Draculas by Blake Crouch, J.A. Konrath, Jeff Strand, and F. Paul Wilson

 

🧛🧛🧛

Three "Vampire Blood Sucker" Stars

This book was literally soaked in blood and gore!

A small taste of what lies within:

Mortimer Moorecock collects artifacts and when he finds an artifact of Dracula's skull he must have it so he buys it. When the package arrives Mortimer decides on the spur of the moment to sink the fangs of the skull artifact into his neck. By performing that dastardly deed will start a chain of events that will lead to an outbreak of people turning into vampires at the speed of light! 

That is about all I can give on a small taste as you will need to read my full review on Goodreads. 

Thoughts:

Well normally a blood soaking gore fest would earn a book like this five stars from me, but I dropped it down to a three star for a reason. This story was loaded with vampire blood and gore action, but it continued on for way too long for me. It was a cross between zombie/vampire action on steroids. 

I felt that it became a little bit too repetitive for far too long with the same thing happening over and over. There were some funny parts within the story and I did like a few of the characters, but this could have been a better book if it had been a tad shorter on page length. 

I did enjoy reading the biographies of the authors and they also have a section in the book where they show the emails that went back and forth between all of them as they were collaborating on this story. That was really interesting reading. 

For my full review of the book, Draculas, by author, Blake Crouch, J.A. Konrath, Jeff Strand, and F. Paul Wilson, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4290058203

Attached is the author, Blake Crouch, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/442240.Blake_Crouch

Attached is the author, J.A. Konrath, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/137270.J_A_Konrath

Attached is the author, Jeff Strand, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/207708.Jeff_Strand

Attached is the author, F. Paul Wilson, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20561.F_Paul_Wilson

Attached is the author, Blake Crouch, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Blake-Crouch/e/B001H6U8X0

Attached is the author, J.A. Konrath, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/J-A-Konrath/e/B000BCH4EM

Attached is the author, Jeff Strand, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Jeff-Strand/e/B001K8D3F0

Attached is the author, F. Paul Wilson, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/F-Paul-Wilson/e/B000AP9H7M

Horror Movies - Halloween October Fest (October 9th - 15th)

 

For the week of October 9 - 15, I discovered about four apps that I downloaded to my firestick this last week and found tons more horror movies to watch. 

Oh and if you are wondering what apps they are then here is what I downloaded: Tubi (not only are there hundreds of horror movies on here - they have thousands of other genres as well to watch), Filmrise (they don't have hundreds of horror movies, but they do have some of the old classics on there that I watched growing up), Pluto TV (there isn't really hundreds on here either, but they have some stuff that I haven't seen in a long time), and Crackle (they don't have that many either, but I just went ahead and downloaded them just to have something extra to watch). So let's get this horror movie party started! 

October 9 - 15:

9) The Manor (2021) - watched on Prime

My rating: 💀💀💀💀

Thoughts:

This was a new movie on Prime and it looked really good so I decided to try it out. Barbara Hershey plays in it - she is the main character. The movie was really good and spooky. The movie centers around Judith Albright (Barbara) who has a stroke and to recuperate she is sent to a nursing home. As she gets settled into the home (manor) residents of the home start dying and Judith thinks that a supernatural entity is responsible for their deaths. 

The movie has tons of mystery in it and I became entranced with the storyline as I was trying to figure it all out too of how the residents were dying. I wasn't sure if it was "something" that was killing them off or if it was just all in Judith's mind, but the last 30% of the movie you find out just what is responsible for the deaths and it blew me away as I was not expecting what the movie threw my way. Very good movie with tons of spooky atmosphere. 

10) The Curse of Buckout Road (2017) - watched on Prime

My rating: 💀💀💀

Thoughts:

This was an interesting movie - kind of spooky in spots. Danny Glover and Colm Feore play in this movie. This plot of the movie centers around urban legends of Buckout Road and some college kids think that it is all just a bunch of bunk as they decide to do a class project regarding the legend but they get a surprise when they find out that the legend might actually be true.

