Category Archives: Books

3 Cozy Paranormal Themed Mysteries to Travel With

17 Wednesday Nov 2021

Posted by in AudioBooks, Book Review, Books, Cozy Mysteries, Travel

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According to AAA, 53.4 million people will travel next week for the Thanksgiving holiday. That is up 13% from 2020—a sure sign that people are ready to travel. Moreover, a recent The Vacationer survey found that 67% of the respondents were planning on driving. That’s a lot of time couped up in a car. Here are 3 paranormal themed cozy murder mysteries to get you through.

I listen to Audible.com (and sadly not paid for this plug). I found that I’m able to relax, to create art, or to cruise on my Electra when I’ve got a great book playing. I can also tell you that the narration sells it. I’ve returned a few audio books where the narrator was not the right fit. For these series, the narrators enhance the stories. Through their voices (taking on different characters accents and all), I can visualize the stories and thoroughly enjoy the stories.

Up until this year, I maneuvered past the cozy mystery genre. Even when I was reading print editions, I rarely read one. For me, the time was not right. This changed after I finished a run of hard-boiled murder mysteries, fiction and non-fiction. I was looking for stories where the gore and sex was off the page. I sought protagonists who were amateur sleuths in tiny hamlets similar to the British crime shows my husband and I binge on Acorn, BritBox, and PBS. In the last 2 months, I’ve discovered three series I want to share:

  1. The Accidental Alchemist Mysteries written by Gigi Pandian and narrated by Julia Motyka. A 300-year old alchemist, Zoe Faust, relocates to Portland, Oregon and mistakenly ships the animated gargoyle, Dorian Robert-Houdin, who seeks Zoe’s assistance in finding a remedy to keep him alive. This series delves deep into the world of alchemy. It also includes vegetarian recipes, which sound scrumptious, but I have not made. I have listened to the first 3 books in the 5 book + 1 novella series. For more information: https://www.gigipandian.com/books/the-accidental-alchemist-mysteries.
  2. The Salem B&B Mystery written by Traci Wilton and narrated by Callie Beaulieu. Recent widow Charlene Morris escapes the city and purchases an historic Victorian home in Salem haunted by the former occupant. Charlene intends to open a bed and breakfast when she feels compelled to help solve the previous owner’s murder. The stray cat has a minor supporting role. Each book features a new murder. I’ve listened to the first book in the 5-book series. For more information: https://cozy-mysteries-unlimited.com/salem-bb-mystery-series.
  3. The Vampire Knitting Club written by Nancy Wilson and narrated by Sarah Zimmerman. This series is set in Oxford, England with the American raised protagonist Lucy Swift arriving to visit her grandmother, Agnes Bartlett, owner of Cardinal Woolsey knitting shop. Lucy learns her grandmother died a few weeks earlier and has been turned into a vampire. Each book features a new murder. This series also has Nix, Lucy’s new cat familiar. (I’m a sucker for a cat. Also my mother’s family has a long line of females named Agnes.) I’m presently listening to book 3 of the 13-book and 2 novella series. For more information: https://www.nancywarrenauthor.com/vampire-knitting-club-series/.

For Halloween, Read Shirley Jackson

29 Friday Oct 2021

Posted by in Books, Movies, Unsolved Mysteries

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Jackson with the book covers of various books.

American writer Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” (1948) is studied in nearly every public high school in the U.S. The short story was published on June 26, 1948, in The New Yorker, and generated so much hate mail, that the magazine had parcels sent up to Jackson. Although Jackson lived her adult life struggling with severe anxiety and depression, she is one of America’s premier American Gothic writers. Her stories remain popular, with several adaptations produced. For Halloween, read one—or more—of her stories.

Shirley Hardie Jackson’s stories are dissected and studied, as is her unhappy and albeit short life. Shirley was born on December 14, 1916, in San Francisco. Her relationship with her mother, Geraldine, was acrimonious and strained. Jackson fled to Syracuse University, graduating in 1940. Shortly thereafter, Jackson married Stanley Edgar Hyman, replacing her mother’s verbal abuse with his infidelity. They had 4 children. On August 8, 1965, Jackson died unexpectedly from heart failure at the age of 48. Her journal entries provide much insight into her struggle with mental illness. However, it seemed she may have been turning a new corner and writing in a new genre at the time of her death.

Jackson with her 4 children.

Jackson’s legacy is her writings. She considered herself a “practicing amateur witch” and was curious about witchcraft. Her most well-known novel is probably The Haunting of Hill House (1959) which was made into 2 full-length motion pictures and adapted into the 10-episode Netflix series created by Mike Flanagan in 2018. (Note: Start with the 1963 movie titled The Haunting and work from there.) I’m drawn to 2 lesser-known stories: Hangsaman (1951) and “The Missing Girl” (1957).

