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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

31 Days of Horror: Day 1-- Welcome and An Introduction

Cake by Pastries So Tasty
She made this cake too.
Well here we are again.  It is the 3rd Annual 31 Days of Horror Blog-a-Thon here on RA for All Horror.

For those of you who are new, click here to access the Features Archive where I have updated the links to go directly to the 2011 and 2012 editions of this special celebration of all things creepy.

First, some background.  The horror world unites during October to embrace the rest of the world's 31 day obsession with the occult. Of course, we horror mavens live with the ghouls, demons, and monsters all year long, but know that the vast majority of people out there save their attention to terror until right about now.

For libraries specifically, from Septemebr 15th until November 15th, "scary" books are at their point of highest demand. I have tried to use the 31 Days of Horror feature to help the librarians out there, who are less well versed in horror, and those who are just plain scared of it, to help ease you through the haunting season.

In 2011, I focused mostly on my book (which was in final draft stage) and basic resources. The purpose of the event that year was to lay the groundwork for an introduction to horror.

In 2012, I asked horror writers to write to you librarians directly about why they love horror. The idea was for them to share their love to give you all a better understanding of why your horror fans find pleasure in being scared.

So as not to repeat myself, this year I have a new angle to explore.

In 2013, for the next 31 days, I have asked my colleagues in the library world to share a favorite "scary" story with all of you. I have left it open ended because what is frightening to one person is not necessarily going to terrorize someone else.  I have also asked people regardless of whether or not they are a horror fan themselves; thus, I will have a wide range of examples of what people find scary.

What I hope the overall result will be for you, the reader of this blog, a a wide angle view of what you can suggest to readers who are looking for something scary this Halloween season.

Along with these guest posts, you should also expect a few giveaways, reviews of horror books by me, and fresh resources.

If you would like to share your favorite scary book, I would love for you to email it to me [zombiegrl75 at gmail dot com], rather than leaving a comment so that I can compile the very best into a post toward the end of the month. Leave a comment too if you want, but the best way for me to save the suggestions to the 31 Days of Horror Archive is for it to be included in a post.

Okay, let's begin....

For the first few days, I want to set the stage for horror as it is right now.  So I will have links to various articles to that effect

But let's start with a primer.  Here is the article I wrote breaking down the basic appeal of horror for NoveList in 2011.

Be back tomorrow...

2 comments:

  1. Is it gauche to send an e-mail recommendation of a book if you are the author?

    ReplyDelete
  2. No, but with a caveat. Send me an email rec of a book that inspired you to write horror and talk about your book in the process. That I would better reflect the flavor of what I am trying to do.

    ReplyDelete