/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.19004841]

Any comfy Halloween literature? Particularly horror for the fall season?

[Anonymous No.19004882]

"A dark fantasy horror novel, set during Halloween. After a boy is eaten alive by a crocodile, his family begins a descent into madness and terror in this odyssey of modern horror."

[Anonymous No.19004900]

>>19004882
I'm not sure about this one, anon. You're sure it's good enough to spend precious limited autumn days on?

[Anonymous No.19004906]

>>19004900
Not reading Croc is like not reading The Greeks.

[Anonymous No.19004950]

>>19004841
La Bas, The Golem, Thoreau's Nature essays, Emily Dickinson's Letters, select tales of Hawthorne and Irving.

[Anonymous No.19004953]

>>19004900

[Anonymous No.19004961]

>>19004950
reddit!

[Anonymous No.19004962]

>>19004841
Edmund Wilson's Patriotic Gore

[Anonymous No.19004971]

>>19004961
Don't wet your pants

[Anonymous No.19004988]

>>19004841
Carlyle's The French Revolution, unironically. Sartor Resartus too if you're familiar with German idealism

[Anonymous No.19005324]

>>19004988
Care to elaborate?

[Anonymous No.19005380]

>>19004841
Let the Right One In

[Anonymous No.19005403]

Bet ya never heard of Call of the Crocodile before

[Anonymous No.19005819]

>>19004841
fuck off consoomer
its only september and you associate it with a fucking commercial holiday

[Anonymous No.19006410]

Something Wicked This Way Comes

[Anonymous No.19006425]

>>19005819
>Halloween is a commercial holiday
nigger detected

[Anonymous No.19006471]

Can anyone recc a general history of Halloween or even just a survey of the different beliefs and traditions around the world. I know not everybody celebrates it, but I’d like to hear what other countries and cultures do around the same time of year.

[Anonymous No.19006495]

>>19004841
The monk by Matthew lewis
M.R. James’s ghost stories
Thomas liggoti’s short stories
Dracula

Speaking of Dracula, Has anyone read power of darkness? It was a Finnish translation of dracula that’s been recently translated back to English. I heard it’s quite different from the original English version. It’s alot more violent, sexy and less nuanced.

I also heard about a Turkish version of Dracula which the English translation of the Turkish translation of Dracula is titled Dracula in Istanbul. It’s a bootleg translation of Dracula mixed in with some Turkish nationalism.

I wanna know if you guys heard about them or even read them, and what’s your thoughts on the translations.

[Anonymous No.19006810]

>>19005324
In the first instance a few years political terror presented as an animated (with grotesques) vaudeville performance; in the second German idealism(s) presented as a 'clothes philosophy', or the changing of costumes (tr. The Tailor re-tailored)
Personally, I find the guillotine very...'Halloween'

[Anonymous No.19007285]

>>19005819
>Hallowe'en
>commercial holiday
I don't say this often, but please kill yourself.

[Anonymous No.19007326]

>>19004841
Ladislav Fuks' the Cremator is a must read.

[Anonymous No.19007337]

>>19007285
Vsecky ja spasim. Cely svet!

[Anonymous No.19007339]

>>19004900
Holy shit lmao

[Anonymous No.19007354]

>>19005380
Based, also his short story collection "Let Old Dreams Die" is great as well.

OP if you want some easy creepy, atmospheric stuff, M.R. James is a good sort of primer to get in the mood

[Anonymous No.19007382]

>>19004961
Not really. A Redditor would name horror genre fiction like Stephen King. Anon's recs were spooky + solid

[Anonymous No.19007458]

>>19004950
I have a collection of all of Hawthorne's short fiction. Any stories in particular besides Young Goodman Brown?
>>19006495
>>19007354
I've read all of James' ghost stories. Good stuff.

[Anonymous No.19007553]

>>19007458
Feathertop, Roger M's Burial, Rappaccini's Daughter, The Birthmark
Also rec Hoffmann's tales, though many are more suited for Xmas (used to be an Xmas ghost story genre, e.g. Christmas Carol, and The Haunted Man)
For Halloween The Sandman works, however, as well as The Golden Pot

[Anonymous No.19007609]

>>19006410
Great rec. Ever read The Halloween Tree? One of the few Bradburys I have not read so curious

[Anonymous No.19007626]

Brian Evenson if you want some weird fiction

[Anonymous No.19007666]

>>19007337
Do Czechs celebrate Oktoberfest, anon?

[Anonymous No.19007697]

[Anonymous No.19007870]

>>19007697
Blackwood is unparalleled. The Lost Valley is another story that rivals The Willows, in my view.

[Anonymous No.19008565]

pumb

[Anonymous No.19009316]

Pretty gud despite the race baiting title

[Anonymous No.19009326]

>>19007870
And the Wendigo.

