Prepare yourselves, Horror October is back!
Autumn is the best time of year to read all of those books you’ve been too scared to open and to curl up on the sofa to watch you favourite scary movie, so once again I’m dedicating a whole month to doing just that. Horror October #4 is here!
However, if you’re not a fan of horror, do not fret. As ever, I’m using the term quite loosely and hope there will be something to suit everyone.
I’m also super-excited to be doing something a little different this year, and I need you guys to get involved. Keep reading if you dare…
Here’s what’s coming up:
1. The Books
I doubt I’ll get through all of these within the month but I’m going to give it a bloody good try. Click the links to visit their Goodreads pages.
New & Upcoming Releases
Haunt Me ~ Liz Kessler
Joe wakes up from a deep sleep to see his family leave in a removals van. Where they’ve gone, he has no idea. Erin moves house and instantly feels at home in her new room. Even if it appears she isn’t the only one living in it. Bit by bit, Erin and Joe discover that they have somehow found a way across the ultimate divide – life and death. Bound by their backgrounds, a love of poetry and their growing feelings for each other, they are determined to find a way to be together.
Joe’s brother, Olly, never cared much for poetry. He was always too busy being king of the school – but that all changed when Joe died. And when an encounter in the school corridor brings him face to face with Erin, he realises how different things really are – including the kind of girl he falls for.
Two brothers. Two choices. Will Erin’s decision destroy her completely, or can she save herself before she is lost forever?
Expected publication: October 6th 2016 by Orion Children’s Books
Someone has begun targeting vampires.
Vampire leaders of the thirteen Houses attribute the string of recent losses to over-zealous vampire hunters. Only Cicatrice, the most ancient and powerful vampire in the world, suspects that the semi-legendary Hunter of the Dead may be the real culprit.
Carter Price, a vampire hunter who despises the way his profession is becoming centralized and corporatized, begins to suspect the Hunter of the Dead is back, too – and no longer distinguishing between vampires and mortals. Against his better judgment, Price agrees to work with Cicatrice.
The uneasy allies attempt to uncover the truth about the Hunter, while a vampire civil war brews in the background. But perhaps most difficult of all, they must contend with their new apprentices, who seem to be falling in love with each other against every rule of man and monster…
Published: August 15th 2016 by Sinister Grin Press
Reckless 1: The Petrified Flesh ~ Cornelia Funke
Enter the magical world behind the Mirrors…
Jacob has uncovered the doorway to another world, hidden behind a mirror. It is a place of dark magic and enchanted objects, scheming dwarves and fearsome ogres, fairies born from water and men born from stone.
Here, he hunts for treasure and seeks adventure in the company of Fox – a beautiful, shape-shifting girl, who guides and guards him.
But now Jacob’s younger brother has followed him into the mirrored world, and all that was freedom has turned to fear. Because a deadly curse has been spoken; and Jacob must risk his life to reverse it, before his brother is turned to stone forever…
Revised and updated by Cornelia Funke, The Petrified Flesh is the first book in the thrilling Reckless series.
Published: September 29th by Pushkin Press
The Travelling Bag and other Ghostly Stories ~ Susan Hill
Walter Craig was a clever scientist. As a young man he took away all the honours and prizes and some of his work was ground-breaking. But after he became seriously ill, his genius faded, and he needed the help of an assistant. When Silas Webb was appointed to the job he seemed the perfect choice, but he always preferred to work alone, even in secret. Then, quite suddenly, Webb disappeared.
Why ?
Later, Craig opens a prestigious scientific journal and finds a paper, containing his own work, in detail, together with the significant results he had worked out. The research is his and his alone. But the author of the paper is Dr Silas Webb.
Craig determines that he will hunt Webb down and exact revenge. Were it not for a terrifying twist of circumstance, he might have succeeded.
Published: September 29th 2016 by Profile Books
The Daemoniac ~ Kat Ross
It’s August of 1888, just three weeks before Jack the Ripper will begin his grisly spree in the London slum of Whitechapel, and another serial murderer is stalking the gas-lit streets of New York. With taunting messages in backwards Latin left at the crime scenes and even more inexplicable clues like the fingerprints that appear to have been burned into one victim’s throat, his handiwork bears all the hallmarks of a demonic possession.
