Blogtober Day 31: Wrap-Up

Today is October 31st, as you most likely know. Unless you're reading this in the future. Anyway, since its the last day of the month, and the last day of Blogtober, it's Wrap-Up Time! I've never written one of these before, so I'm sorry if this is lame.

First, I did Blogtober!

I won't lie, I half-expected I wouldn't make it through the month, but somehow I have. Writing content and posting every day isn't easy, but I did. I'm not sure if I'll do something like this ever again, but at least I tried it and I had fun with it.

Now, onto the books I read

I read four books in their entirety this month. I planned on reading five, but the last book, A Secret History of Witches, which was on my TBR, I struggled to get into. I still plan on reading it, but every time I sat down to read it, I didn't have enough time to really get into the story. I'm still going to read it, so be on the look-out for a review of that.

The four books I read are:


The Scarred God - Review can be found here

I gave it a ranking of 3.9 stars because I enjoyed the story and the world, but felt like a little more detail was needed. I'm definitely going to read the next book if/when it's released.


Nightmare Escapade - Review can be found here

I enjoyed this anthology but I'm not sure if it truly counts as horror, since I didn't find myself being scared by any of the stories within. The author clearly has talent, though, and I look forward to seeing more works from him.


Anomaly - Review can be found here

I thought this story was fine. There were some pacing issues, its length also worked against it. The climax didn't entirely make sense and I would've preferred an ending that wasn't obvious sequel-bait.


The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror - Review can be found here

I enjoyed the collection. I named my favorite short stories in my review, but they were great, creative horror stories overall. There were a few that didn't fit the genre in my opinion, but overall the collection is good.

Even though I wasn't able to read as many books as I had planned this month, it was a pretty good month. I liked all four books I read. There were some disappointments, but overall, I'm gonna put this month in the "Win" column and start planning for November.

I hope your October and Halloween have been amazing and you've enjoyed the month as much as I have.

Blogtober Day 30: Halloween Plans

So, tomorrow is Halloween. Yay! And, of course, with such a big holiday coming up, the only topics of conversation I've had for the last week are "What are your Halloween plans?" and "What are you being for Halloween?". I'm going to answer both questions right now.

What Are You Being For Halloween?

Unfortunately, and annoyingly, a dumb work meeting I was supposed to have last week got rescheduled for Halloween. My initial costume was going to be a boxer, but since that's "not appropriate workplace attire" I'm going to put a bunch of name tags on my work clothes and be "Identity Theft"

What Are Your Halloween Plans?

My neighborhood doesn't get a lot of trick-or-treaters, so I don't expect much of the night will be spent actually giving out candy. I plan to watch Scream followed by Trick'R Treat and then go to bed, because Halloween is on a Thursday.

What are your Halloween plans? What costume are you going to wear?

Blogtober Day 29: Top 5 Halloween Candies

We're two days away from Halloween! With the holiday so close, all I can think about it is all of the discounted candy I'm going to buy on November 1st. With that said, today I'm going to talk about my favorite Halloween candies. Before I do that, let me give you my opinion on candy corn, because I know that's a point of contention. I don't like it. I don't think its the Worst Thing Ever, but I refuse to consume it.

Now, to candy I do like:


5) Blow-Pops
I like lollipops. I also like gum. This one combines the two.


4) MilkyWay
I don't know how they make these taste so good, but somehow they do. Other chocolate and caramel candy bars have tried and failed to recreate the magic of Milky Ways.


3) Hershey's Bars
Yes, these are pretty standard and boring, They're also classics. And you can't really go wrong with something as simple as plain chocolate. It's a pretty safe bet in case any trick-or-treaters have allergies.


2) Skittles
Skittles are just amazing. I think I read an article saying they're the most purchased Halloween candy last year. Either way, they're good and I enjoyed them.


1) Reese's Cups
I love peanut butter, I love chocolate. I love the two of them together. And that's why Reese's cups take the #1 spot.

What's your favorite Halloween candy?

Blogtober Day 28: The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror 2018

The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2018 is an anthology of dark fantasy and horror stories. It was edited by Paula Guran and contains more than twenty stories, each by a different author. This is the ninth edition of the yearly anthology that Guran has edited and released.

Since The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2018 is a collection of stories, and contains so many, this review is going to be a little different than my other reviews. With around 30 stories, there's no way I could review every single one of them without making this review unbearably long. At the same time, I can't give a review of the book as a whole, since each story is so different. Instead, I'm going to talk about five stories: three that were my most favorite, and the two I disliked the most.

The Crow Palace by Priya Sharma is the story of a woman named Julie who returns home following the death of her father. She left him and her sister, with cerebral palsy, years ago and has only returned to bury her father and take care of a few last minute things. While she's visiting, she uncovers a dark family secret. I think the reason why I enjoyed this story so much was because it subverted my expectations. Julie's family has a very strange connection with birds, which is apparent on the first page. What the connection is, and how deep it goes, is revealed much later. The thing that made this story stick in my mind, though, was the final revelation regarding the birds.  I won't spoil the ending, but let's just say, Julie's assumption about what the birds did, and who they did it to, is wrong.

The Little Mermaid in Passing by Angela Slatter can best be described as telling the story of the Little Mermaid from the Sea Witch's perspective. In the original fairytale, the reader doesn't ever learn why the Sea Witch would help the Little Mermaid. In the Disney film, Ursula obviously has a masterplan to take over the ocean, but the original story never reveals that. I liked this story because it took a story I already knew, and showed it from a different angle. Much like other stories such as Wicked, it made me rethink how I viewed the "villain". I found the writing style and the direction the story went in to be unique and unexpected as well.

