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The Willows
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
31 posts | 38 read | 30 to read
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review
TieDyeDude
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Pickpick

I thought this was much more effective a story than The Wendigo. The threat felt more real, and the buildup and tension were well done. I was still not impressed with the narrator.

#spookoween @TheSpineView

TheSpineView Well done! 1mo
36 likes1 comment
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kwmg40
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Mehso-so

This classic novella was atmospheric and tense, and it inspired a lot of modern cosmic horror stories. However, I found it slow moving and didn't care for any of the characters.

#gottacatchemall @PuddleJumper (prompt 78, Corsola: Isolated person or location)
#DoubleSpin #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#52bookclub24 (prompt 23, The “other“ book with the similar plot) This book inspired T. Kingfisher's The Hollow Places

49 likes5 comments
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BookMaven9
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Pickpick

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃 I can literally feel the influence this author and this story had on H.P. Lovecraft. For me the true horror comes in the feel and atmosphere of dread. And nothing gives off those vibes like being along in the woods. Nature has a way of being terrifying just by being in their realm.

Blackwood had influenced many of our cosmic horror authors and yet they all seem more famous than he. . This was a most satisfying read.

batsy I loved this, too! 13mo
15 likes1 comment
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Catleezz
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Mehso-so

It was very spooky sure, but I didn't really find I enjoyed it. The main character was very full of themself. If you like suspense and wilderness horror I would recommend this for you.

I had this read to me on a podcast.

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shadowspeak17
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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1. How the Word is Passed (Smith), Battle Royale (Takami), and Flights (Tokarczuk)
2. It depends on the story and the execution.
3. The Willows by Algernon Blackwood

#weekendreads

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reading_rainbow
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Pickpick

Have you ever read something that you couldn‘t put into words how it touched you? The Willows is a genre of horror that I gravitate to & I‘m not sure how to categorize it. Eco-horror? Weird Fiction? Where ominous otherworldly/inhuman horrors are derived from nature. Annihilation was like that. The Willows has to be one of the earliest stories I‘ve read that conveys that type of terror thats unable to be put into words. Beautifully written!

batsy Great review! I loved this and also thought it was similar in its nature to Annihilation (which I also loved :) 4y
17 likes1 comment
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Michael_Gee
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Mehso-so

There‘s something I find comforting in old horror stories. Back in April I read The Willows and the Wendigo, both about men in the wilderness facing ineffable malicious forces. The Willows was creepy in a quiet, slow-burn, don‘t-trust-your-senses kind of way. Both effective stories and available on Project Gutenberg! Happy October! 🎃

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BookwormOfTheDamned
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Pickpick

My book review is up on "The Willows" by Algernon Blackwood.

https://youtu.be/waHSv9uHHTc

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brstaley
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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"But you're quite right about one thing," he added, before the subject passed, "and that is that we're wiser not to talk about it, or even to think about it, because what one thinks finds expression in words, and what one says, happens."

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Daisey
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Pickpick

I think I first put this on my #SerialReader list when I saw it referenced as possible inspiration in Tolkien‘s writing. The story has a fairly simple premise, but it is incredibly creepy. I can also easily see its possible influence in some of the forests of Tolkien‘s stories.

#YearofTolkien #FellowshipofTolkien

SerialReader One of my favorite scary stories! 5y
JazzFeathers I remember that references. Need to read. 5y
jewright I have a book of his short stories if you are interested. 5y
52 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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kricheal
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Pickpick

Fabulous little creepy story to get the mood ready for fall.

71 likes1 stack add
blurb
kricheal
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Starting this next on @SerialReader #currentlyreading

SerialReader One of my favorites! 6y
72 likes1 comment
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BookwormOfTheDamned
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
Pickpick

This took a moment to get into, but it maintained the typical beauty that one would find in a Blackwood tale.

Although the evil in this classic isn't specifically called by name, one can gather that the willows are possessed by elementals. In turn, this causes the narrator and his Swedish friend to race for their lives as the willows demand blood.

