Lit Vibes Only
Kelsey and Amanda are two book besties who love to "Lit the Sh*t" out of books they love and hate! In their Lit it or Quit It episodes, Kelsey and Amanda are forced to read the other's favorite books. While Amanda loves to read historical fiction and mystery/thrillers, you'll find Kelsey curled up with just about any romantasy. They discuss the books at length and, in the end, decide whether the book is a "Lit It" or "Quit It"! Every month they'll also give some book recs you just can't miss. Look out for the bonus episodes about bookish topics and books that were adapted into movies/shows.
Listen in and choose whose side you're on, or perhaps find yourself intrigued by a book you wouldn't normally go for. See you on Mondays!
Lit Vibes Only
Ep. 60: Lit Chats: Our Favorite Spooky Reads
Join Amanda and Kelsey on a spine-chilling journey through eerie and supernatural books perfectly tailored for October. Dive into their handpicked selection of spooky novels, from haunted historical fiction to unsettling psychological thrillers, and discover the stories that will keep you up at night.
00:00 Welcome to Lit Vibes Only
01:02 Spooky Chitchat w/ Kelsey & Amanda
15:26 Spooky Book Recs
45:56 Follow Us on Socials
Follow us on TikTok & Youtube @litvibesonlypodcast and on Instagram @litvibesonly_podcast. You can also email us at litvibesonlypodcast@gmail.com We'd love to hear from you!
See you on Mondays!
Welcome to Lit Vibes Only, where we lit the shit out of books we love and hate. I'm Amanda, the insightful, thrill seeker and historical fiction nerd.
Kelsey:And I'm Kelsey, the unhinged, diehard, romantic and fantasy reader. Welcome, welcome,
Amanda:welcome.
Kelsey 2.0:This is our Lit Chats episode of Yes, October Ooky season. Before we get into it, we want to direct you to our socials. We are at Lit Vibes Only podcast on Instagram and on YouTube and TikTok. We are at Lit Vibes only podcast. So come check us out over there and don't forget to rate and review our podcast because that really helps us get traction and others to see us on Spotify and Apple. So go over and do that real quick.
Amanda:We deeply appreciate it. Please, and thank you. And yeah, welcome to our, our spooky episode. Are you really big into Halloween? I
Kelsey:feel like you aren't. No, not really. I'm not really big into any particular holiday. No. But. Yeah. Halloween though, I get to dress up at school, which is Yeah. Fun. Mm-hmm. And I'll do some sort of thing with probably some of my colleagues. Mm-hmm. Just because it's fun and the kids have fun. Love it. The kids get to dress up and and we get to dress up along with them and just be silly. Yeah.
Amanda:Yeah, I, yeah, growing up we didn't celebrate Halloween'cause I I grew up in a really religious family and so that was like very taboo. But then obviously I went to school for theater. I love costuming and so I feel like in college. I would do the costume thing. Okay. And then at my old school, I would get into it and do wigs, full costumes. I haven't really done that though since moving to Seattle. Oh, okay. And starting at my new, well, it's not new anymore, but the school that I've been at for a while now. But maybe I will this year. I, I also don't really have a lot of friends in the area who are big into Halloween, who are like hosting mm-hmm. Halloween parties. But in theory I do like the idea mainly because I like to dress up. Yeah. And I have eight wigs I think like I just selected over the course of Yeah. My life and doing a lot of theater.'cause I've purchased wigs for shows that I've done. For old costumes. When Suicide Squad the first one came out, I went with a group of friends and we all dressed up. So I, I was the joker, so I had like a, like a lime green wig. Oh my gosh. I like get into it. Yeah, yeah. But I just haven't since moving here, which is kind of sad. Maybe I'll, maybe I'll do something. This year I did watch K-Pop, demon Hunter, and I knew that's all the rage and I'm like, maybe I'll go all in. Yeah. Did you like that? Because we are wanting to watch it too. I, I liked it. I thought it was, it was cute, fun. It had a good message. Obviously the music's amazing, you know? Mm-hmm. I don't normally watch animated movies anymore, but, oh, it was fun. It was fun. And I can see why people like it. Yeah. And the songs are very catchy, so
Kelsey:I also, I really like animated movies. Still, I
Amanda:like Pixar movies. Yeah, I will watch those. And that's pretty much it. Mm. I don't know that I've seen
Kelsey:any other. There's these anime, famous anime movies that we've watched that I think you would like. Who? Like you mean from Studio Ghibli? Like I've seen those? Yeah, I think so. Spirited Away, like those, yes. And Totoro.
Amanda:Yeah. I haven't seen that one. You need to see that one. Know. It's so cute. And there's another one. Oh, what is it? The Blue
Kelsey:Heron is the other one that recently came out like a year ago or so. But that's good. But one's.
Amanda (2):Older, it's like some, some someone's delivery service or what is it? It's super popular. Mm-hmm. And I know someone who's listening right now knows exactly what I'm talking about. Probably young girl comment and let us know. And I think it's also a studio Gibble, but yeah. I don't, yeah, I don't watch a lot of animated stuff anymore, which I think is probably true for a lot of adults who aren't into anime. If you're into anime, obviously. Mm-hmm. Right. But anyhow, so yeah, this is our spooky episode. We wanted to do something that was, you know, in line with what was happening in this month.
