A Conversation of Favorites: Hallowe’en horrors

Abbey-The trees behind the Beaverbrook Branch are starting to turn..

Charmaine –I love that—there is nothing like the image of bare tree with long branches tapping on the window on a dark and stormy night to set the scene for a great Hallowe’en horror movie or book...

Do you have a favorite spooky book that fits this scenario?

Abbey – Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic is a great one. It takes place in a secluded mansion in Mexico’s countryside, where glamorous socialite Noemi must investigate a strange letter she receives from her cousin, begging for her help against a mysterious threat. Noemi can’t help but notice a creeping sense of foreboding not only with the mansion, but also with the family living in it. As Noemi uncovers more and more of the dark secrets surrounding the family and the property, and as the house itself seems to turn against her, she soon learns that leaving won’t be as easy as she thought. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

Charmaine—Silvia Moreno-Garcia is an excellent author. Did you know that she is Mexican-Canadian? (Another of her novels, Gods of Jade and Shadow is also an amazing haunting ride --complete with Mayan gods, and a trip though the underworld....). Do you have any other horror favorites?

Abbey– Well I love a scary book with a not-so-scary setting. For instance, Samantha Downing’s My Lovely Wife involves a seemingly perfect couple living in the suburbs in California. But what isn’t so picture-perfect are the dark extracurricular activities they secretly indulge in to keep their fifteen-year-long marriage interesting...organizing and committing murders, and their latest project just might be the most ambitious of all. This book is proof that just because you’re not in a dark, eerie cabin in the woods, it doesn’t always mean you’re safe.

Charmaine—My Lovely Wife was definitely a scary story. It totally gave me Dexter (tv show) vibes... That story definitely stays with you long after you’re done reading. Speaking of which, so does the Strain by Guillermo and del Toro and Chuck Hogan. The idea that an entire Boeing 777 could land on the tarmac in total darkness, with no signs of life, is scary. Combine that with an epidemic that has infected an entire plane, and is still alive and spreading, is terrifying. (Bonus points, there is a TV show to watch once one has binge read the trilogy).

Abbey–I'm such a big fan of del Toro’s work, like the movie The Orphanage that he produced about a woman who must find her sick, missing son in an orphanage she owns while also dealing with the spirits who haunt the grounds. Speaking of creepy kids and epidemics, I also enjoyed We Hear Voices by Evie Green. It’s about a mysterious disease that sweeps the world but affects mostly children. When Rachel’s five-year-old son Billy recovers, his parents are overjoyed at first, but then Billy begins to change. It seems that when Billy recovered from his sickness, someone – or something – came back with him. And he’s not the only recovered child who suddenly has a suspicious new companion...

Charmaine—I love talking/blogging about horror books. We should do another for.... Holiday Horror Favorites! (Krampus anyone?.....)