Bird Box by Josh Malerman

Title: Bird Box

Author: Josh Malerman

Publisher: Ecco 2014

Genre: Horror

Pages: 305

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Horror; Seasonal TBR

Something is out there . . . 

Something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remain, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now, that the boy and girl are four, it is time to go. But the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat—blindfolded—with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them. But is it man, animal, or monster?

Engulfed in darkness, surrounded by sounds both familiar and frightening, Malorie embarks on a harrowing odyssey—a trip that takes her into an unseen world and back into the past, to the companions who once saved her. Under the guidance of the stalwart Tom, a motely group of strangers banded together against the unseen terror, creating order from the chaos. But when supplies ran low, they were forced to venture outside—and confront the ultimate question: in a world gone mad, who can really be trusted?

I’ve been meaning to pick this one up for years now and I finally got around to it this month. Right away we are plunged into the uncertainty of Malorie’s world without sight. We start to piece together the story between the past and the present in alternating chapters. We slowly learn how Malorie ended up in the situation she is in. The tension just builds and builds and builds. Just like Malerman’s other works, we are treated to his use of atmosphere to create the main horrors of the stories. I loved the unknowns within this novel. I loved finding out what happened to all the other people in the house. I loved seeing Malorie struggle with her own decisions. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending. It felt too neat and tidy after all that tension. I’m not debating about reading the second book in the series and/or watching the movie version.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

Title: The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories

Author: Angela Carter

Publisher:

Genre: Horror

Pages: 176

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual; Seasonal TBR

In The Bloody Chamber , Carter's famous collection of deeply unsettling stories inspired by fairy tales, a Beauty is turned into a Beast and Little Red Riding's grandmother is stoned to death as a witch; a young music student is swept off her feet in Paris by a middle-aged aristocrat and transported to his ancestral abode to re-enact the story of Bluebeard against a sumptuous fin de siècle background; a British soldier on a cycling holiday in Transylvania in the summer of 1914 finds himself the guest of an alluring female vampire. By contrast, in Wise Children, Carter's last novel), the comic, the bawdy and the life-enhancing prevail. An irrepressible elderly lady recalls the many colorful decades she and her sister spent as vaudeville performers - a tale as full of twins and mistaken identities as any plot of Shakespeare's. The early collection, Fireworks , reveals Carter taking her first forays into the fantastic writing that was to become her unforgettable legacy. The Everyman's Library omnibus gathers the best of Angela Carter in one astonishing volume.

I finally read this collection of short stories! And really, it’s a gem of the horror genre. We get a collection of stories that take classic fairy tales and turn them on their heads. The horror is subtle at times, but that makes it all the more terrifying. “The Bloody Chamber” is of course the story of Bluebeard, but we get such tension and buildup to the reveal that it makes it seem like a completely new story. I loved the vampire story as a new viewpoint on the undead in a crumbling mansion. Over and over, I was awed at the atmosphere and tension that Carter created within each short story. I really felt like I was right in the story experiencing the horror first hand. Beautiful and horrific collection!

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Troop by Nick Cutter

Title: The Troop

Author: Nick Cutter

Publisher: Gallery Books 2016

Genre: Horror

Pages: 384

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Horror

Once every year, Scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a weekend camping trip—a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story around a roaring bonfire. But when an unexpected intruder stumbles upon their campsite—shockingly thin, disturbingly pale, and voraciously hungry—Tim and the boys are exposed to something far more frightening than any tale of terror. The human carrier of a bioengineered nightmare. A horror that spreads faster than fear. A harrowing struggle for survival with no escape from the elements, the infected…or one another.

This was a recommendation from one of my favorite podcasts: Currently Reading. And it is not for the feint of heart. This is hardcore body horror (but not in the trippy way like Mexican Gothic). This one is very gorey and made me say “ew” out loud many times. We get a mix of contagion horror with Lord of the Flies focused on five boys and one adult on an isolated island. From there, I basically knew how the story was going to devolve, but was all in for the ride. My biggest complaint was the fact that they allude to the ending about 75 pages from the ending. I would have rather have been surprised by the ending than guess based off of the clues. And i did have a few qualms about the back stories of the boys, especially Shelly. I was not really into adding a character like him into the story.

