Tag: spooky

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

Amy has a cash-flow problem and a desire to transfer to a different Ikea-like furniture store. If she can just stay on the boss’ good side for a few more days, she’ll be out of here.

So she was on her best behavior while her transfer request made its way through the system. She arrived on time each day. She smiled at customers and didn’t blink at last-minute schedule changes. … She fought her natural tendency to talk back. And, most important, she steered clear of Basil, determined to stay off his radar.” pg 17, ebook.

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But the store has been under performing and, each morning, things are misplaced, wrecked or smeared with foul-smelling gunk. Someone has been in the store and Basil, the manager, is going to figure out what’s going on.

“I’ve asked you here because I need your help. I have an extra job for tonight. A side project. And I need you to keep quiet about it.”pg 27, ebook.

He’ll make sure Amy’s transfer papers go through if she stays overnight with Basil and a few of her co-workers. What could possibly go wrong?

Horrorstör is elevated from a typical horror novel because of its setting, which is really quite clever, and the way Grady Hendrix, the author, weaves the store manual into the narrative.

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The haunting itself is spooky enough to give you chills, but doesn’t really cross the line into nightmare territory. At least, it didn’t for me.

“Churches are built where saints were martyred. A bridge requires a child in its foundations if it is to hold. All great works must begin with a sacrifice.” pg 96, ebook.

Amy is a strong female protagonist. She fights for what she wants, her coworkers and her sanity in this story. I liked how her character develops from entitled to vengeful.

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Basil, Ruth Ann and Amy’s other coworkers are well-written too. As I read, I could imagine this cast of characters actually working at a store. There’s the tightly-strung manager with a heart of gold, the maternal push-over figure who may be tougher than she looks, and more.

Recommended for readers who enjoy some thrills and furniture-related chills. If you’re into Ikea, you may never look at your home furnishings the same way again.

Thanks for reading!

Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey

Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey
ghostland

Incredibly scary and a perfect read for the month of October, Colin Dickey examines ghosts, haunted buildings, and other urban legends throughout the United States. But, it’s not just about ghost stories, he also delves into the true histories of everything from cemeteries to asylums.

When I picked up Ghostland I thought: how creepy can the US be, it hasn’t been around all that long, comparatively speaking. And I found out: really, really creepy.

You don’t have to believe in ghosts to enjoy this book. Here’s what the author had to say in the intro: “Even if you don’t believe in the paranormal, ghost stories and legends of haunted places are a vital, dynamic means of confronting the past and those who have gone before us. Ultimately, this book is about the relationship between place and story: how the two depend on each other and how they bring each other alive.” loc 23, ebook.

I learned a lot of quirky, historical details about the United States. For example, did you know that Spiritualists were a huge part of the suffrage movement?: “Early suffrage meetings were heavily populated with mediums and trance speakers; in some places it was difficult to find suffragists who weren’t also Spiritualists. Spiritualism had given many of these women practice and confidence in speaking to groups with authority; by allowing others (the dead) to speak through them, American women began to speak for themselves in greater numbers. Spiritualism was only one of many factors and social movements that drove women’s suffrage, but it was a vital and important one.” loc 961-978, ebook.

One night, my ride home from work was late and I found myself alone in the library with all of the lights off and it was so spooky. I felt like I was being watched and jumped at every little creak in the stacks.

In this passage, Dickey explains why: “Few things are more unsettling than being somewhere emptied out, after everyone else has left. If you’ve ever worked a closing shift, or as a security guard, you know the way a place can change after the doors are locked and the lights are dimmed, when the lighting so carefully designed to spotlight the latest gadgets goes slack, when the mood lighting gets moodier. It’s as though you don’t belong there.” loc 1250, ebook

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The most disturbing moments, for me, were the true history portions of the narrative: “Early madhouses were often revealed to be nightmares of abuse and neglect. Reports of incontinent patients hosed down with icy water, naked women chained haphazardly to the walls, fleas and rats rampant, and other horrors gradually prompted a desire for something more sanitary and humane.”loc 2205, ebook. Eeeek. Is it any wonder that these places are haunted?

Dickey includes a poem by Goethe in his examination of the “ruins” of Detroit: “Goethe wrote in 1827: “America, you have it better Than our old continent, You have no ruined castles And no ancient basalt. Your inner life remains untroubled By useless memory And futile strife.” That was then. Now, almost two hundred years later, we’ve started to catch up to old Europe. We have plenty of ruined castles now, plenty of wasted strife to call our own.” loc 3217, ebook. I would have disagreed with that sentiment but then I readGhostland. Now, I know better.

Recommended for folks who are looking for a spooky, non-fiction read for Halloween or any other time that you’re looking for a good scare. Pick this one up with a hot drink and a warm blanket… you’re going to need it. Some read alikes: Hunt for the Skinwalker: Science Confronts the Unexplained at a Remote Ranch in Utah by Colm A. Kelleher (one of the scariest books I’ve ever read) or Mysteries and Monsters of the Sea by Fate Magazine (similar to Ghostland but nautically themed).

Thank you to Viking Publishing and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book for review purposes!  And, thank you for reading.