Kelsey:Yes, it's Amy Halloween this week.
Amanda:It's gonna be Halloween this week. And so, mm-hmm. We thought, what better time to talk about spooky books that we've read and. Yeah. So we've each chosen four books that we feel have like spooky or eerie or like supernatural vibes. That might be a fun read for this month or heading into next month, I guess,'cause it's the end of October now. Mm-hmm. But before we do that, I'm curious like what your criteria is for what makes a book spooky, like
Kelsey:for you. Okay. For me, it doesn't have to be like a horror book. Okay. Or. Even a mystery attached to it. It's just really a book that most of what's on my list is more a psychological Okay. Like thriller thrillers. Okay. But not all of them are thrillers. So it's like there's some sort of psychological element where it. Tripping you up a little. Okay. And you're not entirely sure what's going on. Okay. And then there is one, well, I guess there's two that are, the setting is creepy, but not necessarily what's happening in the book. Okay. Is creepy. The atmosphere. The atmosphere, exactly. Okay. The setting of where the characters are is creepy, but like the way the characters respond to the atmosphere and the setting, is not Okay. That makes sense. Yeah. So, if I could see myself in that world, I'd be like, this is creepy kind of thing. Get me outta here. Yeah.
Amanda:Okay. That makes sense. I feel like for me. I, well, neither Kelsey nor I read a lot of horror. Mm-hmm. That's not really our, our vibe or genre. Yeah. I have dipped my toes a little bit more into the water this year and it's something I wanna continue doing because mm-hmm. I do find it fascinating and I can handle scary books much better than I can handle scary movies.'cause like I don't really watch horror movies. Oh gosh. But I think for me. If there's a supernatural element of something involving oh, okay, ghosts or like evil spirits, something haunted or a haunting definitely comes to mind for me. And you'll see that in some of the books that I've chosen. Quite a few of them actually involve that. So like that supernatural element is where I get like the creepy vibes, the creepy feels from okay, and actually. And looking at all of mine, the four that I'm going be going to be talking about, that is true for all of them actually. They all have a supernatural el whether it is ghosts or Yeah. Like some sort of evil spirit or something. Yeah. As h as haunted. Mm-hmm. I think is true for all of them. And because of that, it does have that. Atmosphere of unease and that something's just off. Right? Something is just mm-hmm. Not the way that it's supposed to be, which, yeah. I think it's, to your point when you're talking about kinda psychological books, it's yeah, something is off with this character. Mm-hmm. Something is off with their behaviors, and that just as a reader makes you feel like. Descent or un decentered unstable. Yeah. Uncertain. And that Gotcha. Can lead to that like vibe of unease. Mm-hmm. So, yeah, I personally love psychological thrillers. I like supernatural thrillers. And I know there's a fine line between horror Yeah. And supernatural thrillers. In fact, I don't even know if there is a line. Maybe they're one in the same,
Kelsey:well,
Amanda:I don't know. Something
Kelsey:like it by Stephen King is. Horror. Right, right. Yeah. And I would never read a book like that.
Amanda:But what I mean is so how would you define, and I've asked folks on TikTok this months ago. Yeah. Like, how would you define a supernatural thriller versus. A horror novel or do you not make a distinction?
Kelsey:I dunno. Yeah. I, I haven't, I haven't read a lot of those, so I, yeah, I wouldn't have a basis.
Amanda:Yeah. For me, I think it's the same. I think the other thing I'll add to really quickly when I'm thinking about ooh, creepy, unsettled, that's the word I was looking for, unsettled is if there's an element which I don't like, but if there's like an element of. Like violence or gore.'cause that often can be a part of horror. Both in movies Yeah. And in books. Mm-hmm. And for. One of the books that I'm gonna be referencing today, like there is like that kind of gory aspect. Mm-hmm. That again, doesn't, I don't, that is not for me and mm-hmm. It tends to make me squeamish. But I do know that for a lot of folks, that's part of why they
Kelsey:enjoy, that's funny, creepy things. Yeah. Because there's a lot of gore. There can be a lot of gore and fantasy as well, just because Oh, of fighting and stuff. And sometimes it could be really explicit. It's gross, really gross. But but oh, I haven't
Amanda:encountered that yet in any of the romantic books you've had married. Funny, which is great
Kelsey:that Yeah. I'm not, I'm not a huge fan of that, but but thinking about gory, a gory film mm-hmm. Did you ever watch, saw. Oh my God, no. Oh, absolutely not. Because I know what it's about. I used to watch them though. Oh, to, no, I could never, I used to like, I could never so into them, and I don't know why. It just wasn't scary Really? It was just like gross. No, it's just about torturing people. Yeah. It was just gross. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, I just, but I could watch those, but not something scary. No, it's not so weird.
Amanda:Don't, I don't like jump scares and I hate gore, so that like I hate jump
Kelsey:score scares.
