Dark Horror Tales

  This year saw several horror movies that were eagerly anticipated. There were slashers, thrillers, movies adapted from novels, and even movies where children's classics were given a dark twist. Horror movie fans waited a whole year for some of the favorites that finally released this year. We got Five Night at Freddy's, the sequel to Nun, and a new instalment of the SAW franchise. But there were many disappointments too.

  This week’s Horror Book Recommendation is Daughter’s Drawings by Nick Botic. Published in July 2023, this suspenseful book is in the bestsellers list for Kidnapping Thrillers. 

  Can't find the time to watch an entire horror movie in one setting? No worries. We now have several horror tv shows gracing our screen. 2023 saw the return of popular shows and some new ones, too! Here are the TOP 10 Horror TV shows you need to watch:

  PLOT: Margot and Tyler head to an exclusive restaurant on an island where the chef serves them up more than just food. A prestigious restaurant, with exquisite food, and one of a kind experience. What more could one want? Not wanting to die after dinner is definitely on top of the list. The Menu is an interesting take on retribution while the focus is on class and how sometimes the privileged end up getting away with a lot of things.

  It isn’t being a sheriff in a small rural town with secrets. More often than not, the sheriff is bound to find themselves embroiled in some sort of small town ritual that is supposed to appease some entity that will bestow everyone with good fortune. 

  Plot: A woman is forced to face her childhood fear of the Slenderman one night. Monsters are not real. That's what we are told when we were kids and frightened after having a nightmare. We were comforted with that knowledge that monsters do not exist. But what if they did?    SLENDERMAN Plot The short begins with a woman walking in the middle of the night and coming across a dark figure. She manages to make a run to the comfort of her home where she gets into her bed and looks at her diary. In her diary she has drawn the Slenderman and written several times that HE IS NOT REAL. This is a way to reassure herself that the supernatural being is not real. Unfortunately for her, the Slenderman has entered her home and bedroom. She tries to hide under her blanket and keep repeating that the Slenderman is not real. Every time she uncovers her head though, Slenderman keeps popping up around her bed. Spooked, she keeps a knife ready by her bedside but doesn't get to use it. S

  Plot: Aaron, a software engineer, tries to connect with people but is limited by his condition. However, he finds the perfect solution to solve his problem of finding a partner. When we are kids, we expect the adults in our life to to give us gifts on pretty much any occasion. When we turn into adults, we often run into disappointment when the people in our lives think we are too old for something as frivolous as presents.

  This week’s Horror Book Recommendation is I Found Christmas Lights Slithering Up My Street written by Ben Farthing. Published in December 2023, this book is on the bestsellers list for U.S. Horror Fiction and Horror Suspense. 

  Plot: When Trudy's family is attacked during a Christmas get together, she must rely on Santa Claus to save the day. Year in and year out, we happily make Christmas lists, ask for gifts, and look forward to receiving them during the festive season. As adults, we now know that Santa does not exist. But imagine if he did and had to go through making all the deliveries in one night. Imagine how exhausted he must be. Reading letters, making gifts, then delivering them.

How many of us actually pay attention to the flight attendants as they make an announcement regarding the emergency exit. Sure, you know the basics. The oxygen masks are supposed to drop down, the life jackets are under your seat, and should the power go off, there will still be red lights on the floor guiding you towards the exit. 

  Plot: It's Christmas time and Faith is taking care of Charm who has a mysterious affliction. Two strangers show up and chaos ensues. Everyone has secrets. When people have something they feel guilty about, those secrets can be damaging to one's mental state. A Creature Was Stirring is one of those movies that have an unexpected twist but unfortunately the plot doesn’t really come together once the reveal comes to play. The story is about a nurse, Faith, who is trying to leave but is stuck in the house during a blizzard with her daughter who is running fever.  The daughter, Charm, comes off as angsty and bratty. She doesn't seem to appreciate her mother's concern towards her. Faith is deathly nervous and things get complicated when two strangers practically break into the house. At first, the siblings Liz and Kory come off as intruders but then they turn out to be harmless people...almost. There is a lot of talk of religion and it can be uncomfortable t

  This week’s Horror Book Recommendation is Hide and Don’t Seek: And Other Very Scary Stories written by Anica Mrose Rissi.  Published in August 2021 by Quill Tree Books, this spooky anthology for kids is on the bestsellers list of Children’s Folk Tale & Myth Anthologies as well as Children’s Scary Stories. 

  Plot: Aisha travels to the US to build a life for herself and finds work as a nanny. All she wants is to make enough money to be able to call her son, but something goes very wrong. If there was one movie that was overhyped this year, it was NANNY . The movie won awards, and it was practically a matter of waiting for it to release so we could all experience the reason why this movie worked.

  Stephen King’s THE LONG WALK now has a new home. The project was previously being developed under New Line but is now going to be backed up by Lionsgate. 

  This week’s Horror Book Recommendation is Prettiest Girl in the Grave written by Kristopher Triana. Published by Grindhouse Press in May 2023, the book is on the bestsellers list for Horror Fiction.

  Plot: When Hap gets himself invited at Mina's house, he is unaware of the dangers within. There is an internet joke about Justin Long always suffering a terrible tragedy in horror movies. Well, in the case of House of Darkness, it is true again. At this point, casting Justin Long in horror movies is just like giving away spoilers before if is released. House of Darkness plays out more like an extended scene than a movie. It is different, and that is not necessarily a compliment. With only four characters in the movie, the story doesn’t get complex and relies on lengthy dialogues and little action. HOUSE OF DARKNESS Plot Hapgood, or Hap as he likes to call himself, drops Mina home and gets himself invited. He thinks Mina is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen in his life. Her fashion does imply she may not be of this decade. They do this whole thing where they call out on each other for being the first one to flirt with the other. Mina acts a little coy but her words sho

  It’s not a Christmas horror themed movie until a Christmas decoration is used in some form. And so here we have it, a candy cane light to show one of the characters the way. 

  Can a crossover between Sinister and The Black Phone be possible?

  This week’s Horror Book Recommendation is IT’S YOUR TURN NOW written by Theo Baxter . Published in November 2023, the book is on the bestsellers list for Psychological Fiction and Domestic Thrillers. 

  Plot: It is the 1950s and Alice, who is living in a community designed by Victory, suspects the head of the company of having sinister motives. Don't Worry Darling is perhaps this year's most talked about thriller and it isn't because of the premise of the movie but the drama surrounding its release. Was Shia LaBeouf fired or did he leave of his own accord? Did Harry Styles really spit on Chris Pine at the premiere? Did Florence Pugh purposely not attend press conferences because she didn’t like the fact Olivia Wilde's affair with Harry Styles was taking precedence over her role in the movie?

  It is almost that time of the year when people start believing in goodwill, community and genuinely being kind to everyone. It is that time of the year when we should give if we can and help those we can.