Secret Keeper by Bonnie Jo Stuffelbeam I would categorize as halfway between psychological horror and teen drama. The story takes place almost entirely in a high school. It tells the story of a Ghost Girl, who isn't dead and lives in the bowels of the school, who begins training Chrissie, an actress in the school musical, to sing better.  If this set-up sounds like Phantom of the Opera, but with the Phantom having a different gender, that's because it kind of is. While the set-ups are similar, the plots are different. The Ghost Girl wants something different from what the Phantom wanted. The ending was unexpected as well, since it's ambiguous regarding what was and wasn't reality.


Moon, and Memory, and Muchness by Katherine Vaz tells the story of a woman grieving the loss of her child who encounters a little girl that reminds her of her deceased daughter. She owns a tea shop and the girl and her mother become regular customers. The story is chock full of Alice in Wonderland references as well.It's somewhat of a thriller, but I wasn't a huge fan. It's not a bad story, just one with weird pacing. The story goes from 0 to 100 very suddenly, then back to 0, and I don't feel there was enough build-up beforehand.

Survival Strategies by Helen Marshall is the story of a British scholar going to New York to do a piece of a famous horror author, who's supposed to be Stephen King, but isn't. This was my least favorite story, mostly because not a lot happens. She does some research, talks to the author's ex-editor and that's pretty much it. Scenes of the narrator talking about the author's career are interspersed with her mentioning how bleak and tense things are in the world due to politics. Perhaps some might find the story suspenseful, but I didn't. The only way this story is connected to horror is that the author she's researching, who never appears, writes horror.

The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror series, for a lack of a better term, is one of my favorite releases, because its one of the ways I find new authors. It's also where I find some of the most interesting and creative stories. I feel like authors of short stories are more willing to take risks and try new things than with full length novels.

Rating: 3.5 stars. I didn't love every story, but I liked the collection as a whole.

Blogtober Day 27: What type of horror movie villain would you be?

Hello everybody. We're officially 4 days away from Halloween and its time to get extra-spooky. I read a lot of horror novels. I watch a lot of horror movies and that got me thinking: if I was the villain of a horror movie, what kind would I be?

Part of me wants to say a slasher/chainsaw wielding maniac, only because I can't think of a single horror movie off the top of my head, that has a female slasher villain. Except for the original Friday the 13th but since every later film had Jason as the killer, the fact that he's not the killer in the original has been forgotten by most. I don't think I would do very well, either, mostly because 1) I'm clumsy and would most likely cut myself in half, not my intended victims and 2) I don't do well with blood.

I wouldn't want to be a demon or a ghost, because that would mean I was either dead or had just escaped from Hell. So, I'd already be in a sucky situation from the start. Being dead doesn't seem like fun. As for being a demon, I could do it, I just wouldn't love it. Monster-horror is also out, due to the fact that most monster-horror isn't scary any more. It consists of jump-scares and a lot of gore but very little suspense or tension.

Which is exactly why I'd want to be the villain in a psychological horror movie. Those are the ones I find the most interesting. It's not about the blood and guts and creative kills in that subgenre, it's about the mind. Messing with people's minds. In some psychological horror films, there's no clearly defined villain. Sometimes, its a cult or some unseen force orchestrating events, other times it's the protagonist's own mind creating the suspense. In others, there's a clear bad guy or group of bad guys directly causing trouble. Regardless of which "type" of psychological horror villain, I'd want to be one, since it fits my flair for the dramatic. I think I'd do particularly well as part of a creep cult when I think about it.

What type of horror movie villain would you be?

Blogtober Day 26: Paranormal Romance

Paranormal romance is the intersection between a romance novel and the supernatural. Often times, the story follows the formula of one character meeting and falling in love with some mysterious love interest who turns out to be some sort of supernatural being. Sometimes a vampire, other time the love interest is some kind of shapeshifter. 

In order to qualify, at least from the criteria on Goodreads, the story needs to have both romance and the supernatural element at its forefront. If there’s a vampire love interest, let’s say, but him being a vampire isn’t a major part of the plot, it doesn’t qualify. The same is true if the story itself is paranormal, but there isn’t a romance at the center of the story. The best, and most well-known, example of a paranormal romance is, of course, Twilight. There’s a romance, regardless of how much its love or hate, and the paranormal element, Edward being a vampire and that being a central part of the story.

Now that we’ve established what it is, let me tell you my thoughts on paranormal romances. I’m not a huge fan. I’ve got nothing against anyone that writes this subgenre or reads it, but it’s just not for me. I’ve read many, and there are a lot of things about the subgenre that I just don’t like. 

Usually, the main character, who’s almost always a girl, learns her crush is a vampire or werewolf or whatever when she finds herself in a dangerous situation and he rushes in to save her. I’m not a big fan of women being damsels in distress. Often, the main character is bland. She’s bland, she’s boring. She’s not pretty, or smart, or talented. She has all of the personality of a paper bag. I know, there’s an argument to be made about the story being wish fulfillment, but why does that mean the main character has no personality? Boring main characters make the story so much harder to read and it takes me out of the story. If I don't care about the main character, why should I care about what happens to her?

A lot of these stories are YA novels, and YA novels tend to over-dramatize relationships or make aspects that shouldn’t be seen as romantic appear like they’re relationship goals. Also, it weirds me out that hundred/thousand-year-old beings have nothing better to do than lurk around high schools. It’s weird and creepy. Even when the supernatural being in question isn’t a thousand years old, there’s almost always an age-gap. Maybe the protagonist is in high school, and the love interest is college-aged it’s still weird, especially given the prevalence of adult men dating “mature” teenagers which is just a smokescreen to hide the predatory behavior of said men. It sends the message that dating someone older than you is fine, because it means you’re more mature, not that he’s predatory. 

There’s sometimes a soulmate aspect, which works when used correctly and appropriately, but it often isn’t. The angle is used to wave off any problematic aspects of the text that someone might object to. The love interest follows her around or breaks into her house? He’s not stalking her; he’s just worried about his soulmate. He loses control when she cuts her hand or it’s a full moon? Of course, he wasn’t really going to kill her, she’s his mate. Also, I find the concept of soulmates, and the implication that the characters are incomplete without each other, to be dumb. In some, there’s an added problem of the main character being the creature’s soulmate meaning she’s somehow responsible for “fixing” him. I don’t see why she’s all of a sudden responsible for what this random person, who she probably just met, does.

