Story Tags

Silence of the Lambs Cover

A Horrifying List of Thrillers

Or a Thrilling List of Horrors?

To me, nothing is quite as fun to read as a thriller. They allow you to watch people flirt with death, race against time, and make impossible decisions. You get to wear the mind of the insane or escape from monsters. Sometimes a really good one will get under your skin and keep you up at night wondering if something as evil as what you've read could exist somewhere out there in a forgotten nook of our great, wide world. Thrillers are all about suspense, adrenaline, and surprise. Below you will find some of my favorites.

Cover of the book Going Postal

It's Not Funny if I Have to Explain It

"Always remember that the crowd that applauds your coronation is the same crowd that will applaud your beheading. People like a show." -  Going Postal

Book Cover of Edgar Allen Poe

Classic American Horror

What is about that the horror genre that beguiles us? Is it a fascination with the unknown or is it a delight in the senses that accompany fright? I was enthralled by this genre at an early age. Who among us remembers Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark? Regardless of our motivation, there are many books that inspire a love of chillers; here are a few American classics that will keep you peering under your bed at night.

Anne of Green Gables book cover

Challenge Accepted: Read Harder 2017

Challenge #7: Read a book published between 1900 and 1950

A new year means new year resolutions and challenges. One reading challenge that I love to do is Book Riot 's 2017 Read Harder hallenge . Instead of having people focus on a specific number of books, Read Harder challenges people to read different genres or authors that they may overlook. This year, there are 24 prompts for readers, and a complete list may be found here on the Book Riot Goodreads page.

The Weirdness

The Devil and His Pets

In many stories about the Devil, a pet helps him with his mischief, like a witch's familiar.  After all, being the ultimate evil in the world must be tiring, lonely work. Or perhaps the Devil is just a misunderstood character. Whichever the case may be, sometimes he needs the comfort and help that only a pet can bring. I originally wanted this list to be all about the Devil's cat, but I could only find a couple of examples, so I expanded the parameters to include other pets. 

Women in Horror Month logo

Celebrate Women in Horror Month

Celebrate Women in Horror Month this February 28 at the Northeast Library.    At 6:30 p.m., there will be readings from the D.C. Women in Horror Month 2017 Anthology.  From 7-8:30 p.m. we will screen an independent film, "The Good Sisters".  

Ghostly : a collection of ghost stories

Spooky Shorts

Short horror reads: A list of scary stories 100 pages or less

Several years ago, I read that haunted houses are popular in Japan during the summer. One of the reasons being that the shiver which fear can send down your spine is a welcome relief from the extreme heat of summer. The idea was so novel to my way of thinking that it stuck with me. After all, in America, October is the time for haunted houses. So, in honor of the rising temperatures, here are some scary/creepy/unsettling/terrifying stories that can be read in one day to help keep you cool. Many of these stories are found in larger collections.

Cover-Devil in the White City

Criminally Addictive Reads

True Crime Tales that Read Like Mystery Novels

It seems like society’s obsession with all things true crime is at its absolute peak. Ever since eager listeners soaked up the first season of last year’s smash podcast, “Serial,” people can’t quench their thirst for more fast enough. If you’re one of those people who binge-listened to that addictive first season of “Serial” like I am, and then steadily made your way through HBO’s The Jinx, Netflix’s Making a Murderer, and FX’s The People vs. OJ Simpson—and you’re still hungry for more true accounts of murder and mayhem—then these books are a great place to start.

American Psycho

Down with the King

Great Horror Novels by Authors Other Than Stephen King

Yes, we all know that Stephen King is the reading world’s Master of Horror and Sultan of Scare, and that he can churn out books faster than I can write this list, but he doesn’t own the market on tales of terror.

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Urban Fantasy

Mystery series with a paranormal tint

I've always loved fantasy and science fiction - I like exploring new possibilities and worlds. Particularly, I'm drawn to series, because I like being able to learn more and more about an author's imagined universe. These books are all the start of series that take place in fantasy worlds, but unlike more traditional fantasy novels, these worlds are our own - only with a few magical elements.  

Pages