The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

by Carol2 Comments
While I grant you that The Turn of the Screw is not really a Christmas story, it does have the tradition of telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve as its framework, so I'm counting it as part of my seasonal reading. The Turn of the Screw is fascinating and creepy and leaves you not knowing what the heck was going on. Our narrator is reading the story to folks around the fire, so it's not his story.  A governess is hired for two children who are under the care of their uncle. The uncle lives in town while the kids live at the country house, where the governess will be in charge. The uncle basically wants to have to deal with them as little as possible. The governess has written her story down, so everything we know and see is from her point of view. Even she admits that she has a vivid imagination and is “rather easily carried away.” So we've got...
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Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

by Carol6 Comments
Meddling Kids was my "scary" read for October and I have to say I loved it. In full disclosure, we are huge fans of Scooby-Doo; we own all the original episodes on DVD and some of the newer ones; we read tons of the paperback kids books when Amber was younger. Also, Amber and I have read a fair amount of Lovecraft and we play at least two Lovecraft themed board games occasionally; she even did a report in school on him. So, I feel like I am this book's target audience. I have not read any of Edith Blyton's Famous Five stories, but I feel like I should. This book is fabulous on its own, but it's also a kind of tribute and it knows it, if that makes sense. It doesn't take itself too seriously. Yes, it's fan fic, but the best kind. You can read the blurb. The Blyton Summer Detective Club "solved" their last mystery back in 1977,...
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Slade House by David Mitchell

by Carol8 Comments
Maybe I should have read The Bone Clocks first. Maybe I just don't get what makes people love David Mitchell. (Do people love David Mitchell?) Maybe it's just not my typical genre? I read Slade House for the RIP XII Group Read. I don't know if I expected it to be spookier or more interesting or what. It was fine, but when I wasn't listening to it, I didn't think about it. I didn't feel the need to share bits of it with anyone or tell my daughter she needs to read it - she's a horror fan. Slade House is a type of haunted house story. Basically, every 9 years a victim is lured into the house. Each time we get to know the victim; they each have a distinct personality, their own quirks, tragedies, or fears that make them relatable. We get some standard spooky house fare, portraits, creeky stairs, mysterious women looking out the windows, warning disembodied voices. But...
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Thornhill by Pam Smy

by Carol1 Comment
Thornhill is spooky and heart-breaking. Ella is sad and lonely, but when she glimpses a girl in the window of the Thornhill Institute, she becomes obsessed with finding out who she was and what happened to her. Mary lived at the Institute in the 1980s, also a sad, lonely girl who is bullied and terrorized by the other girls. Thornhill is at heart a ghost story. We know from the beginning that Mary's a ghotst, but her diary entries made me cry. Her life at Thornhill was miserable, and few of the adults around her seemed competent or truly caring. Ella's story is just as sad. I assume her father loves her, but he's never home and her mom is gone, presumably dead. Her side of the story is depicted in black and white illustrations that are striking and add to the dark atmosphere of the novel. We know something happened to Mary, but not what. I think this is one of...
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The Quick by Lauren Owen

by Carol3 Comments
The Quick was this year's RIP read-along, co-hosted by The Estella Society and Amanda at Fig and Thistle. I listened to the audio version and to be honest, I found it a bit boring. It was slow and atmospheric, but even the "exciting" parts didn't really grab my attention. I was kept waiting for something to happen and then when it did, it was rather anti-climactic. Here are the discussion questions and my comments. 1. What genre (or genres) would you say THE QUICK falls into? What genre or author influences do you see in this book? I think it's a mix between historical fiction and horror. There have been so many vampires over the years, but I think these fall more along the lines of Dracula and Anne Rice's set, although not nearly as sexy as hers. They are definitely monsters. 2. Emily Richter figures into many of the book’s most pivotal early scenes. How much do you think she knows or doesn’t know about James...
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The Visitant by Megan Chance

by Carol5 Comments
I don't usually read ghost stories, but this seemed like a perfect fit for RIP X and I do love Venice as a setting. To me, The Visitant had three parts: the setting, the ghost story, and the romance. The story is set in Venice but most of it takes place in the Basilio palazzo. It's the perfect setting: a crumbling old mansion, too cold and grey, in a city that, while romantic, is also decaying. The servants are hostile to Elena and the aunt is just flat out odd. There is a lot of time establishing the atmosphere. Elena is hoping to see Venice but seems trapped in this house. the setting is probably my favorite part of the story. The ghost story was not scary enough to keep me up at night, but progressed well. The ghost was clearly angry, and, unlike Elena, the reader knows it's a ghost from the beginning - the title tells us. It doesn't take...
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