I only gave it three stars as it wasn't mind blowing scary, but there was quite a bit of mystery surrounding the road and just what was haunting the highway. All in all small spooks but nothing that blew my socks off. It takes a lot to "blow my socks off" - trust me! lol

11) Books of Blood (2020) - watched on IMDB

My rating: 💀💀

Thoughts:

This movie was just plain....weird. I really don't even know how to describe it as it was just out there. The plot revolves around a young man that his body is etched in writings from ghosts that want to tell their stories of what happened to them and they continually write on his body making him bleed profusely. Of course this movie is adapted from the book by author, Clive Barker. 

There is really more to the story of the movie but I thought I would just give the basic plot line of what the movie revolves around. I did watch it till the end of the movie even though it was odd as I was kind of just drawn into what was happening. I haven't read any books by Barker either and I think I did try to read this book many years ago, but never could tap into what was going on with the storyline so I gave up on it. If this movie is anything like the book then I can see why I gave up reading it. lol

12) Ghost Ship (2002) - watched on Filmrise

My rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

Thoughts:

I really love this movie! I remember renting it out from Blockbuster back in the day and I think I would rent it every year around Halloween. The plot centers around some salvagers that are approached by a young man that wants them to investigate a cruise liner that disappeared back in the 60's. 

They go out to sea to find the ship and when they find it finally they go aboard to see if anyone is still alive or if they can figure out what happened to the passengers. But what they find is more than they expected as the ghosts come alive on the ship the minute they set foot on it. They also find out that things are not all what they seem with the "young man" either. Lots of spook ghost action within this movie!

13) Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981) - watched on Tubi

My rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

Thoughts:

The first time I watched this movie was back in the late 80's and at that time I thought it was scary! It is still a great movie and it is hard to find, so I was surprised when I found it on Tubi. It has been a long time since I have seen it so it was really a treat to be able to watch it again.

The plot is centered around a man (Bubba) that is slow-minded and is friends with a young girl (Marylee). The girl ends up getting attacked by a dog, but some of the townspeople think that Bubba attacked the girl so they go after him. They end up killing him, but they get their just rewards when his ghost comes back for revenge.  

It is really a spooky story and it is perfect for this time of year. Has all the creepiness of someone that has been accused wrongly and ends up getting their revenge against those people. Though there is also quite a bit of emotion wrapped around the friendship of Bubba and Marylee so you really end up rooting for the ghost of Bubba to take care of the mean townspeople. I might end up watching it again before the end of the month. :)

14) Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005) - watched on Pluto TV

My rating: 💀💀💀💀

Thoughts:

I have seen all the Urban Legends movies, but I really like this one as it is a revenge story too. 

The plot is centered around a young woman (Mary) and her friends that are at a prom with some of the football players as their dates in the late 60's. The young men end up drugging their dates by putting something in their drinks, but Mary only drinks half of her drink and ends up getting in a fight with her date. The young man hits her knocking her out but he thinks she is dead so he hides her body. Forward into time - now the ghost of Mary is back and she is out for revenge against the children of the men who were the football players and she is ready to do whatever it takes to get even for what was done to her. 

This is really a creepy movie and there are lots of tense moments within the movie as well. You are rooting for Mary to get even for what happened to her and she is ends up exacting revenge on not only the children but she ends up getting her revenge against her old boyfriend as well. The children are not really young children either - they are teenagers and they are an unruly bunch kind of like their fathers were when they were on the football team. 

Another great movie to watch this time of year. :)

15) Boo! (2005) - watched on Tubi

My rating: 💀💀💀

Thoughts:

This is a creepy movie and has some spook stuff that jumps out at you as you are watching it. 

The plot centers around an abandoned hospital that is suppose to be haunted. Some boyfriends talk their girlfriends into entering the hospital just to check it out. Unbeknownst to the girlfriends though - a friend of the boyfriends has set up rooms in the hospital with prank props to scare the girls. But what none of them realize is that the hospital has its own pranks that it is getting ready to play on the unsuspecting teenagers. 

When I first watched this movie I thought it was really creepy and it has lots of spook action with the hospital coming alive, but after having watched it couple more times - it is still spooky but nothing that would have me rate it higher than three stars. I still enjoy watching it though for just the scares. 😀

So that wraps up this week of horror movie action! More apps means more to watch and more horror to step into which I love!  I will be back next week with another week of horror movies. 