Also I can’t remember the name of it but the one with the town overrun with cats was a great read but the end was a little underwhelming

[Anonymous No.19009337]

>>19007609
Nope

[Anonymous No.19009462]

>>19004900
Gardner's prose, unparalleled and masterful as it is, is just a little too dense and unorthodox for the typical goodreads user to appreciate. Pearls before swine and such.

[Anonymous No.19009613]

>>19006410
Also Bradbury's "The October Country" is a solid Halloween option.

[Anonymous No.19009653]

[Anonymous No.19009665]

>>19009653
Actually reading this right now. Niemandswasser, The Hospice, and The Same Dog are really special.

[Anonymous No.19011101]

>>19007553
Second Hoffmann

[Anonymous No.19011149]

Call of the Crocodile

[Anonymous No.19011153]

heart of darkness

[Anonymous No.19011192]

The Shadow at the Bottom of the World by Ligotti. Comfy fall atmosphere, genuinely creepy. Probably his best short story

[Anonymous No.19011206]

>>19004950
>>19007382
>Anon's recs were spooky + solid
What is spook about Emily Dickinson's letters?

[Anonymous No.19011210]

>>19011192
I try to read that story along with Alice's Last Adventure every fall.

[Anonymous No.19011330]

>>19011206
They're just redolent of oddness. Though the way she disguises her mockeries and irreverences is merely entertaining, her superior cleverness is frightening.

[Anonymous No.19011400]

>>19011330
>her superior cleverness is frightening.
Examples?

[Anonymous No.19011447]

>>19011210
>>19011192
Don't forget 'Conversations in a dead language'. His most empathetic story.

[Anonymous No.19011492]

>>19011192
>>19011210
>>19011447
When will they publish Ligotti's Complete Works?
Will we have to wait the "old blob" die?

[Anonymous No.19011518]

>>19011400
Check out her letters to Thomas Wentworth Higgins where she cultivates playing the ingenue. She completely dominates his intelligence without his ever really comprehending

[Anonymous No.19011523]

>>19011518
*Higginson

[Anonymous No.19011529]

>>19011492
Noctuary (the one that contains Conversations in a Dead Language) definitely needs a republishing. You can get it pretty cheaply in a digital format I think though, if you're not bothered by that.

[Anonymous No.19011620]

>>19011492
Nightmare factory. Not complete but his 4 main collections are compiled, except for the microfiction ending Noctuary which is pretty shit desu senpai.

[Anonymous No.19011861]

>>19007697
Based. Blackwood is a phenomenal and comfy horror author
>>19009326
I think it's called "Ancient Sorceries"

[Anonymous No.19012435]

>>19011620
baka

[Anonymous No.19012443]

Many of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tales are very creepy, even if they do not have an overt supernatural element.

In particular, I would highly recommend, "My Kinsman, Major Molineux," which is a fantastic creepy story and feels very Halloween-ish.

[Anonymous No.19012637]

>>19012435
Name 1 good one

[Anonymous No.19013384]

>>19004900
>riffle
>ready's his arm

[Anonymous No.19013744]

>>19004900
I can't believe I bought the book

[Anonymous No.19013752]

Ive been watching the netflix series "The Haunting of Hill House."
I like the plot, though I dont think the show has executed it well. Is the book better? Worth reading? And is the author herself pretty good for her other works?

[Anonymous No.19013955]

>>19004841
Song of Kali.

[Anonymous No.19014128]

>>19013752
I haven't seen the show but I've heard it makes some changes to the plot. The book is good.

[Anonymous No.19015099]

>>19004841
Bump

[Anonymous No.19015324]

>>19004841
A Night in Lonesome October by Zelazny

[Anonymous No.19015333]

>>19008565
>>19015099
If you guys are after recs that haven't been mentioned yet, look into:
>Clark Ashton Smith's collected fantasies
>Anything by Arthur Machen, especially The Hill of Dreams and The House of Souls
>pic related

[Anonymous No.19016074]

>>19013955
I read this earlier this year, its so-so, the cult scenes were nice and creepy but as soon as you introduce a wife and newborn you can totally see where its headed

[Anonymous No.19016209]

horror elements in hg wells work really well

>>19013752
i cant get past the first scene where the black woman is talking to a therapist. very bad theater acting. the book is completely different and very good.

[Anonymous No.19016231]

>>19004841
I find fishhead to be underrated. The descriptions are really gross and spectacular. It also inspired lovecraft to write the shadow over innsmouth, though i like fishhead more.

By the way, as i was looking for the picture for my post. I stumbled across a website dedicated to obscure horror stories.

https://www.jackanapespress.com/

It has a small collection of poetry books dedicated to Halloween. And some of the short stories collection are even edited by S.T Joshi.

[Anonymous No.19016241]

Salem's Lot. I reread it every year in the fall.

[Anonymous No.19016765]

>>19016241
If King weren't a libtard he'd probably be canceled (i.e. adult teachers leering over a 15-year-old (Ruth); this underscoring the horror element of her being turned into a sex object/reward for the creepy junkyard manager).

