? Or at least you believed you could have it all. Then what would you do?

This story looks at right and wrong, morally correct and unethical, righteously sound and corruptness by evil. Read about the lengths one man goes to in order to have it all. Ironically, he “had it all” throughout his entire childhood. Having it all would cost him his soul, but what did he need that for anyhow?

You will never look at Heaven and Hell the same, and may change your mind on what you believe to be true. There is no religious marketing scheme here to get you into a church; just the lengths a man goes to in order to have it all. He destroys anyone and everyone who gets in his way, and then he destroys some more just for the fun of it.

The ending had quite the twist for me, and it made the story that much more profound now that I knew the “whole” story. I try at all lengths to never give out spoilers, and the same holds true here. You are going to have to read it for yourself!

You still have time to get this book and have it read before Halloween this Friday, October 31st. Or at least start reading it by Halloween. You will want to make space on your scary-books-bookshelf for this one. I myself am making room for a couple more of Jaysen True Blood’s books on my bookshelves.

You can find this book here: http://www.amazon.com/Faust-Syndrome-Jaysen-True-Blood/dp/1502566079

Ravaging Myths – Frederick Marshall Brown

AngelaLeave a comment

Okay, it has been a while since I have had to do this, but here goes. Do not read this book. I searched as much information as I could about it, and all of the reviews I found were pretty close to how I felt about the story.

If someone tries to hand this book off to you, do not take it!
If someone tries to hand this book off to you, do not take it!

I wish I had something nice to say about this book. I was looking for another great scary read for the Halloween holiday, but this was not it. Unless if spelling errors, bad grammar usage, poor paragraph and sentence structure, and more holes in the plot than you would find on a colander are your thing.

If so, then this is the book for you!

The first couple chapters definitely got my attention, but as each new character was added in, something else decreased in quality. Nothing made sense. Nothing added up. The story would completely change direction and characters in the middle of a paragraph. With no explanation. Meaning, you are reading about Dick and Jane running up the hill, and the very next sentence tells you Sam and Spot went to the park to chase Frisbees. And whatever Dick and Jane were doing just stopped. Trust me; it is much worse than I can even make it sound.

This story takes place in Hawthorne, supposedly a Native territory, but even that does not make sense. It mentions St. Louis, Sioux Nation. Did St. Louis previously belong to the Sioux? Or is the author just making things up? The storyline was everywhere but on track, and it basically ended up being that a funeral home was built on top of a cave that was a bridge to the spirit world. Yes, there is your spoiler alert. Because I hope to goodness you are going to trust me and not read this book. The author mentioned at the end of the story that since he lives in Las Vegas with his wife and son, he was thinking about a ravaging myths story based there. This, my friends, was the scariest thing about this story. That he may possibly write another.

I can’t even say it has a nice cover 😦

Bugger…

The Haunting of Reindeer Manor – Concluded

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Kevin Guests' books as a series
Kevin Guests’ books as a series

Remember how I said yesterday that this story was fairly light on the blood-and-guts gore and I would have no issue with my teenage girls reading this?

Yeah. Never mind about that. Apparently all the blood-and-guts gore is in the second half of the book. It suits the story, and is a necessary part of setting the scene as this story comes to its conclusion. There is no need to be concerned about reading violence and brutality that is added just to add it; it is a part of the story and its conclusion and is just as necessary to the flow and feel of the story as the characters themselves are.

So, I generally try to not give any spoilers about books, and this one is no exception. It ended just as strong as it started, and this is certainly a book that needs to be put towards the top of your Read-by-Halloween list! What I can and will tell you, is that the 5 characters in this story were haunted more by their own demons of their past behavior compared to anything the entities in the house could do to them. Maybe that is the true moral of the story; the things that haunt us on the outside is due to the things we bury on the inside.

Next on my Halloween list!
Next on my Halloween list!

Since this book had a forward that stated it was part 1 of “The Haunted Houses of Anderson”, after the final chapter there is a teaser section for part 2 of “The haunted Houses of Anderson”, which is titled “The Chronicles of Foxwood.” I hope to be able to have this read before Halloween arrives, and any others that are in this series.

More to come!

