Fortnight of Fright: Haunted Places

October 28, 2012 by Alyssa

Welcome friends! Thanks for joining me for A Fortnight of Fright over here on Books Take You Places! Fortnight of Fright is an event hosted over two weeks, by myself and Brittany from The Book Addicts Guide, we will be featuring some fabulous posts on all things Halloween!

Today I am going to share some creepy places around New England and we have a guest post from a fellow blogger!

After taking a peek around here, make sure you head over to Brittany’s blog to enjoy some more Halloween fun!!

I am going to stick to New England haunts since that is where I live so first let’s take a look at some of the most haunted places in Connecticut:

Dudleytown: I don’t know anyone who hasn’t heard of Dudleytown, Ed and Lorraine Warren have dubbed this one of the most haunted places in Connecticut and growing up around here it seems that everyone has a story of what goes on in this forest. The story starts off as many do, settlers came to the area and slowly, things started to happen. Things such as suicides and murders!

Norwich State Hospital in Preston, CT: I am slightly obsessed with abandoned asylums and hospitals. They are beyond creepy and it isn’t hard to imagine all of the ways they are haunted. Lucky for me, Connecticut has quite a few of them Unfortunately, patients at Norwich State Hospital were severely mistreated and at times, even tortured. Therefore, it is no question that this is a hotbed for paranormal activity. I have a few friends who snuck in here while we were in college and WOW did they have some stories to tell. These places are of course patrolled by A LOT of police but every time we head toward the casino I make sure to drive by slower than usual speed. You can really feel a difference in atmosphere even from the road.

Salem, MA: How can I not mention Salem? The terrible witch trials took place hundreds of years ago and it’s no wonder why people believe spirits haunt this town. I was lucky enough to take a trip to Salem with Heidi from Bunbury in the Stacks yesterday and I’ll be recapping it for you all tomorrow!

This really is a small percentage of the amazing “haunted” places all over New England. Any place with history is bound to contain some memories, and sometimes these moments lead to paranormal experiences.

If you’re interested in this kind of thing, you should check out The Top Haunted Places in Connecticut.

Let’s hear what Vyki from On the Shelf has to say!

Spooky Local Lore

Every county has some kind of spooky local lore. One of the places in my county is an old cemetery behind one of our local colleges called “Hell’s Gates,” and it has been called this for so long that I can’t even remember what its actual name is. This is one of the creepiest cemeteries I have ever been in!

One a trip to Hell’s Gates one night on a rather cold November night, me and a friend of mine decided to take the camera out and see what we could catch on film (that’s right, film). As soon as we entered into the cemetery, the car heated up and we had to roll the windows down to let the cold air in to cool us off, and it definitely wasn’t the car’s heating system since it didn’t work. When we got the film developed, every picture was full of orbs. For those of you who don’t follow ghostie things, orbs are a way that ghosts show up in pictures. Are they really ghosts? Maybe, maybe not, all I know is that the pictures were FULL of them!

The most known story about Hell’s Gates is the myth about going in and out the same way when you visit the cemetery. It is said that you need to make sure you come in and leave from the exact same entrance; otherwise, one of the cemetery’s ghosts will follow you home. About a year after my sister and her husband moved in to their new house, she decided she was going to go with some friend to Hell’s Gates. When leaving, she went through a different gateway than she came in, not paying any mind to Hell’s Gates’ lore. The whole way home she felt as if someone was following her. Went she walked into the house, she still felt as if there was a presence, and she tried to ignore it. What she couldn’t ignore was the footstep sounds coming from the back room and hallway. She checked around the house and never found anything. Her husband also double checked, but still found nothing at all. From the night she visited the cemetery until they moved out a few years later, there were constant thumps and bumps, footsteps and sometimes even door opening and closing sounds that came from that back bedroom and hallway. Apparently, the ghost became a new house resident and claimed that bedroom!

I want to go back out some night to take some pictures with my digital camera and see what I can catch, but I will definitely be making sure I come out the same way I went in.

Sounds pretty creepy to me! What do you guys think? Do you have any local lore or ghostly stories to share?

