It's day five of Coffin Hop. This has been great fun. I'm amazed at the effort some of the other participants have put into their contests and posts. I need to start planning for next year. Now. I'm hoping to have a few more horror titles to give away by then.
Next up is “The Rats in the Walls,” H. P. Lovecraft's tale of an ancient castle haunted by rats and a devastating family secret. Frederic Himebaugh gave an impassioned reading of the tale earlier this year on Protecting Project Pulp, show 47.
And then there's Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October. Set in late Victorian England, the story tells of a "game," a competition between openers and closers, concerning a gate between this world and the realm of the Great Old Ones. Snuff, the guard dog and familiar belonging to Jack the Ripper, tells the story, which has a chapter for every day in October.
So how about you? Do you have any books or stories that you always read near Halloween?
While you're thinking, don't forget to enter my raffle for a chance to win the Coffin Hop anthology or my ghost story novelette Highway 24. Find more Hop destinations at the end of this post. Keep hoppin' and don't close the lid too tight. I've heard coffins can get a bit stuffy.
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Visit the other Coffin Hop bloggers below for more Halloween fun.
This year, I'm reading everything I can get my hands on about zombies. It began as an accident. I was asked to review a book for a certain blog site. Then, there was the sequel. Then, I remembered other zombie lor I'd previously enjoyed. I'd call it a snowball effect, but I live too far down south to see much more than an inch or two of the white stuff this year.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an avalanche of zombies.
DeleteI read horror all year so about the only books I re-read this time of year are all my H.P. Lovecraft books.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Jeanette. What better way to spend an October evening than curled up with some Lovecraft.
Delete"The Statement of Randolph Carter" (*shudders*) by Lovecraft. We always do "The Raven" in our house, too. Right now I'm reading "The Raven's Gift" by Alaskan author Don Rearden. It's not classified as "horror," but, trust me, it is. I'm hoping to have him on my blog before the end of Coffin Hop! ^__^
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Amy. It appears many reach for Lovecraft this time of year.
DeleteThis is all so much fun - must join in next year. Hallowe'en has rather crept up on me this year...
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping, Simon. It is very cool. I'll remind you next year. : )
DeleteGreat reading recs, Jeff! I like reading Stephen King's Cycle of the Werewolf around this time of year. It's short, and just reminds me of the thrills I got as a kid during the Halloween season.
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you via 'the Hop'! I featured your blog on my Coffin Hop post today. :)
Best,
EJ
Thanks for the boost, E.J. I'll have to check out King's Werewolf story.
DeleteI love "The Rats in the Walls" but I've never read the other two you mentioned! Putting them on my to-read list. They sounds excellent. "Something Wicked This Way Comes" is such a wonderful Halloween classic to me, but for something short, it's hard to pass up "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Not to be confused, of course, with the ridiculous TV show that's currently butchering poor Washington Irving...
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Joanna. I hate to admit I've never read Something Wicked This Way Comes. I need to correct that soon. Yes, Irving is also good for Halloween.
DeleteThe Rats in the Walls is one of my favorite stories and Stephen King's tribute to it, Jerusalem's Lot, is also pretty suit. But The Fall of the House of Usher is my number one story of all time. LOVE POE!
ReplyDelete