Ghosts In The Walls

I promised yesterday I would give a proper recommendation next time I blog about a spooky book. So for today's and this year's first proper countdown to Halloween book reading suggestion, I give you Ghosts In The Walls. "Spooky stories inspired by real history". I bought it in the Tower of London and blogged about it before, but I have now read it. It's an anthology created in partnership with Historic Royal Palaces, and yes, of course, the Tower is featured in some of them. The ghost stories in it are sometimes touching, sometimes genuinely scary, if not terrifying. They're very new, yet they follow a very old British tradition.

Les couleurs de l'automne

Autre photo prise par mon père durant sa promenade, que je partage jusque pour le plaisir.

The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight (meh)

For today's countdown to Halloween post, I wanted to share a first reading experience for me, but unfortunately an underwhelming one. A few months ago, I found in a books sale at Wolfie's school, from the Goosebumps series. I remember back when I was a teenager, a lot of kids, barely out of childhood, reading the series eagerly. In my case, I was already reading adult horror, especially old classics. So I thought little of it. But the book, as you can see on the picture, has for title The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight. And I love scarecrows in horror stories. Especially when, like you can see on the cover, it has a Jack O'Lantern as a head. So I bought it, out of curiosity and because even though I never judge a book by its cover, I do buy them sometimes because I like the cover. If nothing else, it would be seasonal, or so I thought. Well, no. It's set in the middle of summertime. Halloween is thus not featured at all. And, while there are lots of scarecrows, none has a pumpkin head. Furthermore, it's really poorly written, really aimed at children and not scary at all. In faxct, I don't think I would have enjoyed it when I was among the Goosebumps series target readers. But hey, cool cover. Anyway, I promise I will give a proper reading recommendation next time.

L'automne rouge, orange, jaune

Je partage (rien que parce que) une autre photo de l'automne à Chicoutimi, prise par mon père lors de sa promenade quotidienne. Du rouge, du orange, du jaune et encore un peu de vert.

Archive 81

Okay, I am blogging a lot today, so this is my second post in English for the countdown to Halloween. The first one is here, and I have two more in French. I have a lot to blog about and so little time. Anyway, for those who have some time and like to watch more cerebral horror, I have a suggestion: Archive 81. It's a TV series on Netflix of eight episodes, slow pace (in the best way), very atmospheric and has very Lovecraftian influences. It also draws strongly on Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist. It's about Dan Turner, a conservator who is asked to restore tapes that have been damaged in the 1994 fire of an apartment building in New York called the Visser. The tapes have been made by Melody, a grad student doing a documentary project who disappeared in the fire. So we follow both Dan's and Melody's investigation, which reveals a cult, some very unsettling characters and maybe a demonic entity. I don't want to give more away, but what I love about it is how you are drawn into the story. It's deeply unsettling diabolically efficient. It's so far my best horror discovery this year and I strongly recommend it.

Première Moisson en mode Halloween

J'apprends via la page Facebook de Première Moisson qu'ils ont leur propre "pumpkin spice latte". Ou, comme ils le traduisent, latté à la cétrouille épicée. Je ne bois pas de café (je déteste), alors non, je n'ai pas l'impression de manquer quelque chose. Mais ma femme elle est une grande buveuse de café et de latté à la citrouille, alors ce sera une autre marque à essayer pour elle lorsque nous serons à Montréal en automne (à notre retraite? lorsque Wolfie sera à l'université?). Dans tous les cas, je suis heureux que Première Moisson se mette encore plus en mode automnal et aussi en mode Halloween.

Jack O'Fanta

For today's countdown to Halloween post, something a bit different, as this post is about... sodas. As in soda drinks. A couple of weeks ago, I stopped in one of the local shops for a quick top up. I was happily surprised to see that the Fanta soft drinks were already embracing the spooky season: their cans of lemon sodas had a Jack O'Lantern on them. Rather creepy and menacing, actually. A shame I find the taste of the drink rather akin to cough syrup. Surely, it should have been orange, as the website advertises. Or better still: pumpkin flavoured (even though pumpkin does not taste much by itself). Be that as it may, this is unironically one of the best Jack O'Lantern designs I have seen this year. So I might use it as inspiration for our own pumpkins.

Le Viennois durant l'Halloween

L'Halloween, c'est aussi le temps des sucreries, et on n'attend pas le 31 pour en profiter. Enfin bref, j'ai remarqué que sur le site en ligne de la pâtisserie de Chicoutimi Le Viennois, il y a toute une section sur l'Halloween. On y trouve notamment ce gâteau à pâte blanche, avec une citrouille dessus. "Indisponible pour le moment," enfin alors que j'écris ces lignes, alors je coupçonne qu'ils n'en offrent pas depuis un bout de temps déjà. Mais quand même, je me paierais bien une visite rien que pour voir, si je vivais toujours à Chicoutimi.

Fearsome Witch

 For today's countdown to Halloween post, I wanted to share a picture my father took during one of his walks. There are already Halloween displays in front of houses, like this one, ready for trick or treat. You might have seen this witch before, because it's on display every year and every year I share a few pictures of her. She is just deliciously sinister. And this year, she is putting a Jack O'Lantern in a cauldron. God knows what she is stewing in there. I think there is a story to tell about her. Maybe one day.

L'automne à Chicoutimi

Mon père a pris cette photo lors d'une promenade. Une image de l'automne à Chicoutimi. On n'a pas des couleurs comme ça ici.

