i want to read it, i’m currently reading it, i read it …
my book lists on Goodreads
| find some of my spooky favorites below |
6-10: You are possessed. Consult with your spiritual counselor immediately. You may be a threat to the safety of yourself and your family. See the RESOURCES page for a qualified professional in your area.
— Come Closer, by Sara Gran (p. 74)
[this is my number one recommendation when anyone asks for a spooky book suggestion. it is my favorite tale of possession. it changed the way i think about scary stories and was a major inspiration for Ghosts in the Burbs]
I might seem to shirk my journalistic duty by reading social media during an exorcism. But in the face of the amateur dramatics society play, social media provides a vital lifeline to the real world. Feeling a strong urge to connect, I fire a message into the ether:
“Probably bad to laugh during the exorcism of a thirteen-year-old girl, right? Well, I just did. You should SEE this bullshit.”
— The Last Days of Jack Sparks, by Jason Arnopp (p. 41)
[dark *clap* humor *clap* completes *clap* me. when it is done well it is everything and Jason Arnopp is one of the best.]
“She’s what we call a natural sorceress: no one told her what to do, nor did she read about it in a book. She was born with the negative knowledge and power. Her knowledge came from experience gained in past lifetimes - and no one ever forgets knowledge, especially negative knowledge, that is gained in past lifetimes.”
— Ed Warren, The Demonologist, by Gerald Brittle (p.239)
[he’s referring here to a demon possessed woman, but I couldn’t help but wonder if he might be talking about every woman who’s ever lived. ladies, i think they’re startin’ to suspect somethin’.]
“Don’t open it!” I shrieked, as Robin opened it, and out fell a bloodstained hatchet, to land with a thud on the packed leaves in the ditch.
— Real Murders, by Charlaine Harris (p. 211)
[please read EVERYTHING by Charlaine Harris. Begin with Aurora Teagarden and follow the small time librarian as she trips over body after body, then move to the magical and sexy world of Suki Stackhouse (True Blood hand NOTHING on the original stories), delve into Harper Connelly’s psychic world and join us in asking “are they or aren’t they?” in regards to her STEP-brother, badass Lily Bard will worm her way into your mind with her haunting past, and then join some paranormal spooks in Midnight Texas… but there’s more, and trust me, you’ll devour it all.]
Marcella, a nineteen-year-old blond girl who appeared assured and defiant came to me for an appointment. She suffered piercing stomachaches, at both home and at work she was unable to stop making offensive, sour comments. The doctors claimed she was perfectly healthy. As I put my hands on her eyes, at the beginning of the exorcism, her eyes were entirely white, and her pupils were barely discernible at the lower part of her eyes. She let out a sarcastic laugh. I barely had time to think that I was dealing with Satan when I heard myself addressed thus: “I am Satan,” with another bout of laughter.
— An Exorcist Tells His Story, by Gabriele Amorth (p. 86)
[A Catholic exorcist’s first hand accounts of exorcism and some inside information about the Church’s stance on the subject - this one is a touch preachy, but what do you expect? I so desperately want to believe in the world this priest describes.]
What was the worst thing you’ve ever done?
— Ghost Story, by Peter Straub (p. 3)
[I asked the librarian at my college library for a scary story recommendation. It was a time before Google and Goodreads, in fact it was in the time of the card catalogue. She directed me towards this book. God Bless librarians.]
Marjorie kept texting, fingers crawling over the phone’s keyboard screen while she talked at the same time. “I’ll wait until you’re asleep because you never wake up when I’m there. I’m in your room every night, Merry. It’s so easy.”
— A Head Full of Ghosts, by Paul Tremblay (p. 66)
[this story carries with it such a deeply sinister, unsettling, frightening feeling - so much so that i wanted to stop reading at several points but found that I couldn’t. it was wonderful.]
“So there won’t be anyone around if you need help.”
“I understand.”
“We couldn’t even hear you, in the night.”
“I don’t suppose - “
“No one could. No one lives any nearer than town. No one else will come any nearer than that.”
“I know,” Eleanor said tiredly.
“In the night,” Mrs. Dudley said, and smiled outright. “In the dark.”
— The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson (p. 39)
[don’t just watch the mini series - read. this. book. all us writers of haunted house tales are just mimicking ms. jackson’s mastery. this is the haunted house story that launched a million more.]
The doctor studied the horns, worry lines furrowed across his brow. “Those are horns,” he said.
“I know they’re horns.”
Dr. Renald shook his head. “They look inflamed at the points. Do they hurt?”
“Like hell.”
— Horns, by Joe Hill (p. 21)
[beautifully strange, dark and funny and haunting]
But one night, toward the end of winter in first grade, I didn’t wake up on the bottom bunk.
— Penpal, by Dathan Auerbach (p. 17)
[This book unsettled me so much that I had to put it down about halfway through. I wasn’t able to pick it back up for months but I am so glad I did.]
She bought cotton balls and cotton swabs and talcum powdered baby lotion; engaged a diaper service and rearranged the baby’s clothing in the bureau drawers. She ordered the announcements - Guy would phone in the name and date later - and addressed and stamped a boxful of small ivory envelopes. She read a book called Summerhill that presented a seemingly irrefutable case for permissive child-rearing, and discussed it at Sardi’s East with Elise and Joan, their treat.
She began to feel contraction; one a day, one the next, then none, then two.
— Rosemary’s Baby, by Ira Levin (p. 169)
[It’s a classic for a reason.]
When people ask me the question that everyone asks: “What do you do?” I’d say, “I’m in customer service,” which was true. To me, it’s a nice day’s work when you make a lot of people smile. I know that sounds too earnest, but it’s true. I mean, I would rather be a librarian, but I worry about the job security. Books may be temporary; dicks are forever.
— The Grownup, by Gillian Flynn (p. 14)
[I know you loved Gone Girl - wait, please tell me you read the book and didn’t just watch the movie. First read that if you haven’t and then read this spooky little novella. And then go read Sharp Objects and Dark Places for goodness sake.]
“It isn’t fair, it isn’t right,” Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her.”
— The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson (p.302)
[a deliciously unusual short story collection by the master]
For a while, everything is normal. The settling house pocks, ticks, and knocks. The cars swoosh past and my breathing rises and falls like a breaking sea. And then I see a streak of light dart across round by my feet. Then, a rapid series of knocks bang the wall. I know I’ve never been this scared before, because I’ve never felt the sensation of thousands of needle pricks coursing up my legs and through my torso. Suddenly, I am furious that I’ve put myself in this situation. I am literally too frightened to move my eyeballs.
— Will Storr vs. The Supernatural, by Will Storr (p. 19)
[This is one of the titles in my anti-anxiety bag of tricks. One of the books I go back to when life has me turned around and jittery. It was also one of the books that inspired the creation of Ghosts in the Burbs]
“Don’t do it dear,” protested Lady Mannering. “You give us the creeps, you really do.”
— The Last Seance: Tales of the Supernatural, by Agatha Christie (p.87)
[a collection of tight who-done-its with a supernatural flair by the queen. the cast of characters is wide, even poirot and miss marple get in on the spooks.]
