Category Archives: spooky

Mindful Make-believe: “The Gypsy Game” on compassionate cosplay

Posted on Oct 7, 2019 by

Spooky Salutations, Postcardians!  Welcome to… Halloween Month 2019! Re: this year’s theme.  Rather than Selkies, Sequels, and Second Chances, I’ve decided to focus on Compassionate Cosplay, (Literary) Candy Crushes, and Sinister Selchies (look, there’s a ‘c’ in there!) Today’s post will … Continue reading →

Posted in family, Halloween, opinion, spooky | 6 Comments

The 2018 Review

Posted on Dec 14, 2018 by

Welcome, Postcardians, to another celebration of a year in La-La Land!  Have a metaphorical seat by the imaginary fireplace, and enjoy a virtual taste of my grandmother’s gingerbread mushrooms! * Overview * First, a big Thank You!!! to everyone who … Continue reading →

Posted in fantasy, favorites, folklore/fairy tales, LGBTQIA, Lithuania, mermaids, meta, music, nostalgic, spooky, year-end review | 9 Comments

Grimm and Grimmer: twisted fairy tales for more mature trick-or-treaters

Posted on Oct 8, 2018 by

We continue our Halloween journey, collecting five scary tales for middle-grade and older readers.  The Scare-o-Meter ratings are more varied here; the mildest story gets a 5, the scariest one a solid 10. These stories teach us Very Important Lessons, … Continue reading →

Posted in fantasy, folklore/fairy tales, graphic-novels, Halloween, horror, LGBTQIA, meta, spooky | Tagged | 5 Comments

Picture Book Parade: Spooky Cinderellas and Grimm boogie nights

Posted on Oct 1, 2018 by

Welcome, ghouls and banshees, to Halloween Month at Postcards from La-La Land!  This month, I am focusing on twisted myths and scary fairy tales, hunting for the horrifying hearts of our favorite bedtime stories.  There will be posts on petrifying … Continue reading →

Posted in fantasy, folklore/fairy tales, Halloween, Picture Book Parade, picture books, spooky | 7 Comments

“The spirits of this world, they don’t stay dead for long.”

Posted on Aug 27, 2018 by

Kheryn Callender.  Hurricane Child.  New York: Scholastic, 2018. Rating:  3.75 out of 5 running girls who burst into a cloud of moths. As summer dies down, I’m going to give you a preview of Halloween Month, with a book about a … Continue reading →

Posted in Halloween, LGBTQIA, music, romantic, spooky | 2 Comments

Dreams and Nightmares on the Edge of London

Posted on Jan 13, 2018 by

Here’s another post from my time at Insatiable Booksluts.  In this one, I reviewed Marshland, a collection of trippy, meta, even mythic stories and essays about the East London wilderness, a haunting world of demons and zombies and bear men and … Continue reading →

Posted in fantasy, folklore/fairy tales, magical realism, meta, short stories, spooky | 4 Comments

Ghastly stories for the biggest scare-seekers

Posted on Oct 19, 2017 by

Do you keep a night light on on Halloween, just in case?  Do thoughts of the undead keep you unrested?  Or are you all about the vampire bats and the plague-haunted castles and the vengeful murder victims come back to … Continue reading →

Posted in comics, Halloween, nonfiction, poetry, short stories, spooky | 7 Comments

Nostalgic Double Feature: October Edition

Posted on Sep 30, 2017 by

It’s that awesomest time of year again, the month for reading spooky, paranormal stories; stocking up on snack-size Butterfingers; and putting together your kick-@$$ October Daye costume. This month, I’m prepared with several Halloween posts featuring nostalgic middle grade titles, … Continue reading →

Posted in family, fantasy, Halloween, historical, nostalgic, re-reads, spooky | Leave a comment

Picture Book Parade: Somewhere out there (really out there)

Posted on May 25, 2017 by

Today’s round of picture books comes from the land of out there… a land of whimsy and silliness, where bears look to “find themselves” in enchanted forests; where goons in tombs fish in black lagoons; where gnomes compete for the best beard style; babies … Continue reading →

Posted in fantasy, favorites, humor, Picture Book Parade, picture books, spooky | 2 Comments

“Don’t you love the cold forest? Doesn’t the howl of the wolf thrill you through with fearful delight?”

Posted on Mar 2, 2017 by

I found this awesome reading list on an online syllabus for “Fairy Tales Then and Now,” a course at Rutgers.  The first two units focus on versions of Little Red Riding Hood and disobedience tales like Bluebeard, in versions from Charles … Continue reading →

Posted in fantasy, folklore/fairy tales, short stories, spooky | 7 Comments