Thank you so much to my horror twin, Heather, for tagging me in this! The original creator of this tag is @the.book.gypsy on Instagram.
Click the book covers for Goodreads links!
1. What book gave you the creeps?
Definitely Slasher Girls & Monster Boys, a YA horror collection edited by April Genevieve Tucholke. Some of the stories are just okay, but there are a few surprisingly creepy ones, including my favorite: ‘In the Forest Dark and Deep’, by Carrie Ryan. It’s an Alice retelling that involves a super creepy, bloody white rabbit that watches the main character from the woods and kills children. I actually still get a little creeped out when I think back to it!
2. What book gives you the best Halloween vibes?
Thirteen Chairs by Dave Shelton. It makes me sad that this MG/YA anthology isn’t more popular, because it’s really fun! A boy goes into a haunted, abandoned house, and finds a circle of people around a table, sharing ghost stories. It feels very Halloween-y to me.
3. What’s your favorite vampire book?
I actually haven’t read a good vampire book in years, so I can’t say that I have a favorite one, but there are two at the top of my TBR that I expect I will absolutely love: Certain Dark Things by Silvia Morena-Garcia, which is a diverse vampire story set in Mexico City, and NOS4A2 by Joe Hill, which is a very twisted Nosferatu retelling.
4. What book scared you so much you had to sleep with the light on?
I don’t get legitimately scared by books often at all, but the last one I remember genuinely frightening me was Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. It’s one of Joe’s early works, and features an aging, washed-up rock star who purchases the suit of a dead man, only to learn that the dead man was his ex-girlfriend’s father, and his ghost is still lingering, hell-bent on revenge. The ghost is vicious, does some serious damage, and terrifying.
5. What’s your favorite book about witches/goblings/ghosts/demons?
Witches: I’d like to recommend a graphic novel I don’t hear people talk about much: Wytches by Scott Snyder. The witches in this story are absolutely TERRIFYING, and this is the only graphic novel that I’ve ever been forced to read in the daylight because the art was too creepy for nighttime reading!
Goblins: I actually only remember reading one book about goblins in recent years, and that was The Goblins of Bellwater, which, while I didn’t give a rave review, I absolutely LOVED the way the goblins in it were portrayed and would recommend it based just on that fact.
Ghosts: I love ghost stories, so this was a tough one to narrow down, but a recent favorite was The Atrocities by Jeremy C. Shipp, a novella about a woman who goes to be the nanny of a little girl, only to learn the child is a ghost.
Demons: At risk of getting annoying by mentioning so many Joe Hill titles, the Locke & Key graphic novel series. The villain in the book is a demon of sorts, and it’s super creepy and twisted, just like the whole storyline is. It’s also super character-driven, with this trio of siblings that you can’t help but love.
6. What book do you wish was scarier than it was?
House of Ash by Hope Cook, which is a YA horror ARC I read last year and was sadly really disappointed by. It sounded like it could be really spooky, and I love that it alternates between current day and historical fiction, but it ended up being more about this weird insta-love romance than anything actually scary.
7. What’s your favorite book that takes place in October?
I don’t tend to remember what time of year a book takes place in unless it’s super related to the story, but I think There’s Someone Inside Your House takes place in October. I know it’s more of a thriller/slasher than horror, and it’s really more of a romance than anything, so it’s not something I’d recommend for a spooky read, but I thought it was really cute and fun, and the characters were lovable.
Tags:
Since this is a July-specific tag and the month is almost over, I’m not going to tag anyone specific, but anyone who wants to do it totally should! ?
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Priyasha
July 28, 2018Lovely post ♥♥
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
July 30, 2018Thank you!
Tammy
July 28, 2018Certain Dark Things is one of my all time favorite books! I think you’ll love it?
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
July 30, 2018Oh, YAY! This makes me so happy haha. I really want to read it this fall!
Justine @ Bookish Wisps
July 28, 2018Oh my gosh, this post has interesting titles. I am checking them out right now. 13 Chairs and Certain Dark Things sound good and Goblins of Bellwater. I have Slasher anthology in my shelf I curating books for October hahaha! Glad I came across your tag. ❤
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
July 30, 2018Yay, I hope you find some you like – and I hope you enjoy Slasher Girls! 😀 Thank you!
DeeReadsThings
July 28, 2018Such a good tag and I need to add so many of these to my tbr!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
July 30, 2018Thank you!! I hope you do, i’m always here for increasing other people’s TBR mountains too haha!
Deanna Reads Books
July 28, 2018Oh this is awesome! I did Nos4a2 on audio and it was so creepy!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
July 30, 2018Ohhh, good! I have been getting into audiobooks a lot more lately so I am always down for a good audio recommendation.
Kaleena @ Reader Voracious
July 28, 2018Excuse me while I add all of these books to my TBR immediately. Book Tower be damned!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
July 30, 2018Bahaha, success… *cackles evilly*
Norrie
July 29, 2018What a cool post!
Great Halloween vibes ?
I really enjoyed Nos4a2. The other vampire themed book i like is Salems Lot by S. King. ?
I’m planning to read a few of these you listed in October ?
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
July 30, 2018Thank you! I still haven’t ever read Salem’s Lot except for the short story that’s in one of his anthologies. I always thought the idea behind it was super cool. And yay!
(Danielle) Books, Vertigo and Tea
July 29, 2018The Atrocities was such a fun read! <3 And I have Wytches here. So I just need to make time. I just added Slasher Girls & Monster Boys to GR. I have to admit I struggled with Goblins of Bellwater and reshelved it a few months ago. Do you have a rec for one set at Halloween time? I need it for me challenge! Is There’s Someone Inside Your House just October or possibly would it work? <3
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
July 30, 2018The Atrocities was fantastic! I wish it was more widely loved. I know a lot of people hated how “weird” it was but that’s why I loved it so much. My favorite horror in books or films is the kind that leaves me going, “What the fuck just happened?” lmao!
I REALLY hope you like Wytches and Slasher Girls! I’m rereading Slasher Girls this fall so let me know if you need a buddy read partner for motivation! 😉 And I don’t blame you for Goblins, honestly, I almost DNFed it. The only reason I didn’t was because I liked the goblins themselves. I grew up obsessed with the OLD feyfolk lore and the goblins in that book are so accurate to the original stories that I couldn’t help but appreciate that small piece, even if I thought the story itself was “meh”. I wish it had been better! And yes, I thought TSIYH was just an October read, but someone reminded me yesterday that it does actually involve Halloween specifically!
(Danielle) Books, Vertigo and Tea
July 30, 2018Oh, if TSIYH does include Halloween, I may need to add it for my challenge. I have been stumped on that one. I will be trying Goblins again at some point when the right mood strikes 🙂
Annemieke
July 30, 2018This looks like fun. I’ll have to remember it for next year haha.
Locke & Key was a lot of fun.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
July 30, 2018I think I’ll probably re-do it next July, since I’ll hopefully have some new answers for a lot of them by then! 😀
Flavia
August 2, 2018Ahhhh! I love Halloween, so this tag has my name written all over it! But it’s not July anymore so I dunno what to dooooooo
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
August 2, 2018You could totally just tweak it to Halloween in August! 😀 *enable enable enable* lmao
Flavia
August 4, 2018I was thinking about that…but didn’t think I had the guts to do it until you just encouraged it ???
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
August 4, 2018Hahaha, yessss! I will happily enable you! 😉