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The Fright Stuff

Happy October Eve!!! It’s Time!!!

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Emily Martin

Contributing Editor

Emily has a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi, MS, and she has an MFA in Creative Writing from GCSU in Milledgeville, GA, home of Flannery O’Connor. She spends her free time reading, watching horror movies and musicals, cuddling cats, Instagramming pictures of cats, and blogging/podcasting about books with the ladies over at #BookSquadGoals (www.booksquadgoals.com). She can be reached at emily.ecm@gmail.com.

Horror fans, we have made it! It’s October Eve! That means one more sleep until October, Halloween month. My heart can hardly take it. I’m so excited. So let’s prepare by talking about scary things, like we always do. Put on your ghost costume! Don your fangs! Let’s goooooooo!

Bookish Goods

creature from the black lagoon book nook

Creature from the Black Lagoon Book Nook by JadeGraphicsDesigns

Okay, I’m kind of obsessed with this. You’re just minding your own business, perusing the bookshelf, and then BOOM! Creature from the Black Lagoon. This hand-painted, hand-sculpted bad boy is also hollow on the inside, so feel free to stash all your secret book treats. Select from two box sizes: Small- 5.25″H x 3.25″W or Large- 6.5″H x 4″W. Black and white or color. Prices start at $40.

New Releases

model home book cover

Model Home by Rivers Solomon

October 1 is tomorrow, and there are so many good new releases I want to share with you to kick off the best month of the year! First up, one of my most anticipated horror novels of the year: Model Home. Back when the Maxwell family moved into a gated community outside of Dallas, Texas, they were the only Black family in the neighborhood. Their white neighbors seemed welcoming enough, but immediately upon moving in, strange things began happening all around the Maxwell’s house. Now, years later, the three Maxwell children are adults, and they do their best to stay far, far away from the traumas of their past. But their parents never left the family home, and when the siblings get word that their parents have died, Ezri, Eve, and Emanuelle are forced to return to Dallas and to the home that has always terrified them.

Jasmine Is Haunted cover

Jasmine is Haunted by Mark Oshiro

Here’s a new middle grade horror that looks like a lot of fun! Jasmine Garza has been followed by a ghost ever since her Papi died. When she and her Mami move to East Hollywood, Jasmine hopes this will be a chance to escape her ghost and live a normal life. Instead, she meets Bea Veracruz and Jorge Barrera, two classmates who not only believe in the supernatural but also believe their friend Jasmine when she tells them she’s being haunted by a ghost. They’re ready to help her prove to the world just how real this ghost is.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

i'll be waiting book cover

I’ll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong

I can’t get enough of all the October 1st releases, so here’s another one for you. This supernatural horror novel has it all. Seances. Haunted houses. Evil spirits out for blood. You get the idea. Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as a child, Nicola never thought she was going to make it to adulthood. But now, against all odds, she’s an adult in her 30s, happily married. That is, until her husband dies in a horrible car crash. Before he dies, he whispers the words, “I’ll be waiting for you.” From that moment on, Nicola feels haunted, and spiritualists are knocking on her door hoping to help her find closure.

Cover of The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister

The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister

This final book is perfect for fans of Stephen Graham Jones and T. Kingfisher. And really, who isn’t a fan of those authors? The Bog Wife is an Appalachian gothic horror novel about the Haddesleys, a family that worships the cranberry bog that surrounds them. In exchange for their worship and loyalty, the bog sustains the isolated family by bringing to life a “bog wife,” a woman made from vegetation who is meant to carry on the family line. But what happens when the bog refuses to uphold its side of the bargain?

October’s sounding pretty sweet, huh? And that’s just what’s coming out on October 1! I’ll have more October recs coming for you soon. Until then, you can follow me (and message me) on Instagram at emandhercat. Sweet dreams, horror fans!

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