The air has just recently gotten a bite of chill to it, particularly in the early mornings and late evenings. I’ve been sleeping with the windows cracked and, when I wake up in the morning, I’m curled up tight under the covers, hiding from the cold. Fall is officially here. This was the perfect time of year to pick up We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. Jackson is probably best known for her short story, The Lottery, something I read in […]
“I’m only twelve. But I’ve been that for a long time.”
I don’t read a lot of horror, nor do I watch a lot of horror, because generally speaking, I’m not the kind of person who derives entertainment or thrills from being scared. A little suspense is great, and I can also handle a pretty good amount of gore, so it’s hard to say what goes from acceptable to nightmare fuel, but in any case, when it gets to be too much, I’m out. So, a book, movie, or show labeled “horror” needs a lot of […]
“You think I’m psycho don’t you, mama”
Fifteen year old John Wayne Cleaver might be a sociopath. He finds it almost impossible to empathize with other people. He has a fascination with murder; specifically serial killers. He has one friend whom he can barely stand but keeps around because he wants to keep up the appearance of not being a loner. His one pleasure in life is working in the embalming room of his family’s mortuary. But despite all this, John Wayne Cleaver is not a serial killer. In fact, he has […]
The Hannibal of books
The Devourers is one of those books where I liked it so much that I don’t even know what to say about it. I read it in one sitting, ensconced in a fever dream, and because it was so intense and then over so quickly I had such a hangover afterward, wanting more. It’s like the Hannibal of books: fellow fans of the (too-short) TV show will understand when I say that it has that same quality of being breathtaking and captivating, literally beautiful, but […]