[Anonymous No.19016831]

>>19016765
His earlier sexual stuff is well known and people chock it up to his coke habit

[Anonymous No.19017760]

>>19016831
interdatsting

[Anonymous No.19018044]

>>19016209
Thats really funny you should say because you find out at the end of the scene that it isn't a therapy session. She's talking to a horror author/paranormal investigator who is also a main character. You should watch it again

[Anonymous No.19018070]

>>19016831
Yeah, you can't bring up It without someone mentioning the literal gangbang scene (wherein, I'll add, he goes as far as to describe each pre-teen's character's "wet-snap" orgasm).

[Anonymous No.19018071]

>>19009653
This guy is amazing, I'm so glad I checked him out after seeing him mentioned here several times. Not strictly horror though, more like fantastic stories.

[Anonymous No.19018074]

>>19009653
How have I ever heard of this author? Did you just open my world to a whole new selection of great supernatural horror?

[Anonymous No.19018120]

>>19016765
He was the first public figure I can think of that took out woke insurance after he wrote the Bachman story about a school shooting. Around when they started happening in the U.S. in the 90s he canceled himself and took it out of print. I suspect he was smart enough to perceive an Orwellian paradigm shift and got ahead of it. Now he’s earned his woke superlatives through Twitter and lectures where he gives an obligatory rant about christians, the NRA, Trump etc. to fluff the audience. It’s all a cover for the fact he’s done some pretty egregious things in his past.

[Anonymous No.19018317]

>>19006410
Came here to post this.

[Anonymous No.19018338]

>>19016241
This is a good one.

[Anonymous No.19018479]

>>19018120
He's a complete midwit. This >>19018070

I've read a few of his books and enjoyed them. He does characterization well (albeit his characters are copy-pasted between works) and has a genuine talent when it comes to writing children. However, there's not a lot of depth to his work that would lead one to consider it "literary." Kubrick filtered him by improving on The Shining (which I'd argue is a decent novel but overrated--King becoming a celebrity author lends more to the novel than the story/ideas themselves) and alcoholic/coke-head King raged about being upstaged for decades ("a better artist ignored themes related to my self-insert character!").

All that said, King has created a lot of entertaining genre fiction. His story ideas can be interesting and (sometimes) he carries them through well. However, he's a genuine midwit and over 4 decades of near-constant production have shown he's incapable of producing a truly literary work (The Dark Tower series being his own sincere attempt--so masturbatory and muddled that it becomes unreadable after the first few novels). I think it's telling to look at film when it comes to his work--superior (and even middling) talents have created much out of what was there (The Shining, The Shawshank Redemption, Hearts in Atlantis, and even Doctor Sleep) but most of the time it was useful in churning out cash-in crap that made back it's budget plus profit (plus a score of shit TV miniseries geared toward May sweeps).

Disclaimer: I said middling talent for a reason; films like Hearts in Atlantis or The Green Mile are by no means masterpieces of high cinema. If you want to be a contrarian and voice they're all shit, fine.

[Anonymous No.19018977]

>>19018479
This is as good of an analysis as you can hope for on here. I’ve nothing of substance to add other than he writes fine pulp horror. He has good ideas but most of his work is Americana pop culture Easter eggs as backdrop to aberrations of modern day life in the middle class suburbia like a Lana Del Ray album or Hitchcock movie. You’re spot on about his books being surpassed by film adaptations half the time. The times it doesn’t work (Maximum Overdrive, Dreamcatcher, etc.) is the fault of the source material more so than than the screenplay. His best film adaptations detracted from his novels and in comparison usually make the books look cringe (Christine, Carrie, Misery).

[Anonymous No.19019172]

>>19018479
>>19018977
How do his books compare to his movies?

[Anonymous No.19019258]

>>19019172
Compared to the more highly regarded film versions, the books are almost unnecessary. The Dark Tower series (his greatest work) obviously will never receive a sufficient film version. If you’d never watched the movies and just read the books from the 70s/80s you’d knock them out quick and say “hmm that was fun what else did he do?” and some of his biggest books had even better film adaptations. Then there’s some books that are middling pulp trash that got exactly that sort of treatment on film making them equals (Running Man, Cujo, Maximum Overdrive, Pet Sematary). He has unexpected great movies based on short stories/novellas that were made better by inspired filmmakers (Frank Darabont being the obvious one with Shawshank Redemption and Green Mile). Some of the worst movies I ever watched were based on King stories (In the Tall Grass, Cell). It’s all over the place in terms of quality but as stated above: he’s a mass produced author whose key to success has been his ability to create and repurpose old horror tropes for post-1960s American middle class that King himself came from. He’s a brand.

