"Black winter had descended in a single night.”   Watch the tides and slip out in the cover of night for Daphne Du Maurier's "The Birds" (1952). It's a chilling, suspenseful story that's not really like the movie adaptation at all, and will fill your heart with dread. If you're a Shirley Jackson fan, add this one to your tbr! Spoilers ahead!   -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects from zapsplat.com

Spooky Sisters Book Club

The Birds by Daphne du Maurier

And now she sat so very quietly, so very still, like a living-dead doll staring out the window.   Buenas noches, spooky friends! This week, let Aurelien tell you all about how Georgina's perfectly planned life got flipped-turned upside down - by Death. Set during the Mexican Revolution, "This Strange Way of Dying" (2011) by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a spooky dark historical love story about choosing your future and also, becoming a goth queen. Spoilers ahead!   Read "This Strange Way of Dying" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia http://giganotosaurus.org/2011/08/01/this-strange-way-of-dying/   Buy the story collection "This Strange Way of Dying: Stories of Magic, Desire and the Fantastic" https://www.silviamoreno-garcia.com/blog/this-strange-way-of-dying/   -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects from zapsplat.com

Death becomes her: This Strange Way of Dying by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

"She is only a ghost, and nobody believes in ghosts any longer."   Let's go back in time for book club this week, with Ellen Glasgow's 1920 ghost story "The Past". If you like classic gothic stories and spooky hauntings, but also want a protagonist who asks "wtf?", this one is for you. And, please, ignore the spiritual representation of trauma watching us from the corner.    Episode references Learn more about Ellen Glasglow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Glasgow   Check out "The Big Book of Ghost Stories": https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13330932-the-big-book-of-ghost-stories   -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects from zapsplat.com

Give up the ghost: The Past by Ellen Glasgow

“The house was full of dead bodies, it seemed. It felt like a mechanical cemetery.”   Hey, spooky friends! It's a special, Bradbury birthday edition of book club. Aurelien discusses (and spoils!) her favorite Ray Bradbury short stories: the spacey sadness of "All Summer in a Day" and the visceral horror of "The Veldt". Plus: how it feels when a favorite author might be someone you wouldn't want to talk to at a party.    Episode references Listen to Aurelien talk about "The Mummy" (1999) on Film on the Rocks podcast! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/film-on-the-rocks/id1482638759?i=1000487571880   Read more about Bradbury's complicated legacy: https://electricliterature.com/the-new-fahrenheit-451-movie-fails-to-reckon-with-bradburys-racism/   Read that 1979 "Fahrenheit 451" coda: https://stjoe.k12.in.us/ourpages/auto/2015/3/9/49008830/Bradbury%20-%20Coda.pdf   -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects from zapsplat.com

Bradbury Birthday Book Club: "All Summer in a Day" and "The Veldt"

"Darkness stood hushed and bulky beneath his kitchen window."   Bring a flashlight and stay out of the cellar! This week, Aurelien covers Ramsey Campbell's viscerally horrifying "The Brood" (1980). It's a dark, unsettling story about a lonely veterinarian and the strange happenings in the house next door. Who lives there? What are they doing with all those small animals? And do you hear those moaning, wailing cries?   -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects from zapsplat.com * Bonus clip from The Neverending Story (1984) property of Warner Bros

Trick of the light: The Brood by Ramsey Campbell

"Even when you’re dead, some things cut close to the bone."   Let's go to the mall, everybody! But be careful - you don't want to get stuck here, like the ghosts in "Old Habits" (2011) by Nalo Hopkinson. It's a short modern horror story that manages to pack in plenty of nightmares (and feelings). Spoilers ahead!   Episode references: Read the story at Uncanny Magazine: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/old-habits/ Grab a copy of Uncanny Magazine Issue Twenty-One: https://uncannymagazine.com/issues/uncanny-magazine-issue-twenty-one/ Need a smile? Watch "Let's Go to the Mall" by Robin Sparkles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY_bhVSGKEg   -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects from zapsplat.com

Fall into the gap: Old Habits by Nalo Hopkinson

"...and there were the trooping faeries that would steal them all away to their underground hills for a hundred years."   Meet by the edge of the wood and wear your best coat to book club for modern faery tale "The Coat of Stars" by Holly Black. It's a short and emotional story of lost love, faery bargains, and ethereal womenswear. Spoilers ahead!    -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects from zapsplat.com