Amanda:Yeah. But for me, and this is true, both for kind of gory action movies and like horror. I like feel it in my body. I don't know how to explain it. Yeah. I have this, like sympathetic response physically. Mm-hmm. And so I, I physically cannot watch someone. Being tortured or watching someone's eyeballs get carved? I, I, I can't, I physically cannot do it. I have to look away. And so for people who just like, are like munching on their popcorn and just I'm like, how are you? Okay. How do you not feel sick to your stomach and. Just physically in pain. I don't know. Like I,
Kelsey:so the other thing I will say about like creepy books and movies is I believe a lot of that shit. So oh, a lot of the supernatural stuff. Like I believe in a lot of those things. So. If I see it, I'm like, oh God, that person's gonna fucking hot me now. And I'm like, I'm freaked out. So what is the one where the two girls are at the end of the hallway? What movie is that? The Shining, oh God. Is it The Shining? I think so. I don't know. I think so. And then there's one about the cannibal. Oh. Guy. Cannibal Lecter, Hannibal Lecter. Silence of the Lands, cannibal. I've seen that. I can't watch that. Yeah, that's creepy. But like I really do like mysteries. Yeah. And mysteries. That can be like a little creepy, you know? Sure, yeah. Of course. But like I'll watch those. Yeah. Course. But.
Amanda:I don't know, but wait. Okay. Rewind. Since this is our spooky
Kelsey:episode,
Amanda:tell us more
Kelsey:about the creepy things you believe in. Oh, yeah. I believe there's ghosts. I believe in things like Sasquatch and I grew up with stories about like little people. There's, oh yeah. All. Sorts of things that, like from my culture's perspective, that are actually real. And you live your life in a way where you try to stay away from them and wow. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I believe in those things and I believe that spirits can disrupt our lives. Mm-hmm. If we're fucking around. So yeah.
Amanda:I believe in that stuff. Are they like, so when you say spirits, are they like. People who were once alive and now are dead are, are, are spirits separate from that? They're just like spirits that they're
Kelsey:both, they're like, okay. Okay. Yeah, they're both, they can be like entities or they could be people who who have passed away knew. Or people who have passed. Yeah. Who have lived lives here.
Amanda:Interesting. Mm-hmm. I grew up in a very you know, evangelical fundamentalist, yeah. Conservative Christian household. And so obviously like we believe in angels and demons. Okay. And they're real. Right. And like you were saying, can have an impact. On your life, right? Yeah. It can influence things and cause harm, et cetera. Mm-hmm. And you know, like we're constantly engaged in spiritual warfare to keep things that bay. So it's one reason why we didn't celebrate Halloween, right? Mm-hmm. Because that was like the devil's holiday and we're just like welcoming bad things into our lives if we're doing that. Mm-hmm. And you definitely did not watch. Scary movies, especially if they were about like demons or evil spirits. Oh.'cause then you're like basically opening a doorway for those things to enter your life. That's the thinking. Yeah. At least it wasn't our house. So it's if you engage with those things, you're like welcoming them in to like your life, your mind, your home. Mm-hmm. And then getting rid of them is difficult. There are some aspects of that that I
Kelsey:believe in. Yeah. I know. Like it's that's really interesting. But not in the way that I'm like having to live my life in this way, like you were talking about. Yeah. Yeah. There's just certain things like you don't do, so like closing your blinds in the wintertime, like you have to do that at night because you're inviting things in. If you have them open. Oh, interesting. Yeah. It does impact how you live your life. Yeah, but not like daily, day to day, you know? I don't know.
Amanda:Well, yeah, I guess, I guess for me growing up, because evil spirits could be associated with so many things. Like for example, right, Uhhuh, we were not allowed to. And again, this is not true for all Christians. This was like our particular household. My mom was very strict, right? Like we couldn't, we obviously we couldn't read Harry Potter'cause I was witches and witches are bad. Anything that had to do with witches or witchcraft wizards. Magic. Absolutely not. Yeah. Pokemon. We were not allowed to watch Pokemon. They're cute. Cute. I know, but they're like, it was cute. Anything related to the domination monsters or like weird creatures like, so there were so many limitations on the media we could engage with the books that we could read, because any one of those things could lead you astray and again, be an opening for an evil. Force or the, the devil or evil spirits to like interesting. You know, get in there and lead you astray. Yeah. So who knew that years later I would be celebrating a podcast episode celebrating spookiness and that I've read so much. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I think, you know, for this structure of this episode. Kelsey and I both have four books that we have read that have kind of the spooky vibes. We are not gonna spoil anything for you guys today. It's gonna kind of function a bit like a lit Rex episode in that we're gonna you know, give you a quick rundown of why we think they're spooky and you know, mm-hmm. Maybe why you should check them out. And that's pretty much it. So, again, no spoilers. We're not gonna do a deep dive into these texts. Yeah. It's yeah. Here are some good spooky reads for you.
Kelsey:I, I feel like we should have done, like if you like, read this book.
Amanda:No, that would've been great. But you know what though, because I don't read that many spooky books, I feel like I wouldn't have enough. Other books to reference, you know what I mean? Sure, sure. I mean with the four that we have,
Kelsey:but
Amanda:yeah.
Kelsey:Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'll go first. Great. Yeah. Take it away. So if you like, I'm gonna actually try to do this off the cuff. Okay. Oh, okay. So if you like necromancy Oh, I see what you're doing. I thought you were to say, if you like this book, you should read this book. I'm like, I don't, no. I see, I see. Okay. If you like Neri Mancy, and. Countless skeletons, wandering about and people creating skeletons out of nowhere among other things. And mazes and puzzles. And mystery. Yeah, and mystery. You should read Gideon the Ninth by Tamson Muir.
