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Dark Tales
Dark Tales
Shirley Jackson | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is a really generous collection of short stories. There are 17 in this book in total, with the longest being only 24 pages (which feels like loads after reading 10 page stories practically all the way through)!

<b><i>The Possibility of Evil - 3 stars</i></b>
I wasn’t all that interested in this short until right at the very end. The last line was fantastically horrible.

<b><i>Louisa, Please Come Home - 3 stars</i></b>
Hm. This one was good but not great. It was sad, more than anything.

<b><i>Paranoia - 5 stars</i></b>
This story was great! It gripped me right from the start and had my heart pounding as Mr Beresford was rushing to get home and away from “light hat”. Fantastically creepy ending too.

<b><i>The Honeymoon of Mrs Smith - 2 stars</i></b>
I liked the prose and everything but I didn’t get it? Probably me just being stupid but… yeah.

<b><i>The Story We Used to Tell - 3 stars</i></b>
There was certainly an eeriness about this story but I didn’t like how it took on a sort of paranormal turn, when the rest of the stories have been based on human nature.

<b><i>The Sorcerer's Apprentice - 2 stars </i></b>
This one was just really dull in comparison to the other ones.

<b><i>Jack the Ripper - 4 stars </i></b>
I liked this one because it was creepy and kind of left you to your own imagination. I love any kind of story that focuses on the Ripper because everyone makes him their own.

<b><i>The Beautiful Stranger - 3 stars </i></b>
If you can’t already tell from my previous mini reviews, I prefer the creepy stories, and this wasn’t that, but it was still an interesting story, just not my favourite.


<b><i>All She Said Was Yes - 4 stars</i></b>
I liked this story because it was a little bit different and the ending has you going “No! No! Don’t do it!”. I like it when a book conjures up that emotion from you.

<b><i>What a Thought - 4 stars</i></b>
Hasn’t just about everyone had a murderous thoughts before? This was a good story because I could relate to some of it. (That all sounds so bad, don’t worry, I’m not planning on ever killing anyone).

<b><i>The Bus - 4 stars</i></b>
I really liked this one! It got super creepy when she arrived at the old house and I loved the twist ending!

<b><i>Family Treasures - 3 stars</i></b>
I enjoyed this one all the way up to then end. Girls are so terribly bitchy, Jackson got the atmosphere in the house perfectly right!

<b><i>A Visit - 3 stars</i></b>
I liked how the mystery built in this story but I didn’t particularly like how to story ended. I also felt that the timings were a little all over the place, which confused me at some parts.

<b><i>The Good Wife - 3 stars</i></b>
I didn’t mind this story but it was very predictable. I was hoping the end wouldn’t be what I was expecting it to be, but alas.

<b><i>The Man in the Woods - 4 stars</i></b>
This story had a bit of a fairy tale feel to it, which made it a lot more enjoyable for me.

<b><i>Home - 4 stars</i></b>
OK, so I know I said earlier in this review that I didn’t like one of the stories taking on a paranormal element, but I liked it in this one! I kind of reminded me of Beetlejuice because of the bridge lol.

<b><i>The Summer People - 4 stars</i></b>
Eep, this one was creepy! I liked the whole creepy local community vibe it had to it and how the Allison’s were no longer welcome… Very good end to this collection of shorts.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books UK for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.</i>
  
We Sold Our Souls
We Sold Our Souls
Grady Hendrix | 2018 | Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Creepy novel
Horrorstör was my 4th favorite book I read in 2015. Considering only "Ready Player One", "13 Reasons Why", and "Autopsy Room Four", a little-known work by Stephen King were the only ones to beat it that is quite impressive.

I was so excited when I learned "We Sold Our Souls" by Grady Hendrix was being published. After reading it, I am just as excited to write how much I enjoyed it. First let me say, I am and always will be, a metalhead.

We Sold Our Souls involves a broken up metal band who did not end on the best of terms.As you can imagine, their reuniting is not everyone sitting around and singing Kumbaya. Hendrix through flashbacks shows how the band broke up and why they need to fight together. I would have loved to hear Dürt Würk play. Mentioned throughout the story are well known heavy metal bands that I have to turn up anytime I hear them. Each chapter's title is the name of a metal album.

The novel did not scary me but it was creepy and definitely worth reading. I will be keeping Grady Hendrix at the top of my "authors to read anything they publish" list.

Published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 1/31/19.
  
EH
Every House is Haunted
Ian Rogers | 2012
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Standouts:
Cabin D - Intriguing beginning gave way to fascinating ending.
The Nanny - This just made for a neat ghost story.
The Cat - I could use a cat like this, but I don't know if I'd survive.
Charlotte's Frequency - Creepy and weird. Me likey. After reading, I wondered who'd win in a Cat vs. Charlotte battle. <spoiler>I vote for draw, or else they team up and annihilate humanity. That's probably more likely.</spoiler>
The Tattletail - Kinda cute, actually.
Inheritor - I kinda saw where this was headed but it still made for a darned good yarn.
The Candle - Appropriately creepy and a good book ender although I'm not exactly sure what the heck happened.