The last pet peeve that I have about young adult paranormal romance is the bad dialogue. This isn't the case with every novel in the genre, but a number of them have this problem. The characters are supposed to be teenagers, yet they don't sound like teenagers. They sound like what a 40-year-old thinks teens sound like.  It easy to tell when the author is much older than the demographic they’re writing for in this case. I’m sorry, but no teenager these days is going to call someone a “trollop”. No one’s used that word in about 40 years. As soon as I read that, it takes me completely out of the story itself and all I focus on is the dialogue. Additionally, and this has nothing to do with paranormal YA in particular, but exposition/info dumps through dialogue also needs to go. It needs to stop. It’s unrealistic. No one’s going to explain the entire, centuries-long war between two factions, their first time meeting someone.

These have been my thoughts on paranormal romance, more specifically young adult paranormal romance. As I said earlier, I’ve got nothing against the genre, it’s just not for me. I also know that not every book has these issues, but I thought I should mention why I dislike certain parts of the genre rather than just say something like “it’s just stupid”. What are your thoughts on paranormal romance?

Blogtober Day 25: Zombies

So, zombies. For the last few years, they've appeared in pretty much every form of media. I think we've reached zombie overload, much like we did with vampires about ten years ago and like we did with ghosts forever ago. I like zombies, sometimes, in fiction. It really depends how they're being used and what purpose they serve.

I know, you might be thinking, zombies have a purpose? Well, kind of. Zombies are normally just the massive horde of beings that the protagonists need to avoid. Usually, the zombies are chasing, slowly, after the humans because they're hungry. Unlike other monsters, they aren't trying to create more of their kind, they just want to eat. Usually, the zombies exist because of an outbreak, or in Zombieland's case, an infected burger. When I say "purpose" I mean how they're used, as the villain, in the story. What's the theme or message the film is trying to portray?

For example, George A. Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead is viewed by many to be a reflection of the tensions in the United States during that period in history. Others see is as a criticism of government ineptitude, domestic racism and the politics of the Cold War. The zombies in Night of the Living Dead were so terrifying because, to paraphrase film historian Linda Badley, the monsters weren't aliens or creatures from some unknown land, they're us. Ben, the African-American protagonist, isn't killed by zombies at the end of the film, but by a posse of rednecks who mistake him for being one of the infected.

Other times, zombies exist just to create a post-apocalyptic world. A war, or illness, or some form of nuclear catastrophe could substitute for the zombie outbreak in the story, and the plot wouldn't change that much. These zombies tend to exist in media where a large aspect of the story isn't about trying to cure the infected, or finding some safe haven or even how the world got to this. They're a threat, but the real threat, the real tension comes from some other group of survivors posing a threat to the group the protagonist is in. Later seasons of The Walking Dead fit into this category. People such as the Governor and Negan pose more of a threat to anyone than the zombies. This is also where all the films putting forth the idea of "humans are the real monsters" exists. I don't hate this type of story, but I feel like zombies are used too often as "here's how the world ended" explanation and I'd like to see a more creative reason.

Sometimes, zombies are just zombies and the entire film is about people thrown together randomly trying to get to safety. The 2004 remake Dawn of the Dead is about a group of people trapped in a shopping mall during a zombie outbreak. These are the movies I like the most, because I watch zombie movies for zombies, not to see people do horrible things to others because they can. For as bad as the Resident Evil film series is, and how unfaithful it is to the games, the first two weren't completely awful because the plot was about the zombies, not about weird things with the Umbrella Corporation.

There are, of course, some variations in zombie media. Sometimes the zombies are fast. Sometimes characters don't need to get bitten to become a zombie. Other times, the humans are able to find a cure. There are a few movies out there where, despite being zombies, they still have thoughts and higher brain function. And sometimes, a zombie falls in love with a human and falling love makes them not be a zombie anymore (looking at you, Warm Bodies). 

So, in conclusion, I like zombies. They're cool. I think we need to take a break from them being everywhere for a while, but on the while, I can't complain.

Blogtober Day 24: Fall Activities and Trends I Dislike

As I mentioned in an earlier post, autumn is my favorite time of year. However, no season is perfect, not even my favorite one. While I like fall itself, there are some trends and traditions during fall that I just don't like. Some I find boring. Some don't fit my tastes and some I just don't like and I don't really have (or feel the inclination to give) a reason for why I dislike them. With that said, let's discuss some fall things I don't like.

Apple and Pumpkin Picking

I have nothing against apples. I like apples. I have nothing against pumpkins. They make excellent pies. Here's the thing though apple picking, going to the pumpkin patch, wandering through the fields trying to decide which one to pick. It's boring. I know some people really like it, but I don't.

Pumpkin Spiced Everything

This will probably upset a lot of people, but I don't like pumpkin spiced things. Pumpkin spiced lattes aren't actually that great. There are so many, other, better coffee drinks out there. A group of people decided they were really into the Starbucks Pumpkin Spiced Latte and all of a sudden, everyone else should be too. Because its not just lattes anymore. Pumpkin spiced donuts, pumpkin spiced cereal. Pumpkin spiced ice cream. Pumpkin spiced pudding. Can we please stop with the pumpkin spiced madness? Please?

Hayrides

I have really bad allergies. Needless to say, I don't have a ton of fun on hayrides because I spend a lot of time sneezing. Even if I wasn't sneezing all of the time on hayrides, they kind of have no point? You just ride around in this cart? If you're lucky, the ride takes you to a corn maze or something. Otherwise, you just go from one side of a field to another. I have friends who love hayrides and I just don't understand them.

Those are the three things about fall that I don't like. There are a few others, but they're a little nitpicky and I didn't want to write a completely negative post where I mention every little thing or trend I don't like.