Next up on the TBR pile:

White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

Title: White is for Witching

Author: Helen Oyeyemi

Publisher: Riverhead Books 2014

Genre: Horror

Pages: 306

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Horror; Monthly Theme - October

There’s something strange about the Silver family house in the closed-off town of Dover, England. Grand and cavernous with hidden passages and buried secrets, it’s been home to four generations of Silver women—Anna, Jennifer, Lily, and now Miranda, who has lived in the house with her twin brother, Eliot, ever since their father converted it to a bed-and-breakfast. The Silver women have always had a strong connection, a pull over one another that reaches across time and space, and when Lily, Miranda’s mother, passes away suddenly while on a trip abroad, Miranda begins suffering strange ailments. An eating disorder starves her. She begins hearing voices. When she brings a friend home, Dover’s hostility toward outsiders physically manifests within the four walls of the Silver house, and the lives of everyone inside are irrevocably changed. 

I am starting to think that I’m not really a big fan of Oyeyemi’s writing style. The story jumps a bit all over the place and becomes hard to follow. I wasn’t a fan of how the various characters referred to each other. It was hard to tell who was who and what the relationship between the various characters. It also took me extra long to figure out who the various narrators were. Things got better once I figured out that part, but I was still confused in many instances. I just didn’t love this book, but could appreciate Oyeyemi’s commitment to a gothic writing style and inventive story lines.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The House with a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs

Title: The House with a Clock in Its Walls (Lewis Barnavelt #1)

Author: John Bellairs

Publisher: 1973

Genre: Children’s Books

Pages: 179

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Horror; Library

When Lewis Barnavelt, an orphan. comes to stay with his uncle Jonathan, he expects to meet an ordinary person. But he is wrong. Uncle Jonathan and his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Zimmermann, are both magicians! Lewis is thrilled. At first, watching magic is enough. Then Lewis experiments with magic himself and unknowingly resurrects the former owner of the house: a woman named Selenna Izard. It seems that Selenna and her husband built a timepiece into the walls--a clock that could obliterate humankind. And only the Barnavelts can stop it!

We ended watching the movie version with Jack Black and Cate Blanchett before reading the book, but I wasn’t too spoiled. Of course the movie changes some things around to make the story more fantastic for the screen. But by and large, the main story stays true to the spirit of the book. And what a book it is! If I had read this at about 9 years old, I would have been completely in love with this book. Even at 38, I really really really enjoyed this book. We get the right amount of humor, adventure, and horror in this slim little novel introducing us to Lewis Barnavelt and his eccentric Uncle Jonathan and neighbor Mrs. Zimmerman. I sped through the pages, only pausing to examine the wonderful illustrations. I probably won’t read the rest of the series, but I really loved this first volume.

P.S. The novel was illustrated by Edward Gorey. I love his work so much!

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Hunger by Alma Katsu

Title: The Hunger

Author: Alma Katsu

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons 2018

Genre: Horror

Pages: 376

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Horror

Evil is invisible, and it is everywhere.

That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the isolated travelers to the brink of madness. Though they dream of what awaits them in the West, long-buried secrets begin to emerge, and dissent among them escalates to the point of murder and chaos. They cannot seem to escape tragedy...or the feelings that someone--or something--is stalking them. Whether it's a curse from the beautiful Tamsen Donner (who some think might be a witch), their ill-advised choice of route through uncharted terrain, or just plain bad luck, the ninety men, women, and children of the Donner Party are heading into one of one of the deadliest and most disastrous Western adventures in American history.

As members of the group begin to disappear, the survivors start to wonder if there really is something disturbing, and hungry, waiting for them in the mountains...and whether the evil that has unfolded around them may have in fact been growing within them all along.

