Hi, friends! Today we have Chelsea from Books For Thought sharing great bookish costumes! Take a look at what she has to offer and head over to Amy & Brittany’s blogs to see who they have featured today! Don’t forget, we are hosting wonderful bloggers & authors for two whole weeks with recipes, book recommendations and a lot more awesome!
6 Easy Bookish Costumes for Kids and Adults
Hello lovelies! I’m really excited to be taking part in Fortnight of Fright again this year! One of my favourite things about Halloween is deciding on a fun costume to wear! The only downside is that I’m not one of those people who likes to wear the teeny tiny women’s costumes they sell in stores. I have nothing against those who do, but it’s not for me. So I decided to do some digging and find some great costumes that aren’t only easy to make, but cover me up! Here are some great bookish costumes that you guys can try out! (If any of you do try a bookish costume please share!!)
Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin
I LOVE this idea! It’s great for couples!
The Man in the Yellow Hat
From Curious George. This one is especially great for kids!
Hi, friends! Today we have Lindsey (aka Bangs) showcasing her feature Book People Talk Movies! She is chatting all about The Lost Boys, and has made me want to go home and watch this immediately! Take a look at what she has to offer and head over to Amy & Brittany’s blogs to see who they have featured today! Don’t forget, we are hosting wonderful bloggers & authors for two whole weeks with recipes, book recommendations and a lot more awesome!
For info on my feature over on Bring My Books, Book People Talk Movies, click here!
I’m so excited to be able to do a guest post about one of my favorite …”horror” movies (read the whole thing before you judge my use of the word horror, haha!)
I can’t remember the first time I saw this movie, but I remember being immediately enraptured by every single scene. The whole thing is so quintessentially 80s I just can’t even (if you know me then you know how I LOVE the 80s!).
I’ve never personally been into horror movies, considering The Craft one of the freakiest movies I’ve ever seen (seriously, nightmares for weeks). I will gladly take a rom-com or a period piece over a scary movie any day – so I always find it surprising when I end up liking (or in this case, loving) a movie that is billed as “scary” or “horror” in any way.
Now I know some of you are thinking “Hey now, I’ve seen this movie …” (well, I hope some of you have seen this and are thinking this…) “…and this is seriously just not a horror flick.” And maybe, by today’s standards anyway, you’re right! BUT, I’m talking about this movie in the way it was intended to be talked about when it was released in the summer of 1987 (just a few months after I was born!), and at that time it was deemed a blend of humor and horror. It’s also relevant to note that it did win a Saturn Award for Best Horror Film in 1987…. Continue reading →
Hi, friends! Today we have Shannon from The Champagne Was Excellent sharing an AMAZING mulled wine recipe…I cannot WAIT to make this! Take a look at what she has to offer and head over to Amy & Brittany’s blogs to see who they have featured today! Don’t forget, we are hosting wonderful bloggers & authors for two whole weeks with recipes, book recommendations and a lot more awesome!
Hey y’all!
This is my very first guest post on a blog… I am so excited AND nervous!
First, a pre-apology for the way I had to edit the photos. Guess what’s really hard to get good lighting for? Red wine.
I’m not great with the scary/thriller/horror parts of the October season, but I AM great with the cozy/delicious/witchy/mysterious parts, so for this post, I’m going to give you one of my favourite recipes and some of my favourite books that feel like cold noses and red leaves and that deep breath you take the first time it SMELLS like fall… which is to say, they feel like coming home.
Lets get to it, shall we?
So, London is part of my DNA. London is a sentient being to me and it is entwined with my heart and soul.
Longest story EVER, shortened- When I lived in Oxford for a semester, there was a pub that I went to almost daily and it’s where I had my first mulled wine.
After I got back to the States, I kept trying to recreate the mulled wine and never could. When we went back a few years ago, I visited the pub and the family and my first sentence to the lovely owner was “HI I MISSED YOU SO MUCH PLEASE FOR THE LOVE TELL ME HOW TO MAKE YOUR MULLED WINE.”