What are your favorite fall activities?

Blogtober Day 23: Ghosts

Unlike witches, ghosts don't serve many purposes in fiction. They fall into one of two categories. Ghosts are either evil and responsible for the misfortunes befalling the protagonists. Or, they're victims and the only way they can be free and "move on" is for the protagonists to learn what happened to them and either right a specific wrong or let the world know their story. Today, let's talk about the common plots and storylines that ghosts tend to have.

Get Out of My House!

This one is pretty straight forward. Everyone's seen or at least knows about this one. The ghost just wants to be left alone. He or she died in the house the main characters just moved into, disturbing it's rest. The story goes as follows: the ghost tries to make the new inhabitants leave, they don't succeed, the protagonists call a priest, a paranormal investigator or some other "expert" to make the ghosts leave. The ghost is usually defeated by said expert, but there's enough leeway to justify a sequel.

Evil, Evil, Evil

This ghost doesn't want to be left alone. It wants to cause mayhem. These are the ghosts that either draw people into the place that they haunt. Sometimes, it's to trap more people in the building, and create more ghosts. Other times, getting someone to enter the creepy, abandoned house might allow them to possess living, so they can be an even bigger menace.  Sometimes, they were evil in life, and they're not going to let something as trivial as dying stop them. Other times, they died so traumatically that they become vengeful spirits and need to kill. They were good once, but now, they've been twisted into something else.

"Tell The World"

These ghosts can't move on to the afterlife. Maybe they died violently and can't work through the trauma of that. Maybe they've got unfinished business they need to complete. Maybe the only way they can move on is for the truth of their death to come to light. The movie The Sixth Sense is based on this premise, although we don't know how central it is to the plot at first. In one of the later sequels/spin-offs of The Ring it's implied that Samara created the deadly tape so that her story can be shared, but that was later retconned. This category is where a lot of films featuring ghosts that aren't horror fit. Like Ghost or pretty much every kids movie with ghosts.

What's your opinion about ghosts in media?

Blogtober Day 22: Most Creative Movie Monsters

There are plenty of monsters out there. Some are good, some are bad, and some are a little bit of both. While every film needs a bad guy and thus, depending on the genre, a monster to defeat. However, not all horror monsters are created equal. Some are, for lack of a better term, boring. Vampires and werewolves and ghosts have kinda been done to death, as have zombies.

Today, I want to talk about some creative monsters, mostly in horror. Some are considered horror classics by now, others are new to the genre, but they have something in common, they're unique. As a side note, I'm using the term "monster" literally. No human characters, or characters who were once human appear on this list because they don't qualify.


Pale Man- Pan's Labyrinth\



This list wouldn't be complete without at least one Guillermo del Toro monster on it. This entire list could just be del Toro characters. While there are plenty I could choose from, the Pale Man is my favorite. There's just something about his design that gives me goosebumps. Pan's Labyrinth is more dark fantasy than true horror but this part of the film really freaked me out. 


Crawlers- The Descent



These humanoid cave dwellers that feast on humans are relatively new to horror. Still, they packed a punch. They were the perfect monsters for a film about people lost, and being hunted, in an unknown cave system.

Sam- Trick or Treat



I won't lie, I thought Sam was just a creepy kid when I started watching Trick or Treat. He's definitely not a kid, but his design made him an instant horror icon when the movie premiered. I also found his motivations to be particularly interesting. In that, he doesn't seem to have one beyond wanting people to follow the rules of Halloween. The design seems simple, but its not, and it's his behavior that makes him such a creative monster.

The Thing- The Thing



I feel like this one doesn't need an explanation. Not only was the design of the monster amazing, but the story behind it was too. Nearly indestructible, able to hide in plain sight, able to assimilate other life forms into itself. Great character design, great backstory, great monster.

Creating a creative monster comes down to a few things in my opinion, unique design being one of them. Having an interesting story/goal/motivation is another. These four creatures pop into mind when I think about movie monsters.

What are your favorite movie monsters?

Blogtober Day 21: Nightmare Escapade

Nightmare Escapade is a 2012 horror anthology book by Waylon Piercy. I first became aware of it when I was searching Amazon for horror books to read during October. Since the book is a collection of short stories, I'm going to discuss each story on its own and my thoughts, rather than discuss the whole book at once. That seems like the most fair tactic.

"No Such Thing" is the first story in the collection. It tells the story of a little boy who is out playing in the woods and sees something. He comes to believe its a monster and, regardless of what he tries to tell his mother, she doesn't seem to see it. Ray soon becomes worried that the monster is going to get him and he is terrified at the thought. This story does a good job of portraying the fears and worries of children, especially the primal fear of the dark. "No Such Thing" isn't a particularly scary story, but it does leave the reader feeling a little unsettled.

"The Terrible Stranger" is the story of a soldier traveling home who comes across a terrible stranger, as the title implies. This story, along with two others, are part of a larger dark fantasy novel the author has been building for years. On its own, "The Terrible Stranger" is one of the best body-horror stories I've read in some time. Piercy paints quite the unsettling visual as the protagonist tries to escape to freedom.

The third story is titled "The Drum". The best way I can really explain it, without giving too much away, is by saying for once, horror is happening to the right person. Ever notice how the characters in horror are either unlucky or just stupid and that's how they end up being pursued by a mass-murderer or possessed by Satan or something? This tale is a little different. Harold isn't a nice person. He doesn't stumble upon something not meant to be found, he's not in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's just a jerk and winds up angering the wrong people. I like seeing, for once, that the right person is being terrorized.

"Apex Predator" tells the story of a former police officer trying to locate a missing girl. He finds her, only to discover things aren't what they seem. She's no longer among the living and soon, neither is he. The story doesn't end there, however, and I enjoyed seeing a different take on the specific "monster" in this story.

