My favorite holiday of the year is coming soon. I’m looking forward to the Tricks and the Treats and to some spooky stories, preferably read in a darkened room with a flashlight.
It’s also the First Wednesday and #TheIWSG post day.
The awesome co-hosts for the October 2 of the IWSG are Nancy Gideon, Jennifer Lane, Jacqui Murray, and Natalie Aguirre!
Every month, we announce a question that members can choose to answer in their IWSG post.
Remember, the question is optional
October 2 question - Ghost stories fit right in during this month. What's your favorite classic ghostly tale? Tell us about it and why it sends chills up your spine.
I have no trouble answering this month’s question. Poe’s Tell-Tale Heart always sends chills down my back. It’s the step-by-step plan for murder, Poe’s nineteenth-century prose, and the madness of the narrator that grips me no matter how many times I read it. To make this a perfect ghostly read, Poe throws in a literary theme I love—poetic justice. I stumbled across an excellent reading of this story on YouTube. It’s perfect to play while lying in a dark room. If you can do it at midnight, that’s even better.
I’ve written four middle-grade stories that seem to be popular for Halloween reading. They aren't specific to the holiday, but they do have ghosts and mysteries, and skeletons. Instead of giving out candy this year, how about a book or two?
Alligators Overhead, Book 1
The Great Time Lock Disaster, Book 2
Some Very Messy Medieval Magic, Book 3
OR
Quote of the Month: “Evil has only the power that we give it.” — Ray Bradbury, “Something Wicked This Way Comes”
I never read this story by Poe you mention, but then I'm not really a reader of horror. But I read some marvelous ghost stories that are not horror. I would classify them as paranormal mysteries or urban fantasies. I'll talk about those in my own post this coming IWSG Wednesday.
I never knew you wrote MG ghost stories. I'm tempted to try them.
Tell-Tale Heart is my favorite from Poe! Yeah, all the spooky ghost stories this month!