Mischief Night Massacre: Ten Tales of Halloween by Jason Parent

 

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Four "Halloween Horror" Stars

Chills and Thrills!

A small taste of what lies within:

This book has 10 short story collections. I am just going to list out a handful with a cryptic statement to give you a taste of what lies within:

Russian Dollhouse:

An old abandoned house that friends go to check out on Halloween and they see horrific things that are worse than nightmares.

Keeping Up Appearances:

A robbery goes south when the homeowners are not what they seem to be.

A Not Not-So-Scary Halloween:

A sister and brother are visiting relatives in Florida for Halloween and their cousin tells them about the alligators that roam the area.

Ride Like the Devil:

A carnival ride that has got a bad rap as something bad happened in the past.

Last Halloween:

Something is hiding out in the woods that will cause some high school friends to wonder what they have stumbled across.

Thoughts:

The other stories in this book collection you will need to discover for yourself as they will take you to horror places that delve deep into the recesses of this author's mind! 

The stories locked within these pages will give you chills and thrills as you read them as the author threw a little bit of every kind of spooky in this book! For a Halloween collection of stories all of these creepy tales have the atmosphere of all things Halloween. 

Attached is the author, Jason Parent, profile page from Goodreads:

Jason Parent

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Jason Parent

My review from Goodreads:

My Review

Psycho by Robert Bloch

 

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Four "Killer Thriller" Stars

Thrills & Chills!

Thoughts:

I am not doing a small taste within as I am sure everyone knows about the movie Psycho and have read the book as well. So I am just giving out my thoughts on the story.

This was my first time reading the book though I have watched the movie more than a dozen times. The movie does stay close to the book - it almost parallels the book except for the size of Norman Bates. The book has him being heavy and the movie has him being thin. Other than that I thought the movie stayed true to the book. 

I think the movie is creepier but I could feel the dread and terror slowly seeping under my skin as I read the story. The story moves at an even pace - I wouldn't really consider it a slow burn as the story just seems to move along at a good clip and brings the spookiness of how Norman affects those around him. All in all a great classic horror thriller that I am happy that I finally read. 

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Robert Bloch

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Robert Bloch

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My Review

The Ninth Gate (1999)

 

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Four "Horror Suspense" Stars

Streaming service: Tubi

Release date: 1999

Main cast: Johnny Depp, Emmanuelle Seigner, Lena Olin, and Frank Langelia

Story Synopsis:

Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) specializes in tracking down rare and exotic books for collectors. Dean is hired by Boris Balkan (Frank Langelia) to track down books that might be genuine to a book that he owns which is a satanic text called the Nine Gates. Balkan wants Corso to make sure that the book Balkan owns is genuine and to find out if the other books out there are genuine or forgeries. Corso is on a ride for his life when mishaps start happening to him on his quest to find the books. 

Thoughts:

This was a great movie - lots of intrigue and suspense. There is quite a bit of occult vibes running through the film and it kept me glued to my seat to find out what was going to happen to Corso on his pursuit to finding the books. I don't remember seeing this movie before either - I have seen it as far as advertising but never sat down to watch the movie. It is quite lengthy too - around 2 hours and 15 minutes long. All in all a great movie and I am glad that I finally watched it.  

Movie trailer for your viewing pleasure: 

The Nineth Gate movie trailer

Bedbugs by Lee Andrew Taylor

 

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Four "Bites and Blood" Stars!

Infested Intrigue!

A small taste of what lies within:

The town of Lemonsville has been invaded by alien infested bedbugs and it has turned the town upside down as the residents are being attacked to the point that they don't know what they are all going to do as these bedbugs are deadly and unseen! Can the residents of the town survive the onslaught? 

No spoilers here as you will need to read the book to see what happens! 

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author and this story starts out with some action which never lets up throughout the whole book! There are quite a few characters to keep up with but the story never slows down and there is also quite a bit of gore scenes within the story as well which made me grab my gore suit! 

The author goes into some descriptive details with the gore scenes which started making me squirmy and also I was itching some throughout this story. Another author added to my discovered list. 

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Lee Andrew Taylor

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Lee Andrew Taylor

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My Review

Annabelle Comes Home (2019)

 

😈😈😈😈😈

Five "Leave the Lights On" Stars

Streaming service: Tubi

Movie Year: 2019

Movie Cast (Main): Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Grace McKenna, Madison Iseman, and Katie Sarife

Story synopsis:

Ed and Lorraine Warren keep the possessed doll Annabelle locked up in their artifact room in their house. But when they go away for the evening and leave a baby sitter in charge of their daughter is when things go awry as Annabelle brings to life the evil spirits in the artifact room causing havoc and terror in the household. 