"The Basement" is a very short story. I believe its the shortest one in the book, being only a few pages. I can't give anything away that doesn't spoil the ending, but I found the point of view for the story interesting. It's told from a different perspective than most stories in its subgenre.

"Bones" is a story that's connected to "The Terrible Stranger". They aren't directly connected, but take place in the same world/universe. It's the closest thing to the traditional ghost story in the book, albeit with a twist. Since its part of a larger story, it doesn't fully explain things and leaves a lot open-ended, but I found it amusing at least.

"The Trunk" is the closest I got to a typical haunted house story in this book. Calling it a story about a haunted house isn't fair, since the house isn't haunted, the new owner is just curious about an old trunk left in the attic. The trunk isn't imprisoning a ghost, it doesn't contain pure evil or cursed objects. Instead, it offers something much more mysterious and "The Trunk" has a very surprising ending.

"Duel" takes place in the same world as "Bones" and "The Terrible Stranger". Unlike the others, its not a horror story. It fits more under the dark fantasy umbrella. The story is a snippet of what the author has built for the world, but I'm cautiously optimistic about the directions the story could go or what could be done with the aspects I read so far.

Nightmare Escapade consists of eight stories. They're entertaining for the most part, but I didn't find them very scary. Additionally, they suffer from a length problem. They are short stories, but a few are a little too short. Their endings feel a little rushed or cut-off. An extra few pages would've made the difference between an "okay" story and a good one.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Blogtober Day 20: Things About Horror That Don't Make Sense

Horror has a lot of tropes, and like any trope, how effective or "good" it is, depends on how well its implemented. Some tropes though, they make no sense. I read it, or I watch it happen, and I wonder why this trope exists. Or I convince myself this must take place in an alternate dimension where no one has common sense. Today, I'd like to talk about some things in horror that just don't make sense.

Why Would You Buy This House?

This shows up a lot in movies or books that involved haunted houses. A new family moves into the house and weird things start happening. And, they don't notice. Or they find a way to justify how all of the freaky, supernatural stuff isn't ghosts or demons or the like. Now, that's a staple of the genre, and I love a good haunted house.

What annoys me are the people who know the house's history and move in anyway. They know some lady drowned all of her kids in this house, or that a man sacrificed his entire family to Satan, but they move in anyway, because it has a lovely kitchen backsplash or something. And they don't move away, although occasionally, this aspect is explained in the text/film.

The Buddy-System is for Kindergarten

Now, I know, this one pops up a lot. Why would you split up to search the house? Why wouldn't everyone stick together as they try to escape the chainsaw-wielding maniac? Slasher movies can't be slashers if no one's getting slashed, and that happens easiest when people split up. What I don't understand is when this trend is called out, in the film, show or movie, but they do it anyway. A character specifically mentions how splitting up, in a horror movie, is a bad idea, but it ends up happening anyway.

It's the Book Written on Human Skin

First of all, how did someone even make a book out of human skin? Second, why would anyone go anywhere near it? How did you not notice the "ink" is actually blood. It's one thing for a cursed doll to be behind every death, its another when the whole plot could be avoided by staying away from the item clearly created by a serial kill and/or Satan worshipper.

The Tone-Deaf Depiction of Mental Illness

I'm just going to come out and say it. Why are people with mental illness always the bad guys? You can have a homicidal murderer without needing to make them schizophrenic, or bipolar, or have dissociative identity disorder. The villain can be the villain without needing to give a reason "why" to make the reader or audience feel better. Even if that explanation is a must, mental illness isn't always the answer. You do realize the mentally ill are more likely to be victims of violent crimes rather than the perpetrators, right?

Those are a few things about horror that don't make any sense to me. What aspects of horror don't make sense to you?

Blogtober Day 19: Books I Regret Reading

There aren't many books that I regret reading, but they do exist. For the most part, I've been pretty lucky in the sense that most books I've read, I was able to find something about them that I enjoyed. Even if they weren't my favorite book ever, I was able to connect with or find interesting something about them.

Yet, every once in a while, I find a book that I just can't stand. I don't like it. I regret reading it. If someone recommends it, I get a little annoyed at the person for suggesting it in the first place. Here are five books that I regret reading.

1) Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

My issue with this book isn't that it's bad, it's that it's boring. Boring and predictable. Something interesting could've been done with the story, but nothing was. None of my expectations were subverted and I was annoyed at the friend who suggested it.

2) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I don't know why this is considered one of the great American novels. It's boring. There's almost no real plot. I hate every character. I was forced to read this for school at least twice and I hate it so much. If I have to hear another person discuss the symbolism behind the billboard of the eye doctor one more time, I will scream.

3) Extras by Scott Westerfeld

This is the fourth book in the Uglies series (Uglies, Pretties, and Specials). I thought the first three books were okay. They weren't groundbreaking, they weren't terrible. They were based on an interesting idea. The problem is, the series was supposed to be a trilogy. Since Specials was supposed to mark the end of the trilogy, this feels tacked on. Tacked on, a little derivative and something I wish I'd skipped.

4) The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

This pick is different from the others. It was the only book where I started reading with specific expectations. I thought this series was going to be similar to the movie with Anne Hathway. Boy, was I wrong. Mia's grandmother is nothing like the character Julie Andrews plays and several aspects are completely different from the film. I guess I regret reading this book only because it seemed like a letdown from the Disney film.

5) Go Ask Alice

This one just depressed me, so its on this list. I don't like books that completely bum me out.

(I know, I know. Most of the time, these lists will either have Twilight or the Fifty Shades series on it. Here's the thing: Twilight isn't terrible. It isn't good, but if we take it for what it is, it's not "the worst thing ever" like some people claim. As for Fifty Shades, I never read those books. I never wanted to read them. I knew I wasn't going to like them. Therefore, I didn't read them, and I can live regret-free on that count. I regret having to see 5,000 trailers for the movies though.)

Those are the five books I most regret reading. What are yours?