[Anonymous No.19019439]

>>19011518
i wish a poetess would dominate my intelligence and then make me suck her toes

[Anonymous No.19019458]

>>19019439
I've been there, lad. Now, however, I don't know where I am

[Anonymous No.19019566]

>>19018977
>This is as good of an analysis as you can hope for on here
Thanks?
>>19019172
Talented directors have done great things using him as source material and some have even elevated it (The Shining, Stand By Me, Frank Darabont's 3 King films, both of Mike Flanagan's adaptations (less so, but still)). A few other films stand out as great for what they are (Misery, Christine, The Dead Zone...). The Stand could one day be made into a decent miniseries (the recent version was absolutely terrible...it tried to be different than the one from the 90s by being nonlinear and destroyed the characterizations while skimming over the best part of the book--the plague/set up).

Anyway, the majority of films based on King's works were cash-ins on his brand (and I argued above that his work lends itself to that easily). A lot of them are terrible (especially when King had greater creative control; save for Silver Bullet) and (I'd argue) reflect the base nature of his work as a celebrity author/midwit.

All that being said...there are more than a few decent options to choose from if you want something horror-related for the upcoming season. Going back to the purpose of this thread--there are also a few real gems he's written that are well worth reading (snobs can fuck off...King can write above-average genre fiction).

[Anonymous No.19020474]

>>19019258
>He has unexpected great movies based on short stories/novellas that were made better by inspired filmmakers
My view is influenced by nostalgia, but 1408 was the first real horror movie I ever watched as a kid, and I've always thought it still holds up as solid.

[Anonymous No.19020524]

>>19018074
He was sadly under appreciated in his lifetime and struggled to get his later work published.
And sadly that under appreciation made him a bit difficult. An editor at Arkham press was a fan and approached him about putting out a best of collection but Aickman’s demands were so unreasonable that it killed the deal before it could even get off the ground.
He always had a cult following and it’s grown over the years as the appreciation of Weird Fiction has grown.

[Anonymous No.19020619]

>>19020474
There's a good analysis of it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNllADlGIe8

[Anonymous No.19021659]

>>19020524
The problem with Aickman is that he's in limbo right between genre fiction and literary fiction and next to impossible to properly categorize because of it.

[Anonymous No.19021679]

Not even halfway through September and everyone is acting like it's Halloween already. Only a few years ago people thought I was weird for getting hype at the start of October

[Anonymous No.19021703]

>>19021679
Halloween begins after Labor Day and ends on Martinmas.

[Anonymous No.19021707]

>>19021679
In many parts of the Northern hemisphere Summer's been dreadful, anon. Excitement as to it's coming exit I believe is what initially prompted this thread. No harm done

[Anonymous No.19021715]

>>19021703
Begins Michaelmas really, and ends Martinmas, but I rather like the spirit of the thing so ok.

[Anonymous No.19021735]

>>19021707
Autumn will be worse, that's fairly obvious

[Anonymous No.19021739]

>>19021735
He was talking about the heat waves obviously which are now beginning to level off

[Anonymous No.19021753]

>>19021739
Was he? The heat was bad but it would have been bearable without all the other shit going on

[Anonymous No.19021775]

>>19021753
I was, anon, but otherwise I think you're right. But for whatever reason tanking markets and absurd social unrest somehow pair well with Halloween (:

[Anonymous No.19022668]

Can someone recommend two books for me to add to my October reading list? I'm currently planning on reading Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin and Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson but want two more spooky books. I've already read The Monk, Castle of Otranto, and most of the other typical classics.

>>19021679
Normally I'd agree with you, but nothing good's been going on for a while, so why not get excited for spooky lit, comfy times, and Halloween just a tad early?

[Anonymous No.19022737]

>>19021679
Autumn > Summer

[Anonymous No.19022975]

>>19022668
Haven’t seen it recommended In the thread yet

[Anonymous No.19023032]

>>19022668
Halloween and Christmas are the only times I’m truly mildly joyful anymore. I usually love summer in Midwest because I’m a sun worshipper (not literally). Just like laying by the pool, drinking a few beers and reading old John D. Macdonald paperbacks from used book store. This year I’m not even feeling in the mood for that. I’m certainly undiagnosed depressive
t. 33 year old

[Anonymous No.19023197]

>>19023032
I know what you mean, theres a certain comfort in the holiday season, good food, cool weather, sense of ending in the air (don't like Christmas though) although the beginning of spring is also a great time

[Anonymous No.19023809]

>>19022975
Sounds interesting. Thanks.

[Anonymous No.19023992]

My body is ready for autumn comfytime.

[Anonymous No.19024022]

>>19023032
What about thanksgiving?

>>19022668
The Manuscript Found in Saragossa

[Anonymous No.19024150]

>>19022668
Contender

[Anonymous No.19024502]

>>19024150
How is that book? Looks pretty interesting, i do say so myself!

[Anonymous No.19024509]

>>19022975
This is a good one

[Anonymous No.19024520]

>>19004841
dd

[Anonymous No.19024637]

>>19024502
I really enjoyed it, a cat's picaresque adventures interleaved into a composer's memoirs. Plus it's by Hoffmann (Sandman, The Devil's Elixirs, The Golden Pot, Master Flea, etc.) so it's solid Fall fare.

