read the post
March is here, bringing us springtime weather and all things Irish! Today I’m sharing 6 mysteries with Irish settings that would make perfect St. Patrick’s Day reading.
read the post —
I love a good scary story. Not Stephen King scary, more like Shirley Jackson scary. Stephen King’s stories jump out at you and shriek in your face. Shirley Jackson’s stories creep up behind you and run a cold finger down your spine. In honor of Halloween, I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite spooky reads. You won’t find much blood and gore in these books, but there are frights aplenty.
All these, however, were mere terrors of the night, phantoms of the mind that walk in darkness; and though he had seen many spectres in his time, and been more than once beset by Satan in divers shapes, in his lonely preambulations, yet daylight put an end to all these evils.
— Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
People, it seems, have always enjoyed being frightened, especially if they could do it while safely curled up at home under the blankets. These classic tales have stood the test of time and still pack a spooky punch.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving is probably my all-time favorite Halloween story. I read it at least once a year, preferably as the leaves start to turn. Irving was a master of creating a sense of place, and his descriptions of the misty environs of Sleepy Hollow and the warm glow of Baltus Van Tassel’s hearth make me wish I could step right into the story. As long as I could avoid the horseman, of course.
The House of the Seven Gables was Nathaniel Hawthorne’s followup to The Scarlet Letter (another favorite of mine). With themes of guilt and retribution and a strong undercurrent of witchcraft and the supernatural, The House of the Seven Gables is a perfect read for a chilly October night. (Also check out the short story “Young Goodman Brown,” another spooky tale that’s perfect for Halloween.)
The Woman in White is a doorstopper of a Gothic masterpiece, widely considered to be the first psychological mystery. Whether or not that is the case, it is definitely an excellent example of Victorian writing, which can take an entire page to say what could have been said with a single sentence. The oppressive atmosphere and storyline involving insanity and identity theft make it an excellent choice for a Halloween read. The most frightening aspect of the story, for me at least, is the utter powerlessness of women during this era.
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill is quite possibly the most terrifying book I’ve ever read. It’s a slim little book, but it packs a punch. (And isn’t that cover just gorgeous?) I made the mistake of starting it at night. When I was home alone with the kids. I had to finish it during the daylight hours, and I will never look at a rocking chair the same way again. You’ve been warned.
Hallowe’en Party is one of Agatha Christie’s later works, published in 1969, and has often been considered one of her less successful novels. However, it was one of the first of her novels I bought as a child, and I’ve always had a soft spot for it because of its Halloween setting. Be warned though, that some of the victims in this one are children (teenagers, actually, but still . . . ).
Merricat, the central character of We Have Always Lived in the Castle, is one of my favorite unreliable narrators. Shirley Jackson was a genius when it comes to creating an atmosphere of creeping unease, letting us know that something is slightly off without revealing what that something is until the end of the tale. We grow accustomed to seeing the world through Merricat’s eyes, so that when the truth is revealed, we feel wrong-footed while at the same time thinking, “of course that’s what happened.”
The Haunting of Hill House is right up there with The Woman in Black for scare factor, at least for me. The book bears little if any resemblance to the Netflix series. The book is much . . . quieter. Remember that sense of creeping dread? We feel it in Hill House, even though we aren’t really sure why, since nothing tangibly bad is happening. Nonetheless, this book contains one of the most frightening scenes I’ve ever read and is the reason I can never sleep with my hand hanging off the bed, for fear that I will feel another hand slip into it.
God! Whose hand was I holding?
— Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House
Looking for something a little more modern? These scary tales were all written in the past few years and all but one feature a contemporary setting, reminding us that things that go bump in the night haven’t been banished in the internet age.
I just finished The Invited last week and I couldn’t put it down. I loved Jennifer McMahon’s earlier novel The Winter People, so I was looking forward to this one as well. It was so good. The story of an urban couple who buy a house in the country with a disturbing history, it is the perfect balance of creepy and mysterious, with a very satisfying ending.
I Remember You was my first taste of Scandinavian author Yrsa Sigurdardóttir’s work and it did not disappoint. It was utterly terrifying, almost more horror than mystery, and I found myself completely immersed in the story. The bleak setting combines with the ghost story to create a growing sense of dread that culminates in the shocking ending.
