Welcome back to an Insecure Writer’s Support Group Wednesday! I missed the whole summer of posts, due to traveling internationally and just being a lazy writer this summer. But I’m back and ready to contribute again, so here we go!
This month the co-hosts are Nancy Gideon, Jennifer Lane, Jacqui Murray, and Natalie Aguirre! The whole point of this group is to connect, contribute, and inspire, so clicky-click on their links and do your thing. If you’d like to sign up for the blog hop itself, you can go here.
The October 2nd question is: 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.
This may seem odd to those unfamiliar with bookworms, but I am a romance reader, fan, and author . . . and ALSO a huge horror fan. My two main genres. If it makes it less weird, I like to think both genres deal with extremes of human emotion and that’s why I love them. Either way, something visceral is going on.
Can we consider Stephen King a classic for ghostly tales? I know he hasn’t been writing for long enough to have any works become public domain. He is a titan of the genre though, and I have been a devoted Constant Reader for more than half my life. I’m putting him as an answer to this post because it’s my blog and I can, and because I consider him a classic. And my favorite of his ghost stories, to no one’s great surprise, is The Shining.
Ghosties abound in this creepy book, but the best part is how they and the Overlook Hotel itself slowly drive Jack Torrance insane and drag him into the darkness of the hotel with them. It’s like watching a wreck in dreadful slow motion, knowing what’s going to happen but hoping it somehow won’t. An intense read, and a good one.
7 comments
Horror ? Spooks ? Love even the oldest and creakiest – but nothing compares with a real ghost, even though I didn’t believe in ghosts.
Key difference ? You can’t switch off reality .
Or did I imagine all that ?
I’m not a horror fan, but The Shining sounds like a good choice. And you’re right that you like the extremes of emotions.
I’d definitely call both book and movie extreme, but King tends to write no other way so that’s almost a given!
Welcome back. Funny, I thought somebody would have picked Ghost. You know the one with Swayze and Moore. A bit of romance and a bit of mystery.
And you pick one of my favourites: The Shining. I was so determined to see it; I watched a matinee. Back then I got a little freaked out… ah those were the days. hehehe
Anna from elements of emaginette
Ahh, perfection! If it freaked you out, it was doing its job, haha. I do love the Ghost movie, and I am ALWAYS here for a shirtless Patrick Swayze, but the ending is so sad. I only watch it when I want a good cry, really.
Another horror fan – awesome!
It’s really ironic, because I’m a HUGE wimp with scary movies. Can’t go near a zombie film, or I won’t sleep for days! But I can read zombie novels all night and sleep just fine. It’s strange, but I’ve accepted it as my lot in life.