Ho-hum
Autumnology - I get it, but I think I'd get it more when I'm an old geezer. Physically, not just in mind.
The Dark and the Young - This was just too long and explained things too much but with little point.
Woods - I liked the thought behind this but the ending just didn't do anything for me.
Relaxed Best - In a different anthology, I might have liked this better as I like noir, but I just didn't care for where it went.
Twillingate - Meh.

All the rest of the tales fell somewhere in between awesome and meh, but even in the Ho-hum category, I didn't actually hate any of the stories.
3.5 stars
  
Dazed and Confused (1993)
Dazed and Confused (1993)
1993 | Comedy
Soundtrack (0 more)
I will never not watch this movie
Dazed and Confused is a great movie with an even better soundtrack. I dont know if it accurately represented the times because I wasnt born in that era, but the movie sure made it look good. Plus it introduced us to people who are now movie stars, so there's that.
The movie is primarily a Seinfeld, which means it's much afoot about nothing, except for one character going through some growing pains and sticking it to "the Man", i.e. his football coach. But really it's a bunch of high school seniors living much cooler lives than I did at that age. And one lucky freshman who mostly avoids getting hazed.
Then there's Matthew McConaughey, being borderline creepy and offering up the most quotable lines from the movie. Who doesn't recognize "Alright alright alright"? Or "I keep getting older, but they stay the same age"? (That's the creepy part). Somehow, Matthew made it seem funny instead of gross, which I guess is why he has an Oscar now.
I feel like this is one of those movies that is a rite of passage. You know, when someone admits to not having seen this movie I look at them like they shouldn't be trusted or like they just landed on Earth. It should definitely be seen by every teenager on the planet.
  
The Addams Family (2019)
The Addams Family (2019)
2019 | Animation, Comedy, Family
Creepy, Kooky, Mysterious, Spooky and Ooky
"They're creepy and they're kooky
Mysterious and spooky
They're all together ooky
The Addams family
Their house is a museum
Where people come to see 'em
They really are a scream
The Addams family
Neat
Sweet
Petite
So get a witches shawl on
A broomstick you can crawl on
We're gonna pay a call on
The Addams family"

A song that everybody knows or should know. If you have seen the 1964 tv show or the 1991 movie or the 1993 sequel movie. The addams family is loved by all. And this movie is really good.

It takes elements from the oringal tv show and the movies and mixs it up.

The Plot: Members of the mysterious and spooky Addams family -- Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley, Wednesday, Uncle Fester and Grandma -- are readily preparing for a visit from their even creepier relatives. But trouble soon arises when shady TV personality Margaux Needler realizes that the Addams' eerie hilltop mansion is standing in the way of her dream to sell all the houses in the neighborhood.

You got to love the charcters, you got to love their personalty, you got to love that their mysterious, spooky, creppy, kooky and ooky.

This is a good film, despite what the critics have said. Kids and their family should see this film.
  
Boylan House
Boylan House
Ron Ripley | 2015 | Horror, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
81 of 250
Kindle
Boylan House
By Ron Ripley

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

For nearly three and a half centuries, the Boylan House has stood at the end of Meeting House Road. And something in that house has been killing boys for centuries.The town of Monson is a quaint and quiet New England town. Yet the house is terrifying and has been for as long as anyone can remember. Adults put the thing out of mind and ignore the fears of their children, admonishing them to stay away.Too many boys have vanished into the swamps behind the house. Bodies never recovered. Nothing ever recovered. The families are left with their memories and the disturbing thought that the Boylan House had something to do with it.Mason Philips knows better than that. He knows that there's something in the house. Something evil. Something hunting children from time to time. And Mason has decided that it's time for the killing to stop.

I am really enjoying reading this author at the minute I’m currently working my way through his Haunted series. This was very creepy and a good horror although reading it in the middle of the night in the dark added to the creepy. Very good author for those that love old fashioned scary.
  
American Horror Story  - Season 2
American Horror Story - Season 2
2012 | Horror
Horror TV doesn't get much better
The second season on AHS, also known as 'Asylum' is fantastic, and in my opinion, still the best season to date.

The anthology template applied to AHS is given it first workout here - it's great to see familiar faces from the first season, albeit playing completely different characters. And the characters here are really something.
Sarah Paulson, Zachary Quinto, Joseph Fiennes, Evan Peters, Lizzie Brocheré, James Cromwell, Lily Rabe - they're all amazing in their own ways. Each character has several layers to them,lacing mystery and intrigue throughout Asylum to keep you guessing.

The unmistakable star of Asylum though is of course Jessica Lange.
Here character Sister Jude is an incredible villain for the most part, and equally sympathetic in other parts. Jessica Lange plays the part with aplomb, obviously enjoying every second of it, and is the main reason why this season is such a stand out.

The tone of Asylum is a lot more full on than Murder House - it's nastier, gorier, funnier, darker.
The cinematography is pretty bang on throughout, spoiling us with creepy shot after creepy shot.

It's honestly great, hard to find much to dislike. The hammier elements in AHS are often overdone and what ultimately stop this show from reaching perfection, but Asylum is as close as it has come for now.