Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories.
Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories.
Oct 1st
The Whisperer in Darkness (1931)
By H.P. Lovecraft
A creepy, atmospheric story about a race of strange beings living up in the Vermont mountains who abduct villagers venturing too close to them.
#Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar:
https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 2nd
Penpal (2012)
By Dathan Auerbach
A narrator recalls a series of childhood memories about a mysterious penpal who wrote him letters.
This novel is insanely creepy and immersive. I highly recommend it.
#Halloween #Spooky #Penpal #DathanAuerbach #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar:
https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 3rd
House of Leaves (2000)
By Mark Z. Danielewski
This is at its core a story about a family who move into a new house. One day a new door appears in the wall. The husband decides to venture out documenting his experience.
This novel is intentionally confusing, disorienting & strange. It’s one of the best horror books I’ve read.
#halloween #Spooky #HouseOfLeaves #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #horror
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar: https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 4th
Dracula (1897)
By Bram Stoker
One of my all-time favourite starts to any horror book. Atmospheric and bone chilling. Dracula’s introduction is perfect.
#halloween #Spooky #dracula #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #horror
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar: https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 5th
Pet Sematary (1983)
By Stephen King
A deeply unsettling and emotional novel about death and grief.
I especially loved the surreal dreamlike horror visions seen in the first few chapters.
And Jud Crandall will always be a favourite.
#halloween #Spooky #PetSematery #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #horror
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar: https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 6th
A Short Stay in Hell (2011)
By Steven L. Peck
A man finds himself stuck in Hell in an (almost) endless library. There is a way out, but it’ll take a lot of time and effort to find it.
If you like dark humour and existential horror, I’d highly recommend this book. It’ll haunt you forever.
#halloween #Spooky #AShortStayInHell #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #horror #existential
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar:
https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 7th
Thin Air (2016)
Michelle Paver
In 1935, 5 climbers attempt to reach the top of Kangchenjunga, the third highest peak on Earth.
Something strange and sinister is following them.
This is a very immersive, bone-chilling story set in an unforgiving place where humans are not allowed.
The perfect novel to enjoy during a snow storm.
#halloween #Spooky #ThinAir #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #horror
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar:
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 8th
The Exorcist (1971)
By William Peter Blatty
One of my favourite horror novel of all time.
It’s engrossing, tense and impeccably paced. Great characters. Love the dialogue. Even more disturbing and explicit than the 1973 film.
#halloween #Spooky #TheExorcist #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #horror
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar:
https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 9th
Ghost Story (1979)
By Peter Straub
Four elderly friends are haunted by a mysterious spirit that wants them dead.
I love the tension, eerie atmosphere and quirky small-town characters.
#halloween #Spooky #GhostStory #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #horror
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar:
https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 10th
Frankenstein (1818)
By Mary Shelley
A revived corpse goes in search of its master in this sad and beautifully written story.
One of the most striking differences from the 1931 film is how the monster communicates; his speech is eloquent and introspective. The prose is lovely and poetic.
#halloween #Spooky #Frankenstein #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #horror
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar:
https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 11th
The Only Good Indians (2020)
By Stephen Graham Jones
Four members of the Blackfeet Nation are hunted down by a vengeful animal spirit.
It’s an emotional, dark and violent story with shocking gruesome consequences for our characters.
#halloween #Spooky #TheOnlyGoodIndians #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #horror
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar:
https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 12th
Song of Kali (1985)
By Dan Simmons
An American literary editor travels to Calcutta to find a mysterious poet who was believed dead years ago.
What follows is an absolute nightmare as he stumbles upon something very old and evil.
There are some fantastic spine-tingling chapters that still haunt me today.
#halloween #Spooky #SongOfKali #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #horror
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar:
https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 13th
The Elementals (1981)
Michael McDowell
This is a gothic story about an eccentric rich family who go on vacation in their Victorian beach houses on the Alabama coast.
Very weird things start to happen. This was written by Beetlejuice’s screenwriter (and it shows). It’s a lot of fun and there’s some genuine horror sprinkled throughout.
#halloween #Spooky #TheElementals #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #horror
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar: https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/11323476894753148
Oct 14th
Maynard’s House (1980)
By Herman Raucher
A young Vietnam vet inherits an old house in the Maine woods and decides to spend the winter there alone.
The house has some very bad history.
This novel is light on scares, but it’s delightfully quirky and has a spooky atmosphere. Loved the dialogue from the local townsfolk.
#halloween #Spooky #MaynardsHouse #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #horror
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar: https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 15th
The Masque of the Red Death (1842)
By Edgar Allan Poe
This short-story takes place during a masquerade ball organized by wealthy aristocrats during a plague.
A mysterious figure appears in a red robe. Death and suffering soon follow.
A gruesome tale that is still relevant today, especially knowing how people behave during pandemics.
#halloween #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #horror #TheMasqueOfTheRedDeath #EdgarAllanPoe
Link to my Oct 2024 horror calendar: https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 16th
Summer of Night (1991)
By Dan Simmons
A small town is taken over by mysterious underground beings. Only the local teens appear to notice.
You could say this was (likely) very inspired by King’s ‘It’, but it’s sufficiently different and does it’s own creepy thing.
It features one of the most shocking deaths I’ve read in any horror novel.
#halloween #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #SummerOfNight
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar:
https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 17th
The Willows (1907)
By Algernon Blackwood
Two men on a canoe trip become stranded on an island in the wetlands of Austria-Hungary.
Strange sounds and apparitions soon follow.
This novella has some major Lovecraftian ambiance. Very atmospheric and spooky.
I can’t recommend it enough.
A perfect read for a dark and stormy night.
#halloween #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #TheWillows
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar:
https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 18th
Dark Matter (2010)
By Michelle Paver
A young British man documents his stay at a remote Arctic research station during the winter of 1937.
He unexpectedly finds himself alone in a dark and cold cabin, haunted by a nightmarish entity.
This novel is incredibly atmospheric and immersive. It’s spooky as hell. I very highly recommend.
#halloween #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #DarkMatter
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar:
https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 19th
At the Mountains of Madness (1931)
By H.P. Lovecraft
A group of explorers discover ruins of an ancient alien civilization in Antartica during an expedition in 1930.
This novella gives me the genuine creeps. There’s a sense of imminent danger lurking at every corner.
#halloween #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #horror #spooky #AtTheMoutainsOfMadness
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar:
https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
Oct 20th
The Shining (1977)
By Stephen King
A mother & son are trapped in an isolated hotel with a father who has lost his mind.
The novel’s portrayal of Jack is more nuanced and complex than the Kubrick film. We get a better idea of what is happening in his head. What I find most horrifying is his inability to control himself despite his best intentions.
#halloween #Reading #Books #horror #spooky #TheShining #StephenKing
Link to my October 2024 horror calendar: https://mstdn.ca/@JRDRD/113234768947531488
Attached: 1 image Spooky season is upon us… it’s time for JR’s 5th Annual October Calendar™, featuring my favourite horror novels and short stories. #Halloween #Spooky #SpookySeason #Reading #Books #Horror
They say you have different experiences depending on how you choose to read the novel. I’ve only read it the once and it was definitely an experience. I’d love to revisit it multiple times, but I find it hard to make time to read these days and it’s not one I’m going to attempt to tackle on lunch breaks at work again. I made that mistake the first time. 🤣