FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHTS: RULES FOR VANISHING SPOTLIGHT

Hey Bookdragons! Welcome to the 4th installment of the Friday Night Frights meme!

How It Works:
On your blog feature a horror novel you loved (it doesn't have to be a new release) and recommend a horror movie you love then come back here and post your link in the comments! That's it, as simple as that! 

Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall

In the faux-documentary style of The Blair Witch Project comes the campfire story of a missing girl, a vengeful ghost, and the girl who is determined to find her sister--at all costs.

Once a year, the path appears in the forest and Lucy Gallows beckons. Who is brave enough to find her--and who won't make it out of the woods?

It's been exactly one year since Sara's sister, Becca, disappeared, and high school life has far from settled back to normal. With her sister gone, Sara doesn't know whether her former friends no longer like her...or are scared of her, and the days of eating alone at lunch have started to blend together. When a mysterious text message invites Sara and her estranged friends to "play the game" and find local ghost legend Lucy Gallows, Sara is sure this is the only way to find Becca--before she's lost forever. And even though she's hardly spoken with them for a year, Sara finds herself deep in the darkness of the forest, her friends--and their cameras--following her down the path. Together, they will have to draw on all of their strengths to survive. The road is rarely forgiving, and no one will be the same on the other side.

What I loved about Rules for Vanishing:

This book is classic urban legend horror that will transport the reader back to their childhood, telling scary stories at sleepovers or around the campfire. Lucy Gallows is a local urban legend in Sara's hometown and her sister disappeared a year ago chasing down the truth. Desperate for answers Sara and her friends find the path and try their best to follow the "rules" as they search for Becca. But in true horror fashion, they will encounter tragedy along the way and not everyone who steps foot on the path will come out alive on the other side. It's eerie, creepy, and mesmerizing. I read this book in a single day and I still can't get over it. 

Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall releases September 24th. Preorder your copy now!

Movie Rec: IT: Chapter Two

I have been waiting for this movie since I saw the first half. It felt like an eternity in between so I'm not the least bit embarrassed to say that I arrived at the movie theater before it even opened this morning and was the first person in the door to catch the 10:30 am showing. 

"In the summer of 1989, evil entity Pennywise terrorized a band of children from Derry, Maine. Twenty-seven years later, Pennywise returns, but this time the group is all grown up and ready to destroy the malevolent being."

First let's talk about the casting. I love James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain so their being in the second chapter of the it remake was an added bonus. I thought overall the people who cast Chapter Two did a fantastic job finding adult actors who resembled the child actor counterparts. And can we talk for a minute about the hotness that is Jay Ryan (who plays the adult version of Ben)?!?! Bill Hader also shone as the adult version of Ritchie - actually I think his character was the one I felt the more emotion toward because of his struggle with his identity. It was a powerful portrayal. 

Being the second half of the IT story we see the kids from the first movie in flashbacks as their adult counterparts return to Derry to finally conquer Pennywise. It gives us extra insight into the aspect of their lives and their beings that we didn't see in the first movie.

Overall, I thought this movie was even better than the first part and even though it's a nearly 3 hour movie I didn't lose interest in the story. The plot is richer, the scares are bigger, and Stephen King even makes a cameo! If you're not afraid of clowns and are looking for a good scary movie head on down to your local movie theater and check this one out!

Friday Night Frights: Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark

Hey Bookdragons! Welcome to the 4th installment of the Friday Night Frights meme!

How It Works:
On your blog feature a horror novel you loved (it doesn't have to be a new release) and recommend a horror movie you love then come back here and post your link in the comments! That's it, as simple as that! 

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

The iconic anthology series of horror tales that's soon to be a highly anticipated feature film! 

Stephen Gammell’s artwork from the original Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark appears in all its spooky glory in this paper-over-board edition. Read if you dare!

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a timeless collection of chillingly scary tales and legends, in which folklorist Alvin Schwartz offers up some of the most alarming tales of horror, dark revenge, and supernatural events of all time.

And don't miss More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Scary Stories 3!

What I loved about Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark:

This book takes me back to my childhood. Staying at a friends house or at a birthday party and telling stories to scare each other into sleeping with our eyes open. These books were actually really popular when I was in elementary school and I remember checking them out from the local library but I admit, I was a kid who was afraid of everything and was too chicken to give these stories a read back then. Now as an adult I'm reading them for - believe it or not - the first time and realizing they're not so scary after all. 