Blogtober Day 18: Witches

I feel like witches are one of the few characters that can be thrown into almost any story and it works. I don't mean that in a bad way, but I'm noticing they seem to pop-up in a lot of different stories and time periods, and serving different purposes, and it still works, depending on how talented the writer is.

You're writing a historical thriller? Perhaps a murder victim was really killed by a witch. You're writing a contemporary story? Maybe the protagonist's family was once accused of witchcraft. Maybe she learns she's a witch. For a story being told in the far-off future, humanity could believe they found answers to everything and witches are fictional, only to learn that the aliens they've been fighting have abilities that can only be explained by yelling "Witchcraft!" as dramatically as possible. Not to mention how witches are seemingly everywhere in fantasy.

My point is, witches are prevalent in fiction. The characters being described as witches don't necessarily have to be witches, they just are accused of it. They could simply be suspected, or the narrative could imply that the only way an event could happen is through witchcraft. Yet, for such a seemingly ubiquitous stock character, witches aren't defined to one role in fiction.

Witches sometimes are evil. The first example that comes to mind is the witch in Hansel and Gretel. She murders and eats children. Another example is the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus. The Wicked Witch of the West. The Grand High Witch from The Witches. I could go on. Ursula in The Little Mermaid. There are plenty of witch characters that are completely evil and serve as the villain of the story. Maybe they want to take over or end the world. Or maybe, they just want revenge on a specific person or people.

Witches are also protagonists or at the very least "good guys" in stories. For an example, see Hermione Granger. Diana Bishop from A Discovery of Witches is another good example, as is Sabrina Spellman. The list goes on. Sometimes, the story is about a girl, or woman, finding out she's a witch and learning to control her powers. Other times, the witch is called upon to defeat some greater threat. In few, but some cases, magic is being repressed and the witch character is meant to end the magic-hating regime and free the other witches and repressed magical creatures. Sometimes, the witch isn't a main character, but fulfills the role of a mentor or motherly figure to another.

The third category of witches seems to be "witches as plot-devices". This is more of an urban-fantasy thing than anything else, but it does pop-up elsewhere. The "good guy" characters are in trouble. Maybe they were captured by the villain, maybe they come across some unpassable obstacle. Perhaps one's been cursed. It's awfully convenient then, that a member of their party, or another prisoner, or some random person walking by, happens to be a witch and knows a spell that will help. I won't lie, this one annoys me a lot. Because these characters either show up as a deus ex machina, or if they are part of the core character, they fade into the background until they're needed again.

One fairly popular show that did this often was The Vampire Diaries. Bonnie Bennett, the only main witch character for most of the series, somehow found a spell that stopped the Big Bad every time. In fact, it seemed like the only reason her character existed and remained on the show was to find a magical solution at the last minute to save the day.  She saved everyone from the bad guy, and then had a crappy storyline that only existed so that she'd be around the next time they needed magic to solve their problems. I don't like this trope because it cheapens the character and shows that her only purpose is to do one specific thing and then go away.

Witches show up a lot in fiction. They serve many different roles depending on the story. I love witch characters. The good, the bad and the plot-devices. I know some people claim they're sick of witches, but I actually think we need more witches. Ones with different stories, different rules, and different backgrounds.

What's your view on witches, and magic in general, in fiction?

Blogtober Day 17: My Autumn Feelings

Autumn is an interesting time of year. It's finally not super hot, or unbelievably humid. At the same time, it's also not unbearably cold and I don't need to put on three layers just to walk from my house to my car. I know some of you may be reading this thinking "oh, so autumn is in between summer and winter weather-wise? Who would've known?" sarcastically. I know how dumb that sounds, but I feel like the weather is a good analogy to discuss autumn as a whole and how weirdly fluid it feels. Being in between summer and winter, it kind of fluctuates wildly.

Parts of autumn, specific days even, are beautiful and have more of a spring feeling than an autumnal one. Other days are rainy and remind us that winter is coming. This variability also comes into play given the different holidays in autumn. Halloween is pretty much its own season at this point, whereas Thanksgiving doesn't, but most people view as being Christmas-adjacent, an honorary winter holiday, even though November is, in fact, a fall month.

Now that I've gone into more depth than needed about why I say fall is a weird time of year, let me explain why its my favorite season. First of all, autumn is a beautiful season. The leaves change colors. The skies aren't always clear and blue, but they also aren't always that grey tone they seem to be in winter. The weather is perfect, since it's cool without being too cold. Fall is also when some of my favorite seasonal goodies are released. Caramel apples, pumpkin pie, apple strudel, and salted caramel everything. Fall is a great time of the year for food.

Fall is the time of year where I feel happiest. Some of that is due to happy memories I have of trick or treating and pumpkin carving. The rest is just that I really like the season as a whole. It's where I feel the most at home, if that makes sense.

So, I love fall. What's your opinion on the season?

Blogtober Day 16: October TBR Check-in

Hello everyone, since today is October 16th, AKA the exact middle of October, I decided it was time to do a Blogtober check-in. This isn't going to be a long post, but it felt right to do a check-in and see where I stood halfway through the month.

First up, how has Blogtober been going? 
Well, I've posted every day so far, which I'm proud of. (Blogtober posts can be found here). When I said I was going to do Blogtober, I was a little worried I'd be unable to continue/lose interest after the first few days, but I haven't. Yay me!

Second, what's the status of my TBR list?
I had four books on my TBR list for the month:
The Scarred God by Neil Beynon- complete, my review can be found here
Nightmare Escpade by Waylon Piercy- finished, review will be up soon
A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan- currently reading
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror (2018 Edition)- currently reading

Since it's halfway through the month and I'm halfway through the books on my list, I see that as a good sign.

Third, anything else you want to share?
Nothing I can think of at the moment. I do hope everyone has enjoyed my posts so far.

Blogtober Day 15: This Time, Last Year

So, the prompt/idea/question this post was supposed to be about is the following:

What were you reading this time last year?

