October RandomCAT: What Scares You?

October RandomCAT: What Scares You?



To celebrate Halloween, I wanted to do something scary for October. I realize some people aren't able to read horror, so maybe you can simply choose to read about something that scares you. (It doesn't have to be a scary book, per se.) Oh no! Looking for images for “scary”... I think I'll try to keep it not too bad for everyone! There are some really creepy images!

A few horror suggestions (ones I really liked):
- The Winter People / Jennifer McMahon
- The Ruins / Scott Smith
- The Shining / Stephen King
- NOS4A2 / Joe Hill
- The Graveyard Book / Neil Gaiman
- The Haunting of Hill House / Shirley Jackson
- This House is Haunted / John Boyne

And a few authors:
- Stephen King
- Joe Hill
- Anne Rice
- Dean Koontz
- John Saul
- Edgar Allen Poe

Here's a fun one:
- How to Survive a Horror Movie / Seth Grahame-Smith

Some suggestions that feature common phobias:
- Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature / Harry W. Greene (snakes)
- Biology of Spiders / Rainer F. Foelix (spiders)
- Stick and Rudder: An Explanation of the Art of Flying / Wolfgang Langewieshe (flying)
- Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers / Mary Roach (fear of death)
- It / Stephen King (clowns)
- I Can See You Naked / Ron Hoff (public speaking)
- The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light / Paul Bogard (darkness)
- The Hot Zone / Richard Preston (germs)

Or, how about something like this:
- What Are You Afraid Of? Stories About Phobias / Donald R. Gallo

And don't forget to update the wiki:
http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/2016CC_RandomCAT#October:

Ooh - really fun challenge!! Let me see what I can find.

I am looking forward to a couple of scary reads in October. I have The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley lined up. I also have an Australian ghost story that I am planning to read called The Dead Path by Stephen M. Irwin.

Excellent idea for a challenge! I think I will read The Tower, by Richard Martin Stern. Being trapped in a burning high-rise is a terrifying thought. Also, this is one of those books I might never get around to otherwise, which is why I'm grateful for challenges such as this one to give me a nudge.

If I'm in an audio mood, I might go for The Graveyard Book or The Pyramids of Mars (which features mummies).

I've also borrowed My Age of Anxiety from the library and will likely get to it in October.

If you all noticed my comment about looking for scary images, for a bit there, I was afraid I'd end up with nightmares tonight! I think it's already faded and it will still be a couple of hours before I head to bed, so I'm sure I'll be ok. :-)

I actually haven't even picked what I'll read yet for October, but I know many people do like to read for Halloween in Oct. I liked the idea and have tried to read at least one horror book in October for the past few years. I wanted to make it flexible enough for those who just can't "do" horror, though, so I hope everyone (who wants to) can find something.

Oh, this is going to be fun! I have a few by Stephen King just waiting for a time when I'm brave enough.

Also on the tbr shelf:
The little stranger by Sarah Waters
The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson
Miss Peregrin's home for peculiar children by Ransom Riggs
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Now I have to wait and see what jumps out at me in October.

>5 LibraryCin: Be sure to check under the bed before you turn the lights out.

>7 VivienneR: lol!

I always like to read ghost stories in October. Well, i like them most anytime! I already have White Is for Witching slated, but I will probably read one or two more scary books next month.

Great theme choice! I was planning on reading mostly horror, suspense and mystery type books for October, so this will be perfect. So far, I know I will definitely be reading at least one Stephen King, The Dead Zone, and maybe I'll get to Firestarter as well. And I'm hoping I'll finally get around to finishing the third book in my boyfriend's horror series. I have tons of other options on the to read list, we'll wait until October to see which ones jump out.

I always say that The Shining was the scariest book I ever read - at the time I read it. I think there are now more authors writing scary/horror books and I'm sure there are scarier books out there. (which I'll never read.) But I think I might see if I can get Miss Peregrin's Home for Peculiar Children from the library. I've seen the ads for the movie and it reminded me that I wanted to read it.

The Haunting of Hill House is one of my all-time favorite scary books--I'm jealous of any of you who'll be reading it for the first time!

Meanwhile, I think I'll be reading Between Two Fires--I read one of Christopher Buehlman's other works a year or so ago, and it was a wonderful blend of funny and creepy that I haven't seen much in horror, and this one's been waiting patiently in my TBR, staring at me often! It also sounds like similar enough to some of what I've gotten addicted to in Supernatural (angels, evil, humans battling with heaven in the balance, etc.), and different enough, that I have no doubt I'll enjoy it! I don't know if this one technically counts as horror, but it's certainly meant to be a creepy read, ad I'll just read something else on top of it if not :)

>12 whitewavedarling: Creepy would be fine! :-)

I think I'll Plan on Mary Stewart's My Brother Michael.

Oh, Mary Stewart! Good choice, good reminder of how much I liked her books. I love The Graveyard Book too, so maybe time for a re-read on that one. Or maybe time for another gothic novel that I loved as a teen. So many ideas. . .

