Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s theme was settings we want to see more of, but a lot of my favorite settings are pretty specific, so I decided to try to think of the 10 most oddly specific settings I enjoy.
1. haunted theme parks
There aren’t many stories set in theme parks to begin with, but especially not spooky ones! A book on my TBR with this setting is Dark Ride.
2. carnivals of debauchery
I couldn’t care less about “normal” carnival settings most of the time, but throw in a creepy or devilish twist, and I’m there. One of my favorite bookish examples is Daughter of the Burning City.
3. ships lost at sea
I have a deep-seated fear of the idea of being lost at sea — especially alone! — so stories about ships lost at sea, shipwrecks, and anything of that nature always intrigue me and mess me up a little. A great book with this setting is The Devil and the Deep, an anthology of sea-related horror that has a few stories at sea.
4. secluded cabins
Speaking of settings I’m actually afraid of, who isn’t a little freaked out by creepy and/or secluded cabins? (If you haven’t noticed, I tend to love settings that give me the heebie-jeebies!) One book on my TBR with this setting is The Shuddering, which involves being stranded in a cabin in the winter.
5. old cemeteries
I love old cemeteries, but maybe not for the reasons you’d think: not for the fear, but for how much history they hold and how many stories they tell. My favorite example for this one has to go to The Graveyard Book (and while we’re at it, I can’t recommend the full-cast audiobook of this one highly enough — it’s incredible!).
6. unknown international locales
This one can be hit-and-miss, because sometimes it just ends in an insensitive vilification of indigenous peoples, but I’m a total sucker for when it’s done right: ignorant (usually American ?) tourists stumbling into things they know nothing about and paying the price. My recommendation for this example is actually a movie: The Green Inferno (2013), which I strongly recommend to anyone who’s got a history of being able to stomach Eli Roth’s particular brand of grossness.
7. deep sea dives
Yes, this one could probably have been combined with #3 for a general deep sea theme, but… well, ya girl was stuck at 9 settings and needed another. ? If you also love films set in the deep sea, allow me to recommend the film adaptation of The Meg (2018), which has a lot of fun sharks and some really lovable actors, and most importantly, a deep-sea diving scene that gives me the best type of anxiety. ?
8. barren frozen tundras
Out of all of the settings on this list, this is one of them that I have the hardest time getting my “fix” for, and it makes me so sad, because I am such a sucker for “icy wasteland” settings. Hell, I’ll even settle for frozen suburban settings, like the Alaskan town that one of my favorite creature flicks, 30 Days of Night (2007), takes place in.
9. crisp, red-orange halloween nights
This will be my last film recommendation, but I couldn’t not add it in once it popped into my mind, because it’s literally my favorite October atmosphere style: crisp, crunchy, reddish-orange, cold Halloween nights, usually in somewhere I should probably move to, like New England. *wistful sigh* One of my favorite films of all time, friends: Trick ‘r Treat (2007).
10. abandoned space stations
Last but not least, the setting that gives me the most existential crises, yet I keep coming back to it: abandoned space stations. (Bonus points if it’s abandoned because everyone died due to some weird contagion, mutation, etc.) An underrated fave for this one: Pitch Dark, a YA sci-fi/thriller/horror lite story featuring what is basically a teen Lara Croft in space. ♥
Annemieke
July 23, 2019Pitch Dark <3 Don't forget it also has a latinx mc. I love the author. I can't wait for her next book.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
August 29, 2019Yes, that’s true! I thought I had mentioned that but I think I got over excited and missed it haha. <3 I can't wait either!
Davida Chazan
July 23, 2019Very interesting list, and very creative! Abandoned space stations!
Kay | Hammock of Books
July 23, 2019I love carnivals!
evelynreads1
July 23, 2019Again great twist on the topic!
(www.evelynreads.com)
Jess @ Jessticulates
July 23, 2019Great list! I love a barren, frozen setting but, like you, I find them so hard to come by. Have you read The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney? It’s set in 19th century Canada at the height of winter; very frozen, very remote, and a mystery to solve, too!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
August 29, 2019No, I haven’t – thank you so much for the recommendation! I’ll look it up right now!
lydiaschoch
July 23, 2019I love old cemeteries, so I’d definitely like to see more books about them.
My TTT.
Poinsettia
July 23, 2019So many of these ideas give me the chills! I like the idea of deep sea settings, especially with sharks. They are so fascinating and scary at the same time. Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
marydrover
July 23, 2019I loveloveLOVE the carnival in Daughter of the Burning City. (lbh I love everything about that book) Spooky settings are so much fun, and it’s so interesting how the atmosphere of them changes completely between book and movie.
laurenbodiford123
July 23, 2019I love the thought of all of these spooky places (even though I don’t do horror or suspense ?).
Here’s mine: https://laurenbodiford123.wordpress.com/2019/07/23/settings-that-id-like-to-see-more-of-ttt/
confessionsofayareader
July 23, 2019We had some similar choices. Not exactly the same, but close.
damianarose
July 23, 2019cemeteries and haunted amusement parks? Yes please!
My ttt
http://www.thehauntedgravebooks.com/2019/07/top-ten-tuesday-setting-i-would-like-to.html
Becca Leighanne (Bex)
July 23, 2019WHAT THE WHAT I LOVE THIS LIST & just added a few of these to my TBR!
anovelglimpse
July 23, 2019Secluded cabins are creepy!
tasya @ the literary huntress
July 24, 2019Ooh haunted theme parks sounds really good! I never see/read any media set in there!
Brooke Lorren
July 24, 2019These all seem really creepy. All these books look good!
Kelly | Another Book in the Wall
July 24, 2019Ooh, I love all these settings so much! Haunted theme parks, old cemeteries, and ships lost at sea are some of my favorites! They all have such enticing, eerie atmosphere! Lovely picks! <3
Malka @ Paper Procrastinators
July 25, 2019These are all so creppy and spooky! I’m a huge scaredy cat, and was getting a little scared just reading about these settings! The closest I’ll get to a spooky setting that I like is a semi-sentient slash magical forest setting like in The Raven Boys!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
August 29, 2019Oooooh Cabeswater! <3 I LOVE Cabeswater. And it is surprisingly creepy, tbh!
Victoria
July 25, 2019I’m definitely adding a few of these to my TBR! I love a spooky setting, and am planning on reading all (or mostly) spooky books in October.
Jessica at Booked J
July 25, 2019Not to, you know, shout and flail around in your comments but WE NEED ALL OF THESE SETTINGS IMMEDIATELY.
Ellyn
July 26, 2019I completely agree about deep-sea dives – I hate water but for some reason can handle those types of movies??? It makes no sense, but I guess I need to actually go and watch The Meg now… is it the one with the Fast and Furious guy???
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
August 29, 2019If you mean Jason Statham, YES!
Jenna @ Falling Letters
August 16, 2019Barren frozen tundras! I love reading non-fiction about Arctic exploration but haven’t read much fiction with the same setting. Have you read The Terror by Dan Simmons? (I started it a little while ago and set it aside, but I might go back to it ^^;) It’s about the Franklin Expedition with a lurking monster thrown in the mix, AFAIK.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
August 29, 2019No I haven’t, but I keep meaning to! Have you liked what you read of it so far?
Jenna @ Falling Letters
August 30, 2019Mmmm, it was alright but very ‘manly’ masculine and the plot was moving slowly. I might like it better on a dark winter evening…
Kal @ Reader Voracious
August 20, 2019Holy crap, are we the same person?! I would never have thought of most of these 9but the abandoned spaceships), but YES YES YES!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
August 29, 2019Twinning forever <3