And then I cried for a while because that pub saved my life and NOSTALGIA.
Mulled wine is amazing for any fall or winter party, but I also like to make a batch just for myself, so I can curl up on a cold night with a warm cup of wine and a cozy book.
Today we have Abi from Rambling Writer talking about creepy but not TOO creepy books! Take a look at what she has to offer and head over to Amy & Brittany’s blogs to see who they have featured today! Don’t forget, we are hosting wonderful bloggers & authors for two whole weeks with recipes, book recommendations and a lot more awesome!
If you’re like me then you like some amount of creepiness in stories. When I get in mood I like to have a bit of mystery, a bit of a chill down my back when I’m at the edge of my seat. But I can’t handle too much creepiness or I may have some anxiety problems that night. So if you’re like me then here are a few books I’ve found that have just the right amount of creepy.
Coraline
Goodreads Synopsis: Coraline’s often wondered what’s behind the locked door in the drawing room. It reveals only a brick wall when she finally opens it, but when she tries again later, a passageway mysteriously appears. Coraline is surprised to find a flat decorated exactly like her own, but strangely different. And when she finds her “other” parents in this alternate world, they are much more interesting despite their creepy black button eyes. When they make it clear, however, that they want to make her theirs forever, Coraline begins a nightmarish game to rescue her real parents and three children imprisoned in a mirror. With only a bored-through stone and an aloof cat to help, Coraline confronts this harrowing task of escaping these monstrous creatures.
It’s been quite a few years since I’ve read this book, and it’s actually one of the first soft horror books I’ve read. There are definitely parts of this book that are scary. I think it’s because the main character is so young an put through this nightmare. But it’s a wonderfully written story, and well worth the time. Coraline is actually the book that made me a fan of Neil Gaiman.
Wink Poppy Midnight
Goodreads Synopsis: Every story needs a hero.
Every story needs a villain.
Every story needs a secret.
Wink is the odd, mysterious neighbor girl, wild red hair and freckles. Poppy is the blond bully and the beautiful, manipulative high school queen bee.Midnight is the sweet, uncertain boy caught between them. Wink. Poppy. Midnight. Two girls. One boy. Three voices that burst onto the page in short, sharp, bewitching chapters, and spiral swiftly and inexorably toward something terrible or tricky or tremendous.
What really happened?
Someone knows.
Someone is lying.
I was so not expecting this book to be creepy at all. I, mistakenly thought this was just another contemporary YA story with some mystery. But even thought I was surprised I greatly enjoyed this book. The prose is absolutely gorgeous and I absolutely adored this book.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Goodreads Synopsis: A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.
A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.
Now this book is probably the least creepy book on the list but it’s still a good one. This book is full of magic and has some great and unusual characters. The whole series is fantastic.
The Road
Goodreads Synopsis: A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.
And the last, and most creepy book on the list is one that I read just a few years ago. Honestly I don’t know if I’ll ever read this book again. The Road is intense and has some really brutal parts. But it’s wonderfully written and shows a very realistic side to the world after the apocalypse.
Hi, friends! Today we have Rachel from Go Read A Book talking about some awesome throwback Disney! Take a look at what she has to offer and head over to Amy & Brittany’s blogs to see who they have featured today! Don’t forget, we are hosting wonderful bloggers & authors for two whole weeks with recipes, book recommendations and a lot more awesome!
Best Throwback Disney Channel Halloween Themed Movies and Episodes
I don’t know about you guys, but I personally have fond memories of watching 90’s Disney Channel Original Movies and TV shows. Disney loved Halloween, and that meant a lot of memorable episodes and movies dedicated to the holiday. Not going to lie, some of these were even pretty lame as a child, and they would be even worse now, but they are still notable nonetheless. I’ve also attempted to find links so you can watch them on YouTube. Here are some of the creepiest, funniest, cutest, and just straight up weird DCOM’s and episodes.
