October is my favorite month. In part, because it’s the month I was born, but I also love the changing seasons, the Autumn Wind, the rabbit shows. My family also participated in this year’s #31horrorfilmsin31days challenge, and it was somehow more fun than ever this time around. This was because we put more thought into what we wanted to watch ahead of time, rather than only relying on what was streaming on Netflix (although, we did that, too). We also got to the theater twice, including taking advantage of the chance to see Kubrick’s The Shining on the big screen. And we watched our very first G-rated horror film: The Legend of Boggy Creek. The full list of the films I watched is pasted below.

Other good things have happened in the last 31 days. I was lucky enough to get a chance to do an interview for MPR about the allure of YA and The Smaller Evil. You can listen to that interview here. I’ve also been finishing up the final changes on my next novel, which will be out in August of 2017. I will hopefully get to share more about that book soon. It’s one that’s very special to me, in both process and content.

A couple of future updates:

This Friday, I will be at the California Library Association conference in Sacramento.

Next week, I will be traveling to Charleston for YALLFEST, and my Saturday schedule there will be:

I am very excited for both events and hope to see you there! Happy November!

-sk

The films:

31. SINISTER It just goes to show, snuff films are always scary. P.S. Writers are still the worst. #31HorrorFilms31Days

30. OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL Always say goodbye…. #31HorrorFilms31Days

29. GOSSIP College roomies Lena Headey, James Marsden and Norman Reedus slip down a deadly rumor rabbit hole. #31HorrorFilms31Days

28. BURNT OFFERINGS The perfect home. The perfect price. A bad tumble out of a window. Set at Oakland’s Dunsmuir House #31HorrorFilms31Days

27. THE PERFECT HOST Kind of a Weekend at Bernie’s meets Salad Fingers sort of a thing. #31HorrorFilms31Days

26. IDENTITY The mind of a killer is a lot more rainy than you might imagine. #31HorrorFilms31Days

25. THE SHINING God, writers are the WORST. #31HorrorFilms31Days

24. SUSPIRIA Ballerinas – among other things – dropping like flies. #31HorrorFilms31Days

23. FINAL DESTINATION Is it really possible to cheat death? Bonus Candyman cameo. #31HorrorFilms31Days

22. THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT Protip: to keep the haunted house scary, sometimes you gotta kill a few guests. #31HorrorFilms31Days

21. TRICK ‘R TREAT Throwback to CREEPSHOW & TRILOGY OF TERROR, featuring 4 stories & a creepy kid with a burlap head. #31HorrorFilms31Days

20. HOUSE OF THE DEVIL Satanic cult fails at knot tying. #31HorrorFilms31Days

19. FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC Well, Netflix had it listed as a “Halloween Favorite,” so I’m counting it. #31HorrorFilms31Days

18. THEY’RE WATCHING A wild and froggy episode of International House Hunters. #31horrorfilms31days

17. DR. GIGGLES Man afflicted with one-liners goes on killing spree. Takes the Freudian thing to an unforeseen extreme #31HorrorFilms31Days

16. LAKE DEAD no. No. NO. #31HorrorFilms31Days

15. THE EVIL DEAD Instructional tape clearly advises “bodily dismemberment” of possessed beings. Ash doesn’t listen. #31HorrorFilms31Days

14. THE EXORCIST still one of the best. #31HorrorFilms31Days

13. PUPPET MASTER When the puppet master’s away, the puppets will…..vomit leeches and bore holes in your body. #31HorrorFilms31Days

12. HOUSEBOUND girl is sentenced to house arrest and has to live with her MOTHER. Terrifying. #31HorrorFilms31Days

11. THE AMITYVILLE HORROR Ryan Reynolds remake. Meh. Needed more flies and oozy walls. #31HorrorFilms31Days

10. THE BELIEVERS It all started with spilled milk… #31HorrorFilms31Days

9. TUSK Life lessons: Heartless podcaster learns that if empathy makes us human, someone else can make you a walrus. #31HorrorFilms31Days

8. ALMOST MERCY childhood friends become disaffected teens tumbling toward violence. But is it a love story? #31HorrorFilms31Days

7. JAWS 3 Worth it for the slo-mo 3D shark attack at the end + a great shot of Dennis Quaid falling out of a golf cart #31HorrorFilms31Days

6. THE BOY Oh, just your average woman-takes-nanny-job-only-to-discover-the-child-is-a-doll story. #31HorrorFilms31Days

5. THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK There may not have been a “plot” or a “story,” but that furry Fouke Monster has heart. #31HorrorFilms31Days

4. THE HOLE Hypothetically, if you’re in charge of keeping hell locked up, find a good hiding spot for the keys. #31HorrorFilms31Days

3. THE FOG Truth: I mistook this for The Mist. And it wasn’t even the John Carpenter version. Disappoint. #31HorrorFilms31Days

2. PONTYPOOL Quit the baby talk! When the end of the world is told through a radio broadcast, words mean everything. #31HorrorFilms31Days

1. THE INVITATION Man, we love our cults here in California. I mean, we really, really love them. So much it hurts. #31HorrorFilms31Days

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