Oooohhhh. This was absolute terrifying and I loved every single page of this one! I am fascinated by the real life story of the Donner Party (I even had to stop at one of the historical markers to take a picture). The Hunger is the perfect book to weave together the real facts and a more fantastical element. I spent so many pages of this one so so hungry. Katsu has mastered the art of suspense. I completely loved this book so much. I definitely already put Katsu’s next book on hold at the library.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Let the Right One In by John Lindqvist

Title: Let the Right One In

Author: John Lindqvist

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin 2008

Genre: Horror

Pages: 479

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Horror; Popsugar - Scandanavia; Horror

It is autumn 1981 when the inconceivable comes to Blackeberg, a suburb in Sweden. The body of a teenage boy is found, emptied of blood, the murder rumored to be part of a ritual killing. Twelve-year-old Oskar is personally hoping that revenge has come at long last---revenge for the bullying he endures at school, day after day.

But the murder is not the most important thing on his mind. A new girl has moved in next door---a girl who has never seen a Rubik’s Cube before, but who can solve it at once. There is something wrong with her, though, something odd. And she only comes out at night. . 

I have come to the conclusion that Scandinavian horror is just not for me. I was intrigued by the vampire story that this was billed as. And this was voted onto the NPR Top 100 Horror list. Once I got into the story, I just couldn’t really take it. This story is just too incredibly bleak. I struggled to get through all the terrible, dark things that happened in the book. This was definitely a no for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Title: The Woman in Black

Author: Susan Hill

Publisher: 1983

Genre: Horror

Pages: 163

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - NPR Horror; Monthly Keyword - Woman; Horror

Arthur Kipps is an up-and-coming London solicitor who is sent to Crythin Gifford—a faraway town in the windswept salt marshes beyond Nine Lives Causeway—to attend the funeral and settle the affairs of a client, Mrs. Alice Drablow of Eel Marsh House. Mrs. Drablow’s house stands at the end of the causeway, wreathed in fog and mystery, but Kipps is unaware of the tragic secrets that lie hidden behind its sheltered windows. The routine business trip he anticipated quickly takes a horrifying turn when he finds himself haunted by a series of mysterious sounds and images—a rocking chair in a deserted nursery, the eerie sound of a pony and trap, a child’s scream in the fog, and, most terrifying of all, a ghostly woman dressed all in black. Psychologically terrifying and deliciously eerie, The Woman in Black is a remarkable thriller of the first rate.

Finally got around to reading this one. I had seen the movie version featuring Daniel Radcliffe, but found it wanting. Too many ridiculous scenes. Thankfully the book was much better than the movie. We get a novella in the style of a traditional gothic story featuring lots of atmosphere, a creepy house, and towns people with secrets. I definitely got chills during the scene where Arthur hears the pony and wagon lose the path. Creepy creepy! I would have a liked to have had a few more appearances by the woman in black. But overall, a very enjoyable ghost story.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Title: Dracula

Author: Bram Stoker

Publisher: 1897

Genre: Horror

Pages: 488

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual (NPR Horror); Popsugar - Play or Musical; Mount TBR

Dracula is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to move from Transylvania to England so he may find new blood and spread undead curse, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing. 

A fun spooky reread for my October. I think it’s been at least 5 years since I last read this book and have forgotten how much I really enjoy it. I love the rich descriptions of Transylvania and The Count. I always forget the journey to the castle and the foreshadowing we get about the horror that awaits. So good! And then we get an expansion of characters featuring some truly memorable ones. Renfield! My favorite! I love every encounter with him. I sped through the rest of the book just to get to the demise of The Count. Love it!

Next up on the TBR pile:

NPR Romance and Horror Lists

NPR just released their list of the 100 Favorite Horror Stories based on a reader's choice. I love these lists and use them for my perpetual reading challenges. So I'm adding this to my challenges! 