Riley Sager is a new favorite author of mine. I have loved all of his books, but I think Home Before Dark might be my favorite. I’m always a sucker for a good ghost story. The main character, Maggie, returns to her childhood home to face her demons—in this case, literally. The house was the scene of an Amityville-type haunting that earned her family fame, fortune, and the ire of the locals. Maggie doesn’t remember it and thinks her father made it all up, but she’s about to find out otherwise.
Mary Rose is a retelling of a play by J.M. Barrie, a Gothic novel with threads of romance and the paranormal. Mary Rose is a woman who vanished as a child and mysteriously returned 30 days later. When her new husband finds out about the incident, he won’t rest until he finds out what really happened to her. Alfred Hitchcock badly wanted to make a movie from the original Barrie play, and I so wish he had. However, this super-creepy novel is very satisfying and will have to do.
The Unquiet Grave is the latest in Sharyn McCrumb’s wonderful ballad series, in which she weaves elements from traditional murder ballads into the mystery narrative. The books in the series are incredibly well-researched and sprinkled with history and folklore. This one is based on the tale of the Greenbrier Ghost, a murder trial that featured a most unusual element—the testimony of a ghost. If you enjoy this one, check out some of the other ballad novels. My personal favorite is The Ballad of Frankie Silver.
Wendy Webb’s niche is big, old, haunted houses on the Great Lakes. I love a good ghost story, and her books always deliver. This was the first one I read and remains one of my favorites.
Julia Bishop has just been widowed and, thanks to her criminal of a husband, lost everything. So when a stranger shows up and offers her a job as caretaker for his mother, a novelist widely assumed to be dead, she jumps at the chance. In true Gothic fashion, she finds herself in a large, spooky house with people who seem at turns friendly and sinister. As she begins to unravel the truth behind why her charge chose to disappear, she also finds that she is more connected to the story than she realizes.
This book has some truly frightening moments and kept me on the edge of my seat. It’s one of those I don’t like to read after dark, or when I’m alone in the house. So of course it would be perfect to take along camping.
There you have it—13 spooky stories to keep you up late. What
are your favorite scary stories? Do you prefer blood and guts
scary or spooky, keep-you-looking-over-your-shoulder scary?
Let me know in the comments.
read the post —
Back when the kids were in public school, I got hooked on those true haunting shows. You know the ones—clips of real people telling about their spooky encounters intercut with recreations of their stories. I got in the habit of turning them on while I ate lunch . . . and scaring myself silly.
It’s an unfortunate fact that while I adore creepy stories, I’m also a giant weenie. I’d end up having to watch something funny to take my mind off of demons lurking in the closets.
Through all those episodes that I watched, though, I always had the same question: Why don’t these people MOVE? Like, immediately. Yes, I know moving is a huge pain and selling a house takes time and all that. But come on.
It would only take one instance of my bed levitating, or coming home to find all the cabinet doors open, or hearing growling coming from the closet in the middle of the night for me to pack up and flee. No, forget packing. I’d just flee. Don’t these people have family? Friends? Nearby hotels?
And don’t get me started on the creepy kids. Mine are lucky they never had imaginary friends, or they’d probably be residing at boarding schools right about now.
No, I’ve never experienced anything quite so irrefutable as a levitating bed or a china-flinging poltergeist, but I do have a couple of unexplained experiences. Just enough to make me think hmm, maybe, but not quite enough to have me reaching for the holy water.
When I was in college, I lived in a dorm for a couple of years. It was bare bones. Seriously. You kids today have no idea . . .
My dorm room didn’t have actual closets, just big wardrobe-style boxes built into the wall on either side of the door. They were completely open at the front, so most people hung shower curtains over them. I hung a multi-color beaded curtain. Don’t judge.
One afternoon (no, this didn’t even happen at night, sorry), I was lying on my bed reading. Alone, with the door closed.
We usually left our doors open so that we could all shout our running commentary on Days of Our Lives, but since I was reading, I must have wanted privacy. The windows were closed, too, and there was no fan running. No breeze of any kind.
I was deeply engrossed in my book when the bead curtain behind me rattled as if someone had run a hand across it. I turned to see the strings of beads still quivering.
I think I broke some sort of speed record crossing the room, yanking the door open, and leaping into the hall. After my heart crawled back down my throat, I propped the door open and forced myself to go back inside. I didn’t go back to the book I’d been reading, though.
