Coming in October: Murder, Monsters and Mayhem

Murder, Monsters and Mayhem - or Mx3 - is a celebration of all things scary, spooky and horrifying, sponsored each October by Jenn of Jenn's Bookshelves.  There will be prizes, guest posts and links to other participating bloggers.  The rules are flexible. To quote Jenn: "There are no real rules for participating, just read/watch and blog something in the horror/supernatural/thriller genres in the month of October."  Visit Jenn's Bookshelves to sign up and prepare to be scared... uh.. "snot"less.

Those of you who know me are shaking your heads, "She's a big pansy. She's not reading vintage Stephen King or watching movies with Freddie Krueger."  You're right, I'm not.  First off, I read most of King's books in high school and don't need to revisit those sleepless nights when I couldn't turn the lights off.  And I'm too wimpy for books or movies with bloodshed.  So I'm doing Mx3 Lite - with more emphasis on suspense, ghosts and magic.

My plan is to post weekly with a wrap up of one book and one movie.  I'm getting a bit of a jump-start on the books, just to ensure that I get them all done on time. (Hey, Jenn said there are no rules!).  Here are my reading choices:

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley 

Death by Diamonds by Annette Blair - also the T and T Bookclub pick

Ghosts of the Missouri River by Marcia Schwartz 

(no image available - a collection of stories by a local author)

When it comes to suspense movies, who does it better than Agatha Christie and The Master of Suspsense, Alfred Hitchcock?  My choices are:

Rope - (1948) Directed by Hitchcock, starring Jimmy Stewart

Murder on the Orient Express (the 1974 version) - based on the novel by Christie, starring Lauren Bacall

Wait Until Dark - (1964) starring Audrey Hepburn

North by Northwest - (1959) Another Hitchcock classic, this time starring Cary Grant

And the grand finale':  House of Dark Shadows - The story of Barnabas Collins, the bloodsucker who made vampires cool before Stephenie Meyer and Johnny Depp were born. 

Based on the Soap Opera, Dark Shadows, which ran from 1966-1971.  The film was made in 1970, while the soap was still in production and starred Jonathan Frid, the same actor who played Barnabas on tv.  Any other children of the 60's/70's remember Barnabas?

There will also be some overlap with the October "Pin It/Do It" challenge sponsored by Trish at Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity.  Trish encourages Pinterest addicts to accomplish a few of the fabulous things they've pinned, so I'll throw in a craft project or two or maybe even a recipe with a Halloween theme.  Visit Trish and Jenn and sign up to take part in a freaky-fun October.  Or else . . .