Horror

Incidents Around the House by Josh Mallerman

Bela has a secret friend no one else knows about, Other Mommy. Other Mommy has been around for as long as Bela can remember, she used to be fun, she used to stay in Bela's room. But lately Other Mommy has been leaving Bela's room, and she's been asking to go into Bela's heart more.

Bela is an 8 year old girl living with her Mommy and Daddo, life feels perfect, she spends her days with her Daddo as he works from home while Mommy is away at work. Everything is perfect... until Other Mommy appears during a party and one of Mommy and Daddo's friends see her. Now Other Mommy starts appearing everywhere, at the park, in the forest, in other people's homes. No matter where they go Bela and her parents can't escape Other Mommy, she wants into Bela's heart and is tired of waiting patiently.

Incidents around the house has been divisive from what I have seen, the book is written from Bela's perspective, so it has a bit of a childish tone, this seemed to be the main issue people had with the book. I personally found that it put me better in Bela's shoes. We often forget what it was like to be a kid and have a limited understanding of what's going on or why something is the way it is, Mallerman brought that back for me through Bela's narration. Bela is nine, she's not a little little kid, but she is still a child, when I was 9 I believed in ghosts and was scared of Bloody Mary appearring in my school bathroom. The childish narration also doesn't mean Bela is stupid, she picks up on when something is off about her parents or when Other Mommy is trying to trick her, even if she doesn't have the words to describe what she's expierencing.

As you read Incidents Around the House you pick up that Mommy and Daddo aren't great parents, Mommy is distant and often leaves Bela and Daddo while they're trying to figure out what to do about Other Mommy. Both vent their worries and problems to Bela when they think she's asleep, discussing things that are very innappropriate for a parent to discuss with their 9 year old. It's a common occurence for her parents to take her to the zoo so she can be distracted while they argue. Daddo is an optomist who tries his best to support Bela, but his optimism can make him blind to the issues Bela is dealing with. Both parents are present, but they're so wrapped up in themselves that Bela becomes an afterthought.

Other Mommy seems to just catalyze this dynamic as Mommy and Daddo become more focused on their own failings and problems than on their daughter, who is facing an entity that wishes to take her heart. The story winds up becoming a tragedy as the reader starts to feel how lonely Bela feels dealing with all this, and because of all this Bela eventually gives in to Other Mommy.

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Trigger Warnings: (if applicable)

- Cat Ipsum -

Rub my belly hiss swipe at owner's legs sniff catnip and act crazy growl at dogs in my sleep sit on the laptop for hiss at vacuum cleaner i like to spend my days sleeping and eating fishes that my human fished for me.

Head nudges eat my own ears. Hey! you there, with the hands why can't i catch that stupid red dot, shed everywhere shed everywhere stretching attack your ankles chase the red dot, hairball run catnip eat the grass sniff, or roll over and sun my belly curl up and sleep on the freshly laundered towels.

Gerald's Game by Stephen King

Trigger Warnings: (if applicable)

- Cat Ipsum -

Rub my belly hiss swipe at owner's legs sniff catnip and act crazy growl at dogs in my sleep sit on the laptop for hiss at vacuum cleaner i like to spend my days sleeping and eating fishes that my human fished for me.

Head nudges eat my own ears. Hey! you there, with the hands why can't i catch that stupid red dot, shed everywhere shed everywhere stretching attack your ankles chase the red dot, hairball run catnip eat the grass sniff, or roll over and sun my belly curl up and sleep on the freshly laundered towels.

Dissappearance at Devil's Rock by Paul Tremblay

Trigger Warnings: Child death

Thirteen year old Tommy Sanderson has gone missing in Borderland State Park after a sleepoverat a friend's house, as his family search for him they begin to discover Tommy was keeping dark secrets.

Elizabeth wakes up in the middle of the night to a call from one of Tommy's friends, Tommy disppeared while they were out in the woods at nigh, and he's desperately hoping he went home. Elizabeth hasn't seen her son, he.

Head nudges eat my own ears. Hey! you there, with the hands why can't i catch that stupid red dot, shed everywhere shed everywhere stretching attack your ankles chase the red dot, hairball run catnip eat the grass sniff, or roll over and sun my belly curl up and sleep on the freshly laundered towels.

Rebekka Moon by Michele Spence

Trigger Warnings: (if applicable)

- Cat Ipsum -

Rub my belly hiss swipe at owner's legs sniff catnip and act crazy growl at dogs in my sleep sit on the laptop for hiss at vacuum cleaner i like to spend my days sleeping and eating fishes that my human fished for me.

Head nudges eat my own ears. Hey! you there, with the hands why can't i catch that stupid red dot, shed everywhere shed everywhere stretching attack your ankles chase the red dot, hairball run catnip eat the grass sniff, or roll over and sun my belly curl up and sleep on the freshly laundered towels.