I still recommend, "The Windigo," as Blackwood's best work, but this tale is a close second.

13 likes1 stack add
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BookwormOfTheDamned
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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I love this quote. So chilling.

Gina That image is wonderfully chilling♡ 6y
11 likes1 comment
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batsy
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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I'm usually never sure about what counts as proper #horror but this 1907 novella (short story?) was an atmospheric creepfest and I loved it.

#litsyclassics #maylovesclassics @Sarah83 @Bambolina_81

LeahBergen I should reread this. I read it so many years ago that I can‘t remember much about it. 7y
erzascarletbookgasm Gonna save this for October! 👻 7y
batsy @LeahBergen I know what you mean! Story of my life 😆 7y
See All 7 Comments
batsy @erzascarletbookgasm Good plan! I'm saving the The Haunting of Hill House for Oct 😉 7y
RohitSawant Excellent pick! One of my favorites! 7y
batsy @rohit-sawant Thank you! Happy to hear that, I like my horror picks to be #VerifiedByRohit 😁 7y
Faibka Stacked! 7y
82 likes5 stack adds7 comments
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jen_hayes7
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Pickpick

What a fantastically creepy story!! Such a simple premise (two fellas on a boat trip down the Danube) manages to become so atmospheric that you truly feel the sense of horror these characters do. An excellent, well-written tale!!! #serialreader

SerialReader One of my favorite weird tales! 7y
28 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Libby1
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Pickpick

Thanks again, @SerialReader .

I‘m going to Budapest this weekend (I can‘t believe I‘ve just typed those words!), and was pleased to discover that this story takes place on tiny, shifting islands in the Danube River.

I hope to stand on the river banks and imagine these willows, which were certainly more than they seemed.

erzascarletbookgasm 😀 have a great trip! ❣️ 7y
Betty A lovely city! Visited 2 years ago. Have fun!! 7y
Mdargusch Have an amazing trip! 7y
See All 13 Comments
Oryx Have a great trip! Lovely city 7y
Morr_Books Been there a few times! You are gonna love it... and the river! ☺️ 7y
Mollyanna Have a wonderful trip! Budapest is on my bucket list. 7y
Libby1 Thanks so much, @Mollyanna ! 7y
Velvetfur I would love to go to Budapest, I would love to see the Danube! One of my best friends is from Slovakia, she said there are cruises along the Danube, they must do them in Hungary as well so you should see how much they cost 😊 Please post a pic of you by the Danube! Have a wonderful trip 👍 7y
Libby1 @Velvetfur - I WILL take a photo! I was researching the trip last night, and hope to take a boat journey on the river while we‘re there. Thanks for your kind wishes! 💕 7y
tpixie Awesomeness! Have a blast! 7y
Libby1 Thanks, @tpixie ! 💕 7y
CaitlinR Have a great trip and thanks for the recommendation 7y
90 likes1 stack add13 comments
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sprainedbrain
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Pickpick

I woke up at 2 am for no apparent reason and can‘t get back to sleep, so I finished my Serial. 😃

This is such a creepy, atmospheric story... loved the writing, and more than once I got that feeling of dread while reading that makes me afraid for the characters and (almost) too scared to keep reading. Perfect selection for #allhallowsread

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

99 likes2 stack adds
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sprainedbrain
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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@SerialReader featured this one on a Litsy post yesterday, and I was in between serial reads, so....

😃

batsy I enjoyed this one 👍 7y
Daisey I added this to my read later list, so I'll look forward to seeing your thoughts. 7y
Ncostell I'm in between Serial reads too and this looks like a good spooky read in time for Halloween. Think I just might pick this one up. 👻 7y
See All 6 Comments
RohitSawant Love this one! 7y
Reviewsbylola It‘s been way too long since I‘ve read a serial! 7y
Bklover Great idea! Just added it! 7y
89 likes1 stack add6 comments
blurb
SerialReader
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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A creepy tale for Halloween season. Two friends on a canoe trip down the Danube find themselves stranded on a sandy island. The river rages around them, disintegrating their island refuge, as around them eerie willows wave in the wind. It's a likely inspiration for Tolkien (he admitted Blackwood inspired the phrase "crack of doom") who would later pen his own unsettling experiences with willow trees.

