It’s pumpkin spies time
Three books that range from festively spooky to borderline too scary.
First off, apologies for just flat-out skipping last week. I also missed my kid's soccer game. It was a bad day! I apologized to him a lot, and he forgave me, so I’m hoping you will, too.1 I thought about doing it over the weekend, and then I thought, well, at the very least I can get some reading done, and that’s sort of like doing EELS, but then there was a tropical storm, and I ended up watching about 60 hours of the Masterpiece show Poldark.
Actually, it all got me in the mood for this moody EELS, which is meant to get you in the spirit of October, which is maybe the best month—though, fair warning, I am super into the winter holidays. And spring. I’m into three whole quarters of the year!
I did a bunch of horror reading one year, and by the end of it, I was a nervous wreck, but the spoils of that jumpy year shall be yours. In ascending order, here are three books you probably haven’t read that will put you into various October zones of intensity.
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Want to see what books I’ve recommended in the past? Guess what—I’ve created a handy spreadsheet with all sorts of helpful info to help you choose your next read, and if you’re an EELS subscriber, I’ll give you access to it. It’s free, it’s easy, maybe it’ll help!
⛸️ Get in Trouble
Kelly Link, 2015
I’ve been trying to figure out a way to worm this book into an EELS for awhile now, and haven’t quite found the place. I’ve decided, this is it. Not really because there’s a vampire story (spoiler: there’s a vampire story), and not really because there’s kind of a cool fairy-esque story (spoiler: etc.), but because it just has this wild, Florida gothic vibe that I think about constantly.
These are short stories, and people are always getting in trouble. The American South is a crazy, swampy, hot, overgrown, insane place that’s teeming with nature and moisture and the occult, I guess. There’s so much humor in these stories but also just life. An excess of life, I’d say. Like kudzu choking out a tree and mildew taking up permanent residence on a ceiling and cicadas screaming upon the bough and vampires tapping at the window. Thanks, Nico, for the rec. I feel like I’m always saying that!
Recommended to: Those who like magical realism and aren’t afraid to get a little dirty.
😱 The Houseguest
Amparo Dávila, 2018 (the English translation was published then, though it’s a collection of stories that were published in Spanish in other collections decades earlier)
“I’ll never forget the day he came to live with us. My husband brought him home from a trip.”
Now if that isn’t a scary opening sentence, I don’t know what is. Here’s an excerpt from the title story in this, another collection of short stories. These tales ratchet up the scary factor from Get in Trouble, and I read somewhere that, if you read Spanish, the original is a must. These stories are chilling—with a lot of mid-20th century misogyny in urban Mexico thrown in—and they are just so cool and spare. Sometimes I get so into “not a word wasted” that when I get back to flowery show-off prose like certain 600-page-books-of-the-moment-I-won’t-mention-but-you-know-who-you-are-actually-you-probably-don’t-and-are-just-laughing-your-way-to-the-bank-and-good-for-you-really, I want to throw them against the wall.
But! What can I do besides recommend this slim little volume to you, and hope you order it. It costs very little, and you’ll love having it around.
Recommended to: Those who are OK with being like “Haha, well I’m fine, really,” but then when they have to get up to use the bathroom late at night, look around in a light sweat, and think, “Well, I don’t love this situation.”
🧟 The Living Dead
George A. Romero and Daniel Kraus, 2020
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would get hold-all-my-calls addicted to a book about zombies. Daniel Kraus worked with the notes of George Romero (of Night of the Living Dead fame)—apparently he always wanted to write a book—and obviously, his name gets top billing, but Daniel, you know and I know that we have you to thank for how well this book is structured, paced, and written.
People, there is an entire section that takes place on an aircraft carrier. A zombie outbreak on an aircraft carrier. I was reading it at my dining room table—I think when I was supposed to be working, I am not kidding, but as it was my boss who demanded I read the thing, I feel less shame about this2—and a presumably living person walking by my house slapped the outside of the wall next to which I was sitting and… let me tell you. There have been times in my life when I have screamed loudly. Childbirth. Rats in the kitchen. An upsetting scene in Poldark. This wasn’t not one of those times.
I promise I have made lots of people read this book, and many “Holy smokes this is shockingly good” texts were exchanged. We call it: Zombie Book.
Recommended to: Those who just like a really well-written book that moves right along and aren’t that bothered by NEVER SLEEPING AGAIN IN THEIR ENTIRE LIVES.
One TV show to consider
Have you seen Kingdom on Netflix? It’s a Joseon-era period piece Korean show that’s also about zombies, but it’s oddly beautiful and you’ll become obsessed with hats. Plus we’re really in the dregs of the writer’s strike now, so, what do you have to lose? I’d put this in the “not scary” category, really. My husband doesn’t like horror, and he watched it with joy and then did some hat googling.
Mom, you may even like this show—it’s no gorier than Outlander, anyway. Or Poldark. Poldark!!
And now, a bonus recommendation
👻 Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories — Roald Dahl, 1983
“Hands-down the best collection of ghost stories I've ever read, outside of mayyyybe J. S. Le Fanu's. If you know me, you'll know that's high praise indeed. These ghost stories strike the right balance of delightful and unsettling without relying on the tired, typical crutches that mediocre ones do (gore, fear of technology, anything having to do with a dog, etc. etc.). In the past several years I've not been enjoying almost any of the ghost stories I set out to read, and as I haven't been able to watch (non-campy) horror movies for many years either, I'd found myself wondering if I even do enjoy spooky things anymore. This tome restored my faith in all things spectral. And who knew Dahl was such a gifted curator, on top of being such a sparkling author in his own right? Wish I had about 10 more volumes of this to chew through.”
Recommended by: Tess, who is into all things Halloween right now, perusing seasonal decor aisles of every store, playing vintage games on Switch, and posting tacky beach art. The last three books she loved were The Status Game, So Many Steves: Afternoons with Steve Martin and Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.
That was the twenty-third EELS! I vow to not mention Poldark next week, but cannot promise I won’t be onto some other Masterpiece show. I would be just so grateful if you’d share widely with your networks! As always, send any and all questions, feedback, and shouted book recommendations by hitting reply.
📚 Susan
If you didn’t notice, that’s fine, too. Sad, but fine. It’s fine!
Heather, I would never do this now unless I had, like, three pages left in a book which I may or may not have done the other day, but I think that’s reasonable.