December is snowflakes, presents, hot chocolate, time with family… and haunted houses, vengeful ghosts, and strange happenings.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting”; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10863147-the-haunting-of-hill-house
Originally published in 1959, this is one of the original creeptastic haunted house horror stories. If you’ve seen the Netflix show, warning: it’s not the same story (same names, totally different plot and characters). Catrina’s read it before, but it’s my first time through, so I’m excited to see if it’s all it’s as creepy as people say and how it holds up.
The Changeling by Victor LaValle
Apollo Kagwa has had strange dreams that have haunted him since childhood. An antiquarian book dealer with a business called Improbabilia, he is just beginning to settle into his new life as a committed and involved father, unlike his own father who abandoned him, when his wife Emma begins acting strange. Disconnected and uninterested in their new baby boy, Emma at first seems to be exhibiting all the signs of post-partum depression, but it quickly becomes clear that her troubles go far beyond that. Before Apollo can do anything to help, Emma commits a horrific act—beyond any parent’s comprehension—and vanishes, seemingly into thin air.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31147267-the-changeling
The Changeling is the first read in our “New Year, New You” episodes coming out in January. Published in 2017, it’s a terrifying modern take on the changeling myth. Unlike Hill House, I’ve read this before and absolutely adored it. So I’m looking forward to Catrina’s take her first time reading it. It’s an amazing fusion of fantasy, tech, society, and a little bit of history. Another genre-bender.
What do you think of our December book club picks?
