All About Carrie!

So I have one post left for all of you as it is now Halloween which means October is almost over and so is Leanne's Horror October! For this last post I have chosen to discuss Carrie - the book by Stephen King as well as the original movie and the remake that just cam out this month! Let's start with the book!

This book was nothing like I thought it was going to be! I expected an actual story with you know...actual chapters. Instead, King wrote the story with clips of interviews, news articles, scientific information, etc... Because of this I had a very very hard time getting through this book! I basically ended up just skimming the book because I just couldn't take it anymore. I swear the only books I can actually read are YA. Whenever I try something new in the book world, it just doesn't seem to work out. I really wanted to like this book because it's a classic and King is kind of the master! I still want to try his other works and hope to accomplish at least The Shining this year!

Now for the movie...let's start with the original...I love the original! It's so good and that takes a lot for me to say because I hate anything that looks old - which in theory I should've loved the remake instead. But nope. This movie is amazing. Sissy Spacek is so scary! And the ending to the movie! Ah! And just the whole prom scene in general was way more scary because there wasn't like any talking. It was just music playing while you watch what's going on.

*Possible spoilers ahead if you haven't seen Carrie!*

In the remake, so many little details were changed! Like people lived who didn't in the original. Sue was pregnant in the remake. There was no scary ending, just Sue talking in a court room. Carrie FLEW in the remake! I was just appalled at how awful that was! They definitely made the remake in the present day which is fine, I just wish it wasn't so cheesy. I do like Chloe Moretz as Carrie though but she just didn't have that extra special something to make it great. Julianne Moore was awesome as the mom though! So much better then the original! And the prom scene was prettier, too!

So overall, the winner here is definitely the original movie version of Carrie!

Tell me: Have you seen or read Carrie? What are your thoughts?

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Ghostly Haunts - Horror October

I have always wanted to go to every haunted hotel, city, restaurant, etc... and I am constantly finding new places to add to my future road trip of ghostly haunts! For this post, I have decided to take some of the locations from some of my favorite books and use those to find haunted places! Here is what I have found to add to my list!

England (featured in The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and Meant To Be)

1. Once called the Jack the Ripper, this Spitalfields pub can't get away from its gory former namesake. In 1996, the landlord claimed The Ten Bells had been taken over by the ghost of Annie Chapman, murdered and mutilated by the Ripper in 1888. Poltergeist activity and inexplicable gusts of wind have been recorded by the staff.

2. This small square of Bleeding Heart Yard in Farringdon has a horrific history. Legend has it that on January 27, 1626, the mutilated body of society beauty Lady Elizabeth Hatton was found in the cobbled courtyard. She had been murdered and her limbs strewn across the ground, but her heart still pumped blood.

3. Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children on Hackney Road: (picture on the left) It was opened in 1866 after a cholera outbreak and was originally known as the North-Eastern Hospital and Dispensary. Its services were relocated to the Royal London in Whitechapel in 1998 and the building has since fallen into disrepair, serving only to spook the children - and adults - visiting Hackney City Farm across the road.

4. The Tower of London: (picture on the left) Its history as a place of torture and imprisonment ensures no shortage of, often headless, souls hanging around. The Princes in the Tower, allegedly murdered by their uncle Richard III, are the best-known spectres. Also on duty are Lady Jane Grey, Anne Boleyn and the White Lady. Anne is a frequent visitor to the Tower and she is sometimes seen carrying her own head. Other ghosts include Henry VI, Thomas Beckett, Sir Walter Raleigh and the Countess of Salisbury, whose gruesome execution is sometimes seen being re-enacted by ghosts.

5. The Borley Rectory claims to be the most haunted place in England. After its construction it became the site of intense poltergeist activity such as spontaneous displacement of objects, strange odors, cold spots, the sound of galloping horses and ghostly apparitions. The rectory was destroyed by fire in 1939 but photos of the ruins still contained odd images and unexplained elements.