Disney Channel Original Movies:
Is there any Halloween themed DCOM out there better than Halloweentown? I think not. I’ve decided not to include the sequels because nothing beats this one, in my opinion. This movie is mostly sweet and heartwarming, but some parts are ridiculously creepy. Let’s be real, I had nightmares over that one scene with evil Kalabar in that movie theater. Kalabar is a truly terrifying dude and I’m still not entirely over it.
So this movie is so creepy that it received the first PG rating on Disney Channel. Don’t Look Under the Bed is scary because a boogeyman is created when a child stops believing in his or her’s imaginary friend. Yeah, this made me afraid that my old imaginary friends would become the boogeyman, lurk under my bed, and then kidnap me.
Honestly, I was never a big fan of Twitches and I doubt I even bothered with the sequels. Halloweenteen already delivered with witches, though I am a fan of both Tia and Tamera. I included this on my list because it’s pretty popular and definitely entertaining.
This movie is pretty freaking cheesy, but what else would you expect from Disney? I won’t lie, I really enjoyed watching this when I was a little kid. Like the title says, it’s about a mother who goes out with a guy, and it becomes a major nightmare when the kids discover that he is actually a vampire. I distinctly remember that even though I was young, I was still well aware that the acting was pretty terrible. Whatever though, this is still a creepy and fun movie.
So it’s been FOREVER since I’ve seen this movie. A lot of the movies on this list are ones that I’ve watched multiple times, but I’m pretty sure that I only saw this one once like a million years ago. From what I can remember, it’s on the lighthearted side. I mean, what Disney movie about mummies coming to life can be legit scary? The good news is that I was actually able to find this one on YouTube so you can watch this one for yourself!
Yet another DCOM that I don’t totally remember very well at all. This one was extra silly and kind of ridiculous at times. Like it’s not all that creepy since the so called phantom committed mostly fairly weird pranks. There was a slight plot twist to it, well it was shocking when you were only a child anyway. Sidenote: how odd and random is it that Mickey Rooney makes an appearance?
Disney Channel episodes:
Even Stevens – A Very Scary Story
Despite the fact that everything turns out in the end, you can’t deny that this episode is extremely creepy. Even Stevens is easily one of my personal favorite Disney shows, and this is such an epic and memorable episode. It’s honestly caused me to think of eyeballs differently.
It doesn’t get more classic than Lizzie McGuire. This show never gets old to me, I could watch it all day. This is a great episode that revolves around a Halloween dance, a prank, Day of the Dead, and skeletons. Trust me though, those skeletons on the table are likely to give you nightmares for a night or two. This is an episode that you must watch or re-watch this Halloween!
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody – The Ghost in Suite 613
Note: the quality of this video isn’t so great, but it was sadly the best one that I could find. What’s scarier than a haunted hotel room? The whole Suite Life gang decides to camp out in the haunted room, and gets a major surprise. This show will always hold a special place in my heart.
That’s So Raven – Don’t Have a Cow
That’s So Raven was one of my favorites growing up, and still remains a classic today. I recently watched this episode again, and found it just as shocking as I did the first time I watched it. Seriously, I forgot what exactly was going on so the whole Chelsea and Raven turning into cows was very terrifying to me.
So there’s my list of favorite throwback Disney episodes/movies that focus on this awesome holiday. I know I left a lot of memorable ones out, but I didn’t want to include anything that I personally didn’t remember or watch at one point. I still would love to know what your favorites are!
Hi, friends! Today we have my dear friend Cassie from Rants and Raves of a Bibliophile talking about her favorite witchy books! Take a look at what she has to offer and head over to Amy & Brittany’s blogs to see who they have featured today! Don’t forget, we are hosting wonderful bloggers & authors for two whole weeks with recipes, book recommendations and a lot more awesome!
FAVORITE WITCHY BOOKS
As a fanatic of all things Fall and Halloween, one of my favorite parts of this season is curling up with a good book about the unknown, ghosts, doppelgangers, and more importantly, WITCHES. Witch lore and stories have always fascinated me, so it’s not surprising I wrote this post as a recommendation of the best witch-tastic books for you to read this month.