Review: Amber House by Kelly Moore

September 28, 2012 by Alyssa

Title: Amber House

Author: Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed & Larkin Reed

Publishing Information: October 1, 2012 by Arthur A. Levine Books

Genre: Young Adult, Gothic, Paranormal

Series information: Book 1 in a planned trilogy

Format: Hardcover, 368 pages

Source: ARC from the publisher via Netgalley

Recommended For: Readers interested in a vibrant, gothic horror story

“Behind me, the sound of chain sliding over wood.

I felt so cold, so squeezed, I could hardly draw in breath. A tear oozed like blood from the corner of my eye.

I made myself turn. Made myself look.

A woman stood in the shaft of moonlight. She was all darkness to me, backlit by the window. I could see thick curls of black hair, the curves of muscled arms, a shapeless drape of translucent gown. All motionless. A spider ran down a lock of her hair, and air escaped me in the smallest gasp. I wanted to shove my fist in my mouth to stop the scream rising in my throat.”

Sarah Parsons returns to her family’s estate after her grandmother’s death in order to assist her mother in selling the old mansion. After spending some time in the house, Sarah begins to find clues regarding her family history and she becomes connected to the house in a very serious way. Sarah begins experiencing echoes left by former “residents” and in time, comes to unravel the mysteries surrounding her mother and grandmother and the very intense legacy of Amber House.

I really enjoyed Sarah as a character because she was easy to relate to as she was a typical teenage girl thrown into an atypical situation. She reacts to certain incidents and characters in a way that shows her shyness, anger or understanding in a wonderful way. Sammy, Sarah’s little brother, plays a very significant role in this novel and as a reader I was very invested in his storyline as his innocence heightened nearly all aspects of the plot. I felt the same frustration and anger over Sarah’s mother as she did and I really appreciated learning more of her story as the novel progressed.

The romance in this novel is an interesting one. There are times when it screamed love triangle but don’t fear, it is so much more complicate than that! Jackson and Richard are polar opposites, both of whom were interesting characters in their own way. I really enjoyed how “real” Richard seemed to me, he was perfectly created to represent that guy in high school. You know, the one all the girls want to date and all the guys want to be even though he is rather douchey? That’s Richard. Jackson, on the other hand, was the best friend who really seemed to understand Sarah and her needs. However, he had a slightly mysterious edge to him that made him more lovable, in my opinion. The best part was that both guys seemed to have their own agenda and as the story progressed, their motives are revealed and emotions become conflicted. I won’t say that it was a slow burn romance between any of the characters, because it is a lot more intricate than that. However, I will tell you that as the story progresses, the romance unfolds slowly and sneakily, and when it finally comes full circle I was left with my emotions spilling over a tiny bit. The best part about Amber House is that though the romance plays a great part in the story, it isn’t the central storyline. Family takes precedence and things play out how they must as important decisions are made.

My main gripe with this novel was that upon finishing it I was enraged and confused because it ended on a note that left so many questions unanswered. I was seriously underprepared for the epilogue and I felt led astray. However, I resorted to Google and after serious searching, I found that Amber House is in fact, part of a trilogy. I breathed a sigh of relief. Bad feelings gone, all is well, and so on. Now my only issue is my impatience in waiting for its sequel!

I found this novel while I was spending time browsing through Netgalley and after reading the blurb (and how gorgeous is this cover?!) I decided to give it a try. Admittedly, I wish I had waited a month or so to read it because it is a perfect read for autumn weather but nonetheless it is a book that has stuck with me months after reading the last page. Amber House is a gothic tale stirring up feelings reminiscent of Bronte’s windy moors and King’s room 237. It is a novel that kept me up way past my bedtime and had me falling asleep with the lights on. For those of you looking for a good “autumn read,” I highly suggest you pick up Amber House. It contains all of the amazing horror elements to keep you looking over your shoulder while also molding in intricate relationships and a deliciously vibrant plot.

Review: On The Day I Died by Candace Fleming

June 1, 2012 by Alyssa

Title: One the Day I Died

Author: Candace Fleming

Publishing Information: July 10th 2012 by Schwartz & Wade

Genre: Middle Grade, Short Stories, Parnormal, Ghost Stories

Series information: Standalone

Format: Hardcover, 208 pages

Source: Received an ARC from the publisher

Recommended For: Any lover of not so scary ghost stories

The phenomenally versatile, award-winning author, Candace Fleming, gives teen and older tween readers ten ghost stories sure to send chills up their spines. Set in White Cemetery, an actual graveyard outside Chicago, each story takes place during a different time period from the 1860’s to the present, and ends with the narrator’s death. Some teens die heroically, others ironically, but all due to supernatural causes. Readers will meet walking corpses and witness demonic posession, all against the backdrop of Chicago’s rich history—the Great Depression, the World’s Fair, Al Capone and his fellow gangsters.