6. Raynham Hall (picture on the left) is one of the most famous haunted places in the world due largely in part to its most famous ghost, the Brown Lady, who was captured on film in 1936 in what is said to be one of the most authentic ghost photos every taken. The photo has been examined multiple times by experts who all confirm it is authentic and untouched. The Brown Lady is said to have been confined in a room by her husband, unable to see her children. She soon perished in the room and has continued to haunt Raynham Hall clad in her brown dress.

Scotland (featured in 13 Little Blue Envelopes)

1. Glamis Castle, Angus, Scotland: The imposing home of the current Earl and Countess of Strathmore is supposedly riddled with secret rooms. Residents include the so-called Monster of Glamis Castle (an unkind moniker for a deformed child held here in the 19th century), a tongueless woman running around the garden, and a wicked aristocrat who loudly bemoans a lost card game. There's also the mysterious Grey Lady. This isn't the late Queen Mother, born at Glamis in 1900, but rather Janet Douglas, executed on a trumped-up charge of witchcraft in 1537.

2. Edinburgh Castle, suspected to be one the most haunted spots in Scotland, is appropriately judged considering Edinburgh has been said to be the most haunted city in all of Europe, and possibly the world. A battleground of countless deaths, Edinburgh Castle can easily be thought of as an eternal spot of unrest for fallen soldiers. Other ghosts said to haunt the castle are a phantom piper, a headless drummer, the spirits of French prisoners from the Seven Years War and colonial prisoners from the American Revolutionary War and even a dog that wanders the castle’s cemetery. (Other areas of Edinburgh also have ghostly reputations: the subterranean vaults of South Bridge and a disused street called Mary Kings Close where victims of the Black Death plague were sealed up to die.)

Vermont (featured in Suite Dreams)


1. The Gold Brook Bridge: (picture on the left) This covered bridge in the state of Vermont is known to the locals as Emily's Bridge. This bridge is not to be crossed after dark. A ghost by the name of Emily shakes cars, slashes out with her nails, and has been known to show herself just for a moment before vanishing. Some believe her to have been a jilted lover who threw herself off the bridge. Some believe her to have owned the bridge and committed suicide on it. Others even believe that the story was created by a mother who wanted to scare her children away from going near the bridge. 

2. The University of Vermont, Burlington: (picture on the left) This university has been known to have 14 places in which hauntings have been reported. Here are a few: In Bittersweet House there is a young woman in 1800s clothing that often appears. In the Allen House a ghost is residing on the top floor. In Converse Hall a former student who electrocuted himself in 1992 has been felt. He messes with electrical equipment including lights and music players. Coolidge Hall is a place that carries a few ghosts. One likes to wake the residences up by staring at them. Grasse Mount House has a history of voices and doors slamming. Redstone Wall houses a male ghost who runs through walls. In Simpson Hall there is also a spirit of a male who was a stalker in his living life. This definitely has to be one of the most haunted universities in the United States.

North Carolina (featured in A Walk to Remember and The Last Song)

1. The Biltmore, America's largest home, is the site of numerous hauntings. The 250-room estate, which opened in 1895, has 34 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms. In 1914, George Vanderbilt, the owner, died of appendicitis, and his wife reportedly can still be heard speaking quietly to him in the library. A headless cat roams the grounds while voices echo in the swimming pool room.

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Crossword Puzzle - Horror October Edition!

I haven't posted anything in awhile for Leanne's Horror October but I came up two ideas for posts this weekend. Todays is a crossword puzzle (the other idea I have will be posted in a day or two)! Click on the image below to enlarge the puzzle (the clues are written below!). Post your answers in the comments! :)

(The red square is an error so don't put anything there!)

CLUES:

ACROSS
	2	House of a 1,000 ______
	7	Don't say this phrase in front of the bathroom mirror (two words)
	10	Sam and Dean Winchester
	11	"What's your favorite scary movie?"
	13	______, _______, Toil and Trouble
	15	some sparkle and some don't
	16	popular candy
	17	Jack O' ______
	18	All Hallow's
	19	party activity involving a barrel of water and a fruit
	20	Scary ______ to Tell in the Dark
DOWN
	1	The ______ in Black
	3	popular horror author
	4	the month Halloween is in
	5	_____ _____ Curtis
	6	what a witch rides
	8	Bram Stoker
	9	It's the _____ _____ Charlie Brown!
	12	Things that go...(phrase – four words)
	14	______ Crane

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Guess the cover!