I am currently listening to The Shining and its scaring the pants off me. I've read really horrid crime books but there is something about this psychological horror! For next month I will listen to the sequel Dr. Sleep, and some kind of ghost story. Likely Ghost Story by Peter Straub or 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill.

I love to read at least one Non-Fiction for October/Halloween. This year it may be The Witch of Lime Street: Seance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World by David Jaher or The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime by Judith Flanders

I started on my stack of creepy/scary books about two weeks ago. I tend to start the season with children's books by author's like John Bellairs, Christopher Pike and Eva Ibbotson, as I like to work my way into the scarier stuff. The three book children's mystery series by Peter Abrahams that starts with Down The Rabbit Hole is also good with just a little scariness.
>1 LibraryCin: That's a good list, with some great fiction and non-fiction. I have King's Full Dark, No Stars on my stack, along with a non-fiction on deadly plants.

>12 whitewavedarling: Agreed, The Haunting of Hill House is so chilling! Jackson was such a great writer.

>17 mstrust: Thank you! They are some of my favourites, for sure!

Great idea, LibraryCin (Cindy)

>19 Kristelh: Thank you! I just hope I adjusted it enough so that people who aren't fans of horror will be able to find something to read!

>20 LibraryCin:, you have, a person can find something that will work no matter their tolerance. I know I will find something that will work.

I'm planning to read Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I'm a big scaredy-cat, so hopefully this one won't terrify me too much!

>1 LibraryCin: I will recommend John Saul. I read one book of his, about 30 years ago: The God Project. It gave me the heeby-jeebies, yet I could not put it down. Never again for me, but possibly a good read for someone else.

I will also recommend Frankenstein, having read it in the last year.

>22 christina_reads: That's a really good one. I think it's just the right amount of chilling for a scaredy-cat, at least I hope I hope you find it is.

I've started A Tale Dark and Grimm and like it so far.

Ok, I've taken a bit more time today to figure out a few I might pick up in October (or, at least one of them! Hopefully more than that...)

Second Child / John Saul (which I thought I might get to this month, but I'm not sure if I will or not)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow / Washington Irving (also fits both letters in AlphaKIT! I've read it before and, though it's not a favourite, it's an easy one to fit in because it's short)
The Stepford Wives / Ira Levin (it's one I want to read for an annual challenge, and it's tagged horror, though I'm not sure if I would place it as horror, but I guess I won't know till I read it.)

Oh and this is one I've been wanting to get to for a while:
Intensity / Dean Koontz

This might be an opportunity to get back to the abandoned earlier in the year The Library at Mount Char.

>28 This-n-That: Welcome! I recently reread Dracula and really enjoyed it.

>28 This-n-That: Hi Lisa! :) Feel free to participate as much or as little as time permits. It's feasible to join the group and participate only in the side challenges, without setting up your own categories. Hope you enjoy your spooky October read!

>28 This-n-That: Welcome, I enjoyed Dracula when I read it. I haven't made a decision about what I will read yet.

I started The Shining, I really should make that a priority in October.

Also reading or started House of Leaves which I think will work for this CAT.

I'm another Dracula fan. What a great book.
I've just started King's Full Dark, No Stars, and I'm also mixing in some R.L. Stine.

>28 This-n-That: I have Dracula on my TBR list. Perhaps we can do a shared read?

I don't usually read horror but I do have Fevre Dream by Geogre R.R Martin on my list and I think it might work.

>37 This-n-That: this year I finally read Frankenstein, and thought it was a very good read as well.

I think I'll read Doctor Sleep and something by Dean Koontz.

I'll definitely be reading horror this October, hopefully tons of it.

I'm behind on my planned horror reading for the year, so this is the perfect month to catch up.

Hopefully to get through some of these:
Frankenstein, Psycho House, Bird Box, A Night in Lonesome October, The Night Boat, Strangewood, Children of Chaos, Snow by Ronald Malfi, Straight on 'Til Morning, The Exorcist, Moon by James Herbert, The Tower by Simon Clark, The Unloved and Darkness by John Saul, Vamphyrric by Simon Clark, Odd Thomas and Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz, Others by James Herbert, Skeleton Crew by Stephen King (mainly for novella The Mist for a group read) and Feed by Mira Grant

Yeah, I don't think I'll make all that, but hopefully a big chunk of it.

>41 ErinPaperbackstash: Wow! That's a lot of horror. :-)

Just finished Bird Box--it's a fast and suspenseful read.

>41 ErinPaperbackstash: & >42 sturlington: I have Bird Box in my Kindle and I'm headed on vacation Thursday. Perfect!

In addition to my not-actually-scary choice in >4 rabbitprincess:, I plan to read the unsettlingly titled Every Night I Dream of Hell, by Malcolm MacKay, and Festival of Death, by Jonathan Morris, in October.

>41 ErinPaperbackstash: Looks like your October will be devoted to horror! Enjoy!

>41 ErinPaperbackstash: There's a 70's movie called Straight On Til Morning about a very handsome young guy who is compelled to kill beauty. I've never heard of a book by that title, so wonder if it's the same.

