Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Shiver Me Timbers

It's a chilly windy October day. Big masses of clouds push around in a bright blue sky. I love this weather. Trees are swaying, flouncing what's left of their leaves. The groundcover greenery is dead. Halloween decorations are going up. That's one of my goals today, make the place look a little spookish.

Last night I finished "Something Wicked This Way Comes". This is at least the 5th time I've read it, but the first time I noticed how very Stephen King-like it is. Which of course is backwards, because Bradbury wrote it in 1962. Actually, Stephen King is very Bradbury-horror-like. Next will be The Haunting of Hill House, the Jackson story that creeps me right out. I haven't decided whether it'll be Her Fearful Symmetry or Heart-shaped Box after that. Or maybe I'll take up The Best Ghost Stories of MR James.

If you've never read any James ghost stories, here are a couple to start you up:
"A Warning to the Curious"
http://www.litgothic.com/Texts/warning.html

"Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad"
http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/owhistle.htm

And here's more than you'll ever need to know about M.R. James, himself.
http://www.thin-ghost.org/
Most of his stories are also available on that site, and I highly recommend "The Scrapbook of Canon Alberic". Talk about shivers.

And for those who like the real classics, here's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Washington_Irving/The_Legend_of_Sleepy_Hollow/The_Legend_Of_Sleepy_Hollow_p1.html

Enjoy a nice spooky read tonight. Pleasant dreams...

10 comments:

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

I am always afraid of nightmares after reading or seeing anything of that genre.

Anonymous said...

I read those two and bookmarked the rest. Thanks for sharing.

Austan said...

Arleen- The last thing that gave me a nightmare was "The Blair Witch Project." Poe gave me nightmares when I was a kid.

Austan said...

Lawless- Welcome! More to come! :)

sdt (a.k.a. stevil) said...

Ah, "The Haunting of Hill House", my favorite. I read that when I was a kid and I can still recite the opening and closing paragraph by heart. One of the few things that every really creeped me out. I remember liking "We Have Always Lived In The Castle" too - although not quite as good as Hill House.

Allyson said...

hill house! hill house! heart-shaped! heart-shaped! horroray!!

Elephant's Child said...

I love Something Wicked... I must hunt my copy up again. A truly brilliant man.

Austan said...

Stevil- yes, your reciting that paragraph hit me like my replying, "and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest" to you when we first met. Shirley Jackson in da house!

Austan said...

Allyson- silly person. :)

Austan said...

EC- it loses nothing as you age. Now I identify with the father. ;)