👻👻 Stay Spooky! 👻👻

This House Is Haunted by John Boyne

 

👻👻👻

Three "No Need to Leave the Light On" Stars

No scares here! 

A small taste of what is within:

Eliza Caine takes a job as a governess in a manor called Gauldin Hall. When Eliza first arrives she is greeted by one of the children instead of the parents and she wonders where the parents are hiding. The first night she is grabbed by the ankles in her bed by an unseen force which leads her on the road to finding out what is haunting the manor and her quest on finding out what happened to the parents of the children as they never make an appearance.

That is about all I can give on a small taste as you will need to read my fully review on Goodreads. 

Thoughts:

First time reading this author and I struggled with the story as it was a slow burn on the haunting. A couple of things happened in the beginning of the book, but most of the story was wrapped around with the character Eliza trying to solve the mystery of what happened to the parents and why did it seem the children had the manor to themselves. 

There are other characters that show up within the storyline, but the whole book is steeped in Eliza trying to find out what is going on within the manor. There is a haunting with a ghost but it is mild compared to what I was expecting and near the end of the book the ghost action finally goes into full throttle. 

For my full review of the book, This House is Haunted, by author, John Boyne, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2756572806

Attached is the author, John Boyne, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7195.John_Boyne

Attached is the author, John Boyne, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/John-Boyne/e/B001HCXVHE

All Hallows Eve (Book of Shadows Vol. 1) by Michael Penning

 

👻👻👻👻👻

Five "Haunting Hallows Eve" Stars

Wow! This was a excellent spooky historical haunted tale!

A small taste of what lies within:

Alice Jacobs is mystified when her husband Samuel goes on a trip searching for the truth of a story about the Salem witches. Alice decides to try and track him down so she heads to Salem along with her young daughter, Abigail. As she begins to try and find out what happened to her husband, her daughter, Abigail disappears along with some other children disappearances. It seems that the town believes that a witch is responsible for snatching the children and they will do anything to get them back.

Where did Abigail disappear off to? What or Who is really haunting the town of Salem? What happened to Alice's husband Samuel? Why does the town think a witch is involved? 

No spoilers here as you will just need to read the book! 

That is about all I can give on a small taste as you will need to read my full review on Goodreads.

Thoughts:

This was a new author to me and I grabbed this book last year around Halloween time, but never stepped into the story until now. What an awesome historical haunting that is wrapped around the ghosts of the witches of Salem as the story is set a hundred years after the witch trials. The author's writing style just flows along and pulls you right into the story. 

I don't normally read a lot of historical haunting stories, but something about this book just seemed to grab a hold of me and as I became involved with delving into the storyline, the author just whisked me away to the historical setting of Salem. 

There are a few things that happen right away too in the story so it never drags along - the pace is perfect and there is also tons of mystery steeped within the storyline as it makes you feel that you want to help solve the mystery of what is happening within the town. 

There is another book in this series, so I will be looking forward to what this author has in store for the next book. 

For my full review of the book, All Hallows Eve, by author, Michael Penning, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3621610444

Attached is the author, Michael Penning, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20231153.Michael_Penning

Attached is the author, Michael Penning, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Penning/e/B087F59C7G

Horror Movies - Halloween October Fest (October 1st - 8th)

 

Normally I do book reviews but this year I wanted to add a blog of horror movies that I will be watching through the month of October and I will add my own star ratings of the movie along with a brief synopsis of my thoughts on each movie.  Also I will be doing a blog weekly until the last week of October. It might not be every night for a horror movie either - sometimes I will skip a night or so, but most part I will be watching something creepy all through the month. 

Some of them are movies that I own and some are movies I watched through either Netflix, Prime or IMDB. Also I might add some creepy true paranormal shows that I watched through Discovery+ as some of those are really scary. 

October 1st - 8th:

1) Final Destination (2000)-  own this one. 

My rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

Thoughts: 

Love this first movie! I felt for Alex with his premonition of his dream but I also felt for the other classmates on how scared they were to know that the dream that Alex had came true. Loved all the characters in this one too. I watch this movie every October too. Out of the whole franchise this first movie is the best in my opinion. 

I gave it five stars as the first time I watched it I really loved it and I think I watched it again right away. Premonitions are scary enough but when they come true like it did for Alex that drives the scare factor up more!