Movie Rec: The Fog

If you've been a follower of this blog since the beginning or have read any of my paranormal/urban fantasy novels you will know that The Fog is one of my all-time favorite movies. The remake, not the 1980 original, which shocks most people because it's usually the other way around. 

"Selma Blair, Tom Welling and Maggie Grace star in this creepy thriller about an island town off the coast of Oregon that's forced to contend with some unwelcome visitors from its past: the spirits of lepers and sailors aboard a ship that the hamlet's forefathers had steered astray on purpose. Those aboard the doomed vessel all wound up lost in the fog forever. Now, they're back from the mist, eager to exact revenge on the descendants of their murderers."

The first time I saw this movie I was 13. It was Halloween night and I was having a Halloween sleepover so three of my friends and I went to see The Fog. I had not seen said 1980 original, which is fine since this remake has a completely different (and in my honest opinion much better) plot. 

The Fog begins with a ghastly crime. Four men sail out through the fog to kill a ship full of lepers who were just looking for a new place to call their own. Instead, the men they made a deal with stole their gold and anything of value and burned and sunk the ship killing everyone aboard.

Now 150+ years later the crimes of the past will be visited upon the heads of the descendants of those four foolish men. But why now? What made them come back? Could it be the return of Elizabeth (Maggie Grace) to the small island of Antonio Bay, Oregon?

If you like supernatural horror, reincarnation, and a great movie sound track you need to add The Fog to your queue right this minute!

Friday Night Frights: Bird Box Spotlight & Movie Rec

Hey Bookdragons! Welcome to the 3rd week of the Friday Night Frights meme!

How It Works:
On your blog feature a horror novel you loved (it doesn't have to be a new release) and recommend a horror movie you love then come back here and post your link in the comments! That's it, as simple as that! 

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

Now a Netflix film starring Sandra Bullock, Sarah Paulson, Rosa Salazar and John Malkovich!

Written with the narrative tension of The Road and the exquisite terror of classic Stephen King, Bird Box is a propulsive, edge-of-your-seat horror thriller, set in an apocalyptic near-future world—a masterpiece of suspense from the brilliantly imaginative Josh Malerman.

Something is out there . . .

Something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remain, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now, that the boy and girl are four, it is time to go. But the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat—blindfolded—with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them. But is it man, animal, or monster?

Engulfed in darkness, surrounded by sounds both familiar and frightening, Malorie embarks on a harrowing odyssey—a trip that takes her into an unseen world and back into the past, to the companions who once saved her. Under the guidance of the stalwart Tom, a motely group of strangers banded together against the unseen terror, creating order from the chaos. But when supplies ran low, they were forced to venture outside—and confront the ultimate question: in a world gone mad, who can really be trusted?

Interweaving past and present, Josh Malerman’s breathtaking debut is a horrific and gripping snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page.

What I loved about Bird Box (the book):
Bird Box isn't strictly a horror novel. It's more sci-fi horror. 

What Bird Box is, is a fast-paced novel about the worst kind of monster... the monster we cannot see. An unseen threat that robs people of their minds should they "see" whatever it is that drives them to kill themselves. Nobody is safe, the madness could come for anyone. 

Bird Box moves back and forth between past and present, from the beginning of the occurrences to Malorie's journey down the river with the two children. 

I love that this book is set in Michigan. I love the idea of the madness and the need to cover one's eyes. It's a whole new kind of terror than the standard haunting or psycho killer.

Movie Rec: Bird Box

I didn't know what to expect when I watched this movie last Christmas. I didn't expect to become as engrossed in it as I did. I didn't expect to love it as much as I do. I didn't expect for it to stay with me 7+ months since the first time I watched it, like I just watched it yesterday.

"Five years after an ominous unseen presence drives most of society to suicide, a survivor and her two children must make it through a forest and river blindfolded in a desperate bid to reach safety."

Sandra Bullock is fantastic in this movie, really she should get some sort of award for her performance in my opinion. The supporting cast is great as well and the screen play brings the novel to life in horrifying detail. 

I love that this movie didn't stick spot on to the novel, instead changing a few small details to increase the tension. 

