1JayneCM
Wildcard month - your favourite scary trope
It is anything goes for August!
Human-like creatures - witch, zombie, ghost, vampire, werewolf
Real creatures - dinosaurs, snakes, spiders, sharks
Monsters
Spooky places - anywhere abandoned, haunted house, creepy hotel/motel, graveyard, summer camp
Possession
Cursed objects / forbidden knowledge
Horrible humans - serial killer, slasher, stalker, true crime, kidnap, home invasion
Haunted media / found footage, manuscript, diary
Science gone wrong - virus, creation of new creature
Final girl - someone has to survive!
I haven't made any specific book recommendations as there are millions!
Looking forward to seeing everyone's favourite tropes! And please recommend more for us all.
Post your reads in the wiki here - https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2023_ScaredyKIT
2mstrust
I'm finally going read Darkly Dreaming Dexter.
3sturlington
My favorite trope is haunted houses, and I have one to read, so I'll probably go for that. It is The Upstairs House by Julia Fine.
That doesn't leave me with a book for haunted house month, though, but I'll probably be able to find something at that point.
That doesn't leave me with a book for haunted house month, though, but I'll probably be able to find something at that point.
4LibraryCin
I don't know if I have a favourite, but haunted houses (just finished one of those, though!) and true crime are up there. Still some time to figure out what I'll read.
5JayneCM
>3 sturlington: Same! I was going to finally get to How To Sell A Haunted House which I bought on release but have decided to leave that for next month instead. I think I will go with The Southern Book Club's Guide To Slaying Vampires which has been on my TBR multiple times over the last few years.
6DeltaQueen50
Don't know why but for some reason I love zombie stories so I am going to be reading The Fall of the Governor which is the third volume in this particular Walking Dead entry.
7LibraryCin
Also fits MysteryKIT for me:
- The Book of Cold Cases / Simone St. James
- The Book of Cold Cases / Simone St. James
8VivienneR
This fits the "horrible humans" spot. Perfect Remains by Helen Fields, one of my favourite crime authors and the best "grit lit" writer I know of. Lots of gruesomeness here.
9DeltaQueen50
I have read The Fall of the Governor, Part 1 for this month's ScaredyKit. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone other than die-hard Walking Dead fans as it is basically a rehash from both the comics and the television show although more violent and disturbing. Since it was decided to split the finale into two books, I still have one more volume to go in this series.
10Kristelh
I read Empire of Wild which fits horror and the trope is werewolfs (Rogarou). A man/wolf mythology character from the French.
12mstrust
September is up!
https://www.librarything.com/topic/353004
https://www.librarything.com/topic/353004
13whitewavedarling
I adore haunted houses, and I stumbled onto a wonderful gothic novella celebrating this very trope--Mouse Trap by Caryn Larrinaga. It hadn't been what I'd planned on for this month, but it fit perfectly!
14mstrust
We'll be glad to have you! Head over to the September thread and talk about your choice. It's a new one to me.
15mstrust
I've read Darkly Dreaming Dexter, and if you haven't read this one yet, I recommend it. Unique and witty.
16LibraryCin
The Book of Cold Cases / Simone St. James
4 stars
Shea is a blogger with a focus on true crime. Her day job is in a doctor’s office, and when she recognizes a woman who walks in, she can’t help but follow her in hopes of talking to her. Turns out the woman is Beth Greer, who was on trial and acquitted of murdering two random men back in 1977. In 1975, her mother died in a car crash; in 1972, her father was murdered in a home invasion. It’s been almost 40 years, but Beth agrees to talk to Shea… at Beth’s home. Beth’s home hasn’t changed a bit since the 70s and it’s creepy. Not only that, weird things happen when Shea is there.
So, there’s actually more going on in the book than in my summary, but I didn’t want to give it all away. I really liked it. It was a bit of a mash of “true crime”/mystery plus horror/ghosts/supernatural going on in the book, but it’s all stuff I like, so it was all good.
4 stars
Shea is a blogger with a focus on true crime. Her day job is in a doctor’s office, and when she recognizes a woman who walks in, she can’t help but follow her in hopes of talking to her. Turns out the woman is Beth Greer, who was on trial and acquitted of murdering two random men back in 1977. In 1975, her mother died in a car crash; in 1972, her father was murdered in a home invasion. It’s been almost 40 years, but Beth agrees to talk to Shea… at Beth’s home. Beth’s home hasn’t changed a bit since the 70s and it’s creepy. Not only that, weird things happen when Shea is there.
So, there’s actually more going on in the book than in my summary, but I didn’t want to give it all away. I really liked it. It was a bit of a mash of “true crime”/mystery plus horror/ghosts/supernatural going on in the book, but it’s all stuff I like, so it was all good.
17lowelibrary
My favorite trope is Vampires, so I am reading Necroscope III: The Source for this month.
18VivienneR
I'm about halfway through Perfect Remains by Helen Fields.
