Boo!

Did I scare you?

I love this time of year. The weather in Memphis is finnnnally starting to feel like fall– I got to wear my beloved duck boots this past weekend without my feet sweating to death– and there’s a crisp stillness in the air that just demands a good, creepy yarn.

Now that I’ve sent off my second book, Of Salt and Starlight, to my amazing critique partners and beta readers, I’m looking forward to bingeing on all things spooky. I usually prefer my horror with a strong Gothic or mysterious vibe. The thing that might be hiding in the corner is far scarier to me than the homicidal maniac with a chainsawmachetehatchet.

So without further ado-

Erin’s 10 Things to Send Shivers Down Your Spine

1. Paul Trembley’s A Head Full of Ghosts:  The Dead Files meets The Exorcist as a family deals with their oldest daughter’s possible possession. Is it real? Is it all for TV ratings? I’m rereading it this October because I STILL haven’t decided what I think!

2. Lore (2017): I’m a big fan of Aaron Mahnke’s Lore podcast and was delighted to hear Amazon picked it up to turn into a TV series. As Mahnke so often says, sometimes the truth is more frightening than fiction, and these episodes do not disappoint. From lobotomies to possessed dolls, these episodes will keep you up late into the night!

3. Megan Shepherd’s The Madman’s Daughter: This dark retelling of The Island of Dr. Moreau is at turns both gorgeous and gruesome.  Juliet, Moreau’s 16-year-old daughter, comes face to face with her father’s genius–and madness.

4. The Others (2001): My all time favorite horror film, The Others checks off all your cravings for haunted houses, foggy English countrysides, creepy kids, and gorgeous period clothing. Fun fact- I’ve never seen the entirety of the scene with the kids in the cupboard. I STILL close my eyes every time!

5. I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016): Everything about this movie creeps me out– even in its poster with the girl with the backwards arms. It’s quiet horror at its very best, slow moving with scares that build and creepy notes that have you clenching your teeth in anticipation.

6. Rebecca (1940): I confess I’ve not yet seen this film, but love the book and am in the mood for some serious Gothic brooding.

7. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992): Yes, yes, the scariest part of this film is probably Keanu’s acting but I absolutely love Eiko Ishioka’s costumes—Gary Oldman’s teeny, tiny spectacles– swoon! And who doesn’t crave a bug-eating Tom Waits?

8. The Beguiled (2017): I read Thomas Cullinan’s book this summer, SO EXCITED for the movie to come out but then never got around to seeing it! Babies, man! They have the cutest way of waylaying your best plans!

9. Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975): See Peter Weir’s masterful original before it comes to Amazon next year with Natalie Dormer– which I’m also crazy excited for!

10.  Endless rereadings of Edgar Allan Poe’s Annabel Lee:

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams

   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes

   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

   Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,

   In her sepulchre there by the sea—

   In her tomb by the sounding sea.