The month of October means anything spooky, creepy and downright terrifying ….at least for me. It is the month of Halloween after all and I do nothing in half measures. So with the house decorated with witch figurines, faux gravestones and ghost candles and Thriller playing on my Spotify, I like to do what I do best: sit in my comfy chair and read a book. Naturally, that book will be spooky, creepy and downright terrifying because remember that half measures thing I just mentioned? I’m definitely in the mood to get scared while sipping my pumpkin latte.
Here are Recess’ top spine-chilling picks for our Recess Reads during the month of October. Check them out if you dare (laughs evilly).
The House Next Door, written by Anne Rivers Siddons, isn’t your standard haunted house fiction but it definitely has a high-level creep factor. When a happily married couple, the Kennedys, living in blissful suburbia finds out a new house will be built on the empty lot next door, they couldn’t be happier. They’re all like, “Welcome to the neighborhood. The more the merrier!” But that all changes when odd happenings and eventual tragedies start to plague the home and its occupants. Something is not quite right with the house next door and the Kennedys are determined to get to the bottom of it before disaster strikes again and property values plummet!
I have to admit Simone St. James’ The Haunting of Maddy Clare didn’t really scare me, however, I really enjoyed reading this novel. With a blend of mystery, history, drama and romance, this is a tale about a team of ghost hunters as they investigate the odd circumstances surrounding the life and death of a vengeful man-hating apparition. The story is narrated by the main character, Sara Piper, a down-on-the-luck woman who is just happy to get a job, albeit a strange one. As she grows close to her fellow hunters, dashing Alistair and not-so-dashing Matthew, Sara starts to piece together the puzzle surrounding Maddy’s ghost and the reason she is so hell-bent on seeking revenge at any cost.
I’m about to go old school and by that I mean this book is from the 80’s (I refer to anything from the 80’s as old school). I’ve read many novels by Mary Higgins Clark, who’s known as a best-selling suspense author, and for good reason. A Cry in the Dark is her only book that really stayed with me because it scared me shitless silly. I’m talking about looking-over-my-shoulder and jumping-at-every-sound scared. The story follows single-mom, Jenny, as she meets and marries handsome and successful, Eric, the man of her dreams. After Jenny and her children move to Eric’s huge farm, strange and frightening things start to occur during dark and lonely nights. When tragedy strikes, Jenny realizes her dreams have turned into nightmares.
John Connolly’s Every Dead Thing is the first novel in the Charlie Parker Series and the first detective novel I’ve read that contains a supernatural element. The story follows former NYPD detective, Charlie Parker, and his quest to find the man responsible for the brutal murders of his wife and daughter. Driven by ghostly visions, Parker finds that he’s willing to do just about anything to catch the sadistic killer, even if it means becoming a killer himself. Just know that Every Dead Thing is not for the faint of heart and the main character is kind of a jerk (yes, I know his family was murdered but still). So, if you can withstand disturbing content and a protagonist who won’t win any personality contests, this book is for you.
I recently read Pines, first in the Wayward Pines trilogy, for two reasons; the first being as an Amazon Prime member, I was able to borrow it for free on my Kindle. Second, despite having low ratings on Goodreads, my favorite place for book reviews, Pines has been adapted into a TV series on FOX which will premier in 2015. Soooooo…..someone must have really liked it. Right? The story is about a U.S. Secret Service agent, crappy husband and father, Ethan Burke, who wakes up (in bad shape) on the edge of Wayward Pines, a seemingly idyllic town in Idaho. With massive injuries and fuzzy memories, Burke makes his way into Wayward Pines and quickly realizes that something about this place is wrong — like Mayberry on steroids wrong. What happened to his two fellow agents who previously disappeared while investigating the town? Why can’t he make contact with anyone on the outside? And most importantly, why can’t he leave? Although the book had some serious editing issues, the story itself was pretty entertaining and I’m sure the show will be too.