Jackson’s most well-known work is probably The Haunting of Hill House (1957). Here are 3 adaptations: The Haunting (1963), The Haunting (1999), and The Haunting of Hill House (2018).

Jackson begrudgingly accepted her open marriage to Hyman. His infidelity is notorious; however, there is much speculation that he had numerous affairs with students while employed as a faculty member. He taught at Bennington College in Vermont. Bennington was founded as a liberal arts, all-female college in 1932. In 1969, it became coeducational.

Both stories touch upon the mysterious disappearance of Paula Jean Weldon, a sophomore at Bennington College who went for a hike and never returned. Weldon was born on October 19, 1928 and declared dead as of December 1, 1946. Her body has never been discovered. During the span 1946-1950, at least 4 other people disappeared. In 1992, Joseph A. Citro coined the term “Bennington Triangle” to include these disappearances and other folklore.

Missing Person flyer for Paula Jean Weldon in 1946.

Ghost stories and horror stories are part of our Halloween tradition. This year, read a story you haven’t read before. Start with one of Jackson’s.

Read “The Lottery” here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/06/26/the-lottery

My Goodwill Find: A Hans Holzer Book

23 Monday Aug 2021

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I alter books and create journals. Usually, I visit the local Goodwill store to select a book. This weekend, I went to the Goodwill in Gainesville, Florida, where I have recently moved. I didn’t find a book suitable for altering. It’s like a treasure hunt to find a book not too big, nor too small. Not too old, but not so new that the pages aren’t bound. It is a quest! I also purchase older books to gut for collage paper. I pulled a slight book with a green cover but not a back cover. No dustjacket, either. The pages were yellowed with age. I turned it over and read the back page. To my delight, I found a 1967 Hans Holzer book!

The book cost 63 cents. Well worth it!

The Lively Ghosts of Ireland consists of 17 investigations Holzer conducted in Ireland. Countess Catherine Buxhoeveden (known then as “The Haunted Countess”), at the time Han’s wife, created 8 pen and ink illustrations. The book is incredibly fragile and will sit on a shelf with an eclectic mix of Rosary beads and porcelain dolls.

So, head on out to the thrift stores and locate your treasure.

Water Scrying as Art

26 Monday Jul 2021

Posted by in Book Review, Books, Photography, Scrying, Water Scrying

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Image on page 66.

In Spirit Reflections: Water Scrying Spirit Images (2020), Evidential Medium Philip R. Wyatt captures thought provoking images using a stainless-steel bowl or ordinary Mason jar. Containing 101 images, the book serves more as a coffee table art book. The images are incredible!

Cover of Philip’s latest book; Philip presenting; Definition of “scry.”

Water scrying, also called hydromancy, has been performed since Ancient Greek times. The technique of using water as a form of divination transcends cultures and religions. Even Nostradamus wrote of using it to predict the future. In Wyatt’s book, the images become compelling works of art.

Images are scrutinized for possible pareidolia, where the viewer assigns meaning to an image when there is no meaning. Photos shared by paranormal investigators are often criticized as being pareidolia, which is fair. Wyatt makes no assertion. Instead, he allows the viewer to interpret the images as he or she sees fit. He does, however, encourage the viewer to turn the book upside down and spin to view at different angles. I prefer to flip through the book and randomly select an image and view from all angles, as well, as close up.

Page 15; Page 15 upside down; Page 78, side view.

My personal favorite is on page 66. (The images are untitled) I’m drawn to the colors. Looking at it, I see a female face with red lipstick wearing a blue with red flowers/embellishments and collar. The piece of clothing reminds me of a pajama top. The hair looks to be blonde and styled in an older hairstyle. I realize my mind is filling in gaps, and I am totally applying pareidolia to make sense of the image. However, isn’t that what we do when looking at fine art?

Wyatt provides instruction on how he took the pictures. Before beginning, Wyatt meditates and calls upon his spirit guides and higher beings. First, he gets a bowl and fills with tap water. He shines colored artificial light or uses sunlight onto the water. He videotapes his sessions, which last between 30-90 seconds. Then he swirls the water with his hand. He has begun experimenting with scrying with a glass jar filled ¾ with tap water. Afterwards, Wyatt views the footage, frame-by-frame.

This is Philip’s third book. He lectures online and in person with Ghost Education 101, which he co-founded during the pandemic. Find his books online, offered as ebooks and print at https://www.amazon.com/Philip-R-Wyatt/e/B081287K9P?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1627265830&sr=8-1. If interested in purchasing prints of his images, contact Philip directly.  

Do You Have a Haunted Object?

03 Friday Jul 2020

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2012 edition. Balzano and Weisberg are updating and expanding the second edition.

Calling all collectors of the macabre. Authors Christopher Balzano and Tim Weisberg are updating their best-selling non-fiction book, Haunted Objects: Stories of Ghosts on Your Shelf (2012). And they’re looking to expand the offerings by sharing stories of recently found antiques, family lore past down through the family, or an anecdote regarding a new item that you’ve noticed misbehaves.