It didn’t seem like the best moment to dive back into Pet Semetary.
The house I’ve lived in for the past 13 years is a mid-century brick ranch. We’re only the second owners—the couple who built it after the war spent the rest of their lives in it.
The wife, I’m told, actually died in the house, and I’ve also been told that before we bought it, the house was rumored by locals to be haunted. How reliable those rumors are, I don’t know. What I do know is that while we’ve had a few odd things happen over the years, we’ve never seen or heard anything worthy of an episode of A Haunting.
Shortly after we moved in, I was standing in the hall, slightly bent over. I must have been vacuuming or something, that part is a little hazy. I do recall feeling a light smack on my . . . um, behind.
I turned to give my husband a smack in return, and saw him, through the living room window, standing in the front yard. I was completely alone in the house.
During that time, we were settling into the house and kept noticing a smell like hot wires in the doorway to our son’s room. It hovered just in the doorway at about waist height.
We had everyone from electricians to plumbers check it out, to no avail. Nothing abnormal ever turned up. One workman, on his way out the door, hesitantly asked if we’d ever considered calling a priest.
Not really the outcome I’d been hoping for.
We never did find the source of the smell. After a while, it just went away, and we got on with things.
While those things were all a little strange, none of them was really frightening. Just strange and unexplained. The things that happen at night are somehow much more frightening.
One night, my husband and I were going to bed. It was late, the kids both asleep already. The dog of mischief was safely crated for the night, and the cat was out on his nightly prowl.
I was already in bed when my husband lay down and turned off the lamp. As soon as the light went out, we heard what sounded like booted feet walking down our wood-floored hall.
“What was that?” I hissed at him. He flipped the light back on and went to check. Kids still asleep, dog still crated, cat still outside. He checked all through the house and found nothing amiss.
I still haven’t quite gotten over that one.
Our other nighttime experience was not long after the first. This time, both kids were spending a week at my parents’ house. Again, the cat was outside and the dog was in his crate.
Just after our light went off, we heard the distinct sound of something metal falling and rolling on the hall floor. Kind of like the sound a BB might make if you dropped it onto a wood floor from a few feet high.
Again, my husband found no sign of anything out of the ordinary. Or anything on the hall floor.
The next day, I searched that hall floor with a flashlight and found nothing.
So there you have it. My entire supernatural experience, such as it is. While it may not get me cable TV fame, I’m just fine with that.
How about you? Do you have any ghost stories? I’d love to hear them! Meanwhile,
I’ll be over here trying not to think about ghosts in boots walking down my hall.
read the post —
I’m a sucker for a locked-room mystery. Or an isolated-island mystery, in this case. It’s day 114 of quarantine here, and while nobody has been killed off yet, I’ll admit I’m starting to have a lot more sympathy for all those characters trapped in country houses, abandoned islands, and snowbound trains.
I’ve been looking forward to reading They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall since I first saw it mentioned last year. Little did I know that by the time I finally read it, I would be feeling the walls closing in on me as if I was the one stranded on a deserted island. Nonetheless, I was excited to finally get my hands on this book.
Miriam Macy has big plans for her week on a private island off the coast of Mexico. This is her chance to fix all her problems—the financial problems, the legal problems, the problems with her teenage daughter.
It was supposed to be a week in paradise, participating in a new reality show that must surely have a hefty cash prize waiting at the end. Instead, Miriam and her fellow travelers quickly find out that they’ve all been lured to the island under false pretenses. And before long, one of them is dead. Then another.
Miriam’s new plan is simple. Survive the week, escape the island, and get back home to her daughter.
And Then There Were None is one of my favorite Christie novels—one of the first I read as a child and probably the one I’ve reread the most. Howzell Hall makes it clear on the dedication page that this is her version of Christie’s novel:
For that one English professor who didn’t want me to interpret precious English things as something darker and American.
— Rachel Howzell Hall, They All Fall Down
While I’m all about cozy mysteries, I was intrigued by the idea of “something darker and American.” Howzell Hall delivered on her promise by bringing in issues relevant to today’s headlines—cyber bullying, police violence against people of color, a diverse cast. And it definitely has a darker feel. Which is kind of strange, when you think that Christie’s version included multiple murdered children as well as an unrepentant mass murderer, although those murders were firmly in the past and only alluded to. They All Fall Down feels grittier and more realistic.