Amanda:Look at you recommending a book I made you read. I'm so proud that you did like that you did not like
Kelsey:I personally didn't like, but if you like those things, yeah, you probably would like this.
Amanda:It's very atmospheric too. Like one of the things that Kelsey didn't like but is so perfect for this episode is that Tan Muir spend so much time my using her beautifully crafted words, in my opinion, to create overly done this setting that is just so overwhelmingly eerie. The setting is its own character in my opinion.
Kelsey:And that is, that is great. That's what I, love about books, right? Like they can be so many different things. And yes, I agree with you in that, in that sense that the world itself is like its own character, but I think the world takes kind of a backseat to the two main characters, which is Gideon and what's her name? Harrow Harrow. Yeah. Yeah. And their back and forth makes it less creepy in my mind. It does.
Amanda:But I think it's a good balance though, because the whole book is, you know, about necromancy and all of this stuff. Mm-hmm. And so it takes this really dark. Magical practice and balances out with like their sarcastic banter. And I think it works well because they're so opposite. I don't know. I thought it was very entertaining and they were entertaining,
Kelsey:but I didn't like the world as much. But it is spooky and that's, it's a spooky world. Maybe why I didn't like it. I don't know.
Amanda (2):Maybe, but I think yeah, that's your vibe Also, if you, it takes place kind of in space. You know? They're like traveling for these different planet. Oh, I like planets. We forgot about Absolutely. To the, to the first house. We did an episode on this already, so you're welcome to go back and listen to that. Yes. But that does have spoilers in it, so FYI. Mm-hmm. But yeah. And the bulk of the book takes place in this like crumbling palace. Right. Which again, in and of itself just has this really creepy derelict. Yeah. Neglected, dead to king vibe. So it's glorious. It's funny. It's also, there's a, there's a romance built into it as well. Mm-hmm. One that might surprise you. So if you want something spooky and sarcastic. Then I think if you like spooky get him, he makes the sarcastic. That might be is a good one for you? For you. Yeah. Yeah. I completely agree. My first one I would say if you are a fan. Like me of historical fiction and also someone who enjoys celebrating diverse stories and authors while also looking for something that is a little eerie. Then there is no better choice than the reformatory by Tenin Redu. Oh. Read that this year, one of my top reads of 2025, and it essentially tells the story of this adolescent boy named Robbie who gets sent to a boys' reform school in That's right Merna. And it is based on a real boys reform school. There were actually a couple that did some really horrible things to the, the boys who who passed through their gates, and so it's very much steeped in history. Has a lot to say about race, of course, because Robbie is a young black boy down in the south in 1950 and so race plays a huge role, but essentially Robbie's special because he can see ghosts or hates as they're called in this book. And so it is a bit of a ghost story as well. I thought it was. It's beautifully written. It dives into some really important issues. It does have this creepy, almost gothic setting Mm. At this you know, esteemed quote unquote boys reformatory school that has this really morbid history. And yeah, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna say anything more than that. But as a, as a historical fiction reader, this was a great. Way to get into something that's more because it is considered a horror novel. If you look for this book at your bookstore, it will likely be in the horror section. That's where I found this one. But I didn't find it like scary in that I am, I'm not gonna be able to sleep at night'cause I'm so afraid. It's honestly, the thing that makes it scary is the horrible ways humans treat each other. That's that's kind of where the horror comes from. It's not from the ghosts it's from like man's inhumanity demand and the, the way that we can just be so horrible to each other. But such a good book. Easily five star read and yeah. It's a, it's a little creepy.
Kelsey:Somebody got it. As you were talking, I was like, somebody just mentioned this book to me. Oh. And I was like, oh yeah, Amanda read this recently.
Amanda:Yeah. And she
Kelsey:loved it. I was like, I think it was one I never wanna read.
Amanda:Yeah.
Kelsey:I don't,'cause Yeah, go ahead. Because, so when it's like real like that, sometimes it's too much for me.
Amanda:Yeah. In that I too close to home. Just I
Kelsey:get, yeah. I get very ugh, sensitive about those things. Yeah. And I just it ruins a month for me if I like in, you know? Yeah.
Amanda:Reading things like that. Even just, yeah. Thinking about your own background and your own heritage, like thinking about all of the indigenous. Yeah. Like children that were taken away to schools such as this. Right? Yeah. I mean, they weren't necessarily, well, I mean, some of them were reform schools in a way, or like boarding schools, like they were called Horrible things happened. Yeah. Right. And a lot of the behaviors and actions taken against the young men in this book are identical. Yeah. To what happened to young indigenous people. So yeah. It, it's a, it's a heavy book.
Kelsey:Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Amanda:It ends well. But it's a, it's a heavy book.