Thoughts:

This is one scary movie! I was freaked out through most of it as the tension and the jump scares kept me on the edge of my seat! It was almost as scary to me as watching the first Conjuring movie which also freaked me out. 

This movie gave me the "heebie jeebies" and almost made me want to leave the lights on in my room. I watched this movie in the dark - not a good idea. lol   The movie gets five stars from me for keeping me spooked!

Movie Trailer for your viewing pleasure:

Annabelle Comes Home Trailer

Tomb of Gods by Brian Moreland

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Five "Tomb Terror" Stars
 

Spooky Suspense!

A small taste of what lies within:

Imogen Riley is on a quest to learn what happened to her grandfather years ago on an Egyptian archaeological dig and what he discovered if anything on the dig but to do that Imogen will need to retrace her grandfather's footsteps into an unknown world of Egyptian intrigue to learn the truth! 

That is about all I can hand out on with a small taste without giving away spoilers so if you want to know more then go read this book!

Thoughts:

This book was one spooky ride into the historical Egyptian realm as the author, Brian Moreland takes the reader deep into a supernatural world of terror! This book kept me flipping pages and staying up to the early morning hours reading as it was hard to put it down with so much happening within its pages! 

There were lots of spooky moments and quite a bit of dread feelings along with some claustrophobia moments as well. There were a few characters within the story but they were easy to keep track of throughout the book. I have come to love books by Brian Moreland as his stories are told in descriptive detail to the point that you feel that you have been transported into his world. The visuals of the story just pop right out of the pages and keep you suspended within the story. 

Another great book by this author added to my favorites shelf. :)

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Brian Moreland

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Brian Moreland

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My Review

Moonfall by Tamara Thorne

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Five "Halloween Horrors" Stars

Creepy & Spooky! 

A small taste of what lies within:

The small town of Moonfall is known for bringing the Halloween experience to an all time fun escapade with their Halloween Haunt that takes place every year, but something happens in the town of Moonfall in 1972 on Halloween that brings tragedy to the Lawson family. Then 24 years later it seems that once again tragedy stalks the small town as a murder has taken place that almost drives the town apart! 

What is happening in the town of Moonfall? What was the tragedy that took place on Halloween in 1972? No spoilers here as you will need to read the book!

Thoughts:

This was a great novel about Halloween and all things spooky! There were quite a few characters to keep track of in this story which each one has their own story to tell but that is not the only thing this story has going for it as the author gives descriptive details of the town itself bringing the atmosphere of the town to life on the pages of this book. 

The flow of the story moves along at a steady pace as the author took me deep into the town of Moonfall - the characters of the story just pull you into their world and make you experience everything that they go through as the mystery of Moonfall deepens into the spooky zone! 

Looking forward to stepping into more books by this author as I have a few more simmering on my kindle that I need to read by her. 

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Tamara Thorne

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Tamara Thorne

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Tamara Thorne

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

The Shadow Within by Eric Butler

 

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Four "Stalker Slasher" Stars

Stalking Evil!

A small taste of what lies within:

Jack and his girlfriend Jill along with his two teenagers, Allen and Kim decide to take a vacation out to the country - a place that Jack has been to before with his kids but Jack wants to spend time with Jill and show her a fun time. 

Though there will be anything but fun as one of the town citizens is gruesomely murdered and the Sheriff is having a hard time solving the case - it is possible that the Shaw family  who is considered to be cursed could be behind the killings. 

There will be hell to pay though when Jack's family crosses paths with the Shaw family as no one is safe from the evil that has possessed one of the family members and Jack and his family will have to do everything they can to survive!

That is about all I can give on a small taste without giving away spoilers so if you want to know what happens then go read this book!

Thoughts:

This was my second time reading this story and I wanted to see if my first impression still rang true the second time around which it did. So this blog review will not be changing much at all as my feelings for it the first time are still there the second time.

The world building with this book was a little slow and really didn't kick in with lots of action till after the 50% mark of the book then it went into some crazy twists and turns which kept me glued to my kindle.  I would consider this to be a twisted slasher/possession story that goes into gory graphic details with the murders that happen within this book and the pace of the story becomes faster after the half way point. 