Initially, I was going to write a short-ish post describing the books I was reading, as the title says, this time last year. There's just one problem: this time last year, I wasn't reading anything. I wasn't doing much of anything. So, rather than talk about books, this post is about how far I've come in a year.

(If you're here for me to talk about books, and not my mental health, today's post isn't for you. Sorry)

This time last year, I was in a bit of a funk. It had been over a year since I graduated college and despite having my degree, I hadn't managed to land a full-time job. I was working part-time at a coffee shop and part-time at a math tutoring center. They both paid fine, for what they were, and I didn't hate them, but they weren't what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing. As a result of my unhappiness with my work situation, I fell into somewhat of a depression. Things I used to find enjoyable weren't fun anymore. Days when I didn't have work, as few as they were, I didn't really do anything.

At the end of November, I got an interview with a staffing office who learned of an open position at a nearby company. The day after I interviewed with the staffing company, I had an interview at the company with the open position.  One week, and another interview later, I received a job offer. My first full-time job. A job where'd I'd actually use my degree.

So, I started my first "real" job. And as I got more comfortable in my role, and familiar with the industry, a strange thing happened. I started picking up some of the old hobbies I'd abandoned. I started reading again. I started writing again. I joined a book club. I did things other than sit around, stressing about my future. And, I'm a lot happier now than I was a year ago.

So, that's where I was this time last year. What were you doing last year?

Blogtober Day 14: The Scarred God

The Scarred God is a 2019 novel by Neil Beynon. It was released on August 26, 2019 and was published by Haynes Ltd. It's a fantasy book aimed at teenagers. It was one of the books I mentioned during my October TBR post.

The novel tells the story of a teenager named Anya who escapes being captured with the rest of her village when they're attacked by invaders. The invading army is assisted by an exiled god of her culture and Anya goes on a journey through a spelled forest, alongside the forest's mysterious guardian Vedic, to save her people and defeat the exiled god. Along the way, she learned not much separates heroes from villains.

There are some books I read because they're recommended to me. Others, I stumble upon and the premise instantly grabs me. The Scarred God fits into the second category. The idea intrigued me, starting with the teaser/tagline on the cover of the book reading "how do you kill a god?" Once I read that this novel was about a teenage girl going on a quest to kill a god, I couldn't really resist.

To begin this review, let's discuss Anya. I enjoyed her as a character. She had personality, she was driven. Her motives and morals were clear. She wanted to save her people. She wanted to stop the Kurah's plans. At the same time, she was dealing with doubts about whether she could do what needed to be done. She wasn't always sure the path she was taking was the right one. Mostly, however, I was happy that she was a dynamic character, and not the archetypal "strong female character" that can sometimes fall flat on the page. Anya was a character the reader could connect with.

There were many aspects of this novel that I enjoyed. One of the aspects I found the most interesting was Beynon's use of deities from more than one culture. Rather than only having gods from the Greek pantheon, or only Norse god, etc, there's a variety of gods mentioned. The main gods we see are Danu, a Celtic goddess, Pan, from Greek mythology, and Cernubus, the titular scarred god, although I'm not sure what pantheon he was part of. There are also illusions to gods and myths that aren't named but the average person would recognize. The story gives off the feel that, for example Greek myths are true, but Celtic myths are equally true without the two mythologies contradicting each other.

Another thing I enjoyed was Anya's personal journey and how it pans out. Anya isn't explicitly a "chosen one"; she's capable of defeating the scarred god, but at no point does the narrative make it seem like she's the only person capable of doing that. Her training, at the hands of her warrior grandmother, has given her an edge, but she's the heroine as a result of circumstance, not destiny. Anya and her connection to Vedic, the protector of the woods, is another noteworthy aspect of the story. Vedic isn't helping Anya for completely altrustic reasons, and while I enjoy stories where people work together for the "greater good", I also like characters who are reluctant heroes or mentors.

One of the best aspects of the novel, from a writing standpoint, is the way it avoids certain tropes. There were points in the story where I thought "okay, this is when [insert fantasy trope here] is going to happen". Sometimes the plot went exactly how I imagined, other times it surprised me. I like being surprised narratively.

While I enjoyed the story overall, there are a few critiques I need to share.Most of my criticism comes from a world-building or clarity perspective. There are a few thing within the world of the novel that aren't explained as well as they could be. Certain terms, how one group related to another and the like.  There were a few times where a specific term or title was used and I needed to stop and remember what it meant in this world. The phrase that often gets thrown around is "show, don't tell" which I feel is a bit vague. "Show, don't tell" is about balancing those two acts, at least to me. Somethings can be shown, others may need be told to the reader. Beynon doesn't quite achieve the right balance in my opinion, with the things being shown not quite giving the reader enough information to fill in the blanks. While I mention the author didn't explain enough, I'd like to be clear that I prefer his style as opposed to having everything explained as exposition-as-dialogue or there being page after page of explanations without context.

I should note that certain passages of the novel, which are depicted as dreams Anya is having, are intentionally confusing. They relate to a big plot point, so I won't explain too much about them, but I wanted to acknowledge that there's a purpose behind those passages being confusing or hard to follow with the rest of the story. I'll freely admit that I didn't think that that particular plot point was going to have the revelation that it did. I thought the reveal was going in a different direction entirely.

The Scarred God is a good book. It's entertaining. I enjoyed what I saw of the world and would be happy if the author wrote another story in this universe. Yet, when I reached the end, I felt like something was missing. The resolution was satisfying, but it felt like the end wasn't quite complete or was maybe a little rushed. Some of this could easily be having plot elements unresolved for a second book, in which case that makes sense.

Rating: 3.9 stars

Blogtober Day 13: Top 5 Horror Movie Villains

Yesterday, I discussed my favorite horror movies. Today, I'd like to talk about my five favorite horror movie villains. Because, while not every great horror movie needs a great villain, they tend to go hand in hand. And a good villain in an otherwise mediocre movie can elevate it to being good. Anyway, here are my top five horror movie villains.