Kelsey:Yeah. That's good. At least good ending. But Yeah. Seriously, like in reality there is, there wasn't good endings Yeah. For the people that experienced these, these things, and it's awful. Yeah. But yeah. Gosh, it's just heart wrenching, I guess, too. Yeah. Like you're saying, it's just too close to home. Yeah, my grandmother was in a boarding school, you know? Mm-hmm. And so it's yeah, it's. Yeah,
Amanda:it's real
Kelsey:tough, tough stuff. It's real. But yeah, I would, I would definitely designate that as creepy. Yeah, definitely. Because it was more put in reality than not. Yeah. Yep. Dang. Okay. Okay. This is a book that you would like, if you like. Not really knowing what's going on in a book. And if you don't know what's real or, or fake, it's an unreliable narrator. Uhhuh, it's super trippy. It's a trippy book. Yeah, I think You would like this book if you like those things. So this is Bunny by Mona Awa.
Amanda:Such a
Kelsey:convoluted.
Amanda:Description,
Kelsey:but it's'cause the book is convoluted. It's so weird. Yeah. It's it, and in the end I had no idea like what it was about. Yeah. Because so to give you the setting you're in the narrator's mind, right? Mm-hmm. And perspective. And she, what she's seeing is very unrealistic and you don't really know if she's like tripping or if she's actually experiencing some of these things. Mm-hmm. But she. Essentially is a college student. Mm-hmm. I think grad student, right? Yeah. And she has this grad seminar where she has met these other women who call themselves bunnies. Mm-hmm. And they are just like these pretty girls that dress well, and they're all writers. Mm-hmm. And so it kind of goes into the, yeah. The. Different ideas that they all bring to the table. Mm-hmm. But also behind the curtain of is this a cult? Yeah. And yeah. What's going on with these girls that they're so, like, they call each other bunny and Yeah. Don't distinguish between one another. Yeah. So yeah, and they just have
Amanda:like weird rituals and they're trying to come up with ideas for their stories. It's dark and sinister and yes, it's very dark and bizarre and yeah, you spend a good chunk of the. Novel. Just like what? Like WTF, like I dunno what's happening here? What's happening?
Kelsey:What is this like referencing? Like what is it actually referencing in the real world?
Amanda:I have also read this book and then we also, in my book club, we read Rouge by Mona Wad as well. Mm-hmm. And it's very similar in that you're just like. What is real, what isn't? How much is in the narrator's mind? This is so fricking bizarre. Yeah. That's just her, that's her wheelhouse. I So strapping for a wild ride. Yes. And know that you will probably finish this book just as confused as when you started it.
Kelsey:I believe I, I looked it up afterwards and it's commentary on the grad grad school. Oh God. Like culture, like Yes. Thank you. Yeah. An academic culture. Yeah, it's for sure. It's a lot to do with that
Amanda:for sure. Even more so because they're in an MFA program, right? They're like you were saying, they're all writers and it's so, it's just you know, they're all trying to be like edgy and write the latest, greatest thing and like, where do you get your ideas from and what lengths will you go to in order to, to access, I don't know your creativity. It's, yeah, it gets real dark. Really? Yeah. And it's, and this is one so feel like weird. Yeah, it's weird. It's, it's interesting too'cause it's like there's nothing explicitly like horror, horror. About this book? Well, kind of some of there some, yeah. No, I take it back. There. There is some, some more elements. Yeah. I take it back. Yeah. Because it, it does give, it does give culty ritual vibes. Mm-hmm. So, yeah, I take it back. There is that, but there's not I guess there's not an a supernatural element with. This particular book, the horror definitely comes in with like their strange behavior and their weird practices. Is there a supernatural element that I can see? It kind
Kelsey:of is supernatural in that. Okay. I mean, I guess I'm trying to understand like,'cause I don't wanna spoil for people, but but the men in the book Uhhuh and how they're, they come to life.
Amanda:Yeah. Yeah.
Kelsey:Is that Supernatural or is that more something else? I don't know.
Amanda:I honestly don't know.'cause the book is so weird. Y'all just read it. I guarantee you, you have not read a book like this before. Oh yeah. So, absolutely. So if you are an avid reader and you've read hundreds and hundreds of books and you're like, I've, I've seen it all, and you have not read this book, you should read this book. Yes. Because it's gonna. Yeah, it's gonna take you for a wild ride and it'll be something different, for sure. Mm-hmm. Okay. So my next one, so earlier this year. Yeah, it was this year, was it last year? I think it was earlier this year. I asked folks on book talk for recommendations for like supernatural thrillers. Yeah, because I wanted to get more into that genre, and this is one of those books they recommended. So again, I would say similar to my first book, if you like historical fiction. Mm-hmm. But also want a creepy ghost story that connects to hauntings and like town legends. Then this is the book for you. It is The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon, and it starts off. Past, so the early 19 hundreds, it's like 1908. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And this woman is found dead in the field behind her house. Right? Right. After the very tragic death of her daughter. Oh. So then it jumps to the present day, and now this farmhouse is inhabited by a new family, a mother and two daughters. And yeah, things just start to get a little creepy in this house. Oh, and ultimately I believe, I'm like looking at my notes here. The mom, yeah. The mom vanishes one morning. The daughters cannot find her. She's just gone. Mm-hmm. And so that's the catalyst that gets the plot going. And so as they're trying to figure out where their mother is and what's happened. Then cover some dark secrets about this town and this house. And it's not what you think it is. I had my suspicions about what it was going to be. Yeah. And it was not that, but, I would say it's definitely a supernatural thriller. It's very eerie. You know, it takes place in New England in the winter, so there's this element of isolation and this farmhouse and you're kind of cut off from the outside world, you know, getting snowed in, and it's just, it's delicious and delightful and creepy and perfect for the fall as we move into the winter. Mm-hmm. I wouldn't say it's a cozy read because it's creepy. Yeah. But because of the, the time of year that the book takes place, it also, I think. Fits that as well. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Was very happy with this recommendation. Is the kind of book that maybe will keep you up at night if you get scared easily. But it was original, you know? Okay. And it took me by surprise and I really like that. So the winter people check it out folks.
