I'm really in the mood for Carl's R.I.P. Reading Challenge--so much so that earlier this week I had been mentally contemplating which books I might want to read for it. And voila, his post appeared announcing the challenge. I think that last year I actually managed to read four books (and some short stories as well), so I am going to try and do the same this year, too. I've got a list going of possible reads, so I'll choose from these:
Ghost Story by Peter Straub - I really want a good ghost story and this has been sitting on my shelves for years! Vaguely recall the movie that I saw years ang years ago, too.
Five Mile House by Karen Novak - This story is "a remarkably polished first novel is a story of two women separated by a century and linked by the suspicion of madness and the lingering traces of guilt." Apparently it has a supernatural spin to it.
A Jealous Ghost by A.N. Wilson - This is a retelling of Henry James's The Turn of the Screw. If I read this, perhaps a reread of the James novella would be in order, too.
The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill - I loved Hill's The Woman in Black, which was a chilling tale. I wonder if this could possibly be better?
Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu - I'm afraid this one might be too long for me to read (and also read three other books as well). Still, I'm in the mood for some Victorian Literature. Fall is the perfect time of year to read a story like this.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - Loved her We Have Always Lived in the Castle, which I read last year for the challenge. Unfortunately I still have vague recollections of this movie in my mind as well (didn't care for the movie).
Hold My Hand by Serena Mackesy - In this novel there is a connection between a nine-year-old WWII evacuee and a present day abused woman who runs away with her daughter to an old family estate in Cornwall. It's supposed to be a fairly scary modern day ghost story.
The Grange House by Sarah Blake - I read this when it first came out a good ten years or so ago, so it's been sufficiently long enough so that the story has pretty well faded away. This sounds like a nice 19th-century Gothic story set on the coast of Maine.
Out Backward by Ross Raisin - Just discovered this one. The blurbs reads "equally twisted and brilliant", "utterly frightening and electrifying at once", and "a compelling, disturbing and often very funny novel."
I'm not necessarily wedded to this list. If someone has a suggestion for a really good, chilling ghost story (modern or Victorian) I'm willing to add it to the list!
As for short stories I have the following collections to choose from:
Don't Look Now by Daphne du Maurier
Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories and The Haunted Dolls House and Other Stories by M.R. James (another author worth reading as his stories were also an influence on Sarah Waters!).
The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories edited by Michael Cox
The Mammoth Book of Twentieth Century Ghost Stories edited by Peter Haining
Hopefully I can read a short story a week and perhaps post on it each Sunday like I did last year. So, bring on that cooler weather--I'm ready for fall and some good, atmospheric reads!