I don't scare easily, but I know a lot of people found this movie bone-chillingly terrifying, so if you're surfing Netflix and in the mood for a truly scary movie tonight, give Bird Box a watch. You can thank me for the nightmares later! 

Friday Night Frights - Teeth in the Mist Spotlight and Movie Rec

Hey Bookdragons! Since this meme went over really well last week I'm making it a weekly thing and you're all free to join in! Just tell me a horror novel you loved (it doesn't have to be a new release) and recommend a horror movie you love! That's it, as simple as that! 

Teeth In The Mist by Dawn Kurtagich

Before the birth of time, a monk uncovers the Devil's Tongue and dares to speak it. The repercussions will be felt for generations...

Sixteen-year-old photography enthusiast Zoey has been fascinated by the haunted, burnt-out ruins of Medwyn Mill House for as long as she can remember--so she and her best friend, Poulton, run away from home to explore them. But are they really alone in the house? And who will know if something goes wrong?

In 1851, seventeen-year-old Roan arrives at the Mill House as a ward--one of three, all with something to hide from their new guardian. When Roan learns that she is connected to an ancient secret, she must escape the house before she is trapped forever.

1583. Hermione, a new young bride, accompanies her husband to the wilds of North Wales where he plans to build the largest water mill and mansion in the area. But rumors of unholy rituals lead to a tragic occurrence and she will need all her strength to defeat it.

Three women, centuries apart, drawn together by one Unholy Pact. A pact made by a man who, more than a thousand years later, may still be watching...

What I loved about Teeth in the Mist:
Dawn Kurtagich's books are all fantastic in their own way, but this one might be my favorite. Set in three times, we have Hermione, a newlywed bride in the 1580s who everyone begins to think is a witch or a demon and she's the reason her husband's workers, then her children, and her husband begin to disappear mysteriously.

Then in the 1850s we have Roan who is sent to live with a stranger at Mill House (the same house Hermione's husband was building in the 1500s) after the death of her oft-times cruel father. She's got a dark side to her that her father both nurtured and feared. But is she the daughter of the devil? 

Finally, we have Zoey in the present time who goes to Mill House looking for answers years after her father went there (being obsessed with the place and looking for answers of his own about his origins) and lost his mind. 

Mill House is the stuff of nightmares. Hard to get to, dilapidated and humored haunted, the sight of unexplained disappearances, and perhaps home to the devil himself. I love haunted house books but this creepy tale takes things to a whole new level. 

Did I mention this is a retelling of Faustus? It's an awesome horror-fantasy mash-up and I loved every minute of it! 

Movie Rec: Jennifer's Body

Okay, let me be frank: this movie isn't all that great but it kind of sticks with you after you're done watching it. And for some reason it reminds me of the book Last Things by Jaqueline West... I get those same kind of vibes.

"After a supernatural romp with a satanic emo band, hot cheerleader Jennifer (Megan Fox) is transformed into a demon with an insatiable appetite for high school boys."

We have Megan Fox, who I always tend to think of as the mean girl character, Amanda Seyfried who plays the annoying best friend (such a weird pairing you wonder how that happened), and Adam Brody as the lead singer of the satanic emo band. Adam Brody looks like someone who would play in an emo band. 

We start out seeing Amanda Seyfried's "Needy" in jail but instead of the innocent mouselike character she is for the rest of the movie she's a bit of a badass. 

The movie backpedals to before and we see Jennifer and Needy together as Jennifer convinces Needy to go to a bar to see an emo band nobody has ever heard of. It's clearly a local dive bar with small town people in it and the band is so clearly a fish out of water it's nearly comical. But Jennifer's into it despite Needy's concerns. 

A fire breaks out, Jennifer leaves with the band, and hours later shows up at Needy's covered in blood which she then vomits all over the kitchen floor. Gross right? Well apparently the band thought she was a virgin and tried to sacrifice her for ultimate fame and fortune but it backfires and Jennifer becomes a monster.

The rest of the move basically dissolves into Needy trying to stop Jennifer from eating all the teenage boys in town, including Needy's loser boyfriend.

I've heard this movie called a "cult classic" and it's not really scary, just sort of stupid, so if you're looking for a low-budget-no-talent-spoof-of-a-horror-movie to watch with a bunch of friends on a boring Friday night then I definitely recommend this one. 