Kelsey:This next book of mine is the only book in my list that you haven't read, which I just like, oh yes. As we were talking about Bunny. So this one I think is the least creepy. Okay. Of all of my books that I'm mentioning today, but I felt it was it's a Ya Is Okay. Kind of Why, but I felt it did have elements like psychological, like elements to it. Okay. And so that's why I chose it. So you will enjoy this book, or you should read this book if you like. Mystery.
Amanda:Okay.
Kelsey:Uncovering of people's identities and what is it? Betrayal. Okay. And also the backdrop of a carnival themed. Type esque book. Okay, so this book is CarVal by Stephanie Garber. Okay. And yeah, it just is about these two sisters. Mm-hmm. Who. Have a really controlling father and they haven't been able to leave their their piece of land. I don't remember if it's an island or not. They go to the island. Okay, great. They've never left their island. Yeah, they've never left their island. But there is this CarVal in this other island nearby that they really desperately desire to go to. And so the mystery. Unfurls from there. Is that the right word?
Amanda:Okay. Sure. Is is there a mystery at the carnival or is the carnival a mis, like what's the mystery? Yeah, the
Kelsey:carnival is the mystery. And then also being, they're betrayed, like different in different ways and uncover like different identities of folks. Okay. Throughout their journey.
Amanda:Okay.
Kelsey:Yeah, it, and not
Amanda:everything is as it seems. Which makes sense in a carnival. There's a lot of Yes. Yeah.
Kelsey:Characters and Yeah. Interesting folks.
Amanda:Okay. I think, yeah, I think a carnival is a great backdrop for it to be a little bit unsettling, Uhhuh, because nothing is ever what it seems at a carnival, you know? It's all about like illusions. Yes. And magic and flights of fancy. Exactly. Fantasy and, mm-hmm. Ooh, okay. CarVal. But I saw this author's name Stephanie Garber. I'm like, oh. Is she related to Ramina Garber? No, I don't think so.
Kelsey:But yes, that's a good connect connection. Author, siblings,
Amanda:Ooh, okay. That'd be wild. That would be kind of crazy. I don't know that, you know, it's interesting because, and this is a tangent, sorry guys, you know, there's a lot of actors, siblings, you know, but I'm like, are there, there's gotta be at least a couple authors, siblings that have both, found. A claim as writers, that has to be a thing. Mm-hmm. I mean, of course there are, because there's oh God, who are the sisters?
Amanda (2):Bront sisters. Yes.
Amanda:Thank you. I was like
Kelsey:Charlotte, Emily, and Anne. Yeah.
Amanda (2):Yeah. Well, I know Charlotte and Emily. I didn't know I, I don't know if I've, I've read anything by Anne Bronte but anyhow. Okay, well, moving on. Sorry, I went down a little rabbit hole. So my third book, I, you know, I think I did mention this. Yeah, last year during our Native American Heritage month, potentially, I cannot remember. So if you've been with us for Hasn't been that long. Yeah. So if you've been with us since day one, you might've heard me recommend this book before. Mm-hmm. But this is for sure a full on horror novel. You will absolutely find it in the, the horror section at your local bookshop. And I would say you would like this book. If you're okay with Gore,'cause there are some gory moments in it. Okay. If you enjoy again. Supernatural element for sure, if you like, when those supernatural elements are tied to legends from a particular culture and beliefs from a particular culture. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And if once again, you enjoy supporting diverse stories and authors, so mm-hmm. This is Bad Cree by Jessica Johns, so the name kind of gives it away that it's a young Cree woman who mm-hmm. Left her home a while ago and, and moved to, I wanna say, let's see, I think it's the United States. I'm trying to remember. She's originally from Alberta in Canada, but she leaves, and I can't remember if she goes to Vancouver or if I think it's Vancouver. I don't think she leaves Canada entirely, but she basically leaves her hometown because something really horrible and tragic happened to her sister and she just has to get away and start over again. But. It looks like her past has followed her because she starts having these really vivid dreams. And not only are they super vivid, but when she wakes up in the morning, she's often like holding items from the dream. So there's some weird. Like her dreams are taking on physical form. Okay. Uhhuh. So she also gets a text from her sister, her dead sister. You know, that really throws her. And so she's
Amanda:like,
Amanda (2):I gotta go home and figure out what the heck is going on. So again, that's how the story starts. It is very creepy. Yeah. This is full on creepy. And the, how do I say this without giving away anything, the things that happen to individuals in this book and I guess like the evil Yeah. Spirits result in some, yeah, some gory things happening. Okay. That I found a bit hard to stomach and I had to just kind of shoulder my way through. But if I'm remembering correctly, it's really only like maybe two or three scenes. And then some smaller moments. But yeah, Jessica Johnson is not shy away from being a bit violent in some of the, the moments in this book. So I will give, I guess, a trigger warning for that. If you're someone who's a bit squeamish or more sensitive, there are those moments in the book that you might wanna skip over Skimm through. But overall, I found it fascinating For me, it was a, a window because I don't know, a ton about indigenous cultures and particularly some of the beliefs that they have around like spirits and life and death and all of that. And so I feel like I learned a lot about that as well. And it was great to support an indigenous author as well. Yeah. And it's been my reading in that way. So super creepy and like very much belong to this episode.
Kelsey:Yeah, my husband read this book and I think he read it. Well,
Amanda:you're, yeah. You're the one who recommended it to me because he had read it and you're like, oh, I think
Kelsey:Amanda might like this. She liked it. Yeah. I just read that she's from the Sucker Creek First Nation Uhhuh and that's in Northern Alberta. Yeah. So very cool. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Anything else you wanna highlight about Bad Creek? I don't
Amanda:think so.
Kelsey:Aside from
Amanda:go and read it. If, if you really want like a legit 100% horror novel, like this will do it for you, I think.
Kelsey:Yeah, there's another author, native author that my husband reads Stevens. Something Stevens.
Amanda:Okay.
Kelsey:That's really creepy. Okay. And he constantly has, he's like, God, this is creepy. But he just keeps reading it, loves it. I don't understand. Yeah. Y'all, yeah. Okay. This is my last book. That is. Definitely creepy vibes. Oh, we love it. And we'll keep you up at night. Mm-hmm. It certainly did for me. Mm-hmm. And this was, I read this like a while back, a long time ago. Same when I was single, and so I was living by myself and yeah, it was certainly like sometimes lights on at night. Yeah. Creepy. And so you'll like this book. Mm-hmm. If you enjoy. Vampires, but not sexy vampires. Uhhuh, very, very creepy vampires. Uhhuh if you like apocalypse mm-hmm. Stories apocalyptic.
Amanda:Yep. Mm-hmm.
Kelsey:If you like reading many different points of views. Mm-hmm. Yep. And experiencing the world in many different. Like life's not only that, if you like a book that spans hundreds of years and really like creepy psych, it's also psychological too. Yeah. And it's part of a series. So if you like series and it's a series. Mm-hmm. This book is none other than The Passage by Justin Cronin.
Amanda:Oh, so good. So good. Oh my god, I love
Kelsey:it. This book. Yeah, it definitely ugh. I was sucked. I'm a sucker for this book. Oh, you were sucked that We're gonna have to cut that. Oh God. What did I say? Like you're like I was sucked into this book. Just didn't finish my sentence. That's hilarious. I like, yeah. When I. Talk. Sometimes I don't hear what I'm saying and it's just coming out, so it just comes out. And then I don't remember what I said. Oh God. Especially with the kelms, like I Oh yeah, of course. I'm like, wait, what did I say? Yeah. Because I think, I thought I said something else, but I did not. But yeah, this story starts with a young, like it's 6-year-old orphan Amy.
Amanda:Mm-hmm.
Kelsey:Mm-hmm. And. The government is looking for her and it eventually does kidnap her for her to be part of this experiment that's going on somewhere in Colorado, I think.
Amanda:Yeah, somewhere out west. Yeah.
Kelsey:And the story kind of. Goes on from there. Yeah. And there's this cop that's important in Amy's life. Mm-hmm. The, the agent that picks her up mm-hmm. And then realizes what's happening to her. Mm-hmm. He's important in her life. Yeah. And she actually eventually becomes the savior of the world, essentially. Mm-hmm. Yep. But yeah, so good. It's so good. Good. Guys. What I'll say is it does, it starts with how it started. Mm-hmm. But then goes it like jumps, timelines. Yeah. And then it shows you what it's like, like a hundred years later. Mm-hmm. And they're still struggling with this world. Mm-hmm. And the way these people are living is mm-hmm. Like they're in like this fortress in the Pacific Northwest actually. Yes. Yep. And, and one of the, the vampires is messing with their minds. Mm-hmm. And it's so creepy. And everything kind of shakes out from there. And yeah. Then it jumps again and it's continues to jump until the final book, which is, you know, where everything wraps up. But yeah, it, it is so good and it's such good storytelling. Yes. And you do need a glossary for all of the characters because you will not remember all of them. Yeah. But it is, it
Amanda:is. It's excellent. Yeah. I would also say if you are a fan of the last of us, you will love this series. Oh yeah. I think there's a lot of connections between the two and. The entire, I guess it's a trilogy, not a series, but the entire trilogy it's all published. Right. So you're not gonna be waiting for the next book to drop. Mm-hmm. I inhaled these books, I read them back in 2018. Wow. And I, I just couldn't stop reading. As soon as I finished the first, I was like, I have to read the second one. And they're long ass books, guys. They're long, they are long books, but they will completely consume your life in the best way possible. And so creepy. Got the whole like, post-apocalyptic world going on. Yeah. Lots of things that'll get revealed as you read it. Mm. Because you start off with very limited information. Going in, I think as blind as possible is the best way to experience a series facilitating. We just told
Kelsey:you like the tin. Yeah. Snippet of Yeah. The book. And it's funny too, because this is the first time I read these books when they were released. I think I read the first one a while after it was released, but then I had to wait for the second and third. Mm. And I had two friends that were reading these books along with me and Okay. It was just a fun. You know how we experience that here, right? Yeah. And in our book group, like this was one of the first books I, I experienced that with like this, like excitement for the next book and excitement over the story and characters, like it was, it was fun.