These Spooky Southcoast radio broadcasters have been retelling stories of haunted objects since 2006. In 2012, they published their compilation of short vignettes and stories. Since then, they have new stories. However, they’re looking for more.

If you have a haunted object story to share, please contact Tim Weisberg at Tim@midnight.fm.

And just for fun, tell them The Haunted Librarian told you!

Nightmareland: A Field Journal on Sleep Phenomena

23 Wednesday Oct 2019

Posted by in Book Review, Books, Sleep

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On the Ceiling by Jason Jam.

Lex “Lonehood” Nover is a master storyteller. He’s had years of experience penning plays and articles capturing the imaginations of audiences. Since 2002, he’s worked as the Web Producer for Coast to Coast AM, one of America’s highest rated overnight radio shows. In his first full-length non-fiction book, Nightmareland: Travels at the Borders of Sleep, Dreams, and Wakefulness, Nover thoroughly documents the strange occurrences we encounter when we sleep.

Nover’s writing skills pay off in this exhaustively researched and eerily entertaining book. Nover weaves folklore and anecdotes with scientific research regarding sleep, sleep disorders, and sleep behavior. Nover’s sense of humor is reflected in such subtitles as “Beware the Ambien Zombies,” “A Salad of Sound,” and “Back at the (Paranormal) Ranch.”

Rosemary Ellen Guiley, who died this past July at the age of 69, states “A must-have book!” She’s correct; however, people interested in general sleep issues not just paranormal enthusiasts will find value inside. Nover retells stories of average people experiencing the weirdest things while asleep. Then Nover attempts to explain what happened! He completes the story by adding context and science. How incredibly novel in the paranormal field!

Illustrations accompany each of the nine chapters. All are in black and white and operate as artwork inspired by the chapter’s focus. The book feels like the field journal of a scientist attempting to unpack the complexity of sleep, contemplating every possible theory.

Lex “Lonehood” Nover

Nightmareland is a compendium on sleep. It should be on everyone’s bookshelf.

Corinne O’Flynn’s Death Comes Ashore Is Pure Paranormal Suspense

03 Tuesday Sep 2019

Posted by in Authors, Books, Fiction, Paranormal Suspense, Uncategorized

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Two nights before my panel presentations at Dragon Con 2019, I finished my mystery book. I’m a serial reader. I read before bed, between 1-2 AM. I prefer series; however, when the series runs dry, I start looking for my next new author. And I found her, and a few others who will be in separate blogs, book talking books at the Bard’s Tower bookstore in the AmericasMart Atlanta, or Mart for short. Corinne O’Flynn’s new Witch Island Mysteries series has me hooked, line and sinker.

Although I’ve always tried to identify new authors at Dragon Con, I rarely do. I feel rushed when shopping at the Mart. When there’s 80,000+ people attending, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. This year, however, I was determined to find one new author. I was blessed with 5.

Ask my daughter and husband, and they will agree. I talk to everyone. My dad never knew a stranger, and I take after him. While my daughter was scouting for items, I beelined over to the bookstore. My time was limited; I spoke fast.

The Con has megastars where attendees wait in line for hours to see. And the Con has a hoard of other professionals—namely authors and artists—who spend time chatting with attendees. One of the best things about Dragon Con is the accessibility to up-and-coming authors, actors, artists. Lisa Manifold, author of 25 books, started up a conversation.

She pitched me a couple of her “New Adult” (books for late teens and early twenty-somethings who have outgrown the Young Adult section) books. I purchased two for my daughter; both were autographed as her birthday gifts. Then came me. I’m a tough nut; crime and mysteries are my favorite genres. Since I was not at a crime and mystery conference, my odds for finding something interesting was low. When I ask Lisa to book talk one of Corinne’s books, Corinne interjects and tells me briefly what the book was about. I had no idea that either were the authors. How serendipitous was that!

I started Death Comes Ashore last night. After walking 23,000 steps and participating on 2 panels yesterday, I was tired. I’m 20 pages in and trying to wrap this entry up so I can get back to reading. The book has everything I’m looking for: not too in-depth with the fantasy, enough paranormal descriptions to be believable, and a solid crime scene, where I believe Corinne did her research. I’m fan-girling!

The former New Yorker turned Coloradan runs Rowan Tree Foundation, a non-profit whose mission is “support after the death of a child.” She’s a full-time writer, mother of four children, and tea addict. Lucky for me, her latest book was released on August 28th—just in time for the Con.