I am not a huge fan of short stories but I am definitely a huge fan of GHOST STORIES! I was so excited to receive this advance copy from Netgalley because it looked and sounded extremely creepy and I was not disappointed!

The story opens with a boy named Mike who is racing to get home by curfew. As he is coming to the bridge he sees a mysterious looking girl standing in the middle of the road (sound familiar, anyone?) he becomes intrigued and decides to give her a ride home. Suddenly, she disappears, leaving nothing behind but her shoes. Being that she has just told him exactly where she lives he decides to drive her shoes home to make sure she got in okay. An old woman opens the girl’s front door and explains to Mike that her daughter has been dead for almost fifty years and every year on the anniversary of her death she obtains a ride from someone driving over the bridge and requests that her shoes be placed on her grave in White Cemetary, a cemetery dedicated solely to teens who have died before their time. Mike ventures to the cemetery and finds the girl, along with many others who wish to tell their tale. Each story is intriguing and many are oozing with supernatural elements that really raise the hair on the back of your neck.

At the end of the book, the author provides some background evidence for each story and the real life inspirations for the characters and their untimely deaths. Though this book was showcased as a middle grade novel and I can’t say that I was ever actually scared while reading it, I was definitely freaked out in the best possible way. The author caters to different needs for the reader. For example, some readers will appreciate the “back from the dead” stereotype where I ADORED Scott’s story. His story was set in a mental hospital and I am slightly obsessed with anything supernatural relating to mental asylums. For some reason it just creeps me out in this magnificent way that has me craving more. Another fun story was based on the legendary “Monkey’s Paw.” There are few people who haven’t heard one version of this fable (or who haven’t seen The Simpsons Halloween Special) and Candace Fleming provided a really interesting new twist. When explaining where she obtained her inspiration she stated that she always wondered what happened to the monkey’s paw at the end of the story and she always imagined it ended up in a garage sale somewhere, which is exactly where her story picks up.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, the stories were just the right amount of creepy to keep me wanting more and I think that any lover of ghost stories will appreciate the different worlds that Candace Fleming creates.

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

January 26, 2012 by Alyssa

Title: Anna Dressed in Blood

Author: Kendare Blake

Publishing Information: August 30, 2011 by Tor

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Supernatural, Horror

Series information: Book 1 in the Anna series

Format: Hardcover, 316 pages

Source: Borrowed from my local library

Recommended For: Readers interested in horror novels that aren’t too horrific and romance novels that aren’t too romantic

“Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas’s life.”

Anna Dressed in Blood was one of the hyped debuts of 2011 and I was initially drawn to it when I saw its awesome cover. Plus I was on a horror kick after reading The Child Thief and I hoped this would live up to my expectations.

The story follows Cas, a sarcastic ghost hunter who follows a “tip” to the town in which Anna resides. Cas was a very unique character, he is following in his father’s footsteps and lives up to his father’s name by following tips around the country and hunting down ghosts to send them to wherever it is ghosts go after they are done hanging on the Earthly plane.

After some research, Cas meets Anna, who I immediately loved. This character was so twisted and layered that I felt all kinds of emotions toward her. The story was beautifully done as her history is revealed in a slow, mysterious way. She starts off as this terrifying character who is disemboweling anyone who ventures into her house and slowly, as her history is revealed, she mellows out in an almost tragic way.

Overall, this story wasn’t as horror filled as I like my novels but it was a good amount of gore for a young adult debut and definitely enough intrigue to keep me guessing and wanting more. As a side note **spoiler alert (kinda)** I HATED THE PART ABOUT THE CAT!! Out loud I literally screamed “Not the cat!!!” and it kind of made me angry because I did NOT think it was necessary! **end spoiler**

I am eagerly anticipating the second installment of this series; it is one of my most anticipated reads of 2012. I recommend this book to anyone who likes horror (that isn’t too horrifying) and a sweet love story (that isn’t too lovey).