Amanda:Yeah. It's, it's a deep, dark. Deep, dark trilogy and I, I think you'll love it. You give it a try. It's so good. Oh, so good. Yep. Okay. My last book, God if you, I think, hmm. If you like horror books and. Movies that have to do with children and like that kinda creepy child aspect, which I know is, is quite pervasive. It's like a trope in so many, yeah. Horror stories. I think you're gonna this book. I. If you like stories where you have kind of this outsider coming into an environment and mm-hmm. Being like, what the heck is going on? Something's wrong. You're gonna like this book. So it's Hidden Pictures by Jason Kulik. He is one of the. New thriller authors that I discovered this year. He's not new. I just discovered him this year and I think this was the first book of his that I read, and I would say it is one of my top thriller books. Of all time now. Wow. Because it was just so unique and part of it's because it has this kind of horror supernatural element. Okay. The gist of it is that there's this young woman named Mallory who takes a job as a nanny for this family to look after their 5-year-old son Teddy. Okay.
Kelsey:Already creeped out.
Amanda:She loves, she loves it. She's fresh out of rehab, so she's like. fresh, start getting back on her feet. She develops a really great bond with this little boy who's like the sweetest, but then she starts to realize that the pictures that he's drawing are getting and increasingly creepy.
Kelsey:Mm-hmm.
Amanda:And like normally he's drawing like rabbits and balloons and trees, and then. One day she sees that he has drawn a picture of a man in a forest dragging like a dead woman's body. And from there, right, she keeps seeing more and more pictures. And what's creepy is that they no longer look like they're drawn by a five-year-old, like stick figures, whatever. And they're like fully flushed out, like beautifully illustrated. Like images, and so she's what the heck is happening? And so, mm-hmm. It's really creepy. There's definitely, again, supernatural forces at play because she's fresh out of rehab. She's also, you know, not considered the most reliable narrator or person in the story. And so she's like, no one's gonna believe me if I'm like, yeah, I think your kid is like channeling some sort of spirit or something. Yeah. What the heck is going on? The reason why I like this book is because Jason Olli did something very cool, is that you, you get to see the illustrations in the book. Oh. Which are so creepy. They are so, so creepy. I cannot tell you because I, I didn't know that was part of the book because I was, it was on Kindle, so it's like I could flip through and see. Yeah. Yeah. And so I like, you know, turn, turn, turn the page on my Kindle. Yeah. And like suddenly there's this super insanely creepy pencil drawing, like glaring out. At me from the page. No. It just adds this incredibly creepy, eerie element. I loved it so much. It was so unsettling and so surprising. So if you're looking for something a bit different, check this book out because it's not often that you find that additional element in an adult novel, right that illustration element. Mm-hmm. Yeah. It really ratcheted up the creepy vibe to 100, and it was. Yeah. Fabulous. It was so fabulous.
Kelsey:See, okay. This reminded me of like ver thinking back to verity. Yeah. That is how much child creepy I can take and handle. I see. That is the line. Yeah. And
Amanda:this then you would not is awful. You would not like it. And there's, oh, and there's also another really crazy twist that you would not see coming. Oh, I did not see it coming from a like at all. Wow. That, that doesn't even have to do with the supernatural stuff. Okay. It's so good. So, yes, listeners, if you haven't heard of Jason Creek freaked out before freaked, or if you've read him but not read this book, you should absolutely read it. It's, it's just eerie, it's creepy, it's supernatural. It's a thriller. It's myster, all the things. Mm-hmm. Like it checked all the boxes for me. I, I wish I could read it again for the first time. Wow. Truly. It was so good.
Kelsey:Oof. Yeah. I can't do creepy that, I mean, I think it's a great way to end our, our episode. It's an excellent way to end our episode Super. Two super creepy, two super creepy
Amanda:books. Yeah. Yeah. I would say if you have. Listeners, your own suggestions for creepy, spooky season reads. Definitely let us know if you're not following us on socials, this is one more reason why you should be. Yeah. So, hop on socials, let us know what books you'd recommend for us to check out. Or maybe just me,'cause I know I feel like I more creepy stuff than, than Kelsey, but you can do that at Lit Vibes Only podcast on Instagram. Mm-hmm. Or you can head over to TikTok and leave us a note there. It's lit vibes. Only podcast. You can also check out the full length video episode on our YouTube channel, which is also, yes, lit Vibe's only podcast. So yay. Be sure to do that. We love giving recommendations and we love receiving them, so please do so. Absolutely. And as always, don't forget. To rate and review. If you wanna leave a comment, if you're on Spotify, if you wanna leave a comment on this episode telling us your book recommendations, that would also be fantastic. And you can leave a full review on Apple as well. So thank you so much for joining us for our little spooky session today. Happy spooky season. Hope you enjoyed it. Happy spooky season. Happy Halloween and we will see you next Monday. Bye bye.