Tag Archive | Horrortober books

Horrortober Reading List

You know, 2021 hasn’t been all that much better than 2020. Which is why I’ve been waiting for Horrortober to arrive to I can just burrow down deeper into the genre and world I love and ignore the horse dookie around me. Along with watching at least a horror movie a day (last year’s record breaker was 70 movies in 31 days – hmmm, let’s see if I can top that), I’ll be reading lots o scary books. Here is my 2021 lineup. Hopefully you find something you’d like to add to your list. Better yet, what are you planning on reading?

I couldn’t wait to get this book in my hot little hands. I mean, it’s Elvira, the queen of horror. I’ve met her several times and she has always been a pleasure to be around. A book that is 70 years in the making, which seems impossible to believe.

The woman behind the icon known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, the undisputed Queen of Halloween, reveals her full story, filled with intimate bombshells, told by the bombshell herself. 


 

The latest by the prolific Armand Rosamilia, Trapped has the best returning character in literary history, TV cryptozoologist, Hunter Shaya!! Yeah, I may be biased.

Forget the conspiracy theories about Denver International Airport… this just got real.

When a massive snowstorm shuts down the airport and forces a plane carrying exotic and deadly cargo, those trapped inside the terminal have no idea what’s in store for them.

Can a group of passengers and airport workers band together to face the onslaught, or will they be ripped apart?

Jeff Strand signed my copy of Allison at Scares that Care and I squirreled it away just for Horrortober. Strand never, ever disappoints, so I know this will rock.

Allison can break your bones with her mind, and she can’t control her power.

Now forty-five years old, she’s spent her life trying to stay away from other people. But a random encounter with a couple on the street leaves her believing that she may have done something horrible. Something unforgivable.

Killer-for-hire Daxton and his girlfriend Maggie know the truth. Instead of easing Allison’s anguish, they come up with a cruel plan to take advantage of it. But with Allison’s abilities exposed, there may be a grisly body count very soon…

From its shocking opening to its sinister conclusion, ALLISON is Jeff Strand at his over-the-top best!

I’ve had this on my shelf for months! I hear nothing but great things about Dear Laura.

Every year, on her birthday, Laura gets a letter from a stranger. That stranger claims to know the whereabouts of her missing friend Bobby, but there’s a catch: he’ll only tell her what he knows in exchange for something…personal.So begins Laura’s sordid relationship with her new penpal, built on a foundation of quid pro quo. Her quest for closure will push her to bizarre acts of humiliation and harm, yet no matter how hard she tries, she cannot escape her correspondent’s demands. The letters keep coming, and as time passes, they have a profound effect on Laura.From the author of Cruel Works of Nature comes a dark and twisted tale about obsession, guilt, and how far a person will go to put her ghosts to bed.

It’s no secret that Chad Lutzke is one of my favorite authors (and human beings for that matter). Just working my way through all of his books. I already know I’ll dig it.

“My name is Levi. I’m 16. I’ve got a skull for a face. And here’s how shit went down.”

Having never been outside the walls of Gramm Jones Foster Care Facility, sixteen-year-old Levi leaves in the middle of the night with an empty backpack and a newfound lust for life. A journey that leads him into the arms of delusional newlyweds, drunkards, polygamists, the dangerous, and the batshit crazy. His destination? Hermosa Beach, California where he’s told there is another like him, with the face of a skull.

A coming-of-age road trip filled with surreal Lynch-ian encounters exploring the dark, the disturbing, and the lonely in a 1980s world—an epic venture for one disfigured boy struggling to find his place in the world.

I recently met Daniel Volpe and grabbed a couple of his books. This one looks insane, so count me in!

In the early 1990s the rising popularity of the video cassette gave birth to a seedy, underground world of illicit pornography.
Talia, a Midwest dreamer, leaves home in search of fame under the blinding Broadway lights. But nothing could have prepared her for what she finds instead. Savage violence, bottomless depravity, and no way out.

Talia will unapologetically drag you into the foul underbelly of society. A sanity straining journey, full of hot bloodshed and betrayal.

Happy Horrortober!

Is there any month finer than October? I don’t have to list all the reasons why October…ahem, Horrortober…kicks ass to my Hellions. I’m pretty sure we’re all in agreement here.

Now begins the quest to once again watch at least 1 horror movie a day, read only horror books, and attend only horror parties and functions. Naturally, I’m also in the midst of writing a new horror novel, so I literally cannot escape the genre I love during Horrortober.

Every year, I set aside books and movies just for Horrortober, a bit o’ curation for the season of dark terror. Typically, I read about 6 books or more (some of them novellas). This year, I’ve decided to tackle 2 BIG books and 1 graphic comic.

Horrortober reading

I prefer the uncut version Stephen King’s THE STAND, reveling in all 1,156 pages. I’ve come to realize that reading this book is a young man’s game. It’s literally too heavy for me to hold for any length of time. Looks like it’ll be a lap book this go around. I’m also looking forward to reading CRAB MONSTERS, TEENAGE CAVEMEN, AND CANDY STRIPE NURSES, a beautiful book crammed with glossy pages of Roger Corman’s oddball, incredible film career. Somewhere in between those two massive books, I hope to sneak in the Howling Commandos graphic comic. Any book with Man-Thing is a must have for me.

For your own TBR pile, click here to get a free copy of my ghost novella, THE GRAVEYARD SPEAKS. Nothing better on Horrortober than a haunted cemetery!

The Graveyard Speaks

As for the movies I’ve set aside, here’s a few sitting on my queue…

THE DARK HALF

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON

INFERNO

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3

THE CRAZIES (GEORGE ROMERO’S ORIGINAL)

THE LOVED ONES

BLOOD BEACH

THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOO TRILOGY

HALLOWEEN (1, 3, 4 & 5)

POLTERGEIST

And sooo many more. Last year, I watched 50 movies in Horrortober. I’m not sure I can top that, but dammit, I’m going to try!

As always, I’ll tweet the movies I watch with the hashtag, #Horrortober, along with my rating system of 1 through 9 tana leaves. The Mummy is always proud. I encourage you to do the same thing so we can all see what we’re watching, loving and hating.

I’ll also be at Chiller Theatre at the end of the month (milling around and having fun) along with several other spooky events.

So, what are your plans for Horrortober? Share your to-read and watch lists. There just may be some special surprises for those Hellions who want to get in on the fun. 

 

 

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