JazzFeathers Cool! I have been eyeing this story on Serial Reader fir a while. Didn't know of its posdible connection with Tolkien #LotRChapterADay 7y
40 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Dan_SpiderCrafts
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Pickpick

I first read The Willows in a horror anthology book. I enjoyed a good reread; mostly while sitting in a park near work, with rustling leaves in the trees. 😄👻 It's a great atmospheric spook story, with random strangeness that Blair Witch fans will enjoy. Maple trees worked well, in later hopes of reading under a willow. 🎃🍁 #serialreader

JazzFeathers I've been eyeing this story on Serial Reader too 7y
26 likes1 comment
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Beholderess
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Pickpick

Loved it! Wonderfully creepy. Lovecraft himself would have botched that by revealing too much

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batsy
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Pickpick

Atmospheric and creepy. The setting and characterisation were incredibly well done for a short story and it would be best to read it in one sitting, I think, without knowing anything about it. (Though I enjoyed reading it on the Serial Reader app; my first attempt at using it. It was fun to anticipate a new issue each day and it was also quite soothing to have my reading broken down into manageable bits.)

Beholderess I'm reading it in the Serial Reader app right now too 8y
6 likes1 comment
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Eyelit
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Mehso-so

So... A few things you need to know about The Willows: 1. It takes place on the Danube (seriously, the author mentions this eleventy billion times). 2. It has a super abrupt ending (still unsure whether or not I like this). 3. It's pretty dang creepy and I mostly liked the writing style. Second venture with serial reader just ok.

TheNextBook It's funny I'm reading The Iliad on Serial Reader and the fact that I'm only reading small sections at a time is the only thing that has truly stopped me from bailing! If I was trying to only read that, I don't know if I would finish 8y
Marchpane Agree with you about the writing and creepy atmosphere, but in the end it bored me. Edited down, it could have been a fantastic short story. 8y
Eyelit I know what you mean @TheNextBook - I've got another book on serial reader, and having that other one going let me trudge through parts of the willows 8y
Eyelit Yes! @Marchpane it could def make a great pared down short story! 8y
ReadingOver50 I enjoyed this story. Very atmospheric. 8y
55 likes5 comments
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Eyelit
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
Mehso-so

So... A few things you need to know about The Willows: 1. It takes place on the Danube (seriously, the author mentions this eleventy billion times). 2. It has a super abrupt ending (still unsure whether or not I like this). 3. It's pretty dang creepy and I mostly liked the writing style. Second venture with serial reader just ok.

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Syngirl
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Using the Serial Reader app to chomp through some classic literature. I found the horror section 😍

review
Marchpane
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Panpan

This short 1907 horror novella was such a disappointment. It started out promising: it's about creepy sinister trees! The writing is atmospheric, the landscape is unsettling, the description of the Danube is fantastic. But then, NOTHING happens. The continual descriptions of creepy atmosphere become repetitive, boring and worst of all, completely UNscary. The ending is too convenient and unsatisfying. Boo.

thegirlwiththelibrarybag I can't help but think of the Evil Trees from H.R Puffinstuff when I think of sinister trees 😂 8y
Marchpane @thegirlwiththelibrarybag Those trees were scarier than the ones in this book! 😂🌲 8y
thegirlwiththelibrarybag It's those Transylvanian accents 😂 8y
44 likes1 stack add3 comments
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DragonSadhana
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Pickpick

More creepy goodness from Algernon Blackwood, an outdoorsy kind of guy living at the turn of the twentieth century who liked to write eerie tales.

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SerialReader
The Willows | Algernon Blackwood
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Pickpick

Perhaps my favorite scary story and perfect for readers who don't enjoy the monsters and gore of other horror - none of that here! Just wonderfully oppressive atmosphere and chilling tension. It's a quick read too. Just try to read this one while camping!

13 likes4 stack adds