Halloween Horror Shorts

For today's countdown to Halloween post, not a book recommendation, but a warning. I bought Collected Halloween Horror Shorts back in 2024. I finished it a few days ago. So make that what you will. Actually, don't: this was a mistake. The format is cheap (and what a rubbish, unseasonal cover), it's typing is ridiculously small and, well, most of the stories are not good at all. Lots if crass stuff with more shock value than scare. I am surprised, as there are apparently winners of the Bram Stoker award among them. I wouldn't have guessed. So my advice: unless you have nothing else to read, stay away from that anthology.

Un bateau en automne

Je partage une nouvelle photo prise par mon père à La Baie, rien que parce que. J'avoue que ce n'est pas le bateau qui m'intéresse ici. Ce que j'aime, c'est l'arrière-plan automnal.

Dagon (H.P. Lovecraft)

I have a lot to blog about this month, so you may forgive me to write another post for the countdown to Halloween. I would like to give a reading suggestion for your spooky nights, as well as sharing a memory with you. You know I love reading H.P. Lovecraft, I always include some of his stories in my Halloween reads. I started reading him to get myself inspiration for the role-playing game Call of Cthulhu. I blogged in 2022 about the first story I read of him. The second story I read of him was Dagon, on Halloween night 1993. Right before bed, in fact. It's still one of my favourite. It's about a mariner in World War 1, escaping capture from the Germans on a lifeboat, who finds a strange island and a monolith, and witnesses a sea creature getting out of the water and hugging the monolith. The apparition terrifies the mariner, who goes back to his boat and turns mad. I don't want to give more away, but the ending is just so perfect. You can read it here. I suggest you do it during daytime perhaps, because you might not sleep so well afterwards.

Le Vourdalak

Mon frère PJ a porté à mon attention un film d'horreur français datant de 2023, donc assez récent. Il a pour titre Le Vourdalak. Il est inspiré d'une novella de Tolstoï, La Famille du Vourdalak. Si comme moi vous vous connaissez un peu en folklore vampirique, vous saurez que vourdalak est le thème russe pour désigner le vampire. Vourdalak est donc notre mot du jour. Dans tous les cas, j'ai vu la bande-annonce, que je partage plus bas. On dirait un fim d'horreur de facture très vieille école, dans le meilleur sens du mot. Alors j'ai un double objectif: 1)trouver le film pour le regarder et 2)trouver et lire le bouquin qui l'a inspiré.

Frankenstein's Creature in a Pub

For today's countdown to Halloween post, I wanted to blog about a horror classic. It's not Halloween without this icon. You know who I'm talking about? I took this picture at The Grand Assembly, a Wetherspoon pub in the little town of Marlow. We didn't stop there for a drink, it was too crowded, but I saw this grandfather clock and took the time (ha, ha, ha!) to take this picture. You might need to increase the image to see the display in the clock, but you can see Frankenstein's monster, alone in nature. Even from the back, you can recognise him from his frame. As you may know, Mary Shelley lived in Marlow for a little while, a year or so, and this is where she finished writing Frankenstein. In fact, the pub is less than a five minutes walk away from her residence in the town. So it's a fitting display. Marlow is a place of pilgrimage for every fan of the novel, or indeed any fan of Gothic horror. especially, I'd add, in the weeks leading to Halloween.

Des Jos Louis à la citrouille?

C'est mon frère PJ qui a pris cette photo, à ma demande. Des Jos Louis, mais à la citrouille et aux épices. Je savais que Vachon faisait des variations de leurs classiques, mais je ne savais pas qu'ils se mettaient en mode automnal et Halloweenesque. Ce n'est pas moi qui m'en plaindrai. Je ne crois pas que ce soit aussi bon que les originaux (le Jos Louis n'est pas un classique pour rien), mais je serais curieux d'en essayer, rien que pour voir.

Scarecrow Bookmark

For today's countdown to Halloween post, I wanted to blog about one essential item of my spooky season: the bookmark. I try as much as possible to read the scary stories (or cute Halloween stories, because I read those too) I read this time of year with selected Halloween bookmarks. I buy them in bulk, sometimes I use leaflets and similar things as makeshift bookmarks for the season. So yes, among the one I have been using this Halloween, the bookmark here might be my favourite. I just love a Jack O'Lantern as the head of a scarecrow, they just go so well together. This is a perfectly seasonal Halloween image. Beautifully macabre and atmospheric. So yeah, I wanted to share it today. And you, do you have special bookmarks for Halloween? Tell me in the comments.

L'automne à La Baie

Mon père m'a envoyé des photos de l'automne à La Baie. J'en partage une rien que parce que. Les couleurs ne sont pas encore à leur plus magnifique, mais c'est beau quand même.

Aquila on Haunted Houses

For today's countdown to Halloween post, I'm promoting the October issue of Aquila Magazine. My son has a subscription and he always gets excited when he receives it, especially the October issue, as it's always about something spooky. "Big ideas for inquisitive kids", says their motto. Wolfie gets the best mail, as I love to say. So yes, this year it's all about haunted houses, haunting and ghosts in general. I reckon it will be a great source of inspiration for ghost stories, as well as help my son to develop his critical thinking. In any case, Aquila is a great educational read for children and the October issue is a must for families who love Halloween.

Un sentier en automne

Ma cousine Amy l'artiste-photographe m'a envoyé d'autres photos, prises lors d'une randonnée dans le Parc national des Monts-Valins il y a une semaine environ. J'ai eu le coup de coeur pour celle-ci, que je partage avec sa permission. Non mais si tôt dans l'automne, c'est rare que l'on ait des couleurs comme celles-ci, même au Saguenay. C'est vraiment magnifique. Pour moi, c'est l'automne idéal, l'automne parfait, en une photo. J'espère faire découvrir la saison au Saguenay à mon fils et ma femme un jour. D'ici là, j'ai les photos de ma cousine à leur montrer.