October - Horror Month

[Fried Egg]

I suppose because it's the month in which Halloween falls that I've come to the habit of devoting the entire month's reading to horror. Does anybody else do this or is it just me?

For this October, I'm lining up the following:

"The Magicians: The Occult in Fact and Fiction" by Peter Haining
"Nightmare Reader" by Peter Haining
"The Hungry Moon" by Ramsey Campbell
"The Unsettled Dust" by Robert Aickman

 

[GOLLUM]

I don't but I like the idea Fried Egg, particularly of embarking on themed reading runs; something I've been thinking about vis a vis my planned literary blog site. I have none of those you've listed, so I'll be interested to view your impressions.

 

[j d worthington]

I'm not sure you could tell the difference with me a lot of the time....

However... yes, i do tend to devote that month pretty much exclusively to horror, the weird, the supernatural, etc. It is also often the month I pick up such an anthology as Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural (ed. by Herbert A. Wise and Phyllis Fraser) and re-read it. (This one in particular remains one of the landmark volumes in the genre, even after nearly 70 years -- it was first published in 1944. Take a look at the table of contents, and you'll see what I mean:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0679601287/?tag=brite-21

 

[Extollager]

"Great Tales of Terror"....

Anyone think there's a significant difference between horror and terror?

 

[D_Davis]

Those Peter Haining books sounds awesome. I need to look into those.

I doubt I'll devote the entire month of October to horror, but I will definitely be reading a bit more.

I'm planning on reading this:

But I'm not sure what else. I'll have to check my shelves and get back.

 

[D_Davis]

What's the ISBN of that True Stories of the Occult...?

 

[J-Sun]

Here's a variant Halloween/book tradition. A tradition that's, heck, a year old. Almost.

 

[antiloquax]

This is a great idea. I am going to line up a few horror books that I'd been planning to read:
"Pandemonium" by Daryl Gregory
"Feed" by Mira Grant
"Sleepless" or "Already Dead" by Charlie Huston
"It" by Stephen King (I've read a lot of his, but not that!)
"Something Wicked This Way Comes" - Ray Bradbury

Probably won't through all those in a month!
a

 

[Connavar]

Im actually making a similar plan, adjusting my horror month book list right now.

October is the most depressing, darkest month here so horror sounds perfect to me.

Im only sure of Aickman collection so far.

 

[D_Davis]

I'm also adding this to the list:

 

[j d worthington]

Here's a variant Halloween/book tradition. A tradition that's, heck, a year old. Almost.

I like that one. Wish I could afford to give out books to trick-or-treaters.....

 

[Fried Egg]

What's the ISBN of that True Stories of the Occult...?

ISBN: 0 330 24247 4
Blurb on the back: "In this volume, you will find stories and extracts which cover virtually every aspect of the occult and are truly remarkable in that in each case, the author is a person with pracitcal experience of his subject."

That collection by Adam Golaski looks interesting by the way. I shall be interested to hear your thoughts once you've read it.

 

[Connavar]

Is Something Wicked This Way Comes supernatural, dark enough to be similar to horror story ? Is it dark fantasy ? I dont know much about that novel except its rated highly.

I have not read Bradbury for a while and i would enjoy something as dark,twisted as The October Country collection.

 

[Fried Egg]

I would say it's a kind of horror for kids.

 

[Connavar]

I would say it's a kind of horror for kids.

I did like the short story about that weird town in OC where he told the story from the POV of a little boy.

I want to read a weird novel of his and SWCTW seems like the only option since every other book of his many in the library is his short story collections plus a weird mystery novel from 1999 and Fahrenheit 451.

Something Wicked it is before i focus on his classic SF works.

 

[Fried Egg]

I guess it's only a novella but there's also "The Halloween Tree" which would be especially appropriate for the month of October but I would say that's also aimed at children.

 

[j d worthington]

Something Wicked This Way Comes wasn't intended for children; it is an evocation of childhood, and the terrors and challenges connected with that time, cast in the classic mode of an almost Faustian temptation (that is, a deal-with-the-devil where one gets one's fondest wish, but loses one's soul). It is classed as a horror novel, but it can also be seen as pure dark fantasy.

Conn: You might also want to try Dandelion Wine, which is fine piece of a related kind....

 

[thatollie]

I like this idea, I have to check my bookcases.

 

[j d worthington]

Though I mentioned Great Tales... as an example of the sort of anthology I tend to return to at such a time (and yes, Dale, there is a distinct difference when it comes to this anthology, one which the editors made full use of, bringing out fine examples of each), the one I will probably go with this time 'round will be Boris Karloff's massive And the Darkness Falls, as it is a volume I have not yet got around to reading, and holds an enormous amount of material which will be new to me.

For those interested in the table of contents:

http://www.eldritchdark.com/writing...ations/anthologies/327/and-the-darkness-falls

each with a brief introductory note by Karloff (who, yes, really did edit the volume -- in the sense of selecting the contents -- for those who were wondering). With acknowledgments, it is something over 630pp. of rather small print, so we're talking a lot of material here....

 

[dask]

I've already started my Halloween reading with an essay on witchcraft by James Russell Lowell. J.D. has informed me Lovecraft was a big fan of Lowell's. I can see why. Exceptionally good stuff so far. Lowell even mentioned the Huntsman I inquired about a few weeks ago. Didn't elaborate on him though.