If You Like That... Read These (Sleepy Hollow)

 

Hey Bookdragons! Fall is Coming! (although let's be honest, September 1st is the beginning of the fall season to me.) I don't know about you, but I have plans to read all kinds of thrillers, mysteries, and spooky books to get the feeling of the season. And one of my favorite classic books and it's movie adaptation is the perfect fall read...

Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is the quintessential fall read and if you love it as much as I do you'll want to devour all the retellings. Retellings you say? Yes!! Retellings aren't just for fairy tales! There have been quite a few amazing Legend of Sleepy Hollow retellings and I'm here to tell you about them. Each of these are unique takes and reimaginings of the classic story. There's a little something for every reader. Most of these I've read and loved but there are a few that are still on my to-be-read list...

The Hollow (The Hollow Trilogy Book 1) by Jessica Verday

The Hollow trilogy by Jessica Verday is the first Sleepy Hollow retelling I read. It also blossomed my interest in perfume making. 

Wake the Hollow by Gaby Triana

While not my favorite Sleepy Hollow retelling, I did really enjoy this book. It's a standalone, so no cliffhanger endings. It also brings in one of my favorite female authors, Mary Shelley. Diversity alert: The main character Micaela is half Cuban. 

The Lantern's Ember by Colleen Houck

I almost don't want to include this book on this list since it was a near DNF for me but it is supposed to be a Sleepy Hollow retelling... before the author got sidetracked maybe? Anyway, I see some people on Goodreads liked it so I guess it's hit or miss. Like I always believe, you need to be the judge. You may love what I dislike and I may dislike what everyone else loves.

Crane (The Legends Saga Book 1) by Stacey Rourke

Crane is the most recent Sleepy Hollow retelling I've read and it's my second favorite after the Hollow Trilogy. Ireland is a spunky lead and I love that Stacey incorporated Washington Irving and Rip Van Winkle into the Legend's origin story. P.S. the second and third books bring in Edgar Allan Poe and H.G. Wells so if you love classic gothic lit you must read these books!

Before I move on to retellings I haven't read here's some Shameless Self Promotion...

Headless by Taylor Fenner

Headless is my new adult debut and much sexier than any of my other books. As for the retelling part, our heroine Cora is the Headless Horsewoman taking vengeance on the men of modern-day Sleepy Hollow. 

Grab a Copy!

The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel by Alyssa Palombo

This one sounds like an interesting historical fiction retelling and one of the few retellings I've seen set during the actual time period which The Legend of Sleepy Hollow takes place. And Katrina turning to witchcraft? Sign me up!

For all these books and more including tv show and movie novelizations visit:

Goodreads Listopia - Sleepy Hollow Retelling

Spooktoberthon Check In - Week 1 Progress

Hey Bookdragons! It's the 10th and I've already discovered some great spooky reads this month... 

Spooktoberthon Reading Progress

💀 No One’s Home by DM Pulley - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

💀 The Girl From the Otherside by Nagabe - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
💀 Piper by Jay Asher 🌟🌟🌟
💀 Mercy Thompson: Homecoming by Patricia Briggs - 🌟🌟
 💀 Crimson Peak: The Art of Darkness by Mark Salisbury and Guillermo del Toro - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
💀 The Last by Hanna Jameson - DNF @ 15%

💀 Follow You Home by Mark Edwards

Currently Reading

💀 The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Still to Read

💀 The Haunting of Beacon Hill by Ambrose Ibsen

💀 Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

💀 The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

💀 The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich 

💀 The Naida Tapes by Dawn Kurtagich 

💀 Slasher Girls and Monster Boys Anthology

💀 Crimson Peak by Nancy Holder

💀 Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics

💀 The Witch of Blackbird Pond

💀 Lucky Break by Carly Phillips

💀 The Hollow by Jessica Verday

💀 Creep by Eireann Corrigan

💀 Now Entering Addamsville by Franscesca Zappia

💀 The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

💀 City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

🍂 Spooktober Movie Progress 🍂

Watched

🍂 Practical Magic 

🍂 Carrie

🍂 The House of Wax (Vincent Price Version)