The Haunting of Reindeer Manor – Kevin Michael Guest

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This appears to be one book of a series of books about haunted houses
This appears to be one book of a series of books about haunted houses

Looking for some more quick Halloween reads, I found The Haunting of Reindeer Manor, by Kevin Michael Guest. Reindeer Manor is a real Haunted Attraction in Dallas, Texas.

 Reindeer Manor

A professor looking to end his career with the publication of 9 hauntings, Professor Anderson forms a team of 4 others to investigate, not letting them know the history of the house, Reindeer Manor, so he could get their honest feelings, input, opinions. Jessie is a college student who has no Psychology or paranormal experience. Professor Anderson also has his secretary/mistress Mary attend, for no reason other than his own comfort I would imagine. Professor Fletcher is hard up for the money, and the Dean promised him a full time job if he does this favor for him and Professor Anderson. Amy is a medium with very strong powers that seem to be blocked by some entity in the house. These 4 comprise the team along with Professor Anderson, and convince the current owner of Reindeer Manor, who is using it as a Halloween Haunted House attraction, to restore it to its original form so they can examine it for 5 days and nights. For the sum of $100,000.00, the owner knows the dangers, and that he should refuse, but money wins out.

I am halfway through this story, and it is great reading so far. It is full of suspense, frights, and nothing too blood-and-guts gory that I would be concerned about my teenagers reading this and freaking themselves out! I will have this finished by tomorrow, and give my final report.

Need More Spooky Reads For Halloween?

Angela2 Comments

Haunted Highways: Spooky Stories, Strange Happenings, Supernatural Sightings

Haunted Highways Cover

Retold by Tom Ogden, these short stories are based on myths and urban legends. What these have in common is that they all take place on a highway, road, trail, or path of some sort. Due to the fact that there are thousands of such myths and urban legends, Mr. Ogden chose 4 categories to loosely stick to, while still sharing a good representation.

The first category is about vanishing hitchhikers (a story you have heard immediately came to mind, didn’t it?) He included The Phantom Hitchhiker, Resurrection Mary, the Weeping Woman, and The Prophecy.

The second category is titled Street Walkers. No. Not those street walkers. The firsts two stories in this section will take you to Hawaii. Next you will travel to Tokyo and learn about Oiwa’s Ghost. Back in the States, you experience The Funeral Cortege of Baynard Plantation in South Carolina. John Brown’s Body takes you through the Civil War Era, into West Virginia. The Nun’s Walk and The Occurrence at the Creek Road Bridge wraps up the 2nd section of the book.

If you haven’t been completely freaked out yet, you will continue on to the 3rd part of the book, Phantom Travelers. This immediately brings to mind many movies that scared me so much as a child, I will not watch them even now. Included are The Long Ride Home of Peter Rugg (275 years and counting!), The Return of Mad Anthony Wayne, The Man Who Disappeared, The Ghost Train (numerous people claim that while traveling the highways along the same route that President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train took, they see his train), Telly’s Phantom (yes, Telly Savalas), and The Curse of Little Bastard, in case if you ever wondered what really caused James Dean’s car accident.

Part Four is Lost Souls. A mixed bag of ghosts that include cowboys, Indians, and fair maidens of the Old West. Phantoms on horseback, an Irishman who opted to dance with the devil, and read about strangers stuck on a certain set of railroad tracks being pushed to safety by a busload of children. How better to end the book than with a tale on Route 66, or “The Highway to Hell”, as the author puts it.

These stories are all fairly short, none over a few pages long. Most of these are tame enough, without blood and gore and just scary, in that I will be sharing them with my girls with no worries.

Friday Fun Facts!

Angela1 Comment

Scary Books? How do you feel about them? I used to be able to read them all the time, and I loved it! Now they just kind of freak me out 🙂 I used to love being curled up in my bed with a small lamp on reading a book that just literally freaked me out. I would hear sounds that I heard every day in my house, and now I would start wondering who or what could possibly be in my house! It has been a while since I have read a truly scary book, I think Dr. Sleep by Stephen King was the last. I think I am going to have to revisit some classics, including this one that completely scared the bejeebies out of me. I still question if this is a true story or not, and definitely lean towards true. I will admit that I can no longer watch any scary movies, but The Amityville Horror movie, both old and the remake, completely freaked me out.

What is your favorite scary book?

the-amityville-horror