I had quite a bit of fun as I read, picking out details she had carried over from Christie’s novel, a bit like hunting for Easter eggs in a Pixar movie. Starting with the title. Howzell Hall, like Christie, took her title from a children’s poem, although fortunately a much less offensive one. Then there is the boat ride to a forsaken island with other guests who have been invited under similarly false pretenses, a table with disappearing figurines, a female narrator whose character is repeatedly questioned by her male housemates, a gun that goes missing . . . there are lots of little nods to the original novel. I won’t list them all, especially since some would be spoilers, but see how many you can find!
While I enjoyed the book, especially at the beginning, I found that the further I read, the less likable I found the characters. I sympathized with the narrator in the beginning. I could feel the pain of the rift between her and her daughter, but found her less and less sympathetic as the story went on. While all of the characters in And Then There Were None are clearly bad people, I admit I always found myself hoping a bit that Vera would survive and change her ways. Maybe because her guilt seemed to haunt her so. With Miriam Macy, I just couldn’t seem to root for her in the same way. She seemed intent on putting the blame for her actions on others. I found most of the characters equally unlikable.
Overall, I do recommend the book. Just be forewarned if you are expecting a Christie-esque cozy, this is not one. It is, as the author promised, “something darker and American.”
Have you read They All Fall Down? How many details
from Christie’s novel did you find folded into the story?
read the post —
I don’t know about you, but since our quarantine went into effect (15 weeks ago, but who’s counting?), my days have started to run together. Our Mother’s Day cards were late because I mailed them on Friday, believing it was still Wednesday. I wish I was kidding.
Since we already homeschooled, and because we aren’t exactly social butterflies during normal times, I didn’t expect life to change that much for us. In fact, I was excited about being told to stay home. It’s an introvert’s dream after all—cancel all the things. I was also convinced I was going to get So. Much. Done.
Sure, for the first few weeks it was novel. Home-cooked meals together every night! At the table, even! Playing board games, taking walks, learning to paint with watercolors, eating more Oreos in a matter of weeks than I have for the past five years combined . . . But after a few weeks (months? I’m not even sure anymore), the novelty wore off, and we began to lose all sense of reality.
Would you like to hazard a guess what tonight’s home-cooked meal will be? Grilled cheese sandwiches. Or possibly frozen pizza. Whichever it is, it will likely be eaten in the living room while we watch yet another Jurassic Park movie. My daughter has just discovered them and is obsessed. I had no idea there so many of them. These people really don’t learn, do they?
Sorry if I’m rambling, but I haven’t had much human contact outside this house lately, and I’m afraid it may be affecting my already questionable social skills.
In The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (for some reason called The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle outside the U.S.), the reader is dropped right into the action when the main character wakes to find himself lost in the woods and unsure of where he is or even who he is. This book hits the ground running and doesn’t let up—I was utterly confused for the first few chapters and yet I couldn’t put it down.
The premise is soon made clear—the main character, who we eventually find out is named Aiden Bishop, is trapped in a country house party at the ominously named Blackheath Manor and will be forced to live the same day over and over until he unmasks the murderer of Evelyn Hardcastle, the daughter of his hosts. That’s not a spoiler, by the way, it’s right there in the title. Evelyn Hardcastle is going to die. But at whose hand?
There are rules, however. Each day Aiden will find himself inhabiting the body of a different guest, some of whom are more helpful to him than others, and there is a ticking clock. If he doesn’t solve the murder soon enough, he could be trapped at Blackheath forever. Worse, it seems that he isn’t the only one playing this game, and his opponents will stop at nothing to win. A mysterious man in a beaked plague doctor mask, a sinister footman, and an ephemeral woman named Anna are only a few of the complications he will contend with as the hours slip away.
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is an incredibly unique debut novel and therefore hard to categorize. It isn’t cozy, exactly. But it isn’t not cozy, either. Imagine if an Agatha Christie novel, Groundhog Day, and the 80s TV show Quantum Leap had a baby. It would be this novel. There is a definite country house mystery flavor to the story, complete with menacing atmosphere, crumbling manor, masked ball, dark forest, unsolved murder from the past, and secretive characters. But there is also a slightly disorienting feeling of being in both the past and the future simultaneously.
