47. a long overdue Halloween post

Information - I started writing this post in October, when I saw the mentioned Buzzfeed post but I needed a break from "spooky" YA books so it's unfinished, but I figured it needs posted so I'm going to stick it up and then update it when I'm done!

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Seeing as it’s everyone’s favourite spooky month of the year (although every day is suitable for horror in my opinion - goth child at heart!), I have had the urge to cosy up on these dark and stormy Scottish nights with a bit of horror literature on my kindle. Then, I came across this Buzzfeed post - http://www.buzzfeed.com/alwaysadrienne/13-ya-novels-to-spook-you-this-halloween-a08n and decided why not try to read and review all of these “spooky” young adult novels and review them!
Man I know how to have fun!


  • The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle - TO READ


  • In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

So the main character is called Mary Shelley, but she's not related to the author and the story has nothing to do with Frankenstein and the like. In the midst of the Spanish Influenza epidemic, American's are wandering around wearing marks and trying to avoid catching the deadly flu. Mary is sent of to live with her Aunt and begins to experience some weird goings on. She's made to go visit a paranormal photographer in order to try to capture a spirit photograph, which her Aunt is kind of obsessed with. There's also links to her best friend, who seemed to be in love with her. So yeh, things start to unravel and reveal themselves as not being quite as they seem. I liked this story overall, it was an interesting concept and did have an air of mystery and a spookiness where you're not sure where exactly it's going, which is the goal here.

  •  Sleepy Hollow by Dax Varley 
So I’m sure everyone who knows even the littlest bit about horror, knows about Sleepy Hollow. It’s a classic, but alas still unread by me, book by Washington Irving and obviously a hit film starring Johnny Depp. This young adult version is told from the point of view of Katrina van Tassel (Christina Ricci’s character) and is slightly different from the others. Sleepy Hollow is still plagued by the headless horseman, the Hessian mercenary, however Ichabod Crane comes in the form of a school teacher. This isn’t quite a retelling, but more a re-imagining of the story and while it wasn’t spooky or scary, it definitely kept me guessing. As a hardened horror fan it takes a lot to make me scared and this didn’t cut it, but maybe due to the fact I felt I knew what was coming as I knew the story? I didn’t feel like the author used the imagery of the town enough to create a spooky atmosphere which made it unsuccessful.






4. Amity by Micol Ostow

I hoped I would like this book because I weirdly love the story of Amity - whether you believe it’s true or not - and other stories of “haunted” or “possessed” houses. I love the idea that human evil can seep into solid things like houses and continue on through them. This isn’t the classic story of Amity as you’d know it, it’s kind of like the Sleepy Hollow book in that it’s a re-imagining. It tells the story of 2 different families, one living in Amity now, and one 10 years ago. It brings confusion as it chops and changes between the two narrators and if you’re not paying attention then it can be hard to work out what’s going on. I expected more from this but then I remember it’s a young adult book so it’s not going to be all blood and guts but it just wasn’t as creepy and unnerving as I knew it could be. It’s still a good read but it’s nothing if you know the “real” Amity story.





The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
The Diviners by Libba Bray

  • Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

This is a book I definitely liked the concept of - it’s very “Supernatural” in its set up. Cass is a ghost hunter, in the sense that he goes and “kills” ghosts who are causing trouble and murdering those who are still alive and this is a job that he inherited from his father, who was murdered by an evil spirit while doing said job.










  • The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco
This is another one that you kind of know the story of, but not really. It’s loosely based on the Japanese short story which also inspired The Ring so it has some similarities but isn’t entirely the same. Tark is a 15 year old boy who’s Japanese mother had a mental break when he was a baby and covered him in these weird symbolic tattoos. Also he can see a woman in black in the mirror following him around. There’s also a woman in white, who seems to be linked to the murders of child-killers who die in bizarre circumstances. Basically it turns out that Tark’s mum was trying to protect him but protecting him from what - and was she successful? I kind of didn’t know what to expect from this book and while it was interesting, it wasn’t creepy or scary in any way.





  • Hollowland by Amanda Hocking
  • The Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

  • Possess by Gretchen McNeil

What would you do it you suddenly found out you were capable of exorcisms and talking to demons? Well that’s what happens to Bridget. She gets involved in helping the Monsignor at her Catholic high school exorcise the increasing number of demon possessions in the San Fransisco area, but it seems like she has increasingly bad luck. Her father was murdered a year ago but its beginning to seem like his death is related to demons which are becoming increasingly prevalent in  Bridget’s life. 









  • The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding
  • The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

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So there's the start of the post which is WELL overdue! I'll update it when I finally finish the remaining books!

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