Welcome to Litsy!

I read this for the first time several years ago & loved it. I picked it up again to prepare for the author‘s residency at my library. Honestly, I didn‘t need to read it for a second time — and I much prefer it in print (the fact that Laws doesn‘t narrate his own audiobook is a shame). I *am* glad that I was reintroduced to the story of the 12th century bishop who coveted the relic rumored to be Mary Magdalene‘s arm so much that he bit it, though.

Peter Laws is just as funny and kind as he comes off in his book.

Just spent nearly 3 hours drinking cocktails & shooting the shit in downtown Providence. He‘s so charmed by New England, which is super refreshing during a time when it‘s so easy to feel disenchanted.

Re-reading The Frighteners because I somehow magicked this event into existence. 🤯 Peter Laws is the current Writer-in-Residence at my library right now (in Easton, MA). He‘s visiting us all the way from England!

If you‘re anywhere nearby, join us this Tuesday night!

https://amesfreelibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/the-thrill-of-fear-why-s...

Here is my pick for #TrappedOnAnIsland I like to read a few of these but this one definitely.
Thanks for the pick @Emilymdxn 👻
@aperfectmjk
#TeamMonsterMash @StayCurious

Oh my goodness, @monalyisha - thank you so much for my #hhs #hauntedhollowswap package.! It is just absolute macabre perfection! The art pieces are amazing, the extras so fun, and the books ones I'm really stoked about! And I think I first became interested in the Frighteners because of your posts about it, so it's so very appropriate. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and for making this dreary day wonderful. Also, your wrapping skills!

This is a particular sweet spot for me: spooky + spiritual. Maybe it‘s an unknown sweet spot for you, too!

Check out author Peter Laws‘ new podcast, “Creepy Cove.” 🌒

I recommend waiting until night falls; lighting some incense; lying down on the ground; &, if you‘re in New England like I am, maybe listening to some of that magical thunder that‘s been coursing through our skies all day long as an accompaniment.

Open your ears; open your mind.

Forever-acolyte of Peter Laws. 💘

In a surreal, bibliophilic twist of fate...I read this book, fell in love with it — &, by extension, its author — & then became friendly enough with Rev. Peter Laws on social media that we now comment upon one another‘s bubble bath set-ups. Uhhhh, what is this fandom? 😆😍

Also taking this opportunity to plug his criminally under-reviewed non-fic book again: if you like spooky stuff & existential stuff, it‘s well worth the read. 🖤

Interesting outlook on fear, why we have it, how we manage it and how we learn to live with it. Many interesting subjects....many you would not expect from a man of the church. This one also has a huge interest and collection of horror, books and movies.
I did not always agree but was interesting to read
#teamslaughter #scarathon @Clwojick

tfw an author whose book you totally adored (& who you also follow on Facebook) reads your blog post about your childhood reading memories, shares it on his own page, calls it “wonderfully-written, funny, and touching”, and tells you that you “have a gift.”

SORRY, WHAT?!
I‘m dead now. 😭🖤💀 DEAD. I‘ve been killed by authorial kindness. RIP, me. ⚰️

Love this quote...Halloween is Christmas for spooky folks 😂 so true! Halloween is my favorite time of the year

This one time, the author of one of my favorite non-fic books of ALL TIME sent me a private message on Facebook to ask me what it was like to live in Providence & what the Lovecraft scene was like here...&, uhhhh, I‘ve never read any Lovecraft. None. Nor have I visited any of the local landmarks.

YEAH. That just happened. 🙈😳😭
#fail

I mean, I think he‘s going to be disappointed, as my Instagram is mostly selfies, & pictures of my bunny & my husband. BUT LOOK WHO‘S FOLLOWING ME RN!

#authorcrush #dead

(Oh, and if you haven‘t read the tagged book yet & you‘re interested in spookiness & spirituality (intellectually or personally), add it to your TBR stat!)

While I LOVE the supernatural & mildly-spooky, I‘m actually not that into the horror genre (movies or literature). I don‘t enjoy being scared & I wouldn‘t say I have an interest in the “macabre,” just in the “otherworldly.” Regardless, so many aspects of this book SPOKE TO MY SOUL.

Glowing review continued below👇🏻

“In Denmark, corpses had their toes tied together so that, if they tried to rise, they‘d trip over like dead nerds.”

If Peter Laws doesn‘t specifically mention Buffy in this section about vampires, we‘re gonna be in a fight.

Also, someone was snacking (not on human blood) while reading this library book before me & there‘s some schmutz on the page. Actually, upon second-look, I think it might be a booger. 😷 I love libraries (clearly) but this is my least-favorite aspect of borrowing books.

The view from here:

Cozy sweater? ✅
Hag stone? ✅
Totally icky chapter on murderabilia? ✅😱

“A 2014 Dying Matters survey found that only 21% of adults have spoken to someone else about their end of life wishes.”

For the record, I want my tombstone to read, “Late to her own funeral.”

There, now I‘m part of the solution.

“These female heroes frequently defeat the villain in gruesome fashion too. They deliver machetes to the head or axes to the face. Where else in culture are such actions by women seen as positive & appropriate? Horror & crime fiction can give women a chance to face their fears, but also a way to defeat & control them, by using not only their intelligence, but also the aggression society tells them to hide.”

Do I recognize that Peter Laws, aka “The Sinister Minister,” has way too many selfies on his Instagram page for a respectable man of the cloth & that he‘s probably kind-of an arrogant prick? I mean, yeah. Of course. But am I also crushing pretty hard on my brand-new author crush? YES. 🙌🏻😅🔥

I fell in insta-love with this book & I‘m praying it lasts! 😍🙏🏻

It‘s an investigation into the macabre by an ordained minister who‘s a HUGE horror buff. His contention is that faith & fright *aren‘t* incompatible. He asserts that the common vicar‘s message that “spooky things are a no-no” “ironically suggests that God has no interest in the supernatural.” (Also, he‘s *hilarious!*)

Musings cont‘d below 👇🏻

What season is it again?

This is pretty much where I‘m at right now. Tying up loose #WitchPleaseSwap ends, refusing to let Halloween go, secretly stalking my #StuffedStockingSwap match, & just tryin‘ to keep my tootsies warm!

(I miiiiight also be avoiding a family party. My uncle got promoted to lieutenant of the state police, which is a pretty big deal...but I just want to stay home & read! 😩)

😅💀❄️

Getting a deeper look into the dark and twisty tonight. I don't want to put this one down! Such a fascinating read so far 😈
#netgalley #darkandtwisty #arc #horrorculture