[Anonymous No.19024664]

Scholar writing a dissertation on gothic literature takes up residence at an isolated farm for the summer, spooky shit that verges on the apocalyptic ensues. If you want a tl;dr version, it exists in a shorter, earlier form titled The Events at Poroth Farm, which you can get in the Penguin book American Supernatural Tales.

[Anonymous No.19024675]

>>19024664
>>19022975
damn didn't expect anyone would have mentioned it already

[Anonymous No.19025221]

>>19024022
Checked and Thanksgiving is ok I guess. It’s my least favorite. I’m not a fan of the corporate version of the holiday (eating all day, football, Black Friday consumerism).

[Anonymous No.19025266]

I hate to admit it but this is the only book I fully enjoyed from start to finish

[Anonymous No.19025403]

>>19016241
>Salem's Lot. I reread it every year in the fall.

The follow-up or epilogue story to Salem's Lot, One for the Road, is excellent. It's one of King's best short stories, imho. A great sense of mood - it's set during a snow storm - that builds to a genuinely tense and creepy climax.

[Anonymous No.19025606]

>>19009316
Highly recommend. Some of the best stream of consciousness I've ever read, with a great prologue to set it all up.
The Great God Pan is another good story of his, but The White People will always be my favorite.

[Anonymous No.19026020]

Anyone got any horror short story collections they could recommend? Pic related is good but kinda weak endings in most his stories

[Anonymous No.19026447]

>>19026020
I own a copy of this.

[Anonymous No.19026461]

>>19024664
Is this actually good? Sounds convoluted.

[Anonymous No.19026954]

>>19025266
Watching the movie now
What a disappointment; the book's so much better

[Anonymous No.19028106]

>>19026954
Which one? There are tons of adaptations

[Anonymous No.19028162]

>>19009316 >>19025606
I second these! Currently reading this. More creepy than straight out horror, so it's a good Halloween primer.

Also, anything by Ligotti, Lovecraft, or, yes, King (Pet Sematary is comfy). Ray Bradbury's October Country is good fall book.

[Anonymous No.19028980]

>>19028106
The Winona/Keanu one

[Anonymous No.19029005]

>>19028980
In the end I marvelled enough at its kitschy horribleness to 'enjoy' it in a negative way, if that makes sense.

[Anonymous No.19029163]

Early Gogol short stories crush the spooky fall vibe.
I also remember enjoying Macbeth in the fall.

[« Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ » !!bGBGaUpA8kS No.19029178]

>>19004841
How about Coppard

[Anonymous No.19029917]

What are some good murder mystery novels/stories with paranormal themes in it?

[Anonymous No.19030118]

>>19029917
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Name of the Rose

[Anonymous No.19030180]

>>19004841
anyone know any books about monsters or something being discovered in caves or ice?

[Anonymous No.19030183]

>>19007458
Besides what the other anon suggested, I would add:
The Minister's Black Veil
Dr Heidegger's Experiment
Wakefield
The Wedding-Knell
The Celestial Railroad
Don't read these expecting to be supernatural or spooky in the same way as M.R. James or Blackwood are. In fact some of these aren't spooky in any sense.

[Anonymous No.19030185]

>>19006410
I watched the movie; does it differ much from the book?

[Anonymous No.19030190]

>>19009316
>>19025606
Why does no one ever mention The Three Impostors?
Is it not considered as good as the White People or Pan?

[Anonymous No.19030192]

>>19012443
Thanks, anon; I'll check it out. For some reasons, American authors really know how to write spooky.

[Anonymous No.19030198]

I have a huge tome containing all of Edgar Allan Poe's fiction and poetry; I started it last year and only got halfway through before October finished. Will probably try again to finish it.

[Anonymous No.19030500]

>>19030180
Clark Ashton Smith's Hyperborea's stories are full of that stuff.

[Anonymous No.19030541]

>>19030190
It looks like I’ve read a couple of the stories in The Three Impostors but haven’t read the frame narrative

I don’t know why but it looks like they usually cannibalize The Three Impostors for individual stories rather than publish it in it’s original order

[Anonymous No.19030567]

Serious questions, why are Americans so good at making horror stories? Hell, anglos in general. I might just be uncultured, but all the good moody, sinister tales I know of come from the anglosphere. Are there any Halloween appropriate books written in other countries? I do know Japan to have an extensive cinematic and most likely literary horror stream. I want to expand my horizons on how other cultures transmit horror.

[Anonymous No.19030581]

>>19009316
Seconded

[Anonymous No.19030584]

>>19030567
Germans or in this case Swiss can be spoopy at times

[Anonymous No.19030587]

>>19007697
Blackwood is amazing, yes.

[Anonymous No.19030612]

>>19030584
And Hoffman and the Brothers Grimm

[Anonymous No.19030643]

Dracula, Frankenstein, The Monk, Melmoth the wanderer, Uncle Silas, La Bas, The castle of Otranto, The mysteries of Udolpho, Carmilla, The turn of the screw, The legend of sleepy hollow... What are some others notable examples of Gothic literature?

[Anonymous No.19030660]

>>19030584
In this case an Austrian; Count Luna in English
Strange that Kafka has not been mentioned.. or has he? I'll just rec an absurdly dark short story that most have probably read already: A Country Doctor

[Anonymous No.19030690]

>>19030643
Radcliffe's The Italian (shorter than Udolpho)

[Anonymous No.19030705]

>>19030567
Re-start with the Roosians

[Anonymous No.19030792]

>>19030705
For Halloween? The Nose

[Anonymous No.19031226]

>>19030180
Christopher Golden, Ararat.

It's not an outstanding book, but I found it an enjoyable horror read.

[Anonymous No.19032457]

>>19030198
Same but this year I'm thinking of diving into Lovecraft for the first time ever. I keep hearing he's a racist so it's been on my "must read" list for awhile

[Anonymous No.19032459]

>>19004882
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR_n8win2Vs&t=2s

Sounds amazing.

[Anonymous No.19033532]

>>19030792
I'm in

[Anonymous No.19033580]

Ray Bradbury is THE MOST COMFY spooky author, everything is small town America in the 20s but some good spook ideas like a coroner who cuts the head off of the athletic body of a dead young man so his apprentice can stitch his own head on it when he dies, but spooky stuff happens. And the classic 'the October Game' set at a Halloween Party but something is wrong with the party game they play. And I think the Addams Family is based on his short stories about a family of supernatural people living in a haunted house, one of the best stories of which is about the little brother with no supernatural powers. Try his stories out, they are short stories so you won't lose much time if you don't like the writing.

[Anonymous No.19034104]

>>19033580
Thanks, anon
Specifically asked about this way up here
>>19007609

[Anonymous No.19034866]

>>19030180
At the Mountains of Madness

[Anonymous No.19034886]

>>19034866
nnooooooo

[Anonymous No.19034985]

>>19007609

The Halloween Tree is very much a children's book. It's nothing special, but it's not bad. Kinda just short and super simple.

[Anonymous No.19035108]

>>19034985
If in the manner of Something Wicked and Dandelion Wine I'm down

[Anonymous No.19035123]

>>19004950
Based

[Anonymous No.19035132]

Hall*ween is a satanick holiday. Do not take part in such evil mischief anon.

[Anonymous No.19035305]

>>19032457
I belong to one of the races Lovecraft didn't like and I found his writing pretty good. I have very fond memories of reading a collection of his works when I was in high school; got me really spooked.

[Anonymous No.19035316]

>>19035132
It's okay, November 1st is the Day of All Saints and that's when I purify all my evil deeds by visiting my deceased loved ones and other family members in their proper Christian burial.

[« Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ » !!bGBGaUpA8kS No.19035327]

>>19035123
Is this a Bohemian Grove coloring book?

[Anonymous No.19035341]

>>19004900
so basically this guy doesn't understand soul. Gardner is a classic case of soul vs souless

[Anonymous No.19035346]

>>19035316
And November 2nd is the Feast of All Souls, which is a good time to hang out with friends and family (and maybe trounce my sister in a game of cribbage --a game invented by poet Sir John Suckling btw)

[Anonymous No.19035363]

>>19035327
Hah! It very well could be..
But I know you've read La-Bas, and therefore also know you know that this is just a shmancy French edition

[Anonymous No.19035642]

>>19035305
Lovecraft hated everything and everyone that wasn't anglo or a cat though.

[Anonymous No.19036764]

>>19035642
>tfw an anglo catboy
Feels good man

[Anonymous No.19036775]

>>19035341
Ya definitely. Call of the Crocodile has 1000 X more Soul than any modern horror book I’ve read. So glad lit recommended it to me here

[Anonymous No.19037015]

What are some of the best serial killer fiction?

[Anonymous No.19038186]

>>19030183
Oh yeah I forgot I've read the Minister's Black Veil too. Really great. I really like the sort of grave and ominous atmosphere Hawthorne cultivates without going full horror.
>>19030190
Three Impostors is good but iirc there's nothing necessarily supernatural about it. Some of the stories in it are, but those stories are themselves made up by characters in the frame story.
>>19030198
I have the same but have barely read any. Probably time to start.

[Anonymous No.19039749]

>>19011620
I like the Puppet Masters and The Order of Illusion a lot. Plus the zombie vinegette is fun too.

[Anonymous No.19039844]

>>19013752
Book is good

[Anonymous No.19039850]

>>19021679
I think people get excited early because these past few years have been so fucking miserable.

[Anonymous No.19040082]

Whether it's literature or not is up for debate but you can't go wrong with classic comfy Goosebumps.

[Anonymous No.19040111]

I started seeing stores selling Halloween crap and fall designed packaging and limited edition flavors on September 1st

[Anonymous No.19040913]

$20 for thick ass book of old school zombie stories written for mystery magazines. New and in print.