Friday Night Frights - Book Spotlight and Movie Rec

Hey Bookdragons! If you've known me a while you know that I love all things horror and lately I've been in a read-all-the-horror mood. This week a really awesome horror novel released so tonight I'm spotlighting it and a crazy-a$$ed horror movie I watched about a week ago...

The Haunted by Danielle Vega

From Danielle Vega, YA’s answer to Stephen King, comes a new paranormal novel about dark family secrets, deep-seated vengeance, and the horrifying truth that evil often lurks in the unlikeliest of places.

Hendricks Becker-O’Malley is new in town, and she’s bringing baggage with her. With a dark and wild past, Hendricks doesn’t think the small town her parents moved her to has much to offer her in terms of excitement. She plans on laying low, but when she’s suddenly welcomed into the popular crowd at school, things don’t go as expected. 

Hendricks learns from her new friends that the fixer-upper her parents are so excited about is notorious in town. Local legend says it’s haunted. Hendricks doesn’t believe it. Until she’s forced to. Blood-curdling screams erupt from the basement, her little brother wakes up covered in scratches, and something, or someone pushes her dad down the stairs. With help from the mysterious boy next door, Hendricks makes it her mission to take down the ghosts . . . if they don’t take her first.

What I loved about The Haunted:
I've heard a lot about Danielle Vega from bookstagram and blogger friends but this book was my first by her. It drew me in because the premise is right up my alley. I love haunted house books with twisted pasts and this one reminded me of a short story I wrote several years back, Night of Terror. Which of course means I was bound to love The Haunted from start to finish.

We have a teenage girl with a mysterious, tragic past whose parents move her to a small town in the middle of nowhere for a "clean slate," and they just happen to move into the most infamous house in town. 

We have the basic "cool" kids who immediately claim her as one of their own because of their morbid fascination with the girl's new house, an "aw-shucks" type of love interest that makes you want to roll your eyes, and the dark, brooding boy-next-door whose own tragic past is tied to "the house."

And the best part? Freaky s**t starts to happen in the house. Scary, don't stay home alone, turn all the lights on, become paranoid that you're going insane kind of stuff. Stuff that makes our main character's parents think she had PTSD from her past issues. But what do they know, they're like never home. 

I devoured this book in one sitting. It has been ages since that happened but I had to keep reading to see what was going to happen next. It reads like Hollywood's next blockbuster horror movie. This author definitely nails the chill factor and I can't wait to go back and read more of her work. 

Movie Rec: Suspiria

Okay, let me start at the beginning. I read about this movie months ago in a magazine and knowing absolutely nothing about it other than it was a horror movie I added it to my Netflix Queue. It finally made it to the top of my queue and I put it in on a crappy Saturday... or was it Sunday... afternoon. I still did not know much about the plot besides what the Netflix envelope said...

"After American ballet student Susie Bannion travels to Germany to attend a prestigious dance academy, she soon discovers that the school has a sinister history -- and is still harboring deadly secrets."

Apparently it's a remake of an Italian made movie of the same name from 1977. I have not seen that version so I cannot comment on similarities/differences.

The movie begins with a somewhat flighty girl visiting her therapist unexpectedly. She's erratic and inconsolable - rambling incoherently in both English and German. She keeps insisting "they are after her". they're "witches". "demons." She leaves the therapist's office never to be seen again. 

Enter Dakota Johnson's character, Susie. She's a talented dancer (and former Amish girl) who caught the attention of the head of a prestigious ballet company in Berlin (during the Berlin Wall's era). She auditions for the company and the three witches... erm, I mean teachers... don't think she has what it takes but her performance somehow mystically calls out to the head of the company and she's in.

Soon Susie is the star of the company, but when she dances bad things happen to others. To those that get in the way of the women that run the ballet company. Is the power in the prima ballerina's movement? Or is something more sinister connecting with her? Are the women in charge of the ballet company witches? demons? And what do they want from their star pupil?

I'll be frank with you: this movie is weird and long, and it lags a little in places and it's partially in German and its grotesque in places and did I mention that it's weird? I kind of didn't understand the movie as a whole until the end yet I was almost in a trance, unable to turn it off. My grandmother hated it, but she slept through most of it so I won't hold it against her. 

If you like strange, artistic indie horror flicks made in Europe then you need to check this movie out!