1. Frankenstien by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
2. Dracula by Bram Stoker
3. "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
4. "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe
5. "Carmilla" by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
6. "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James
7. "The Great God Pan" by Arthur Machen
8. "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs
9. "The Willows" by Algernon Blackwood
10. "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
11. "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" by M.R. James and Darryl Jones
12. The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore
13. I am Legend by Richard Matheson
14. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
15. The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice (first trilogy)
16. Minion by L.A. Banks (Vampire Huntress Legend Series)
17. The Hunger by Alma Katsu
18. Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman
19. Bird Box by Josh Malerman
20. Feed by Mira Grant (Newsflesh series)
21. World War Z by Max Brooks
22. The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
23. "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" By H.P. Lovecraft
24. The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor Lavalle
25. The Fisherman by John Langan
26. Laundry Files by Charles Stross (series)
27. The Cipher by Kathe Koja
28. John Dies at the End by David Wong
29. At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
30. "All Our Salt-Bottled Hearts" by Sonya Taaffe
31. Uzumaki by Junji Ito
32. Communion by Whitley Strieber
33. "The Repairer of Reputations" by Robert W. Chambers
34. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
35. The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons
36. Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco
37. The Shining by Stephen King
38. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
39. The Elementals by Michael McDowell
40. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
41. Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis
42. The Bone Key by Sarah Monette
43. Infidel by Aaron Campbell
44. The Ruins by Scott Smith
45. Rebecca Daphne de Maurier
46. "Where are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates
47. The Red Tree by Caitlin R. Kiernan
48. Swan Song by Robert McCammon
49. "The Screwfly Solution" by James Tiptree Jr.
50. "Left Foot, Right" by Palo Hopkinson
51. Come Closer by Sara Gran
52. Furnace by Livia Llewellyn
53. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
54. Through the Woods by Emily Carroll
55. Sandman by Neil Gaiman
56. Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
57. White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
58. "Goblin Market" by Christina Georgina Rossetti
59. Experimental Film by Gemma Files
60. "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson
61. The Collector by John Fowles
62. The Terror by Dan Simmons
63. Intensity by Dean R. Koontz
64. The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum
65. Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite
66. "Night The Missed the Horror Show by Joe Lansdale
67. Penpal by Dathan Auerbach
68. NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
69. "Bloodchild" by Octavia E. Butler
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
72. Beloved by Toni Morrison
73. Kindred by Octavia Butler
74. The Devil in America by Kai Ashante Wilson
75. "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison
76. Books of Blood by Clive Barker
77. The October Country by Ray Bradbury
78. The Weird by Ann Vandermeer and Jeff Vandermeer
79. The Imago Sequence and Other Stories by Laird Barron
80. Alone with the Horrors by Ramsey Campbell
81. Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez
82. Shadowland by Peter Straub
83. A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
84. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
85. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
86. "The Body" by Stephen King
87. "It's a Good Life" by Jerome Bixby
88. The Other by Thomas Tryon
89. The Troop by Nick Cutter
90. Elizabeth by Ken Greenhall
91. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
92. Goosebumps by R.L. Stone (series)
93. Rotters by Daniel Kraus
94. The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste
95. The House with a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs
96. Spiriti Hunters by Ellen Oh
97. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
98. Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan

I also somehow missed their 100 Romance Stories list from 2015. I'm going to add this one also!

