October: Hauntings/Ghost Stories

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October: Hauntings/Ghost Stories

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1LibraryCin
Edited: Sep 25, 2016, 3:29 pm



October's theme is Hauntings (or Ghost Stories).

From wikipedia:
“A ghost story may be any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. The "ghost" may appear of its own accord or be summoned by magic. Linked to the ghost is the idea of "hauntings", where a supernatural entity is tied to a place, object or person.”

A few Suggestions:
- The Winter People / Jennifer McMahon
- The Woman in Black / Susan Hill
- A Christmas Carol / Charles Dickens
- The Haunting of Hill House / Shirley Jackson
- Heart-Shaped Box / Joe Hill
- Ghost Story / Peter Straub
- This House is Haunted / John Boyne
- The Shining / Stephen King
- The Amityville Horror / Jay Anson

Plus a few more suggestions by Monkey are here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/206776#5366065

2sturlington
Edited: Sep 25, 2016, 3:35 pm

This is my favorite month! I am reading White Is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi and How to Date Dead Guys by Ann Noser for sure.

Some other ghost stories I read recently that would fit are: Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest, The Grownup by Gillian Flynn, Sweetheart, Sweetheart by Bernard Taylor, The Unseen by Alexandra Sokoloff, I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Slade House by David Mitchell, Rooms by Lauren Oliver.

3LibraryCin
Edited: Sep 25, 2016, 3:38 pm

I will likely read:
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow / Washington Irving

I'd also like to read
Ghost Ships: True Stories of Nautical Nightmares, Hauntings and Disasters / Richard Winer
but, I've had to request it as an ILL, so hard to say when it will come for me.

4luvamystery65
Sep 25, 2016, 8:20 pm

I just finished The Shining today!

>2 sturlington: I love October for reading too. I'm reading White is for Witching next month.

I have an audio of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow so for sure I'll give it a listen. I've also requested 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill.

5gaylebutz
Oct 5, 2016, 4:04 pm

I've started reading Cast a Cold Eye by Alan Ryan. My husband recommended this book and said it's a great ghost story. Hope he's right! It's a bit old. The paperback I'm reading came out in 1984.

So far, I'm liking it. It's about a New York writer who goes to rural Ireland to stay for a few months to write a story that takes place during the potato famine. Late at night, with no one around, ghosts are starting to appear - oh boy!

6LibraryCin
Oct 11, 2016, 12:01 am

Second Child / John Saul
4 stars

When 15-year old Teri’s parents die in a house fire, Teri is the only one to get out. She is collected by her biological father to go live across the country with him, his wife and their 13-year old daughter, Melissa. Melissa is considered by some to be a bit… strange. But she has good reason. (The back of the book doesn’t say much, so I don’t want to give too much away.) They are rich, but Melissa and her mother (Phyllis) don’t really fit in, though Phyllis certainly tries.

This was really good. I was pulled in at the start and it kept me reading and wanting to read. I was quite horrified and disgusted with actions of many of the characters and felt so badly for Melissa. This book has elements of both supernatural and psychological horror, both of which I “enjoy” reading. Just be careful reading through some of the reviews, as much more is given away than I think should be for this book.

7sturlington
Oct 14, 2016, 9:26 am

I finished White Is for Witching, an interesting, atmospheric ghost story clearly inspired by The Haunting of Hill House.

8luvamystery65
Oct 14, 2016, 12:44 pm

>7 sturlington: Good to know! I'm reading that one next month.

9gaylebutz
Oct 18, 2016, 8:43 pm

I finished Cast a Cold Eye by Alan Ryan.

Jack Quinlan is a writer from New York who went to stay in a remote village in Ireland to research his next book that involved the Potato Famine. One night as he was driving home from the local pub, he thinks he sees an old man, skeleton thin, lying in a ditch but within minutes the man disappears. So, he starts doubting what he saw. Later, there will be other incidents and he tries to figure out what's going on with the help of the local priest.

This was an interesting ghost story with an eerie feel all the way through. The way it was written made it seem almost believable and suspenseful as Jack tries to understand what's going on, which I liked. The ending was a bit of a letdown. Although something surprising happened, I would've liked a little more explanation. Overall, I enjoyed it and felt like it really fit the Halloween season.

10LibraryCin
Oct 18, 2016, 8:45 pm

>9 gaylebutz: Oh, that sounds good!

11sturlington
Edited: Oct 22, 2016, 10:54 am

I've started my second Paul Tremblay book of this year: Disappearance at Devil's Rock. I don't think it is a ghost story, but I am sure it will be ambiguous and haunting, just like A Head Full of Ghosts.

I found this appreciation by Susan Hill of the ghost story, and there are quite a lot of reading suggestions in it: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/20/susan-hill-ghost-stories-winter

12mathgirl40
Oct 23, 2016, 9:28 pm

>11 sturlington: Thanks for the link to that article.

I just finished Spook Stories by E. F. Benson, one of the authors mentioned in Hill's article. This collection includes a large number of haunted-house stories.

I'm now reading Ghosts by Gaslight, a collection of steampunk ghost stories.

13LibraryCin
Oct 23, 2016, 11:11 pm

Ah, my ILL on this one: Ghost Ships: True Stories of Nautical Nightmares, Hauntings and Disasters came in, but I have a 900+ page book I'm trying to finish this month, in addition to one I've had on hold twice and have again, and a shorter one I want to finish in October, so I may not get to "Ghost Ships" till November. Being an ILL, I will make sure to read it before it goes back, but it's fallen to the bottom of what I currently am trying to get to this month!

14sturlington
Oct 28, 2016, 8:44 am

I finished Disappearance at Devil's Rock and I'm calling it a ghost story. Ambiguous and a little confounding, but it definitely has its creepy moments. Paul Tremblay is shaping up to be one of my favorite discoveries of this year.

15LibraryCin
Oct 30, 2016, 1:44 am

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow / Washington Irving

Reread a 3rd time:

3 stars. I have read this two previous times, two years in a row. This is the first time I was able to sit and read uninterrupted. I had hoped I would like it better, but I’m actually rating it lower than I rated it the first two times. Maybe my mindset; maybe I was rating more leniently at the time, but I just am not interested in the super-detailed description, most of which has nothing to do with the story. Once again, I do agree that the actual meeting of Ichabod Crane with the Headless Horseman is the most interesting part.