[Anonymous No.19041982]

>>19035132
you must be fun at parties, that is if you ever get invited to one

[Anonymous No.19042170]

I am Legend is hyper-comfy

[Anonymous No.19042203]

>>19040082
These are very Gardnerian

[Anonymous No.19042213]

>>19035132
>convoluted
No one cares about its Satanic connotations, we just want to enjoy spooky stories, dress up, and eat candy.

[Anonymous No.19043306]

>>19042213
mmm-mmmm..candy! If you had to proclaim loyalty to a single candy, which would you choose?
I'm all in for Sour Patch Kids! The red and the yellow are my favorites but really they're all good

[Anonymous No.19043320]

Coleridge

[Anonymous No.19043340]

>>19035642
As an anglo and a cat I find this especially based.

[Anonymous No.19043754]

>>19035132
Halloween has nothing to do with Satan.

[Anonymous No.19043827]

>>19043320
Christabel

[Anonymous No.19044187]

>>19035132
My church unironically tells us this every year and heavily ecourages us not to celebrate it. It's kind of unfortunate to be a christian who enjoys the spooky

[Anonymous No.19044191]

>>19004882
Fpbp

[Anonymous No.19044225]

>>19004882
I picked up a copy of Frankenstein today for the fall /comfy/ myself. I've never read it

[Anonymous No.19045263]

>>19044225
I love apu so much

[Anonymous No.19045503]

>>19044225
Same. Literally just grabbed this copy at used book store today for few bucks

[Anonymous No.19045508]

Call of the Crocodile

[Anonymous No.19045551]

>>19018120
Having read Rage, the book about the school shooter he pulled out of print, I can tell you his moral reasoning is only an excuse.

In the introduction I read (I read Rage as part of the omnibus of the first 4 Bachman Books), he said he wrote in between high school and college.

It is probably King’s most juvenile book. Maybe one of the worst of books.

He pulled it out of embarrassment for himself, not for any moral reason.

[Anonymous No.19045565]

>>19026461
I’ve heard people say the short story it’s based off of, The Events at Poroth Farm, is better. They say the novel is too much filler.

[Anonymous No.19045577]

>>19040082
I’ve always enjoyed the Fear Street series cause kids would actually die in them.

Haven’t seen the Netflix movies yet.

[Anonymous No.19045658]

>>19043306
I'm a Reese's peanut butter cup man myself

[Anonymous No.19045732]

>>19045577
What about the Chrisopher Pike books?
>>19045551
I can buy that explanation although you know he's been adamant of claiming he pulled it for the reason I cited.

[Anonymous No.19045747]

>>19045577
>>19045732

[Anonymous No.19047340]

bump

[Anonymous No.19047954]

>>19045658
Nice. Home-made ice cream parlor down the street has a sweet cream/buttercup flavor very generous with the smaller pbc's

[Anonymous No.19048721]

>>19040082
It's been so long since I've read one of these. I read Don't Go To Sleep as a kid, one of the first books I read on my own, and it scared the hell out of me. Might be why I like horror so much today.

[Anonymous No.19049822]

Anyone read pic related? Is it any good?

[Anonymous No.19051320]

>>19004841
Is The Exorcist worth a read?

[Anonymous No.19051341]

>>19004882
Based

[Anonymous No.19051389]

>>19022975
Read this earlier this year and spent the whole book wanting to fuck the hot wife.

[Anonymous No.19052000]

Already been mentioned but

[Anonymous No.19052581]

>>19051320
Yes

[Anonymous No.19052591]

Call of the Crocodile

[Anonymous No.19053213]

recs for any decent non blue/white lights for night reading and fall vibes?

[Anonymous No.19053566]

>>19045732
Trust me, it’s a cover

I read it in a day if you want to find out yourself.

[Anonymous No.19053574]

>>19037015
Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs

[Anonymous No.19053576]

Call of the Crocodile

[Anonymous No.19053584]

>>19049822
Reggie Oliver is definitely recommended if you like MR James and Arthur Machen.

[Anonymous No.19053781]

The Search for Joseph Tully

Atmospheric 70's supernatural detective tale.

[Anonymous No.19054377]

bumping this extremely blessed thread

[Anonymous No.19054682]

>>19052000
blessed post in a blessed thread.

[Anonymous No.19054772]

>>19053213
I collect glass domed lamps (converted oil lamp cowls); they're very atmospheric in a room at large but provide adequate reading light as well. Make sure that the dome interiors are white or that their exteriors are frosted. Avoid LED bulbs, of course. I fill mine with soft white 40 watters
Best shade colors are gold, salmon, green, and red for the fall. Sky blue and white are nice for Summer.
A cheap starter if you want to gain a sense of their effect would be to acquire a green or gold shaded banker's lamp (gold). They're not as pretty, but close enough

[Anonymous No.19054805]

>>19053576
This is like /lit/'s sneed

[Anonymous No.19054931]

>>19053213
I just swap out the bulb in my lamp for an orange or red one.