1. Lord of Scoundrels, by Loretta Chase
2. Indigo, by Beverly Jenkins
3. Outlander (series), by Diana Gabaldon
4. Texas Destiny, by Lorraine Heath
5. The Serpent Garden, by Judith Merkle Riley
6. The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie, by Jennifer Ashley
7. The Bedwyn Saga (series), by Mary Balogh
8. Ravished, by Amanda Quick
9. The Wallflowers (series), by Lisa Kleypas
10. The Bridgertons (series), by Julia Quinn
11. The Brothers Sinister (series), by Courtney Milan
12. The Rules of Scoundrels (series), by Sarah MacLean
13. Flowers From the Storm, by Laura Kinsale
14. Spindle Cove (series), by Tessa Dare
15. Maiden Lane (series), by Elizabeth Hoyt
16. Pennyroyal Green (series), by Julie Anne Long
17. The Bride, by Julie Garwood
18. The Pink Carnation (series), by Lauren Willig
19. A Knight in Shining Armor, by Jude Deveraux
20. Not Quite a Husband, by Sherry Thomas
21. Desperate Duchesses (series), by Eloisa James
22. Something Wonderful, by Judith McNaught
23. The Windflower, by Laura London
24. The Spymasters (series), by Joanna Bourne
25. The Duke of Shadows, by Meredith Duran
26. Beast, by Judith Ivory
27. To Have and to Hold, by Patricia Gaffney
28. The Captive, by Grace Burrowes
29. The Lotus Palace (series), by Jeannie Lin
30. All Through the Night, by Connie Brockway
31. Blaze, by Susan Johnson
32. Morning Glory, by LaVyrle Spencer
33. Simple Jess, by Pamela Morsi
34. The Morning Gift, by Eva Ibbotson
35. A Lady Awakened, by Cecilia Grant
36. The Summer of You, by Kate Noble
37. The Rake, by Mary Jo Putney
38. The India Fan, by Victoria Holt
39. North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell
40. The Far Pavilions, by M.M. Kaye
41. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
42. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
43. Venetia, by Georgette Heyer
44. Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell
45. Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins
46. The Queen's Thief (series), by Megan Whalen Turner
47. Perfect Chemistry, by Simone Elkeles
48. Adios to My Old Life, by Caridad Ferrer
49. I-Team (series), by Pamela Clare
50. In Death (series), by J.D. Robb
51. Nine Coaches Waiting, by Mary Stewart
52. Psy/Changeling (series), by Nalini Singh
53. The Iron Seas (series), by Meljean Brook
54. Kate Daniels (series), by Ilona Andrews
55. Ember, by Bettie Sharpe
56. The Inheritance Trilogy, by N.K. Jemisin
57. A Civil Campaign, by Lois McMaster Bujold
58. Archangel, by Sharon Shinn
59. Warrior's Woman, by Johanna Lindsey
60. Charley Davidson (series), by Darynda Jones
61. The Black Dagger Brotherhood (series), by J.R. Ward
62. Immortals After Dark (series), by Kresley Cole
63. Fever (series), by Karen Marie Moning
64. The Winter Sea, by Susanna Kearsley
65. Cry Wolf, by Patricia Briggs
66. Vampire Huntress (series), by L.A. Banks
67. Dark Hunter (series), by Sherrilyn Kenyon
68. The Magpie Lord, by K. J. Charles
69. Fated Love, by Radclyffe
70. Hot Head, by Damon Suede
71. Cut & Run, by Abigail Roux and Madeleine Urban
72. Keeping Promise Rock, by Amy Lane
73. Butterfly Tattoo, by Deidre Knight
74. Maid to Match, by Deeanne Gist
75. Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers
76. Natural Law, by Joey W. Hill
77. Liberating Lacey, by Anne Calhoun
78. The Lady's Tutor, by Robin Schone
79. Bet Me, by Jennifer Crusie
80. Heart of the Falcon, by Francis Ray
81. Something About You, by Julie James
82. The Chocolate Kiss, by Laura Florand
83. A Bollywood Affair, by Sonali Dev
84. Dream Man (series), by Kristen Ashley
85. The Chesapeake Bay Saga, by Nora Roberts
86. Lucky Harbor (series), by Jill Shalvis
87. Chicago Stars (series), by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
88. Troubleshooters (series), by Suzanne Brockmann
89. Virgin River (series), by Robyn Carr
90. The Mackenzie Family (series), by Linda Howard
91. Blue Heron (series), by Kristan Higgins
92. The Madaris Family (series), by Brenda Jackson
93. Wild Seasons (series), by Christina Lauren
94. Intimate Betrayal, by Donna Hill
95. Crazy Thing Called Love, by Molly O'Keefe
96. Black Knights, Inc. (series), by Julie Ann Walker
97. The Girl You Left Behind, by Jojo Moyes
98. Doukakis's Apprentice, by Sarah Morgan
99. Sex, Straight Up, by Kathleen O'Reilly
100. Her Hesitant Heart, by Carla Kelly