FEAR THE BOOK : Scary Stories

Edgar Allen Poe once stated that "perversity is the human thirst for self-torture." Why do we watch movies that scare us? What is it about the thrill of the unknown, of the uncontrollable that keeps us coming back for more? Why is it fun to torture ourselves with fear? 

The following books all focus on horror, mystery, and fear. 

I am a BIG chicken. I haven't read much of any of these titles, but they get a thumbs up from people who love to be scared. I might give them a try, too- on a really sunny day, with lots of people in my house, and a blanket to hide under when it gets too scary... because having a light and hiding under the sheets always keeps you safe, right? 

---

• Title: Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children
  
• Author: Ransom Riggs
  
• One sentence summary: Jacob finds the ruins of a school for strange children in Wales, but the more he explores the school, the more he worries that these children may stay be alive.
  
• Where I found it: Barnes and Noble - Saugus
  
• How is it scary?: Disturbed little kids, a rundown school, and oodles of creepy vintage photographs. 
  

---

---

• Title: Fun Home
  
• Author: Alison Bechdel
  
• One sentence summary: Living in a funeral home is scary enough, but what is more frightening is the fear of facing ourselves and our desires. 
  
• Where I found it: Boston Public Library  - Copley
  
• Why you should check it out: Fun Home is about facing our families and ourselves. It is about secrets and how the fear of these secrets might lead to our destruction. Also, Fun Home has gone from graphic novel to Broadway musical (which based on my very superficial research, may be a first of its kind). 
  

---

• Title: Stiff
  
• Author: Mary Roach
  
• One sentence summary: Roach shows us what happens to the human body post-mortum, from fancy corpse makeup to the science of beheadings to how they made the popular exhibit Bodyworlds
  
• Where I found it: I read this book in high school. I found it in an airport convenience store (Hudson News?). It isn't a new title to me, but I thought it fit in this collection
  
• How is it scary?: Thinking about the afterlife makes me a little anxious. If you're like me and you are super hemaphobic (afraid of blood) and necrophobic (fear of death and corpses) this book may get you a bit rattled. There were definitely parts where I had to put the book down, but there are so many interesting facts I had to power through it. 
  

---

---

• Title: Stitches: A Memoir
  
• Author: David Small
  
• One sentence summary: Dad's a doctor, and one day he removes your vocal cords, and you have no idea why (oh, also, now you have a huge scary scar on your throat and are mute).
  
• Where I found it: Boston Public Library - Charlestown
  
• How is it scary?: Family secrets, mysterious medical procedures, scars, and a nightmarish inability to communicate. 
  

---

---

• Title: Asylum
  
• Author: Madeleine Roux
  
• One sentence summary: Good news, you've just been accepted into an elite college prep, bad news, you have to stay in a dorm that used to be a psychiatric asylum.
  
• Where I found it: Amazon
  
• How is it scary?: Have you ever seen anything set in an asylum end well? The author, Madeleine Roux, visited and researched a bunch of different asylums for inspiration, and the results are chilling. 
  

---