🍂 Addams Family  & Addams Family Values 

Still to Go

🍂 I Know What You Did Last Summer

🍂 I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

🍂 Halloween

🍂 Hocus Pocus

🍂 Scream 1-4

🍂 Halloweentown 1-4

🍂 Casper

🍂 An American Haunting

🍂 Sleepy Hollow

🍂 The Legend of Hell House

🍂 Prom Night

🍂 The Fog

🍂 The Haunted Mansion

🍂 Tower of Terror

🍂 Crimson Peak

🍂 IT

🍂 The Shining

🍂 Psycho

🍂 House of Wax (2005 Remake)

🍂 Swimfan

🍂 The Haunting

🍂 Friday the Thirteenth

🍂 Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls

🍂 Flatliners

🍂 Bad Times at the El Royale 

🍂 The Legend of Lucy Keyes

🍂 Solstice

🍂 When A Stranger Calls

History of Halloween #1

Halloween originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-een) when people would light bonfires to ward off evil spirits. Samhain is still celebrated today by Pagans all over the world as one of the 8 Wiccan Sabbats, Samhain in particular being Wiccan New Year. 

In modern times, Samhain marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the dark half of the year and it is a time to honor the dead as the veil between worlds is at its thinnest. Wiccans celebrate with bonfires, feasting (we Wiccans do love a good feast), divination, and leaving offerings out for deceased loved ones as they traverse the mortal plane. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Spooky Reads for Halloween

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme started by The Broke and the Bookish and currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween / Creepy Freebie

This week's TTT is a Halloween freebie so I'm listing 10 of my favorite spooky reads to binge around Halloween!

1. The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

2. And the Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich

3. Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

4. Slasher Girls and Monster Boys

5. Asylum by Madeleine Roux

6. There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

7. Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

8. Boy Heaven by Laura Kasischke

9. The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

10. Broken Things by Lauren Oliver

Do you like spooky reads around Halloween? What are some of your favorites?

Let me know in the comments or drop me a link to your TTT!

Happy Reading and Haunting Bookdragons!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Supernatural Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

Top Ten Tuesday - Halloween Freebie!

This week's TTT was a freebie prompt for whatever we wanted to do for Halloween and I picked Supernatural Characters. That's right, I'm counting down my top ten favorite non-human characters!

Rhysand

Elena Michaels

Myrnin

(My favorite mad scientist vampire who wears vampire bunny slippers)

The Darkling

The Goblin King

 Lorcan Salvaterre

Daemon Black

Gallowglass de Clermont

Amy Goodnight

(while not technically supernatural, Amy does come from a family of witches and knows how to handle ghosts)

Manon Blackbeak

To be honest, there are so many different supernatural character I could have picked - from vampires and werewolves to high fae and aliens and more, this just scratches the surface of some of my favorite characters - what are some of yours? 

Drop me a link to yours!

As always, happy reading bookdragons and have a bewitching Halloween!

- 💀Taylor

16 Novels That Remind Me of Halloween

Happy Halloween! 

To me, Halloween is the most magical of nights. Did you know that some believe that on Halloween the veil between this world and the afterlife is at its thinnest and spirits walk among us? Traditionally pumpkins were carved to ward off evil spirits that may come knocking. Personally, for me, Halloween traditions are filled with watching tons of horror movies, reading spooky novels, and maybe a tarot reading or two.

So in the spirit of my favorite holiday, here are some books that scream Halloween to me...

CLASSICS

1. Dracula by Bram Stoker

2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

3. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

4. The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

5. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

6. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

MODERN

7. The Hollow by Jessica Verday

8. Asylum by Madeleine Roux

9. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

10. Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

11. Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett

12. The Revenant by Sonia Gensler 

13. The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee

14. The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

15. Lucky Break by Carly Phillips (not spooky, but I love reading this at Halloween)

16. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (again, not scary but classic)

With so many more horror stories out there, what would you add to the list? Whatever you're reading or whatever you're doing this Halloween, I hope you're having a fantastic day!