Why should you read this play?: The Three Witches (or the Weird Sisters) are the most iconic witches in literature who create turmoil and conflict with their chants. Their ominous prophecies and contradictory appearance set up a plot full of misinterpretations and a deep pondering of freewill versus fate.
Best Witchy Series in Middle Grade Literature/Young Adult Literature
Why should you read this series?: The Harry Potter series will always hold a special place in my witch-loving heart. This series is magical in every way. It’s a book that encompasses a fantastical world, memorable and lovable characters, and an epic showdown between good versus evil. The story, setting, lore, and characters are perfection.Continue reading →
Wow. We are back here for a FIFTH year for Fortnight of Fright and I can hardly believe it!! As many of you know, September – January is my very favorite time of year and Halloween is my one true love! Therefore, it is no question that Fortnight of Fright is something that I love hosting along with Brittany (The Book Addicts Guide) and Amy (Tripping Over Books)!
For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about (hello, and welcome!) Fortnight of Fright is a time in which we host and share different posts related to Autumn and Halloween! We work with you guys and some amazing authors to showcase some creepy books, interviews, movies, and SO MUCH MOAR! There is no limit on what you can post about! Do you have a signature Halloween or Autumn cocktail recipe? Pinterest board filled with DIY decorations? A book recommendation for those of us who love to be scared? We want it all!! JOIN US!!
Sign ups will be open from 9/12-9/25 and you will be notified the following week to confirm your post topic, and so on. We are going to ask that all posts get to us the week of 10/10 as we will be hosting you during the event which runs from 10/17-10/31! As always, the more the merrier, so scroll on down to our Google Doc and sign up to help us out!
Also don’t forget about All Hallow’s Read and the giving of books in lieu of candy!
Wondering what we had going on from years past? Check it out:
Today we have my dear friend Lauren helping you all out with some not so creepy Halloween recommendations!! Though Halloween is indeed my favorite since I love being scared (and the Halloween decor is the type that I keep up all year round) I still know that a lot of you don’t love the whole horror vibe! So I am going to let Lauren take it away and help you guys out with some things to read, watch, and eat!!
I have to say, I think it’s kind of funny that I ended up here on Alyssa’s blog, with my post full of non-creepy Halloween things. Alyssa is probably the first person I think of when I think of scary things, skulls, and anything else along those lines (that I tend to avoid). Regardless, I’m happy to be here on her blog because Alyssa is one of my favorite people even though she’s like the Lucille Bluth-iest.
SO today, I’m here to share some Halloween fun from a person who usually doesn’t get into the scary, horror-filled books or movies of the season. I love fall more than most people (my birthday and football and pumpkin things!), but just… not the scary stuff. My mom is the complete opposite so it’s kind of weird that I turned out this way. Regardless, here are my picks for how to enjoy the Halloween vibes of October without getting scared.
I’m not opposed to being scared every once in a while, but horror or mystery books are usually not the first ones I reach for. Fall is a great time for getting a little creeped out by what you’re reading… but I usually prefer not to be looking over my shoulder thinking there’s a ghost. (Reading in the dark apartment while my boyfriend is asleep makes me too nervous sometimes.) I’ve curated a list of books that are FAIRLY creepy or have a cool mystery/thriller vibe to them, but probably won’t cause you to be afraid of the dark. I also included a TBR of some of the books I hope to read this season. In addition to all of the Halloween-y books, I included some movies and recipes to get you in the spirit!
Readers, you are the luckiest today! SUPER excited today to have Becky from Stories and Sweeties join me today because not only is she reviewing a book that I have been dying to read, but she is giving us an AMAZING cupcake recipe. Take it away, friend!
Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release date: September 29th, 2015
Intended audience: Young adult
Stand-alone
Source: from publisher for honest review
Rating: 4
Review: Daughters unto Devils is all the things I want for a perfect Halloween read. Incredibly eerie atmosphere, a classic horror movie feel to it, a touch of gore, and plenty of spine-chilling scenes that make you hesitant to turn out the light at night—it’s all here.
Amanda Verner makes for a great unreliable narrator. The Verner family lives on a mountain side and their isolated family dynamic and extreme piety makes them feel like a bizarre and twisted Little House on the Prairie. They were trapped in their house during a bad winter, clinging to their lives and their sanity, while the flu-stricken mother gives birth to a deaf and blind baby. Something happened to Amanda that winter, and it’s unclear if the isolation got to her head or if she truly saw something in the woods. Her bewildered family questions her goodness and her sanity nearly as much as she does herself. After a secret affair with a boy from town leaves her with child, she finds herself lost and at odds with her only ally, her sister Emma.
At the threat of another bad winters, the family fleas to the plains—and that’s where the creepy really sets in. Terrifying things start happening, you get a few of those classic horror moments where you find yourself yelling at the characters, “No! Why would you do that?!” The haunting past of the plains and their new house takes its toll on the whole family until things spin out of control and culminate in a wildly gut-churning end.
There are definitely no shortage of disturbing scenes in Daughters Unto Devils—not for the faint-hearted, but absolutely perfect for readers looking for a truly horrifying Halloween read.
Devilishly Sweet Cupcakes
I’ve come up with a Halloween treat to perfectly accompany you while you dive into Daughters Unto Devils! Rich devil’s food cake, fluffy cream cheese frosting, and a bloody good surprise inside! 😉
Hey monsters! Today we have Jaime bringing you a solid review of a creepy read, The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich! I have to tell you guys that this one was on my TBR for this month and I just don’t think that I am going to fit it into the schedule, which makes me so sad, especially after reading Jaime’s review! Take it away, Jaime!
The Dead House
Dawn Kurtagich
September 15th, 2015 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Part-psychological thriller, part-urban legend, this is an unsettling narrative made up of diary entries, interview transcripts, film footage transcripts and medical notes. Twenty-five years ago, Elmbridge High burned down. Three people were killed and one pupil, Carly Johnson, disappeared. Now a diary has been found in the ruins of the school. The diary belongs to Kaitlyn Johnson, Carly’s identical twin sister. But Carly didn’t have a twin . . .
Re-opened police records, psychiatric reports, transcripts of video footage and fragments of diary reveal a web of deceit and intrigue, violence and murder, raising a whole lot more questions than it answers.
Who was Kaitlyn and why did she only appear at night? Did she really exist or was she a figment of a disturbed mind? What were the illicit rituals taking place at the school? And just what did happen at Elmbridge in the events leading up to ‘the Johnson Incident’?
Chilling, creepy and utterly compelling, THE DEAD HOUSE is one of those very special books that finds all the dark places in your imagination, and haunts you long after you’ve finished reading.
I LOVE a good horror story, any time of the year, but especially around this time of the year. When it is starting to get cold outside, the leaves are changing and it gets dark earlier. Fantastic background for getting the crap scared out of you. Unfortunately, I didn’t get too scared reading The Dead House. Fortunately, I loved it anyway!
Dawn knows how to write a creepy story, no doubt about it. And the fact that she writes it in the form of diary entries, newspaper articles and police reports is truly impressive. Like I said, I never really got scared, but the creep factor was high. Kaitlyn Johnson is a very unique character. She is definitely the darker half of the Carly/Kaitlyn duo. Her descriptions of living the night are right on target with an angsty, scared and lonely teen girl. She wasn’t the most relatable or likeable character ever, but I loved her anyway. Being in her head was downright disturbing! The other characters in the story take a backseat to Kaitlyn, but they were very well written characters. There wasn’t a character involved in the story that didn’t have a place in it, or didn’t add something to it. Even the most minor ones. Continue reading →
aughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics
The Dead House
Books Take You Places 