But consulting detective Harrison Fearing Pell is convinced her quarry is a man of flesh and blood. Encouraged by her uncle, Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry hopes to make her reputation by solving the bizarre case before the man the press has dubbed Mr. Hyde strikes again.
From the squalor of the Five Points to the high-class gambling dens of the Tenderloin and the glittering mansions of Fifth Avenue, Harry and her best friend, John Weston, follow the trail of a remorseless killer, uncovering a few embarrassing secrets of New York’s richest High Society families along the way. Are the murders a case of black magic—or simple blackmail? And will the trail lead them closer to home than they ever imagined?
Expected publication: October 12th 2016 by Acorn
From the TBR Shelves:
The Merciless II ~ Danielle Vega
Danielle Vega—YA’s answer to Stephen King—once again brings major scares in the spine-tingling sequel to horror hit The Merciless, which MTV calls “Mean Girls meets The Exorcist.”
Sofia is still processing the horrific truth of what happened when she and three friends performed an exorcism that spiraled horribly out of control. Ever since that night, Sofia has been haunted by bloody and demonic visions. Her therapist says they’re all in her head, but to Sofia they feel chillingly real. She just wants to get out of town, start fresh someplace else . . . until her mother dies suddenly, and Sofia gets her wish.
Sofia is sent to St. Mary’s, a creepy Catholic boarding school in Mississippi. There, seemingly everyone is doing penance for something, most of all the mysterious Jude, for whom Sofia can’t help feeling an unshakeable attraction. But when Sofia and Jude confide in each other about their pasts, something flips in him. He becomes convinced that Sofia is possessed by the devil. . . . Is an exorcism the only way to save her eternal soul?
Readers won’t be able to look away from this terrifying read full of twists and turns that will leave them wondering, Is there evil in all of us?
Published: July 5th 2016 by Razorbill
A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.
A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.
A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.
This collection of 12 short stories from Poppy Brite contains collaborations with Christa Faust and David Ferguson and an introduction from Peter Straub. The collection also includes America, which features Steve and Ghost, the central characters in Lost Souls.
As I said earlier, I have planned something a little different this year. I’m hosting a Flash Fiction Battle!
Four horror writers will fight it out for your votes on the best short story based on a theme chosen by you! More information will follow in my next post when votes will open!
3. Frightening Features & Gruesome Guest Posts
Jason Arnopp Guest Post
Jason’s recent horror novel The Last Days of Jack Sparks has been one of my favourites so far this year. I can’t rave about it enough. He is also the writer of Stormhouse, a Lionsgate horror film, a Friday the 13th novel and various Doctor Who books. I can’t wait for him to take over my blog later in the month.
Pretty Wicked Book Blitz
“This creepy novel places you inside the mind of a twisted teen killer, which is even more unsettling because of how familiar and normal she seems. Be prepared to leave the lights on and look at the people around you in a whole new way.”
Poppy Z. Brite
I review Self-Made Man and discuss my fascination with Poppy Z. Brite
London FrightFest/ Film Reviews
Round-up of this years’ horror films and my time at Frightfest
This Year in Horror so far
Round-up of the horror books I’ve read so far this year
The Ultimate Halloween Sleepover Party
Planning a Halloween party? Well here’s everything you need for a successfully scary night in!
4. How to Get Involved
– Are you planning on reading or posting anything ghoulish or gruesome this month? If so let me know and I’ll link to your post on my weekly round-up
– Want to be a Horror October guest? I’m still open for guest posts, reviews, and spotlights. You’ll be fully credited and can still post on your own blog too so it’s a good opportunity to reach more people. Email me for more info.
– It goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway…comment away! I’ll also be tweeting using #HorrorOctober. And don’t forget to vote!
-Use my Horror October or Flash Fiction Image on your sidebar to show your support.
– Follow me on Twitter to get all the latest goings on: @ lipsyy
A writer who is brutalized during her cabin retreat seeks revenge on her attackers, who left her for dead.
Title: Misery
Lipsyy Lost & Found 