Story?
I was scrolling my Kindle library one day, as you do, and even though I am currently still reading the two books that I mentioned in my previous bookish update, I was just…scrolling…not looking to cheat… no.
Since we have the spooky night approaching… you know, Estonia is getting into the Halloween swing as well, although we do have our own all souls nights… I mean, 3 occasions of it in November, in fact… Anyway, first book, then I’ll tell you about the Estonian pagan traditions below…
Here are 3 horror books that are currently on my Kindle waiting to be read!
Off the Grid – John Hunt
Graham Richards was shopping with his family at an outlet mall when an active shooter began indiscriminately murdering people with a rifle. Graham was shot in the face and when he woke up in the hospital, his family was dead. And now, all he wants is to be left alone. Living out in the woods, growing his own food, and using solar power for his energy needs, he hopes to live the rest of his life in obscurity. But when a little girl goes missing in the nearby town, the strange, scarred man in the lonely cabin is the first suspect and Graham finds himself being pulled back into the world he wanted to leave behind.
Currently with an average rating of 4,26 on Goodreads
***Fun fact… Martinmas (Mardipäev) on November 10th and St. Catherine’s Day (Kadripäev) on November 25th are also celebrated with riddles… here’s a riddle for you: what can you find in an empty pocket? Feel free to pop your answer in the comments 🙂
The Snow – Flint Maxwell
This is how the world ends: with a single snowflake.
After a tragic accident at work, all Grady Miller wanted was an escape, and he finds it with two of his closest friends. Together, the three of them travel south to Prism Lake for the upcoming holiday, where they plan on spending the sunny weekend drinking, grilling, and relaxing.
But when a series of monstrous blizzards cover the eastern United States in feet of snow, knocking out communications and making the roads impossible to drive on, they realize their weekend of fun could turn into a lifetime of survival.
Because there’s something out there besides the cold…
Something sinister…Current average rating of 3,85 on Goodreads
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Can you tell I had a trigger finger when it came to grabbing those ‘snowcovered cabin in the remote nowehere’? 😀 Love those covers, I do… so cosy! Too bad shit’s going to go sideways, hey!
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The Mortality Experiment – Halo Scot
Secrets are sentient. In the far, foreign future, a deep-space mission turns catastrophic when the crew’s personal demons become literal demons and seek revenge.
The Ward gathers broken souls for doomed missions. RJ, Kaj, Mazha, and Jace fit the bill perfectly…perhaps too perfectly. A criminal past, a dangerous dream, a tragic accident, and an unbearable shame comprise the secrets that haunt and consume them. They run from their pasts, escape toward their futures, and when the Ward opens a door, they all barrel through, leaving the Protectorate’s interstellar sanctuary for a paycheck and adrenaline.
Once in deep space, however, the secrets they buried burst free from their graves and gain a murderous sentience intent on revenge. The four crewmates must fight to overcome their deepest regrets, or their secrets will destroy them.
But secrets are mortal wounds. They don’t heal easily…and they don’t like to heal, either.
CONTENT WARNING: THE MORTALITY EXPERIMENT is a highly graphic novel intended for mature audiences, including on-page murder, death, torture, mutilation, abuse, child abuse, substance abuse, violence, sex, rape, incest, and mental illnesses. This list is not comprehensive. Please read at your own risk.Current average rating is 5 stars on Goodreads. This is a new title, it arrived fresh to my Kindle during the night. (31.10.2022)
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If you’re wondering how Estonians celebrate the spooky season, which is much like Halloween, then you can find a brief description here. I think what I like most about our celebrations is how singing has kept its place, and riddles…
And there we have it… What are you planning to read during spooky season?
Very spooky covers! Love the sound of the riddles. Is the answer a hand? 🤷♀️
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🙂
Nope, the answer isn’t a hand… I’ll give you a hint… the answer is something that might cause an empty pocket! 😉
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A hole? 🤔
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Bingo! 🙂
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Yay!
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I want to know the answer too! The first one sounds really good, very mysterious both in the past and the present! I don’t even know if I’ve read any horror yet, but if it’s like the movies, no thank you. I can’t even watch the little trailers during commercial time for what’s coming tonight and this week 😋
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Ah! Yes… I, on the other hand, am very fussy with my horror, I don’t find anything scary 😀 My bestie is like you, though, she can’t take any horrory stuff either… It’s amazing how we’re all so differently wired, isn’t it?
Yes! I think the first book is part mystery/thrillery kind of book… I really hope I have some time to read more soon… I have so many good books waiting to be read…
and as for the answer to the riddle? 🙂 hehehehe… I’ll reveal the answer tomorrow… just in case someone else wants to have a go at guessing 🙂
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Maybe it’s in our dna and we can blame the parents for it :-). I know they don’t watch horror movies either but now I’m wondering why. Next time I’ll ask them. Should be an interesting topic for a conversation :-). Keeping up the suspense I see for the answer, I don’t mind, I’m very patient!
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Hahaha… what a brilliant idea… in fairness, you might also be so right! I am nearly 36 years old and one of my earliest memories is the scene from Terminator 2 where a robot foot lands on a skull (after the nuke had gone off) and, I saw that in early nineties when I was very young. I recall being up past my bedtime with my father and (10 years older) brother watching it… 😀 but, I think I turned out okay in the end 😀
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Answer to the riddle, as Nicky guessed it – a hole.
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Ah good one! I enjoyed this!
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At Halloween, when I was a kid, we had to sing before we got a treat. Apples, oranges and sweets – no money involved and no tricks!
I have downloaded Die Schwarze Spinne by Jeremias Gotthelf (fancied reading the original as a scarier experience!)
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Exactly, even my youth, which was some 20 years ago, it would have been apples and some sweets, defo no money involved. Nowadays, it sounds like the money is becoming a thing. Sad.
You read in German, too? That’s awesome… It’s always an interesting contrast for a book in different languages…
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I can do German and French, but nothing too long; I’d like to be able to read more originals.
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And even though I am terrified of spiders (I know! original of me 😀 ) I have added the book to my TBR… the fact this was written in 1842 makes me really want to read it… Thanks for the rec!
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I love the sound of The Snow!
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Yes! I have high hopes for it 😀
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I long for the days when Horror had a major psychological factor to it instead of just being over the top gore and violence. You’ll have to let me know how well those first two books do with having some mind-play to them. I was all but ready to give up on finding any new Horror with solid psychological content until I read Ring Shout. I was pleasantly surprised; although it did have its share of gore. 🔪
There used to be a riddle from my childhood about a hole in an empty pocket. American kids don’t seem to be as much into riddles anymore, even less than when Baz was a youngster. Which is a shame. 😛
I love those November traditions! Thanks for sharing the link. Maybe next year you could do a post about it and take photos. Do they still do the processions where you live? 🙌🙌🙌
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I would agree with you on the horror front. I never got the point of the gore and blood – how is that scary? It’s just gross. I guess it’s scary to those who can’t stand the sight of blood… but I also appreciate the psychological aspect more. The creepiness… it’s hard to get across… The only horror movie that creeped me out big time was The Blair Witch Project and I think half of it was down to having to walk dark forest roads to get from A to B… Say, a sauna night in my sister’s house – bloody pitch black forest road and I wasn’t afraid of running into wolves or moose, I was afraid of hearing stones clacking hahahaha…
Yep, the smaller rural areas would still have the traditional vibe going… towns and cities have more apartment blocks and it just isn’t the same… I will certainly try to capture some photos.. as Leiger gets older, I should get him into the tradition as well, to try and keep it going…
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