Fields has a remarkable ability for writing grit lit, tartan noir, or whatever you choose to call it. This is the first in a series featuring DI Luc Callanach, a Scottish-born French detective who left Scotland when he was four years old, and who has been employed until recently by Interpol. I'm enjoying the character a lot, and look forward to finding out more about how he came to be back in Edinburgh. The crime is gripping, gruesome, somewhat reminiscent of Jussi Adler-Olsen's noir novels.
Fields has a remarkable ability for writing grit lit, tartan noir, or whatever you choose to call it. This is the first in a series featuring DI Luc Callanach, a Scottish-born French detective who left Scotland when he was four years old, and who has been employed until recently by Interpol. I'm enjoying the character a lot, and look forward to finding out more about how he came to be back in Edinburgh. The crime is gripping, gruesome, somewhat reminiscent of Jussi Adler-Olsen's noir novels.
19VivienneR
>18 VivienneR: Completed Perfect Remains by Helen Fields at 3am. Fields just does not let up. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though it is the darkest of Scottish noir. 4.5 stars.
20LibraryCin
The September House / Carissa Orlando
4 stars
Margaret and Hal bought a beautiful Victorian home – their dream home – but didn’t realize what they were in for. After a few years, their adult daughter, Katherine (who doesn’t have the best relationship with her parents) still hasn’t been to visit, but the past month or so, every time she calls, her mother has an excuse as to why her father is unable to speak with her. Katherine wants to know what’s going on, and insists on visiting.
Meanwhile, this is the start of the 4th September they’ve been in this house. Septembers are bad. Much worse than the rest of the year. You see, Margaret has learned the rules of the house, but they tend to go out the window in September. Margaret has been living with a large variety of ghosts – mostly happily, as the bulk of the ghosts do not mean harm. She just needed to get used to them and their rules… in addition to their mutilated looks. In fact, one of the ghosts, Fredericka, was a servant and is happy to continue serving Margaret. Hal wasn’t able to see all the ghosts, but was able to see a couple, the boy, Elias who is ok if you stay out of his way, but he looks intimidating and will bite you if you get close enough. Worse, though, is Master Vale in the basement. He definitely wants to do harm. About a month earlier, Hal begged Margaret to leave with him, but Margaret refused to leave their dream home. She knows and follows the rules, so it will all be ok.
But with Hal gone (though Margaret won’t admit that to Katherine), Katherine wants to find out what’s going on. But Margaret can’t let Katherine see the ghosts! (Or the bleeding walls. Or hear the screams.) What would she think!? But its September and the ghosts are just ramping up for the worst month of the year.
I really liked this. There are definitely gruesome parts, but there were humourous bits mixed in, as well. I liked the ending. Things went one way then another. I thought it was done well. I loved that Margaret insisted on finding ways to live with the ghosts. Once she figured out the rules, things were ok (except maybe in September!).
4 stars
Margaret and Hal bought a beautiful Victorian home – their dream home – but didn’t realize what they were in for. After a few years, their adult daughter, Katherine (who doesn’t have the best relationship with her parents) still hasn’t been to visit, but the past month or so, every time she calls, her mother has an excuse as to why her father is unable to speak with her. Katherine wants to know what’s going on, and insists on visiting.
Meanwhile, this is the start of the 4th September they’ve been in this house. Septembers are bad. Much worse than the rest of the year. You see, Margaret has learned the rules of the house, but they tend to go out the window in September. Margaret has been living with a large variety of ghosts – mostly happily, as the bulk of the ghosts do not mean harm. She just needed to get used to them and their rules… in addition to their mutilated looks. In fact, one of the ghosts, Fredericka, was a servant and is happy to continue serving Margaret. Hal wasn’t able to see all the ghosts, but was able to see a couple, the boy, Elias who is ok if you stay out of his way, but he looks intimidating and will bite you if you get close enough. Worse, though, is Master Vale in the basement. He definitely wants to do harm. About a month earlier, Hal begged Margaret to leave with him, but Margaret refused to leave their dream home. She knows and follows the rules, so it will all be ok.
But with Hal gone (though Margaret won’t admit that to Katherine), Katherine wants to find out what’s going on. But Margaret can’t let Katherine see the ghosts! (Or the bleeding walls. Or hear the screams.) What would she think!? But its September and the ghosts are just ramping up for the worst month of the year.
I really liked this. There are definitely gruesome parts, but there were humourous bits mixed in, as well. I liked the ending. Things went one way then another. I thought it was done well. I loved that Margaret insisted on finding ways to live with the ghosts. Once she figured out the rules, things were ok (except maybe in September!).
21sturlington
Just finished: Beulah by Christi Nogle. This was nominated for the Shirley Jackson Award this year. It is an indie book or small press, not sure which. The trope is ghost stories. This is an unusual take on the trope. I overall enjoyed it, although I thought it was a bit rough, which is understandable for being a first novel/small press publication.