Find more information about Corinne here: https://www.corinneoflynn.com/

 

The Best Christmas Gifts Evoke the Horror of Christmas’ Past

19 Tuesday Dec 2017

Posted by in Book Review, Books, Christmas, Folktales, Uncategorized

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Book Cover

The Best Christmas Gifts Evoke the Horror of Christmas’ Past

The Spirits of Christmas: The Dark Side of the Holidays, written by Sylvia Shults, debuted last month, appearing in independent bookstores across Illinois. It can now be purchased online directly from the publisher, American Hauntings Ink (https://squareup.com/store/american-hauntings-ink) for $16. The 240 page compendium is overly ambitious—bulging with tales. However, book lovers live by the adage: More is actually, well, more—and the more tales the better! This book is packed with domestic and international folktales and historical events occurring around the Christmas season. Each of the sections could stand as its own title. But for the 2017 Christmas Season, Ms. Shults’ book will warm the bodies circled around the hearth celebrating “the weirdness that has swirled around the Christmas season for many centuries.”

Ms. Shults rarely delves into any paranormal events circulating around these horrific stories. Instead, she leaves that to the reader. She does, however, include a lot of background information for most of the stories. The organization of the contents is as important as the stories themselves. Ms. Shults groups the stories into themes: traditions; creepy characters; things that bump in the night; natural disasters turned horrific because of the season; ghost sightings; and finally ghost stories inspired from Christmas. Some are true stories written to encourage readers to Google the events themselves. Others are folktales that were believed at the time by the people who experienced the phenomena. All are fascinating. The lengths vary as to the topic.

Krampus

Sylvia Shults is a gifted storyteller. She probably honed her skill by working as a Library Assistant in her busy public library system. Library staff often “booktalk” titles, a practice of giving a brief overview of a book ending with a teaser to hook the reader to check it out. Booktalks are incredibly popular and very easy for a natural-born storyteller. Ms. Shults has a knack for telling stories. Unfortunately, I would have preferred hearing more stories in her voice instead of the original source material.

The book acts as a condensed encyclopedia of horror tales set in December. They cover centuries and continents. While reading, I was drawn to America’s worst hotel fire at the Winecoff Hotel, in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 7th, 1946. The fire paved the way for better fire safety measures; however, it took the death of 119 people—some high school students—for these changes to be enacted. I reside in Atlanta and know much about this tragedy and hotel. (It has since reopened and is a gorgeous boutique hotel.)

Equally interesting was the story on the Silver Bridge Collapse on December 15, 1967. This event is widely seen as the last credible sighting of the West Virginian legend Mothman (see my blogs regarding this geographically-contained phenomenon).

The book also contains quite a few unsolved mysteries and murders. These tales may be the ones to keep readers up at night.

Ms. Shults takes creative license by embellishing some stories; however, they are done to humanize the victims. Further, I wished the citations for sources corresponded with the tales instead of in a bulk listing at the end. That’s the academic in me!

This is the perfect gift for any paranormal enthusiast or history buff who is fascinated by unsolved mysteries or horrific events.

 

For more information on the author: https://sylviashults.wordpress.com/

To purchase the book online: https://squareup.com/store/american-hauntings-ink

 

#6: Residue (2017)

23 Monday Oct 2017

Posted by in Books, Horror Movies, Movie Reviews, Movies, Uncategorized

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Poster

#6: Residue (2017)

The pickings are slim with my informal “rules” for selecting the 10 new horror movies I’m watching this month. First and foremost, the movies have to be available through my Roku on the three services I subscribe to: Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix. I usually view movies multiple times in order to review. Usually. If I don’t like the movie, I either stop watching (i.e., Hell House LLC) or don’t re-watch (i.e., Oculus). I also want to watch the film as the director intended; therefore, I don’t review movies playing on cable. I may watch a movie on cable and then re-watch it on a streaming service to write the review. Thus far I have been able to avoid renting movies, but that changes with #10. Needless to say, my goal was to experience predominantly low-budget horror movies that suffered from small PR budgets. My hope was to share some of the gems I uncovered.

Tonight’s offering introduced me to the horror-noir sub-genre. The horror-noir film is atmospheric and includes a private investigator. Residue (2017) fits the bill.

ResidueBook

Luke Hardy (played by James Clayton) is a down-on-his-luck P.I. who takes possession of an evil book from a distant land. The enchanted book places him and his daughter, who conveniently needs a place to crash, in danger. Writer/director Rusty Nixon adds enough technological nuances to alert the reader that this is a futuristic film, as well.

Devoid of bloated budgets and overused CGI effects, the film relies on dialogue and acting—you know, elements of the craft. Nixon does well.

The film had a Sin City feel with the editing and intrigue. Make no mistake. This film is not based on a comic series; it merely feels like it does.

Nixon paced the movie well. The actors, especially the supporting ones, excelled. It’s more of a time-travel story with aspects of horror instead of a true slasher pic. Still, it’s worth viewing. It will round out the horror offerings.

The movie runs 82 minutes long and is not rated since it was distributed as a VOD (video on demand).