I have a game for everyone today! The game is Guess The Cover and I got this idea from Kelly at Effortlessly Reading. Below are snippets of some of R.L. Stine's books from the Goosebumps series to the Fear Street series and more! Your goal is to find what the book is based off the little picture I have left you. To make this easier, I decided to create a LIST over on Goodreads. The list contains 24 books by Stine but only 12 are below - this way it's harder for you to find the answer ;) Post your answers in the comments below!

So...on your mark, get set, GO!

1.    2.    

3.     4. 

5.   6. 

7.    8.  

9.     10. 

11.          12. 

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Horror Movies Galore!

Hello everyone! I finally had a day off yesterday so I started working on some blog posts for Literary Excursion's Horror October. To get this started, today's post is going to be all about some of my favorite horror (I use this term loosely) movies! Check them out below :)

1. Scream: This one is a classic! I always find this one to be really scary and the mask terrifies me!

2. Nightmare on Elm Street: I don't remember what the old ones were like but the remake with is so good and scary!

3. Paranormal Activity: This movie scared me so bad that I almost cried!

4. The Ring: Naomi Watts rocks in this movie! I just re-watched it recently and this time I forced myself to look at Amber Tamblyn's deformed face (you know when she's in the closet...).

5. The Uninvited: I love love love Emily Browning and she was so good in this! The twist really scared me!

6. The Pact: I went to the premiere of this movie at the Sundance Film Festival when I was living in Utah! The horror movies usually get premiered at midnight for their "Sundance After Dark" series and I remember being absolutely terrified sitting up in the dark balcony watching this!

7. Final Destination: I honestly have no idea why this movie scared me when I first saw it but it did and it's this movie that made my mom find out I had been scary, R-rated movies in secret. I just love the concept of this. To me, it's really original! The third one is this series is also really good, too!

8. High Tension: This is a French movie and it is soooo scary!!

9. The Hills Have Eyes: I love this movie! I wish they didn't make anymore after it though! The song that plays in it, California Dreamin', by the Mamas & the Papas makes this movie even more terrifying!

10. House at the End of the Street: I'm not a huge fan of Jennifer Lawrence but I really like this movie! Max Thieriot is awesome in this and the twist was really shocking when I first saw it!

11. I Know What You Did Last Summer: Another classic! I love having all of these 90s stars in one movie together!

12. Jeepers Creepers: I remember when this movie came out and everyone in my class would sing the song 'Jeepers Creepers, where'd you get those peepers...' Love it.

13. House of Wax: Three words: CHAD. MICHAEL. MURRAY.

14. Prom Night: Brittany Snow is basically my favorite person in the entire world and I love anything she does. Plus this movie makes me pretty jumpy.

15. Would You Rather: This one isn't a horror movie, it's more psychological I guess with some blood and guts thrown in. This one also has Brittany Snow. I don't think the movie was the greatest at all but psychologically, it was pretty crazy to see what people would do for money.

16. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: I loveeee this movie! This is the Jessica Biel one and it's just so good!

17. The Shining: When I first saw this movie I absolutely hated it! I gave it another chance though and now I really like it! I don't understand this movie AT ALL but it's still scary!

18. The Strangers: This movie was just so scary to me when I first saw it. Now, not so much but the killers in their creepy masks are frightening.

19. When A Stranger Calls: Camilla Belle is my second favorite person in the world and I will pretty much see anything she does. I just love the whole scare factor of the babysitter getting creepy phone calls from a killer inside the house. I saw this one opening night in theaters with a huge audience and it was so funny! Some guy yelled out, 'This is so stupid!'

20. Vacancy: Another movie where people are being watched. Love it.

21. Urban Legend: Alright, last movie on this very long list :) I just think of this one as a classic as well. I love urban legends and any creepy stories and I thought this one was good!

Tell me: Do you watch scary movies? Have you watched any of these?

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