I've started The Gates by John Connolly.

I might reread Dracula via audiobook as I have an unheard edition in my library. I am also planning on reading The Woman in White.

I have pulled my edition of Edgar Allan Poe from the shelves and plan to read one story every evening. So far I have actually managed The gold bug and The facts in the case of M. Valdemar. Not very scary.

ETC

I finished my first October read, a haunted house story, Nightmare House by Douglas Clegg.

I've read two for the challenge so far:

A Deadly Thaw by Sarah Ward – It's a murder mystery involving sexual assault. Quite frankly I'm afraid of both those things, and I think most other people are too.

Serafina and the Twisted Staff by Robert Beatty – Animals randomly start attacking and trying to kill people. Very scary. On a more humorous note, I have a cousin who believes that all wasps have it in for her and will stop whatever they're doing to attack her the moment they spot her. This book reminded me of her.

>50 This-n-That: I'll join you in the thread, but at this time Dracula is waaaaay down the queue. I hope to read it this month, sometime.

I've finished Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. Although not terribly scary, it was still an interesting book.

I finished The Haunting of Hill House. A classic gothic ghostly story.

My original choice turned out to be dreadful, so I am using Festival of Death, by Jonathan Morris, as my selection for this month's CAT instead. Much better.

Voting on the official 2017 CATs is going on now and will continue through Monday morning at least on this thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/234010#

We can extend voting time if needed. Post a comment on the voting thread if you feel you need more time.

Finished The Turn of the Screw by Henry James narrated by Emma Thompson.

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.

I also finished The Turning of the Screw by Henry James and narrated by Emma Thompson.

I finished White Is for Witching, a haunted-house story by Helen Oyeyemi.

I finished Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution; the idea of drones has scared me for a while--one of the reasons I wanted to pick up this book so that I'd be a bit better informed--and so I think it actually fits in here (for me, at least) pretty well! Full review written if anyone's interested...

I'm starting The Inhuman Condition - tales of terror - by Clive Barker - we'll see if it scares me!

Finished off Festival of Death and it was creepy indeed. The Arachnopods are the stuff of nightmares.

Finished Midwich Cuckoos. John Wyndham. Liked this one. Not too scarry but would be if it were to really happen.

>59 LibraryCin: Aha! Did you choose that John Saul book from my recommendation?

He does suck you into the story...

I have listened to The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and this really is a very creepy read that stands the test of time.

>67 DeltaQueen50: One of my favorites.

I finished The Fireman by Joe Hill. It is about an epidemic: a spore that infects people and causes them to burst into flames, and I think what was even scarier than people spontaneously combusting was the collapse of society.

>66 fuzzi: Actually, it's a book I've had, possibly since high school or just shortly after! It's just taken me 20+ years to actually sit down and read it! LOL!

It is possible, though, that the fact that you recommended him pushed me to finally read it for this month! :-)

I just finished Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Though it was deeply disturbing, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would!

I finished Spook Stories by E. F. Benson, which included a good many haunted-house stories. I'm currently reading Ghosts by Gaslight, a collection of steampunk ghost stories.

I finished The Inhuman Condition by Clive Barker - 5 tales of terror; these were pretty good - I'm still mulling over what I liked best.

>68 sturlington: I thought the same thing about The Fireman.

I have now also finished Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - I really don't consider this a scary read, it was instead such a sad story.

I have now started on a ghost story, The Dead Path by Stephen Irwin.

I have finished Tales of Mystery and Imagination. From a modern viewpoint they are not very scary, but some of them are certainly weird.

I finished Disappearance at Devil's Rock about a young boy who vanishes without explanation. The story, which is pretty much a ghost story, is mostly told from the mother's point of view, and of course, this is every mother's nightmare.

I know that this really isn't the sort of thing meant in this category but I found the vision of the afterlife portrayed in Jean-Paul Sartre's one act play No Exit extremely frightening! I sure hope it isn't like that!!

Just finished The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. Very scary!

>77 leslie.98: Definitely scary!

I read two "what scares you" books for October:

Slash and Burn, Colin Cotterill.
Most of the books in this series have more of a supernatural element. This one less so, but still part of Dr. Siri's personae. That part always creeps me out.

The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson.
Can't believe it's taken me so long to get to this classic. Scary, but not bad enough to keep me from it.

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.

I finished Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman, which only confirmed how very much I love his story-telling. There's a full review written, but if you want to be scared, this is a good one. Set against the Black Death in Europe, and involving the supernatural, it definitely kept me up past my bedtime and allowed me something to sink my teeth into and enjoy.

Also, I'm now reading The Butterfly Garden, which is as horrifying as it is wonderful. (Both of these books are actually.) I wanted to note it now since I know folks will be glancing over this thread, and may or may not finish it tonight, but it's absolutely worth picking it up. Much as I don't like trigger warnings, though, I have to warn that rape is in The Butterfly Garden and cannot be ignored--it's not graphic, but it is mentioned a fair amount because it's at the center of the book.

Note: I did finish The Butterfly Garden, as I simply couldn't put it down. Full review written.