When the Ending Changes Everything

Last month, I binged on all things – books, movies, TV shows - creepy. The results? I yelled at two terrible movies, spent enjoyable chunks of time with solid entertainment, and was blown away by one movie and one book. 

 

Hunter Hunter is my kind of movie: dark, disturbing, tense. I was uneasy the entire time I watched it, gaze riveted to the screen. Until the ending. It was so gory I had to look away over and over. And, yet, the ending absolutely fits the story so well that I can't call it gratuitous. It haunts me to this day. (I don't usually talk trigger warnings, but this ending is not for the faint of heart.)

 

Come With Me by Ronald Malfi is a horror novel for people who don't like horror. In fact, I'd call this more mystery with paranormal elements than anything else. It's atmospheric, creepy, heartbreaking and lovely. Though parts of it felt kind of slow, it still stayed a solid 4 stars for me. Until the ending. When I got there, I gasped then flipped back through the book, re-reading certain moments with fresh eyes. The ending added a whole other layer that had me in tears. It leaped to 5 stars and is easily one of my favorite reads of the year.

***** 

 

How was your October/Halloween? Anything you read/watched that you'd recommend? Are there any endings that haunt you from books/movies/TV shows? What's next for you in November?

We All Float Down Here

Way back, in 1987, I read this:

Today, the pages are yellowed, the print is probably too small for me to read, and it smells like old books and memories. It's one of my favorite King books.

In 1990, I watched this:

Not on DVD but on TV over the two nights it was broadcast. I'm pretty sure I didn't sleep either of those nights or many of the ones after. Tim Curry terrifies me to this day.

In about a month from now, a new version of IT returns. While I'm usually skeptical of remakes, the trailers for this not only look true enough to the core story, but they also make me want to pee my pants. Seriously. I'm not sure I'll be able to see this movie in the theater.

I've included the teaser trailer below because it's my favorite so far. If you have two minutes to spare, if you're in a well-lit place, and if you're not afraid of clowns or red balloons, I'd give it a look. (Okay, honestly, I just don't want to be the only one with nightmares . . . . )

Have you read IT? Seen the original miniseries? Plan on seeing the movie? If so, are you brave enough to go to the theater or will you wait for viewing from the safety of your couch? Do you have any favorite horror novels or movies? 

The Horror! The Horror!

The Plan: Buy this book - Frightlopedia: An Encyclopedia of Everything Scary, Creepy, and Spine-Chilling, from Arachnids to Zombies by Julie Winterbottom - for my nephew and niece for Halloween. They love to read, and they're pretty okay with scary things. Besides, each section in the book has a Fright Meter to gauge the scare-factor. 

What Actually Happened: Aunt Madeline decided she did not want to be responsible for terrifying her nephew and niece. (Adults, on the other hand, are fair game.) So, at great sacrifice to her own sanity, she read it instead and promptly freaked herself out.   

(To be fair, the kids might've been fine with it. It's just you never know what will trigger a nightmare, a fear, a phobia, especially when you're young. Take it from someone who was scared so badly by an innocent Popeye cartoon that she had bad dreams for a week.) 

All that being said, I really did enjoy the book. It's creepy, with photos that haunt me still, but it's also entertaining and informative. 

Did you know . . . about the waste water treatment center where scientists found 107 million spiders had woven a four acre web - the size of four soccer fields! - inside the building? 

Did you know . . . that claustrophobia is the fear of enclosed spaces, but cleithrophobia is the fear of being trapped? Check out these two real-life situations:

- A man got stuck in an elevator for two full days with nothing to eat but Rolaids.

- A woman got stuck in her bathroom for 20 days. She banged on the pipes, but neighbors thought the noise was construction. She lived on nothing but water.

And finally, a place I will NOT be going to on my next vacation:

Gomantong Caves is on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It houses two million bats. The cave floors are ten feet deep in guano, but you can't see any it because of all the cockroaches. Yep, a giant mass of cockroaches feasts on all that poop, along with the occasional bat that falls from the ceiling. And you can watch it all from the wooden walkway that will supposedly keep you safe from all but the errant cockroach and the three-inch-long centipedes that crawl along the handrail. 

Yeah, my sister should sooooo thank me for not sending this book.

*****

So, what scared you as a kid? What scares you now? Plan on taking a trip to those caves? If so, please don't bring me back a souvenir . . . . 

*****

(I talked about this book purely because I enjoyed it. I didn't receive any compensation, etc.)