Shivers of Delight

Looking back over my old posts, I find it hard to believe I never shared with you a book that I love to re-read every winter-  The Old Magic of Christmas: Yuletide Traditions for the Darkest Days of the Year  by Linda Raedisch. Krampus may have been the biggest hit of Creepy Christmas in the last few years, but there are so many more dark characters to learn about. In twelve chapters (I doubt that's a coincidence) Raedisch examines witches, elves, trolls, vampires, and werewolves that all have a place in the folklore of winter. This work of nonfiction is an overview of the many pagan traditions and magical creatures of winter that were occasionally adopted by Christian religions.  Within the pages you'll meet La Bafana from Italy, Frau Perchta of Germany, the Yule Cat and the Yule Goat, and the mischievous Yule Lads among many others. Each chapter ends with a few craft or baking projects you can try that honors the characters of that chapter. There is a great deal of info...

I'll admit that I have some lovely bookmarks in my collection and that 75% of the time I use a receipt or the due date slip from the library as a bookmark. You too? That doesn't mean I don't like a clever bookmark. And, I occasionally read two books at once so I need several.  If you want a bookmark that will last for years, and looks great holding your page, you need to check out Cool Bookmarks . Their bookmarks are metal and designed to look as good when the book is closed too.  Grinning Skull Bookmark Cemetery Bookmark with Raven End Coffin Bookmark with Skull End Devil's Trident with Tail End Skeleton Bookmark Ghost Bookmark Edgar Allen Poe Bookmark with Raven End These bookmarks are shipping from the Ukraine so buy now if you're looking for a gift for a spooky reader.

If you enjoy macabre humor, you can't help but be a fan of Edward Gorey. But have you seen the illustrated stories by Landis Blair ? I first heard about Blair from a friend who showed me his shop on Etsy where he accepts commissions to draw memorial portraits of your deceased pets. They're incredible and his black and white, crosshatched, pen and ink drawings will immediately make you think of Gorey. Double Memorial Pet Portrait Then I saw Blair's illustrations for Caitlin Doughty's book "From Here to Eternity." I loved them. Image in From Here to Eternity by Landis Blair It didn't take me long after that to know I needed his works in my collection. Then I discovered he writes and illustrates books! My first purchase was The Regressive Solution to the Progressive Problem .  The Regressive Solution It's sort of a follow-up to "The Progressive Problem" and if you don't want to read about dead cats, I suggest you move alon...

The night before Halloween is called Devil's Night in some communities and mischief is the prime activity. As I was thinking about what (the hell) I was going to post about today (i'm just about Halloween brain dead) it occurred to me that the last two books I've read centered around the devil coming to call. Three books, actually, if we go back a few months. I just finished reading A Head Full of Ghosts (2015) by Paul Tremblay. I've been wanting to read one of his novels for awhile and this book is on Hoopla (you can read it online for free!) The story takes place in current time (there are cellphones and reality tv) and is about the suspected possession of a fourteen year old girl told through the memories of her sister who was eight years old at the time of the event and is telling the story to a best-selling author writing a book about it. The story focuses on the dynamics of the family and how that changes when a reality tv show becomes involved. There are t...

If you like to read spooky stories, I hope you have the magazine The Literary Hatchet bookmarked and "liked" everywhere. Issues come out a three times a year with short stories, poetry, and illustrations from writer-submitted works. According to the publishers subjects range from general fiction to murder, mystery, horror, and things that go bump in the night. The best part is that it's free if you want to download it! Limited numbers of print editions are also available for $14. Issue #23 was just released. You can find it and all the past issues by clicking here .  It's the perfect thing to put on your iPad and take it on vacation.

I finished reading my first horror novel of 2019! Oh sure, I started it in 2018, but finishing is the important thing. Well actually, the important thing for this post is that it was excellent and I want to suggest it to you. Dracul (October 2018) is written by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker. The premise behind the novel is that when Dracula was published in 1897 the editors asked Bram Stoker to remove about 100 of the first pages of the novel. According to accounts, Bram Stoker claimed that the novel was based in fact and wanted to share his knowledge about the evil that roamed the night, but the publisher felt that was too extreme. Fast forward to a bit over 100 years and Bram Stoker's great-grandnephew, Dacre Stoker, starts to search for the missing pages of the original novel. Dracul is Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker's attempt at the missing pages. Using editions published in other languages that the English publisher didn't have rights over, and by searching for ...

Lately, you've probably been reading a lot about the ancient Christmas and winter monsters of Europe. They've been gaining in popularity the last few years- much to the Halloween world's delight. But did you know that the scariest Christmas monster is often the female head of the house tasked with the duties of buying presents, wrapping them, decorating, baking delicate treats, packing for a trip, and working a full-time job? She frightens everyone with her ranting foul-mouth, erratic driving at top speed, excessive drinking, and glowing red eyes. I'm afraid I've become her. So, in order to take at least one task off my list,  I've decided to give myself a little vacation from the Shivers of Delight blog.  (Now I can wrap presents at 6AM!) Don't worry, I'll be back January 2nd with lots of great finds. I'll continue posting on Facebook and Instagram . Are you following me? I'm leaving you though with a great ghost story from A. M. Burrage...