At 482 pages, this isn’t a quick read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, I plan to go back and reread it now that I know the ending. There are quite a few characters and it took me a while to get them straight in my mind. Add in the time loop, and I found myself flipping back to check facts pretty often. Another reviewer mentioned that she actually took notes as she read—I wish I’d thought of that!
As I read through a second time, there is one particular fact I want to recheck, because during my first read-through, I thought I spotted a clue, but now I think maybe it was just an overlooked mistake.
Stuart Turton’s next book, The Devil and the Dark Water, is due out in October. It sounds as if it will be just as intriguing as his first one, and it’s definitely going on my TBR list.
Have you read The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle yet? If not, you
should! And while you’re reading, keep an eye out for gloves—or is it
socks?—drying over the fire. Was it a clue or just an overlooked mistake?
read the post —
A rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but when it comes to your characters, names matter. A lot. Would Harry Potter be the same character if he’d been named Archibald Beauregard III? I think not. So where can you look to find just the right names?
Well, there’s always the old standby—the latest “name your baby” books and websites. And don’t get me wrong, those are great resources. They tend to have thousands of names and give the origin and meaning of each one. The problem with those books, though, is that they tend to have the same names, the ones that are popular right now. And they only list first names, no surnames.
Do people even have phone books any more? I remember when that was the only way to find contact information for a business or a person. The phone books were fat, with white pages listing people’s home numbers and yellow pages listing business numbers. The last few we’ve had were not much thicker than a magazine and went straight into recycling.
But . . . if you can get your hands on an old telephone book, they are a treasure trove of first names, surnames, street names, business names, and community names. If you’re setting your story in a particular place, the phone book is a great resource for finding out what sorts of names are used in that area.
Where can you find a phone book? Check your local antique/junk shops or see if any of your older relatives have any stashed in closets. I bet they do. Also check with your local library. At one time, libraries kept several back issues of the phone book, and I’d bet some of them still do.
In the same vein as old phone books, old newspapers are a fantastic resource for writers. In addition to news stories, newspapers listed births, deaths, graduating classes, engagements, weddings, anniversaries—all of which are perfect places to find character names. And, like phone books, they are a great place to find community and business names.
For those who write historical novels, newspapers offer a little glimpse into the world of a particular location at a particular time. What were old people’s names at this time? Check the obits. Popular baby names? Check the births. Crimes, world and local events, products available for sale . . . there are a million little details waiting in the pages of old newspapers.
Where can you find old newspapers? Many newspapers have digitized old issues and put them online, but if you’re able to find paper copies instead, I recommend it. Digital copies may be easier to come by, but while the information will be the same, the experience will not. Check with your local library—they may have old copies of newspapers available. Like phone books, you can probably find old newspapers at antique shops and older relatives’ or friends’ homes as well.
That old saying “steal like an artist” comes into play here. Classic literature is a great place to look for character names. For centuries, people have looked to their favorite stories when naming their children. And while some names may seem a little too . . . out there, keep in mind that in 2017, seventy-three babies in England were named “Khaleesi” after a popular fictional character. It’s likely that when classic novels came out, they inspired a rash of babies named after their characters, too.
If you aren’t up for searching through the library stacks right now (but why wouldn’t you be?), Encyclopedia Brittanica has a list of classic fictional characters on their website.
If you need an excuse to binge-watch Netflix, look no further. Film and television credits offer an immense number of name ideas. And I’m not talking about the latest Hollywood star that everyone is naming their babies after. Wait until after the actors’ names have scrolled past.
You don’t want Brad Pitt, you want the guy who brings Brad Pitt his coffee. Or the woman who coached him in dialect. The key grip, the foley artist, the property master, the gaffer. I have no idea what any of these people actually do, but they are all real people with real names.
Check out some Marvel or Pixar movies—the credits on those often seem to be as long as the movies themselves, and they tend to be a good source of multicultural names.
Are you interested in genealogy? If you aren’t, there’s a good chance you know someone who is. Interest in genealogy has soared in America over the past decade. On Black Friday 2017, Ancestry.com sold over a million DNA kits to people looking to find out where their ancestors came from. One of the best things about family trees? All those names.
Sign up for a free trial on Ancestry and poke around in your own family history, or a willing friend’s. Comb through census records, immigration records, military records, and land records. The National Archives has a very informative reference page with links to the records you can find online.