Magic in the moonlight: The Coat of Stars by Holly Black

"Not a spirit to be found, of course."   Meet in the hidden passage at midnight for book club to discuss modern gothic comic "Women Do Not Creep by Daylight" (2019), written by Vera Greentea and illustrated by Kyla Vanderklugt. A spiritual descendent of "The Yellow Wallpaper", it's the story of a determined young woman, a crumbling old castle, and a mysterious green amulet. No spoilers in this one!    Episode References: Buy the comic: https://greenteapublishing.com/collections/books/products/women-do-not-creep-by-daylight Read "The Yellow Wallpaper" free online: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1952/1952-h/1952-h.htm Read "Lullaby for a Lost World" free online: https://www.tor.com/2016/06/08/lullaby-for-a-lost-world/   -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects from zapsplat.com

Dark shadows: Women Do Not Creep by Daylight by Vera Greentea

"She was not quite sure what made her so nervous."   Leave the city behind and join Aurelien at the lake house for Shirley Jackson's 1948 paranoia-inducing short story, "The Summer People". It's a story full of beautiful views, strange townspeople, and a distinct feeling of creeping dread.   Episode References: Explore US prices and wages by decade: https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages Make an egg'n'onion sandwich: http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/food-drink/egg-n-onion-sandwich/   -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects from zapsplat.com * Clip from Tommy Dorsey at the Hollywood Paladium: https://www.oldradioworld.com/shows/Tommy_Dorsey.php * Clip from Artie Shaw At the Hotel Lincoln: https://www.oldradioworld.com/shows/Artie_Shaw.php * Clips from real Brylcream and Captain Midnite Ovaltine commercials: https://www.oldradioworld.com/shows/Vintage_Commercials.php

Lake Eerie: The Summer People by Shirley Jackson

"The sound that wasn’t footsteps came closer."   Do you hear that strange tapping? Better investigate before book club this week for "Come Closer" by Sara Gran (2003). It's a strange, dark, twisty horror story about identity, relationships, and the strength (and weakness) of our own minds. And also demons.    References Listen to ep. 7 to learn about the Fox Sisters and their mysterious tapping And ep. 8 for the spooky true story of Pearl Curran and her Ouija friend https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossroads_(mythology) -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects from zapsplat.com

Just say no: Come Closer by Sara Gran

"I’m the picture of normalcy. June Cleaver with freeze-dried casseroles. Betty Crocker in a gas mask."   Grab your emergency supplies and join Aurelien at book club for YA contemporary weird novel "Let's Call It A Doomsday" by Katie Henry. It's a wild ride through teen angst, clinical anxiety, world-ending prophecies, and friendship (awww).    -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects from zapsplat.com * End tag from "Clerks" (1994) and property of Kevin Smith/Miramax

Apocalypses now: Let's Call It A Doomsday by Katie Henry

"He had not known that he lived in so wild a region."   This week, book club goes back to the '90s - the 1890s! With Ambrose Bierce's classic dark story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". Set during the Civil War, it's the exciting tale of a lucky escape and a long journey home -- or is it?    Read the story free online: http://ambrosebierce.org/owlcreekbridge.html Listen to a wind harp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qESQa8UHCTw   -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects from zapsplat.com

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce

"Days ago, we gave a man to the sea, but here she is, dancing."   Hide the knives and bring the bleach for book club! This week, Aurelien read "My Sister, the Serial Killer" by Oyinkan Braithwaite. Set in Lagos, Nigeria, it's a modern, darkly funny take on a timeless story: girl meets boy, girl murders boy, girl gets sister to help dispose of boy's body in the dead of night, girl meets another boy...  -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects from zapsplat.com

Knives Out: My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

"This is a city where numberless aspirations can be fulfilled."   This week, Aurelien discusses Ursula K. LeGuin's 1973 short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" and NK Jemisin's 2018 response, "The Ones Who Stay and Fight". What kind of world do you want to live in? What are you willing to fight for? And which part of these stories is sci-fi?   Read "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas": https://www.utilitarianism.com/nu/omelas.pdf Check out "All the Birds in the Sky" by Charlie Jane Anders And "How Long 'til Black Future Month?" by NK Jemisin  -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects from zapsplat.com

The Ones Who Stay and Fight/The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

When the world you know is out of reach, nothing is more welcome than a measurable reminder that it still exists.   Explore distant planets, and moral quandaries, this week in book club for "To Be Taught, If Fortunate" by Becky Chambers. It's a futuristic space adventure, with lots of weird science, amazing planets, and a thoughtful, philosophical heart.    Episode references Lisa Nip's research: https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/limitations-of-and-approaches-to-augmenting-the-human-body-in-space/overview/ The Scouring of the Shire analysis: https://www.thefandomentals.com/scouring-shire-lotr-reread/ -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects from zapsplat.com

A Giant Leap: To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

Come join your spooky sisters, Aurelien & Catrina, in the book club of your weird dreams... We read poems, short stories, books, graphic novels - creepy, spooky, or just weird, we're probably reading it. Find your next weird read!

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Spooky Sisters Book Club

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