book reviews
Book reviews for horror fans; weather a sleepless night with literary accounts of hauntings, possessions, zombies, vampires and beyond.
Washington Irving and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Washington Ivring and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow part one: setting and time period Ivring was a writer who wanted to bring folklore and fairy tales to the real world. He wanted to us to feel as if this was a legend that had truly happened in some forgotten little town full of sleepwalking people. Its is in this tiny town that a ghost lurks at night, riding down dirt roads and past new churches into the unknown wilderness that lie before the residents of Sleepy Hollow.
Liv AttersonPublished 4 years ago in Horror
The Beating Heart of a Dead Man
Unreliable Narrator Analysis The Tell-Tale Heart (Poe, 1843) The Beating Heart of a Dead Man Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most famous horror writers of all time. Even after his untimely death in 1849 his work gained even more popularity and is widely read, almost 200 years later. One of Poe's most famous short horror stories, and his shortest is "The Tell-Tale Heart" published in 1843. It tells the story of a man who lives with an old man and becomes obsessed with the old man's eye that he plots to kill him in his sleep. "The Tell-Tale Heart" opens with this line: "True!--nervous--very, very dreadfully nervous I have been, and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses--not destroyed--not dulled them. Above all was my sense of hearing acute. (Poe, 1186)" Throughout this reading, I wondered if the narrator is truly unreliable because he is insane or perhaps mentally ill and it is the sickness doing this to him?
Liv AttersonPublished 4 years ago in Horror
Hunted
I’m really not sure where to start with this one because I absolutely loved every minute of it! I have been a fan of Darcy Coates ever since I read her book “Craven Manor” last summer. There is just something about the way that she writes that can beautifully and so vividly pull you into the universe that she creates on the page. With Coates’ amazing ability to craft a story that sucks you in, I found myself unable to put this book down.
Kurt MasonPublished 4 years ago in Horror
Is Junji Ito just "gross" horror?
I happened to purusing through YouTube to find some Junji Ito stories to read, and I found this video about how overrated Junji Ito was, I was fair and I watched the video on his stance. The main point was that his work was just "gross". I could understand the fact because of most of Junji Ito's work does involve some uncomfortable moments of what happens to someone, a terrifying transformation, or an unfathomable demise to a character. As a fan of Junji Ito's I immediately was on the fence about this argumentative fact, but I am a neutral person, I see this from both sides.
Samantha ParrishPublished 4 years ago in Horror
A Review about The Fall, The Night Eternal, The Strain by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan
The Fall began when the young Abraham heard her tell the legend of the evil that lurks and waits in the dark. Decades later, a plane landed at JFK airport in New York, but, something was wrong. The plane has been 'muted'. No lights, no noises from pilots or passengers. Everyone died and mysteriously drained their blood. The total solar eclipse coinciding with the death sentence on the plane was also the time when the demons' breath came to the surface. No more light, dark night dominates, vampires invaded the whole world like a giant pandemic that is constantly spreading and destroying. From here begins the war of the living to protect humanity and defeat the conspiracy of the devil.
Thao Thao TranPublished 4 years ago in Horror
The Philosophy of The Invisible Man
I have a rule about always reading a book before seeing the movie or TV show that it’s based on. If I read it after, I feel like my imagining of the characters is skewed. Also, in my opinion, it’s just more fun to see something come to life after reading it than it is to read something you’ve already seen.
Chelsea SwiggettPublished 4 years ago in Horror
The Strange Case of Robert Lewis Stevenson & the Left Winged Radical
Upon Robert Lewis Stevenson’s publishing of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1886, the social classes in the "civilized world" were facing the threat of destruction by the hands of left-winged rouges and radicals. The political philosophies of Karl Marx, the Paris Commune, and the Anarchist riot in Haymarket Square made the message clear that social reform would be inevitable; be it in a year or in an entire generation’s lifetime. The elements of 19th century society and politics inspired Stevenson’s characterization of Edward Hyde as a left winged radical, fueled by the desires of chaos and anarchy.
Jacob HerrPublished 4 years ago in Horror
Army Of One: The story that safety isn't in numbers
This was a story I strayed away from just from the tiny image I saw, it alarmed me from the image of two people stitched together. Any sinister story Junji Ito crafts into a cultivating tale of terror. We never know what to expect. This one took many different turns to the ending that was sewn into our psyche.
Samantha ParrishPublished 4 years ago in Horror
Stephen King's Dreamcatcher - Looking past the Sh*t-Weasels
“Jesus-Christ-bananas, The Beav said. Pete had once made a list of Beav-isms, and Jesus-Christ-bananas was high on it. Along with such standbys as doodlyfuck and kiss my bender.” (King, Stephen. Dreamcatcher: a Novel. Scribner, 2001.) Does that sound like a quote from a familiar classic novel? A literature masterpiece, perhaps? Well, of course it doesn’t. Rather that quote comes from the mouth of Pete Moore as he muses on the fellow-character they like to call; Beaver, in Stephen King’s ‘Dreamcatcher’. King is an extremely popular writer whose body of work is widely known as large & daunting. Among his total of around 63 books is that title 'the average-reader’ might not recognize. With such a large variety of work, it comes as no surprise that ‘Dreamcatcher’ seems to have been overshadowed by some of King’s more hit classics. How well could a book about aliens eating their way out of people in….a distressing way (to be discussed later) do when paired against ‘The Shining’, ‘The Stand’ or ‘IT’ (And both of those titles concern Derry, Maine)? The answer is pretty poorly in the eyes of most Stephen King fans & followers. ‘Dreamcatcher’ is often ranked at the bottom of King lists (both book & movie adaptation). While the novel isn’t immune to problems, ‘Dreamcatcher’ is actually a secret little gem among King’s body of work. The novel expresses the classic King trope of following a group of old childhood friends in an endearingly familiar yet new way. Which inherently gives the reader one of the most important pulls to a book; genuine care for the fictional characters. And that is very beneficial considering the story itself is founded in body horror that is actually effectively creepy. From this creatively creepy story, there are just so many odd details that really enhance the story in a genuinely charming way. This is a Stephen King book that is truly unique. It’s time to take a deep-dive into the reasons why the novel is underrated yet also explain the reason why everyone hates it for the wrong reason while ignoring the completely valid reason to hate it, which is seemingly it’s own unpopular opinion.
Jaime BurbattPublished 4 years ago in Horror
Why Junji Ito's The Bully is a realistic scary story
The philosopher Thomas Hobbes had his theories about human nature, to sum up what he says is this, humans are all born evil. Applying that theory to this story, he's right.
Samantha ParrishPublished 4 years ago in Horror
My Favorite Horror/Spooky Books and Stories
It’s midwinter, which means it’s time to curl up with a good book. For me, this often means curling up with something spooky or scary. While the Autumn months are my favorite in terms of coziness and spooks, there is something about the dark of Winter that makes me want some darker spooks. If you also like to be spooked in the Winter months, or if you’re just looking for something a little more thrilling, here is a list of my favorite spooky books, stories, and authors so far (have I said “spooky” enough yet?).
Abby SiegelPublished 4 years ago in Horror
Reed Alexander's Literary Review of 'The Parasite from Proto-Space' by Brett Petersen
I knew I was going to like this when it started out with some random douchebag mumbling nonsense, whacked out on a cocktail of drugs. Specifically ketamine, fentanyl, and crack. For sure, that would likely kill the most hard core drug addict, but it sounds like a wild ride down a short rabbit hole.
Reed AlexanderPublished 4 years ago in Horror