Your local library likely has a genealogy section as well. Librarians are often well-versed in genealogical research and can point you in the right direction.
I’ve mentioned my fascination with cemeteries before, but I’ll say it again. Cemeteries are a great place for writers to take a stroll. Wandering among the headstones, you’ll find lots of interesting names. Something about the few details that the stones divulge always makes me want to know more about the lives those stones represent. If you’re ever in need of inspiration, a walk through the local graveyard may be the place to start.
Like some of the other sources listed here, one benefit of cemeteries is that names are attached to dates and places, which can be useful if you need names that would be appropriate for specific settings. Do remember though, that it’s best not to lift a name straight from an actual person, living or dead. And to always be respectful when visiting a cemetery.
Do you have any places you like to go for character
names? Do you like to explore cemeteries, too, or does
the thought creep you out? Let me know in the comments!
read the post —
When we think of hair-raising quotes, horror movies are often the first thing that come to mind. There’s no denying the spine-tingling effect that lines like “Now I want to play with yoooouuuu” still have after all these years. But horror movies don’t have a monopoly on creepy. Literature has quite a few chill-inducing quotes to offer. Here are 13 for you to enjoy this Halloween.
One night when my daughter was in kindergarten, we were sitting in the living room after dinner, TV off, everyone reading or playing quietly. Then she started to sing something softly to herself as she colored with her crayons. My husband and I both looked at her.
“What’s that she’s singing?” he asked uneasily.
I don’t actually remember now what she was singing. Something they’d learned at school that day. What I do remember is that it was to the tune of “One, two, Freddie’s coming for you . . . ”
The creepiest lines (and tunes) stick with us long after the rest of the story is forgotten. Sometimes they pop into your head at 3 a.m. when you suddenly wake up for no reason. Or is that just me?
(and don’t forget to scroll all the way to the bottom for some free literary Halloween printables!)
Every Night and every Morn
Some to Misery are born.
Every Morn and every Night
Some are born to Sweet Delight.
Some are born to Sweet Delight,
Some are born to Endless Night.
― William Blake, Songs of Experience
Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn’t there!
He wasn’t there again today,
Oh how I wish he’d go away!
— William Hughes Mearns, Antigonish
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on
him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given
unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,
and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
— Revelation 6:8
Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!
― Bram Stoker, Dracula
Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world; now could I drink hot blood,
And do such bitter business as the day
Would quake to look on.
― William Shakespeare, Hamlet
All hope abandon, ye who enter here.
― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
The whole forest was peopled with frightful sounds—the creaking
of the trees, the howling of wild beasts, and the yell of Indians;
while sometimes the wind tolled like a distant church bell, and
sometimes gave a broad roar around the traveler, as if all Nature
were laughing him to scorn. But he was himself the chief
horror of the scene, and shrank not from its other horrors.
― Nathaniel Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown
Hell is empty and all the devils are here.
— Shakespeare, The Tempest
. . . but the rain
Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh
Upon the glass and listen for reply . . .
― Edna St. Vincent Millay, What Lips My Lips Have Kissed and Where and Why
We ask only to be reassured
About the noises in the cellar
And the window that should not have been open.
— T.S. Eliot, The Family Reunion
It was true that the ghastly sounds I had heard through the fog had greatly upset me but far worse was what emanated from and surrounded these things and arose to unsteady me, an atmosphere, a force—I do not exactly know what to call it—of evil and uncleanness, of terror and suffering, of malevolence and bitter anger.
― Susan Hill, The Woman in Black
Silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of
Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.
― Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House
And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted—nevermore!
— Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven
And to get you into the Halloween spirit, here are some free printables of my two favorite Halloween quotes from the list.
What are your favorite creepy quotes from literature
and movies? Are there any that keep you up at night?
I am a lifelong lover of stories, an avid mystery reader, a mom, a grammar geek, a photographer, a writer, and a freelance editor.
There is nothing I enjoy more than getting lost in a good story, except maybe helping other writers refine their stories so that their readers get lost in them.
Want to know more?
Get to know me
Praesent leo risus, sodales sed fermentum vitae, ornare ut metus. Maecenas ornare pellentesque metus a commodo. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse sed nibh non nisl finibus imperdiet.
Writing Routine
Tracker
free printable
send me the tracker