Seeing that it’s one of those rare dates that the 13th winds up on a Friday, I thought I’d share with you a different Four for Friday than usual.
Four Horror Genre Books I Read Last Year
In the fall, I needed to take my final writing class for my master’s program*. There is a famed Fairy Tale Writing class at my school in which all the students adore the teacher and pleasure in attempting to create something similar to stories they may or may not** have grown up with***.
*Spoiler Alert: No, that does not mean I’m finished the program yet. I still need to do a summer residency + my capstone project.
**Most likely, may.
***Do not come at me and my dangling preposition!
Intent on taking this class, I discovered, as I approached the fall semester, that this teacher had previously begun offering a new course, a course which would alternate with her now spring semester course: Fairy Tale Writing.
And thus, I enrolled in Writing Horror.
I knew absolutely nothing about writing horror.
I’d only read my first Stephen King novel* in 2020.
*Pet Sematary
I decided it would be a challenge. I learned a lot about my writing abilities in this class as well as just how far I can stretch myself as a writer.
I also learned that if I choose to write horror, it will be during the daytime.
Today I thought I’d share with you four horror books I read because of this class. The first three were on the syllabus, while the final one I chose to do a report on for class. To keep myself from droning on and on about these books, I’m going to give you my Goodreads review of them: short, sweet, and to the point.
1. Dracula by Bram Stoker—4 stars
“Love the epistolary writing form. The first five chapters had me on the edge of my seat, as did the final chapters.”
2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley—3 stars
“Not what I expected. The beginning confused me a little and some of the later parts dragged/seemed a bit of a stretch, but overall, I enjoyed having read this classic.”
3. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson—3 stars
“I enjoyed the first half to three quarters of the book, but the ending was disappointing. I’m glad I read it, but I was surprised with how little it frightened me.”
4. The Road by Cormac McCarthy—4 stars
“This book starts out slow, but after the first thirty or so pages it is a quick read. This is a book where color can be strongly felt. It was like reading a black and white movie. Despite the heavy sadness and horror of this book, the descriptions throughout are incredibly beautiful.”
Did I choose this edition for the incredible artistry of the cover? Yes. Yes, I did. I found it here.
Leave a Reply