[Anonymous No.19055770]

Anyone know a good creepy book of Bradbury's that isn't Something Wicked This Way Comes or October Country? I've already read those two.

[Anonymous No.19056278]

does anyone know any cool horror books with a silent hill vibe?

[Anonymous No.19057120]

>>19054682
>tfw no homestead in the Polish wilds from which to read horror stories by oil lamp and starlight on the porch

[Anonymous No.19057614]

>>19057120
place 'on the porch' after 'stories' (conclude with 'starlight')
>slight edit
like the image, anon

[Anonymous No.19058107]

>>19056278
I haven't played any of the Silent Hill games or seen any of the movies, but I'm assuming you mean "creepy small town," in which case Ligotti has some good stories.

[Anonymous No.19058185]

>>19056278
Unironically Call of the Crocodile for the general aesthetic and atmosphere

[Anonymous No.19058288]

Recommend me Japanese horror lit translated into English.

[Anonymous No.19058352]

>>19058288
This and Kwaidan are the classics, anon. Lafcadio Hearn's your man

[Anonymous No.19058400]

>>19015333
Sorry back so late, anon
Because I'm not a big horror reader (I've read Hawthorne, Irving, Poe, Turn of the Screw, stuff like that) my brother of all people gave me a horror anthology not too long ago for my bday
Of the Machine titles are: The Great God Pan, The Black Seal, The White People, The Shining Pyramid, and Out of the Earth. Should I avoid any of these?
Other authors in this thing are Lovecraft, Howard, and Chambers. Any thoughts on these guys?

[Anonymous No.19058436]

>>19058400
>The Great God Pan, The Black Seal, The White People, The Shining Pyramid, and Out of the Earth
I've read some but not all of these. But in my experience, anything by Machen is worth reading at least once.
>Lovecraft
Super good and absolutely essential for anyone who wants to read horror
>Howard
haven't read
>Chambers
I've read the King in Yellow stories and they're good. Sense of grave and ominous mystery is executed very well

[Anonymous No.19058464]

>>19058400
>>19058436
Oh, except regarding Machen, The Black Seal was originally part of a larger work called The Three Impostors, and might be better read in its original context.

[Anonymous No.19058492]

>>19058464
Thanks for this

[Anonymous No.19059046]

>>19033580
Never read any Bradbury but it seems like the time to start is now.

[Anonymous No.19059146]

Guys can we just turn this into an autumn general after this thread dies?
October is the absolute peak comfy time for reading and I want to maximize the best possible things to be reading during those 30 days.

[Anonymous No.19059199]

>>19059146

>>19059194

Done.

[Anonymous No.19059218]

>>19059199
Kek sweet

[Anonymous No.19059350]

>>19059199
Turbo based. I will make sure these threads stay up until mid-November.

[Anonymous No.19059709]

>>19056278
Literally Silent Hill with a different name.

[Anonymous No.19059710]

>>19058400
>my brother of all people gave me a horror anthology not too long ago for my bday
What's the name of the spooky antho?

[Anonymous No.19060890]

>>19059710
The Necronomicon: Tales of Eldritch Horror from the Masters of the Genre: Arcturus Press, 2021

[Anonymous No.19061081]

>>19059146
Lol so much for that

[Anonymous No.19061213]

>>19060890
I've never heard of this Lafcadio Hearn. Anyone read anything by him? Is he any good?

[Anonymous No.19061394]

>>19061213
See
>>19058352
Great Japanophile of the late 19th century, early 20th. Liked horror, much of his stuff translated from the Japanese. He has that Victorian style that makes for good horror fiction. I like him

[Anonymous No.19061465]

>>19037015
Exquisite Corpse by Brite

[Anonymous No.19061505]

Don’t worry. We can have autumn comfy lit threads later if people want.

[Anonymous No.19061578]

Has anyone read What Dreams May Come by Richard Mathewson? If so, would you say it’s a creepy book or no?

[Anonymous No.19061713]

>>19058288
>>19058352
Anything a bit more modern? (And by that I mean anything post-WWII)

[Anonymous No.19061751]

>>19058288
>>19061713
Koji Suzuki I guess but he's kinda Stephen King commercial horror tier.

[Anonymous No.19061753]

>>19061751
And obviously various horror mangas that either you're already familiar with or not what you're looking for

[Anonymous No.19062546]

>>19061753
What's some good horror manga? I only know about Berserk.

[Anonymous No.19062997]

>>19059350
>>19059218
>>19059199
>>19059146

Thread 404’d. Here’s the new one.
See >>19062990

[Anonymous No.19064207]

>>19061751
So like meat-and-potatoes pulpy horror, but Japanese?

[Anonymous No.19064799]

>>19043320
What makes Coleridge suited to autumn/Halloween?

[Anonymous No.19064877]

>>19064799
See
>>19043827

[Anonymous No.19065111]

>>19062997
>>19061505
>>19061394
>>19059350
>>19059218
>>19059199

New thread. Last one 404’d again.
>>19065105