The Diviners by Libba Bray
Book
The Diviners is a great occult thriller set in the roaring twenties of the previous century. It’s the time of flappers, beaded dresses, and secret speakeasies. Evie, the main character, has a gift and uses it to help her uncle solve a series of brutal crimes. I expected it to be dark, but it was so creepy and horrifying I had to stop reading at night to keep myself from having nightmares.
Summary
Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.
Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.
As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened.
Read my five star review here.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Netflix series
If you have Netflix, you probably know the new Sabrina series, and to me, that’s the perfect series to watch in October. It’s creepy, but not horror enough to give me nightmares. More episodes are coming soon.
Summary
This adaptation of the “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” tale is a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror and the occult. In the reimagined origin story, Sabrina Spellman wrestles to reconcile her dual nature — half-witch, half-mortal — while standing against the evil forces that threaten her, her family — including aunts Hilda and Zelda — and the daylight world humans inhabit.
Midnight Mysteries
Puzzle games
Midnight Mysteries is a series of puzzle games based on literature and historical events, like Edgar Allan Poe and the Salem Witch Trials. Every game has supernatural elements and tells a story. You have to solve puzzles to get from one room to another and solve the mystery. The puzzles are challenging, but not to the point that you need a walkthrough. I love the puzzles are part of the narrative design. They contribute to telling the story, which is something I deeply appreciate.
These games might not be as creepy as the others on the list, but I avoid full on horror games to save my sanity. If you do want to check some of those out, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Death Stranding, and Five Nights At Freddy’s are just a few to get you started.
It: Chapter 2
Movie
Nightmare fuel. I haven’t seen the first movie and I definitely won’t be watching this one, because I wouldn’t want to sleep in the dark afterwards. But if it’s your thing, go for it. It’s creepy, it’ll scare you (unless you have inhuman powers to resist murderous clowns), and it’ll get you in the mood for Halloween.
Tip: Don’t let your ten-year-old children watch this movie. Especially not alone, not even in daylight. Not like my parents did.
Summary
Defeated by members of the Losers’ Club, the evil clown Pennywise returns 27 years later to terrorize the town of Derry, Maine, once again. Now adults, the childhood friends have long since gone their separate ways. But when people start disappearing, Mike Hanlon calls the others home for one final stand. Damaged by scars from the past, the united Losers must conquer their deepest fears to destroy the shape-shifting Pennywise — now more powerful than ever.
Spider cookies
Recipe
I love chocolate chip cookies and turning them into spider cookies makes it the perfect Halloween snack. No need to make it harder for yourself by picking a difficult recipe or one that requires tools you don’t have. These chocolate chip spider cookies are super easy to make with no extravagant tools.
Enjoy the cookies while watching, reading, or playing one of the other creepy things mentioned above!