I have always had a soft spot for children's books even though I don't have any children (they scare me.) I do have nieces, though, and so I pretend I'm buying books for them even though I'm going to keep them- I usually just end up buying two copies. Well, I have discovered the most wonderful picture books for spooky toddlers. They're written and illustrated by Kyle Sullivan and Derek Sullivan and I am IN LOVE with the entire series. You'll find them at DPSullivan on Etsy. Let me just quote some of the text: "I don't mean to hassle, and I don't mean to be rude, but it says, 'people in the park must never be nude.'" Get Dressed Sasquatch! Get Dressed Sasquatch! "Five bog monsters are cleaning up their place- HIYA! shrieks Banshee like a meteor from space." Hush Now, Banshee! Hush Now, Banshee! "Hola, Grandma! (Abuela) Chupacabra wants to eat me, (Chupacabra quiere comerme,) and he won't eat anyt...

My cousin surprised me with a little gift she knew I would love. In the mail, I received a cook book. Now, if you know me, you know that I really don't like to cook, but this book is a little different. It's called Cooking with a Serial Killer: Recipes from Dorothea Puente . The facts are these: Dorothea Puente ran a boarding house in Sacramento, CA and she had quite a reputation for the meals she cooked for her borders. As one tenant put it, "Every dinner at Dorothea's was like Thanksgiving dinner." Only one problem, much like Amy Archer-Gilligan (the true murderer behind the movie Arsenic and Old Lace), Dorothea Puente was convicted of murdering her tenants, burying them in the back yard, and cashing their social security checks. In the late 80's Puente was sent to prison where she was eventually befriended by Shane Bugbee. I can only guess that he is a collector of serial killers memorabilia. To be fair, he describes himself as an artist. The friendsh...

I love reading scary stories around Halloween. It's not always easy to find tales that really give you the shivers, and I hate investing time in a novel only to find out it really wasn't that spooky.  Well, I am happy to share with you a book of short stories that will set you up for Halloween. The writer is Howard Odentz and the book is Little Killers A to Z: An Alphabet of Horror . The stories all focus on children as murderers, vampires, zombies and just all around evil. The first story "A is for Andy Who Watches His Dad" will make make your stomach fall to the ground. These are the evil, angry, abused children you always knew were out there. If you're a teacher you might not want to read  "N is for Nancy Who Questions Tradition." Let's just say it doesn't end well for the teacher. There are some supernatural stories like "B is for Boris, and Rifka, and Vlad" about vampires and "X is for Xander Who's Covered in Spitt...

I have a small collection of spooky children's books that I keep tucked away. I purchase them because I either love the story or, more likely, the illustrations. I recently discovered a series of children's books about Georgie, the ghost. They were written by Robert Bright (1902 - 1988.) What's interesting to me about these books is that the first one, Georgie , was published in 1944. Now, that shouldn't be surprising, ghost stories have always been popular, but I wondered if this was the first series of children's books that feature a friendly ghost. Nope, Casper, The Friendly Ghost was first a children's book published in 1939, but didn't become popular until the first cartoon was released in 1945 by Paramount. Does that count? Bright went on to write 13 storybooks about Georgie. He said that he got the idea to write them after finding his children searching under a bed for a ghost. There is even a Christmas story that features Georgie. I feel a ne...

If you're one of those people, like me, who enjoy dark humor then I expect that you're also a fan of Edward Gorey. Many people recognize his cartoonish intro to Masterpiece Theater, but may not know much about him. My husband and I recently attended the exhibit Gorey's Worlds at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT as well as rough cuts of the film The Edward Gorey Documentary Project . The exhibit centers around a collection of art that Gorey bequeathed to the Wadsworth Atheneum. This is art that Gorey collected himself. The Wadsworth had no idea they were in Gorey's will and were quite surprised to hear they were receiving his collection. In the book accompanying the exhibit, the first sentence made me laugh. "Edward Gorey may have thought of it as 'The Doubtful Bequest,' because its arrival was unannounced, like the peculiar visitor in one of his stories." (Gorey wrote a book called The Doubtful Guest. ) Because of our schedule, I actual...

Sometimes, things call to you. You keep getting signs and realize it's time to stop ignoring them and just give in. That's what happened to me with the writer Zora Neale Hurston . Hurston was born in 1891 in Eatonville, Florida and died in 1960 in Fort Pierce, Florida. In between those years, this African-American woman saw more, did more, than I can ever hope to do. Reading is something that I really enjoy, and southern women writers have a special place in my heart. Their writing always seems to be a good combination of the mystical and practical. So, a year or so ago when my friend's girlfriend, an English teach in a local high school, told me her favorite author was Zora Neal Hurston, an African-American writer from the South, I was a bit taken aback. How had I never heard of her? She promised to lend me some books, but time when on and we forgot about it. Then, a few months ago, I opened my Facebook feed and front and center some nonprofit or other had a large quot...

Spooky people know that in days past it was traditional to tell ghost stories on Christmas Eve. It really is a wonderful night for ghost stories, when you think about it. It gets dark really early, businesses are closed and the streets are quiet and empty, and your family is probably all gathered together wondering how to occupy themselves. I'm probably not going to be able to induce anyone to read a short story aloud to the family, but how about viewing a short, made-for-TV, film together? From 1971 until 1978, the BBC produced a special ghost story for their viewers on Christmas Eve (called A Ghost Story for Christmas .) The short films are generally less than an hour long and are based on short stories from veteran ghost story writer M. R. James. Charles Dickens also makes an appearance with his ghost story "Railway Signalman." Most of the episodes can be watched for free on YouTube if you search for A Ghost Story for Christmas /BBC. These are family-friendly...