2) I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) - watched on Prime. 

My rating: 💀💀💀

Thoughts:

This movie was okay - I felt that it was just "off" for some reason. Four friends that are in college go off on a weekend getaway to a place that they have no way of leaving the island. Though they don't know it till they get there that they are basically stuck there and of course like with any horror movie a "storm is brewing" and there will be no boats or any type of transport back to civilization. They are stuck in the muck it seems! lol  The hook fisherman is back for another romp against Julie and her new friends. Though when I first watched the movie years ago I had a feeling that something just wasn't right with "Will" so that was a surprise near the end of the movie to find out who he was related to. :) 

3) Jaws 3-D (1983) - watched on Netflix

My rating: 💀💀

Thoughts:

I have never seen this movie till now and it was okay - I wasn't really impressed with the movie. There were not a whole lot of shark action in this movie compared to the first two movies. I thought maybe there would be lots more going on for a third movie but it kind of fell flat for me. 

4) The Disappointments Room (2017) - watched on Prime.

My rating: 💀💀💀💀

Thoughts:

This was a creepy movie and I was surprised to find who all played in the movie too. I didn't know Kate Beckinsale was in this movie and then I was surprised to find Gerald McRainey in the movie too (I use to watch him on the tv show Simon & Simon back in the day). The movie centers around a manor that a young couple move into with their son and as time goes by Dana (Kate) is convinced the house is haunted as she has visions and nightmares of someone coming after her in her dreams. Her husband thinks she is crazy and needs to see a psychiatrist as he is not affected by anything in the house, but Dana's visions start bleeding into reality as the "someone" in her dreams starts haunting the manor. 

I found the movie to be very creepy and some of the movie critics gave the movie low blow ratings - but I would tend to think that the movie would be considered like one of those "B" movies we all use to watch growing up. I don't really go by movie critics as to me I feel that in their eyes if a movie is not a "blockbuster" then it isn't worth their time.  If a movie creeps me out then that is all I care about. So that is why I gave it four stars and I really liked the atmosphere of the haunting as to me it was suspenseful. 

5) Skipped this night as I wasn't home. :)

6) End of Days (1999) - watched on IMDB

My rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

Thoughts:

I actually use to own this movie but I had it on VHS of all things and never replaced it with a dvd. I was surprised to find this movie on the IMDB site as I was flipping through the movie site the other night and came across it. I haven't watched this movie in years. 

The movie is centered around a young woman that is suppose to be the bride of the devil. The Devil needs a vessel so he inhabits a man that is in a bathroom at a restaurant and then he goes on the hunt looking for a woman that is suppose to become his bride. While the Devil is on the hunt for the woman he blows up stuff all around the city causing chaos wherever he goes. An ex-cop becomes involved by the name of Jericho Cane (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) as he also tries to track down the young woman.  

There is a lot more detail about the movie but that would be considered spoilers so I am not going in further with drawing it all out. lol

You will just have to watch the movie or track it down somehow - if you subscribe to Prime then you should be able to watch IMDB through there as it is free for all Prime members. The movie is lengthy though as it clocks in over two hours long! So grab your popcorn and soda as it will be a long night! There are some scary graphics though so I wouldn't recommend letting young kids watch it - they might have nightmares for weeks!  

All in all I rated it five stars as I am just a "Arnold" buff (lol) and the movie has some major creep factors throughout the movie. I don't usually admit it because I consider myself a "hardcore horror" fan, but when I first watched this movie I left the lights on a couple of nights as it is that creepy. 

7) The Conjuring (2013) - watched on Netflix

My rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

Thoughts:

The first time I saw this movie it scared the "hoo-doo" out of me! What is "hoo-doo" you say? I don't know - just something I made up (LOL), but it sounds spooky, right? lol  

This movie has major creep/scare factors throughout the whole movie and no matter what anyone says about if the stories are true or not - I don't care about all that as it is a horror movie and haunted houses are just plain scary no matter if the stories are true or not. 

The story of the movie wraps around a house that is haunted and a family named the Perrons move into the house with their children back in 1971, but they end up having to endure a demonic haunting in the house which ends up being so bad that they reach out to Ed and Lorraine Warren to help them with the haunting. 