5) Annie Wilkes Misery

Misery isn't the scariest movie I've ever seen by a longshot, but it does have a very memorable villain. Annie Wilkes is just a little bit of a huge fan of author Paul Sheldon's works, so when she finds him unconcious and wounded in the snow, of course she helps him. Then, he wakes up and starts to wish she'd left him to die of frostbite. Annie's villainy comes not from any one act that she does, but from the situation as a whole. Paul is completely at her mercy and his "number one" fan knows exactly how the story for his next book is supposed to go. Annie is just downright creepy and the scene with the sledgehammer is one I can't watch, even to this day. Bravo to Kathy Bates for such an amazingly creepy portrayal in the film.



4) The Xenomoprh Alien

The Xenomorph is the perfect sci-fi horror monster. It has no grand scheme beyond wreaking havoc and finding a way to wreak more havoc. With no apparent weakness and a level of intellect that rivals, and in most cases exceeds, those of the human character, its downright terrifying. Not to mention the pure creepiness in how more Xenomorphs are created. From the facehugger to lay eggs inside of humans, to the chest buster killings its human host, and finally, the fully grown alien ready to cause some chaos. Every part of the lifecycle is disturbing and perfect for horror.



3) Pennywise IT

Is anyone not terrified of clowns these days? Clowns in general are creepy. Clowns that are actually shape-shifting aliens trying to feast on the fear of local children are even worse. Kudos to Stephen King,and the actors and directors of IT, because they took an already creepy concept, clowns, and found a way to make it even scarier and make me hate clowns even more.



2) Chucky The Child's Play Series

As you might've guessed from the above entry, clowns freak me out. You know what freaks me out even more? Dolls. Especially dolls that are possessed by a serial killer's soul and enjoy killing people. Now, while "creepy murderous doll" sounds bad enough, its the humor in the Child's Play series that puts Chucky on this list. He's a creative killer, and unpredictable. Most movies with creepy dolls stop at the "there's an evil entity possessing it" stage, but not Chucky. He's killing, and he's having fun, but the films are also surprisingly entertaining and enjoyable. Most of them, anyway.



1) Leatherface Texas Chainsaw Massacre

He isn't just a serial killer, he's also a cannibal. He doesn't have a larger goal or bigger plans beyond finding more victims, and thus more meat to eat. His victims are random and he doesn't care who he's carving up. He sees his victims not as people, but as livestock and he can't be reasoned with, can't be talked down. He's the archetype of the unrelenting, seemingly unstoppable terror that slasher films rely on.

Blogtober Day 12: Favorite Scary Movies

As I once told a friend, a good horror movie is hard to find. With today's oversaturation of the horror film genre, there are plenty of "horror" movies that come out each year, but only a few that are actually good or actually scary. I feel like some of this was due to horror moving away from suspense-driven scares and more towards just making a gore-fest and not trying to build a sense of dread among the viewer. Movies attempt suspense, but few modern horror films manage to pull it off. Today, I'd like to discuss my favorite horror movies. To make this easier, I'm selecting my favorite in each category of horror film.



The Shining- Favorite Psychological Horror

The Shining is a great suspense film. What I mean by that is this: from almost the very beginning, the viewer gets the feeling that there's something off about the Overlook Hotel. As Jack unravels, the question isn't what's going to happen, but when. It's a great psychological horror film and the intensity of the final confrontation sticks with you. The film is also the reason why I can't watch Jack Nicholson do comedic roles.



Alien- Favorite Sci-Fi Horror

Despite the dip in quality for the series as a whole, the original Alien film, and its immediate sequel Aliens were both entertaining and scary. The original film gives almost nothing away. The viewer only sees what the characters themselves witness, as they witness it. When they find the room filled with eggs, they are clueless as to what it is. The same is true for the face-huggers. We don't see the alien until it bursts out of Kane's chest. It isn't until far into the movie that we see the fully grown Xenomorph. The film did an excellent job of balancing the sci-fi aspects with the horror elements, keeping the suspense for both.



The Conjuring- Favorite Supernatural Horror

While I enjoy classics such as The Exorcist and Poltergest, they aren't my favorite. Genre-defining, yes, but I don't find them particularly scary. This may be because when I saw them, they were a few decades old and horror had become a lot bloodier and scarier. In fact, my enjoyment of The Conjuring comes in part from how it uses a number of tricks and traits from the two other films. The film relies on old school scares rather than having a jump scare every few minutes. There are truly tense scenes that build towards a scare rather than having a ghost pop out of nowhere, scare the character and race off. I keep mentioning film building tension, and that's because suspense is the key to horror, not monsters or gallons of fake blood.



28 Days Later- Favorite Zombie Horror

I'm pretty sure this was the first zombie movie I ever saw. If it wasn't, it was definitely one of the first few ones I saw. I love a good zombie movie, and this one brought something new to the table: fast zombies. Until 28 Days Later, zombies normally shuffled around and it was a little hard to believe the characters couldn't stop them or escape. (Yes, I know I'm trying to apply real world logic to zombie movies and how ridiculous that sounds). Fast zombies though, they open up a whole new world of story-telling and I like it. The film's a little gory, but that comes with the territory. They are dealing with zombies after all.



Scream Favorite Slasher Horror

I won't lie. The meta-ness of Scream is part of why I enjoy it so much. It's a slasher movie that is aware of, and comments on, the tropes slasher movies. Any time a film has a character explain how to survive the film, without it seeming ham-fisted in, that's a yes in my book. It's a slasher film that's aware of it being a slasher film, while at the same time subverting only some of the tropes it pokes fun at. I like it when films are self-aware. I like it even more when the narrative doesn't seem to brag about how smart it is about being self-aware. Scream strikes the perfect balance between being meta and patting itself on the back for being meta. The kills are also interesting  and entertaining to watch.

Those are a few of my favorite horror films. What are yours?