Abandoned

“The room was bright and white and still and silent, but soundless sound roared and howled in it.”

― Anne Rivers Siddons, The House Next Door

 

The Little Man Who Wasn't There

Click on the pic if you dare...

 

Antigonish [I met a man who wasn't there]

Hughes Mearns

Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today
I wish, I wish he'd go away...

When I came home last night at three
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall
I couldn't see him there at all!
Go away, go away, don't you come back any more!
Go away, go away, and please don't slam the door... (slam!)

Last night I saw upon the stair
A little man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today

I remember the first time I ran across this. I was reading Stephen King's The Shining. I was probably ten or eleven. I had talked my dad into buying it for me from the five and dime (now long gone) by our local grocery store.

Obviously, Dad didn't know who Stephen King was, which is hilarious in retrospect, since he ended up working on Cat's Eye.

I still think of those haunted, bloody, hallways...

ShellHawk's Bookshelf: Mexican Gothic

 

This post has links to Amazon which may provide me with a commission for qualifying purchases, although it's about as likely as my suddenly becoming a newt.

There's nothing like settling down on a crisp, autumn afternoon with a good, creepy book, is there? Since the Earth, herself, is doing her yearly slowdown in preparation for the long nap which is winter, it encourages us to slow down, too, and enjoy a little peace in our overly-busy lives.

I'll tell you this: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia  should be at the top of your list for creepy reading this October. 

It's a story which takes us back a quite few years, back to the days when debutante balls and dowries were the way of things, and marrying off your daughters to settle debts wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

Noemí Taboada is the very picture of a wealthy, glamorous debutante, but she's no airheaded socialite. After receiving an alarming letter from her newly-wedded cousin, she decides to arrange for a visit to that cousin's new home, High Place, to investigate her disturbing claims of being slowly poisoned.

Upon arrival, Noemí hears rumors of the Doyles, her cousin's new family, and their long and sordid history. She begins to feel that the house, itself, is invading her sleep and haunting her with dreams of a woman trapped in the walls. Walls which she feels, in her waking world, are slowly closing in on her.

If you've followed my blog for any amount of time, you know my history with horror stretches back to my childhood. I'm somewhat immune to the usual tropes of horror stories because I've read so very much of it, so when I tell you this book creeped me out in the way a great horror story should, you know it's going to be good!

There are rumors of Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos turning Mexican Gothic into a new series for Hulu, and I certainly hope that project moves forward and sees the light of day!

Ghost Stories

Some wonderful cover art from a creepy old magazine!

"We will pay $10,000 for a ghost!"

Wow. So lurid and creepy!

My Scary Bookshelf

If you're looking for some good reading material for the lengthening Autumn evenings, something to put you in the mood for the upcoming holiday, I've put together a Pinterest board to help you out!

My Scary Bookshelf is a collection of stories, art, how-to's and how-it-was-done's (if that's actually a phrase). I add to it as I discover (and sometimes remember) new books I've enjoyed and older books which scared me over the years. You can click on the images to be taken to Amazon to purchase them if you find you can't live without them!

Happy reading!