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The hook: your phone rings. A stranger has kidnapped your child. To free them you must abduct someone else's child, Your child will be released when your victim's parents kidnap another child. If any of these things don't happen: your child will be killed. You are now part of the chain. What happens: a parent receives a panicked phone call from a stranger who reveals that both of their children have been kidnapped by someone who demands that they abduct another child to prevent the murders of their own. Reviewers say: "This nightmarish story is incredibly propulsive and original. You won't shake it for a long time." -- Stephen King
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Wilder Girls
by Rory Power
The setting: everyone loses something to the Tox; Hetty lost her eye, Reese's hand has changed, and Byatt just disappeared completely.
The story: left to fend for themselves when their island boarding school is quarantined, three best friends watch their teachers die before their fellow students begin succumbing to feral violence, a situation that is further complicated when one of them goes missing.
What it's like: this YA debut has been called "a feminist Lord of the Flies".
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What it is: The Blair Witch Project meets Imaginary Girls.
Starring: sixteen-year-old Skye and her thirteen-year-old sister, Deirdre, who goes missing shortly after they move to their isolated new neighborhood. Read it for: a story of sisterhood turned toxic, imaginary monsters brought to life, and secrets that won't stay buried.
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The Toll
by Cherie Priest
What it's about: newlywed couple Titus and Melanie are on their honeymoon when they end up crossing a mysterious bridge. Later, TItus wakes up in the middle of the road to find his new wife missing. When he calls the police, he's told the bridge they encountered doesn't exist...
The setting: set in the Okefenokee Swamp straddling the Georgia-Florida line, this novel is the perfect atmosphere for pure Southern gothic horror.
Author buzz: Cherie Priest is the established author of The Family Plot and Maplecroft. The Toll was named one of The Most Anticipated Horror Books of 2019 (Lit Reactor).
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Adaptations and Retellings
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| Winter Tide by Ruthanna EmrysWhat it is: an inventive dark fantasy mash-up of Cthulhu Mythos and Cold War espionage and paranoia.
Starring: siblings Aphra and Caleb Marsh, the last of Innsmouth's amphibious Deep Ones, who are recruited as spies by the very government that sent their people to internment camps.
Series alert: Winter Tide is the first book in the Innsmouth Legacy series, followed by Deep Roots. |
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| The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValleWhat it's about: In 1920s Harlem, a young African American con artist named Charles Thomas Tester struggles to make ends meet for himself and his dying father while treading on the borders of an occult realm.
What sets it apart: This atmospheric retelling of H.P. Lovecraft's short story "The Horror at Red Hook" cleverly deconstructs the racism of its source material by putting a black man front and center.
Book buzz: A Bram Stoker Award finalist, The Ballad of Black Tom won the 2016 Shirley Jackson Award and the 2017 British Fantasy Award. |
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| Hyde by Daniel LevineWhat it is: a violent reimagining of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 classic Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this time told from the perspective of the monstrous Edward Hyde.
Read it for: a vividly drawn character study and an intense mad scientist drama that will satisfy fans of both horror and psychological suspense.
Is it for you? This ambitious novel will best be appreciated by those familiar with Stevenson's original novella -- luckily, it's included here as an appendix. |
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| The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzieWhat it's about: In this creepy young adult novel based on the YouTube series of the same name, 16-year-old Sunshine Griffith discovers that her new home in Washington state is haunted -- and that she alone may possess the power to help the restless spirits move on.
Series alert: The Haunting of Sunshine Girl is followed by The Awakening of Sunshine Girl and The Sacrifice of Sunshine Girl.
Reviewers say: "Suspenseful, exciting and endlessly entertaining" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Paranormal Genre Interest Group Walkertown Branch Tuesday, August 27, from 6:30pm -- 8:00pm Meet others and listen to author Dr. J. David Michaels as he leads an open forum discussion. Bring your paranormal related questions for discussion and answers. Call the library at 336-703-2990 for more information. Walkertown Branch Library 2969 Main St. Walkertown, NC 27051
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Forsyth County Public Library 660 W 5th Street Winston Salem, North Carolina 27101 336-703-3030www.forsythlibrary.org |
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