Send Shivers Down Your Spine
Updated November 3, 2024
It’s beginning to feel a lot like Halloween and I’ve finished reading a few books as of late——including Clive Barker’s The Hellbound Heart——so I decided to put together a stack of potential Moratorium Library reads for October. I grabbed anything that felt like it fell into the horror, thriller, or just generally spooky genres off my shelves and will refer to the stack whenever I need something new to read.
I don’t expect to read all of these books, because there are eleven of them and I do, unfortunately, have other responsibilities and obligations beyond curling up in my warm bed with a cup of coffee or tea and reading. But here are the contenders for when I need them:
And from top to bottom, in no particular order:
You’d Look Better as a Ghost by Joanna Wallace - Esh!
Supermarket by Bobby Hall
Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey - DNF!
Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson
A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson - No thanks!
A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers - Enjoyed this quite a bit!
The House that Horror Built by Christina Henry - Kind of hated it!
How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLoui
Diavola by Jennifer Thorne
Out There Screaming, edited by Jordan Peele
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
I also usually use October as an excuse to catch up on any horror movies that are currently in theaters, that I missed in the last year, or that are classics or must-sees that have been on my list forever. I’m planning to attend the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival again this year, which will boost the number of spooky-scaries on my watched list, and have already watched Speak No Evil (dumb but fun, and I was mostly there for Scoot and Mackenzie!), Pearl (very good!), and Doctor Sleep (dumb!).
For now, here is a definitely-not-exhaustive list of movies I’d like to watch this month:
Saw: I am absolutely not a torture porn person, but I’ve heard good things about this first movie and I want to understand the hype. - Update: fantastic!!
Signs: Another one of those “how have I never watched this??” movies. - Update: excellent acting, lots of familiar faces
Trap: Because Britt and I missed seeing it in theaters, which was just cruel tbh.
Smile 2: I randomly watched the first one earlier this year (in broad daylight) and it honestly freaked me out in a really fun way.
The Substance: One of my authors said it was good. - Update: they had me in the first half, not gonna lie
The Hills Have Eyes: Yet another classic I haven’t seen.
Drag Me to Hell: Looks fun and I somehow haven’t yet watched it.
Lisa Frankenstein: Does this count as a horror movie?
I Saw the TV Glow: I don’t really have an idea of what this is about, but I like the vibe. - Update: very slow!!
Hellraiser: I watched for the first time in just the last few years and, honestly, I kind of hated it, if I remember correctly! But after reading the novella, I want to give it another shot.
Halloween: A must. - Update: as good as always
H20: Because obviously. - Update: no notes
As the air gets cooler and the sun sets earlier, I also find myself drawn back to my grandma hobbies. Nothing says spooky season like knitting a scarf while rewatching The Faculty for the 500th time! I almost forget that I have creative/artistic hobbies——beyond writing——when it’s nice out, so October is the perfect time to dig back into my knitting, watercolors, and beading.
I’d like to update both the reading and watching lists as fall progresses and we get closer to the main event on October 31, because I like lists and because maybe you’d also like a list of things to get you in the spooky mood. Keep an eye on this post and on upcoming Sunday Missives for updates!
The Full List of Spooky October Watches
(And Some One-Word Reviews)
Speak No Evil - technically seen in September, but I got to go to an early screening thanks to Brooklyn Horror, so I’m counting it as the start of spooky season; bonkers!
Pearl - good!
Doctor Sleep - eh!
I Saw the TV Glow - slow!
Final Summer - bad!
Saw - fantastic!!!
The Ring - AHHH
Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later - perfect
Halloween - classic
Sorority Girl - (Does this count?)
Black Eyed Susan - Brooklyn Horror; bad??
Dracula (1931 Spanish version) - Brooklyn Horror; fun!
The Substance - NO!!
The Soul Eater - French
Maxxxine - perfect!
It Follows - rewatch
Signs - Acting! (with a capital A)
Halloween - again
Time Cut - cute!
