My FrightFall TBR is doing a danse macabre duet this spooky season

A sure sign that autumn has officially started is the announcement that sign-ups for Seasons of Reading’s annual FrightFall readathon are now open.

That has happened today and not only did I quickly add my name to the list, I am ready like a certain Mr. Krueger with my TBR list! Now, if you’re new to this event, the only major requirement is to read at least one scary book(from cozy to creepy, your choice), however I tend to go all in on the fear factor with my books on this one.

Usually, I stick to three books but this time, it’ll be four due to my change up for this challenge by doing a pair of reading duets.

This is something that I do for my morning reading routine when it comes to classics; I pair a classic title with a similarly suitable book and read each on alternating days(start one on Monday, read from the other on Tuesday, then go back to the first book on Wednesday and so on). 

For example, right now I’m rereading Catcher in the Rye with a fresh book, The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey, which is a coming of age story so they share that genre. 

Sometimes, I pick a retelling of the original or something that feels just right for that classic (planning on tackling the Iliad and The Odyssey in the near future). Anyway, I thought that method to my literary madness might be interesting to test out here:

So, I’m beginning with a reread of Stephen King’s Carrie, particularly since a new adaptation of the book is due to air online soon.

Personally, most of the remakes of this iconic debut keep going to the same well of “let’s set this story in modern day and make commentary about social media!” and that approach just doesn’t seem to work very well. Yes, Mike Flanagan is a good director and shows an apt hand at Stephen King narratives(he did an excellent job with Doctor Sleep) but this present day template is such an awkward fit for the basic emotional journey of the story, in my opinion.

If it was up to me, I would try to mine more of the source material and if you need a current day setting, make that the framework instead of the central picture. Have a true crime podcaster look into what happened on that particular prom night and find a lone survivor to tell their tale. 

The rest of the film can be told in flashback with maybe a few minor twists here and there. My suggestion; have the interview with that prom survivor begin with this line “I only know what she told me while dying in my arms”. Very dramatic, yes?

Rereading Carrie should be interesting in more ways than one and for the record, I think the 1976 version still holds up pretty damn well:

The book that I am pairing Carrie with is The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson- it was highly recommended by people talking about the upcoming remake and asking why this YA novel hasn’t been adapted yet.

Set in the small town of Springville, Maddy Washington has been a social outcast for most of her young life. Things get even worse when a sudden rainstorm reveals a major secret about her identity that her overly religious father has demanded be kept from the public.

The backlash from that exposure lends to a special prom that’s meant to be a positive experience for everyone but when Maddy is asked by the high school football star to be his date, things do not go well. Unbeknownst to them all is Maddy’s true power, which is about to introduce itself and make quite the terrifying impression indeed.

Much like the book that inspired it, TWOB also uses mixed media in its narrative, which sounds great to me. Taking the bare bones of a well known tale and remodeling for a new audience is a nice blend of the old school and new that needs to extend beyond the expected target audience for once:

My next set of dancing darlings do share a mysterious man in common but with rather different results from that relationship.

First up is Lucy Undying by Kiersten White, which has the unfortunate Miss Westenra not only break free from being just another bride of Dracula but manage to make a new existence for herself within the twenty first century.

She makes a mortal friend, Iris, whose family health care business prospers due to a sinister secret that they would kill to keep. Nonetheless, Lucy is determined to help Iris in any way that she can, even if that means dealing with Dracula himself yet again.

I’ve been meaning to get to this one and the time certainly feels bloody right. White is grand at remixing established villains and heroes( her Buffy the Vampire Slayer duology is top notch) with original flair and character focus that makes revisiting the Dracula legend in this fashion stylish in the best sense of the term:

Her dancing partner will be a reread of Syria James’ Dracula, My Love, that tells Mina Harper’s version of her encounter with the Count.

Told in journal entries, she meets the mysterious visitor from afar and learns much about him all the while her husband Jonathan is hunting him down.

This love triangle is enticing to Mina but ultimately, she must choose between immortal passion and mortal love, not to mention the deadly consequences of both of those decisions .

I fondly recall this book as a charmingly chilling read (James also writes Jane Austen related fiction) and this should go well with Lucy Undying as a refreshing twist to the nosferatu nightcap that Stoker’s Dracula has become on the bookish bar shelf:

If this readathon has peaked your seasonal interest, there is a link in the first paragraph of this post to the Seasons of Reading site where you can learn more about FrightFall and sign up for all of the page turning fun.

My thanks in advance to Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading for making this all possible and I hope we all enjoy some spooky story time together this October.

I also hope that my reading duet method will work beyond my morning routine here but hey, no harm in trying, right? Granted, it’s hard to compete with the daily headlines for scares these days but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a good time on our own, doing the monster mash together marvelously: