“How to keep a fire burning. How to stitch a fight up until it’s only a scar. That’s the kind of thing you learn with a mother like mine. Mostly, though, you learn how to be loved without any proof.”
I finished reading Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power just over one week ago, and after screaming into the void because OMG, IT’S JUST SO GOOD (!!!), I am finally ready to write actual words about how truly wonderful this book is.
“A chilling collection of classic weird and supernatural tales from the dark heart of American literature.”
As soon as I saw the description for American Midnight: Tales of the Dark, I knew I had to read it. This collection of short stories is edited by Laird Hunt, and contains eerie stories all by American authors. Some were classic titles I instantly recognized, and others were new to me, but all of them gave me chills and kept me up at night.
Librarians, out of body experiences triggered by sleep paralysis, and strange vampire-like monsters? Out of Body by Jeffrey Ford had everything I wanted and more. Like many novellas from Tor, this one packs so much into so few pages.
If you’re looking for some quick reads to add to your TBR, manga are always a great choice. They’re easy to read and have beautiful illustrations! Fans of horror and science fiction should check out The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai. This story goes from zero to 100 very quickly, and will have you rushing to get your hands on the next volume.
“I woke to find her lying next to me, quite dead, with her throat torn out.”
I read that first line in Prosper’s Demon, by K.J. Parker, and knew right away that I was in for a wild ride. Horror stories aren’t for everyone, but if you’re in the market for a creepy book, be sure to grab a copy of this little novella as soon as you can.
“You don’t need flickering lights or doors slamming shut, the parlor tricks of a poltergeist, to be haunted. The true ghosts are made of deed and word and live deep inside the marrow and bone.”
If you need an eerie book to curl up with on a cold winter night, filled with unreliable narrators and lots of flashbacks, check out The Dead Girls Club.
“Do you want to know where Lucy went? She went to play the game. You can play, too. Find a partner. Find a key. Find the road. You have two days.”
What would you do if your entire school received the same ominous text message? I’d probably go home and hide in my room until people stopped talking about it, but the characters in Rules for Vanishing aren’t afraid of much, and decide to play this eerie game.
“I can see the dark things. They’re trying to hide, but I can spot them, hunched behind corners, pressed against walls. Shadows where there is no one to cast shadows. Nobody’s shadow would look like that anyway. Warped. Bony. Bent almost like branches. They are waiting. I can feel them. And they can feel me pushing back.”
My friend Brittany had been bugging me to read Battle Royale for months because it’s one of her favourite novels. After finishing it, we had multiple discussions about the book, its characters, and overall themes present throughout the narrative. Now, here are some of her thoughts on this Japanese cult-classic.
A couple months ago my friend Adam asked me for a scary recommendation to get him in the mood for Halloween. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to pass on one of my favourite horror novels, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.
