And just like that, October draws to a close. The costumes have all been purchased, the candy set aside in decorative bowls, and the pumpkin enthusiasts among us have already exhausted our loved ones” patience for pumpkin-flavored everything-on-earth.
With the end of the Halloween season comes our fourth and final installment of A Monstrous Month. We’ve done children’s stories, YA series, and zombie lit—all exemplary fare for spooky recommendations. But in this fourth week I’d like to branch out a bit and highlight those books that are, it’s fair to say, A Different Breed of Scary. The sort of scary that keeps adults up at night, not for its direct representation of a particular demon (as tends to spook children), but rather because they, these stories, force us into long-vacant areas of discomfort, places our mind would never roam without coercion because they leave upon us such an unavoidable impression, or worse: they frighten us because they ring so true. Continue reading