This movie is just downright creepy and watching it in the dark of the night doesn't help either - so keep a light on or two as the shadows of your room might be creeping toward you as you watch this movie. The movie is based off a book that is supposedly true which is "House of Darkness, House of Light" by Andrea Perron. The book is broken up into three volumes too which that would make for a lengthy read. I haven't read the book which maybe at some point I need to read considering I do read true ghost story stuff once in awhile. There are up and down ratings for the book too on Goodreads, but at some point I will get around to reading it. 

I rated it five stars because it is just one scary movie and anything that makes me leave a light on or two is going to get five stars. :)

8) The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) - watched on IMDB

My rating: 💀💀💀💀

Thoughts:

This is another scary movie that revolves around a young woman that becomes possessed by a demon. Though most of the movie is back and forth with a trial that takes place of a priest that is accused of killing the young woman while she was in the throes of demonic possession. Lawyers on both sides of the fence fight for the truth of what really happened and if the woman was really possessed or if she was just having psychotic episodes. 

All in all this movie has lots of scare factors and it is another one that is best left leaving a light on or two. The woman goes into full possession mode throughout the movie and there is lots of screaming here and there throughout the story. I had to keep turning it down a little bit as it kept scaring my cat! lol   

Just a funny thing for a moment - at one point in the movie the woman screams and I felt my cat jump up with a meow as she looked at me - probably saying "What the hell are you watching?! Turn that damn thing down as can't you see I am trying to sleep over here!" LOL

Seriously, she gave me that "look" - you all know what it is as I am sure you all have seen it with your pets! 

So I ended up keeping my fingers on the remote control just in case! lol 

Four stars for this movie as it is scary but has a lot of trial/lawyer stuff to go through too. 

So that wraps up my movie watching last week and I hope you all enjoyed my "Horror Movie" blog. I need to start working on this week's blog of horror movies as I already started over the weekend watching some creepy stuff! :)

Till next week - have a fun and filled Spooky Good Time! 

The House on Cottage Lane by Ronald Malfi

 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Scaredy-Cat" Stars

Spooky Halloween Story!

A small taste of what lies within:

Brian along with some of his friends take a little boy named Oliver that lives next door to Brian out for trick or treating on Halloween night, but they end up daring Oliver to enter an abandoned house that might or might not be haunted and Oliver never comes back out of the house. 

That is about all I can give out on a small taste as you will need to read my full review on Goodreads.

Thoughts:

This was a very short story (about 20 pages long) and it was loaded with spooky atmosphere! I have read this author before so kind of knew what to expect, but the creepiness of the story just dug under my skin and there was a major twist at the end of the story making the "spook-factor" device go crazy wild! :)  Perfect read for Halloween with lots of tricks and treats! 

For my full review of the book, The House on Cottage Lane, by author, Ronald Malfi, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2178089308

Attached is the author, Ronald Malfi, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3512996.Ronald_Malfi

Attached is the author, Ronald Malfi, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Ronald-Malfi/e/B004VC3JMO

Carrie by Stephen King

 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Five "Revengeful Wrath" Stars

Sweet Revenge!

A small taste of what lies within:

Carrie White is pursued by bullies most of her life, but when a shower incident in the gym room causes the other girls to make fun of her she becomes angry and withdrawn. However the incident causes some of the girls that made fun of her get into some serious trouble with the principle to the point that one of the girls decides to play a mean prank on Carrie to get even and of all places that she plays the prank is at the prom. Carrie goes berserk when the prank happens and goes on a rampage not only against the bullies but everyone in the town.

Thoughts:

This book is the debut book by the Master of Horror and he wrote an emotional upheaval with bullying and what happens when the victim of the bullying stands up to fight back. Though in this case the "fighting back" of the character, Carrie is a dark secret that she harbors, but when she gets ticked off she lets loose on everyone that she feels is against her, which turns out not to be a good thing in this story as hell is about to break free in the town and the wrath of Carrie is coming!

For my full review of the book, Carrie, by author, Stephen King, please see my review from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4266562334

Attached is the author, Stephen King, profile page from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3389.Stephen_King

Attached is the author, Stephen King, profile page from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Stephen-King/e/B000AQ0842