The only reason this book is not getting five stars is because there seemed to be too much romance/sex between the characters Jack and Jill and couple of other characters in the story - there was quite a bit of it throughout the book which to me it is okay to have some but not to have the first half of the book to be mostly sex with a trickle of slasher action.  The last half of the book was more slasher action which was what I waiting for to kick in. All in all though the writing is smooth and as always I really do love the writing style of this author. 

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Eric Butler

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Eric Butler

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My Review

Jack Rose (Jack Daniels #21) by J.A. Konrath

 

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Five "Killer Thriller" Stars

Suspense Mixed with Mystery!

A small taste of what lies within:

Jack is back in this installment as Harry McGlade is the guest of honor at a serial killer convention where fans dress up as their favorite killers. Jack is with Harry at the convention but things go wonky when a storm blows through and everyone has no place to go or escape. 

When murders starts happening is when things go south and it will be up to Jack and Harry to get down to the bottom of things! 

That is about all I can hand out on a small taste so if you want to know more then go read this book! 

Thoughts:

Once again as I stepped into this Konrath book I knew that I was going to be wrapped within this author's mind once again and thrown back into the heat of things with Jack.  The main characters return in this next installment along with jokes from character Harry McGlade which keeps me chuckling quite a bit. 

There is quite a bit of tension, suspense, and mystery with this story which kept me staying up late a few nights as I had a hard time putting this book down. Once I got started down the path of Jack and Harry there is no turning back! Another great book in this series of Jack Daniels and looking forward to reading more in the future. 

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J A Konrath

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J A Konrath

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My Review

Hemlock by David Kempf

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Four "Haunted Hemlock" Stars

Spooky! 

A very small taste of what lies within:

Gordon Donovan decides to stay at the Hemlock Hotel in Pennsylvania as he has a show that is considered to be skeptics to hauntings and paranormal happenings, but what lesson does Gordon learn from staying at the hotel? 

No spoilers here as you will need to step into this short story if you want to know more as that is about all I can hand out with a small taste!

Thoughts:

I never get tired of reading this author's short stories as he is able to whip up some cool stories that takes you deep into his haunted mind! Once again I found myself barreling along within this story and I was finished with it before I realized it. Another great story by this author!

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David Kempf

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David Kempf

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My Review

The Lodge by Jeremy Eads

 

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Five "Dangerous Demon" Stars

Bloodcurdling B&B

A small taste of what lies within:

The Maple Lodge, a bed and breakfast, that sets in Southwest Virginia is home to Solomon Drury VI, a demon who runs the Lodge and anyone that passes on their way through the area is welcome to stay there. 

Shirley McGreggor is on the run from the law and needs a place to stay for the night - when she comes across the Maple Lodge she finds Solomon to be accommodating and helpful to her, but what she doesn't realize is that something is not quite right about Solomon and the Lodge and before she realizes it Shirley becomes entangled in a web of terror! 

That is about all I can hand out on a small taste so if you want to know more then go read this book!

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author and I was quickly drawn into the story fast as I didn't have time to catch my breath as things happen right away in the story. The story just grabbed me from the first page and it sent me on a spooky trip into a mystery and cold terror zone! 

I would find myself staying up late at night to read the book and I just could not lay the book down! There are a few story lines with different characters that come into play as they all come in contact with the main character Solomon but the author kept everything flowing smoothly and I found myself just drawn into the world of the Maple Lodge. 

Another author added to my list of ever growing indie authors and looking forward to reading more by this author in the future. 

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Jeremy Eads

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Jeremy Eads

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My Review

The Exorcist's House: Genesis by Nick Roberts

 

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Five "Spooky Scared" Stars

Night Terrors!

A small taste of what lies within:

Timelines 1967 and 1997:

1967

Merle Blatty who was just starting out to be an exorcist goes through scary situations as he tries to investigate a murder that happened in West Virginia but in the meantime paranormal things start happening to him at his home as the forces of evil invade his life.

1997:

Daniel and Nora Hill are finally getting their lives back together after having to endure what they experienced on the farm and house that belonged to Merle Blatty, but when Daniel's brother Adam gets a wild idea to buy the house on a whim to get rich is when things go south as the demons and the occult come rising back into all their lives sending them all into the terror zone! 

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste so if you want to know more then go read this book!

Thoughts:

This was a great sequel to the first book and the creepiness and terror of the story just seeped back under my skin. The story moves at a fast pace and has lots of atmospheric dread that soaks into the story. I had a feeling that this book was going to be creepier than the first book and I was right. 

Another great book by this author and I see there is a third book that is tied into this story so will be reading it soon. 

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Nick Roberts

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Nick Roberts

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My Review