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Love her novels though they are lengthy but Joyce Carol Oates has a gift for writing disturbing short stories. Pictured are a few of her horror themed compilations and I would also recommend the classic story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, which was loosely adapted into the 1985 film Smooth Talk starring Laura Dern!
Sep 29, 2024
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Love her novels (most recent one I read was Babysitter but I honestly never finished because itās twisted itās about the Oakland County Child Killer and you can tell she did her researchā¦ about to read 48 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister) and her short stories but of all of her anthologies Haunted Tales of the Grotesque is my favorite and it lives up to its titleā¦
Apr 16, 2024
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The Doll-Maker and Other Tales of Horror, Black Dahlia and White Rose: Stories, The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares. But my favorite which Iāve rec-ed before is Haunted: Tales of the Grotesque the titular story Haunted is so sick and twisted and I cry tears of fear every time I go back to read it (which I have multiple times). She has the most viscerally disturbing and discomfiting style and a unique ability to crawl under your skin, more so than any other horror author Iāve read and horror is not even typically her primary genre!!
Apr 20, 2024
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My favourite short stories tend to be creepy or magical. I think due to the necessary open-endedness of short stories, it lends itself most to mystery and magic.
Angela Carterās Bloody Chamber is a great classic creepy feminist story to start with. Carmen Maria Machadoās The Husband Stitch continued Carterās legacy Iām a HUGE Kelly Link fan, but her stuff is very strange so might not be for everyone, but my favourite of hers is probably The Specialistās hat or Skinderās Veil Shirley Jacksonās The Lottery is also a classic, and if you like creepy stories and want a good overview of writers in that genre, I recommend the collection āWhen Things Get Darkā, a collection inspired by the tone of Jacksonās work; it features Kelly link, Carmen Maria Machado, Joyce Carol Oates, and loads of contemporary short story writers. I discovered the story Tiptoe by Laird Barron through this and its possibly my favourite creepy short story, it sent full shivers down my spine in a way no other story had.
Angela Carterās Bloody Chamber is a great classic creepy feminist story to start with. Carmen Maria Machadoās The Husband Stitch continued Carterās legacy Iām a HUGE Kelly Link fan, but her stuff is very strange so might not be for everyone, but my favourite of hers is probably The Specialistās hat or Skinderās Veil Shirley Jacksonās The Lottery is also a classic, and if you like creepy stories and want a good overview of writers in that genre, I recommend the collection āWhen Things Get Darkā, a collection inspired by the tone of Jacksonās work; it features Kelly link, Carmen Maria Machado, Joyce Carol Oates, and loads of contemporary short story writers. I discovered the story Tiptoe by Laird Barron through this and its possibly my favourite creepy short story, it sent full shivers down my spine in a way no other story had.
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It lends a reflective and wistful tone to written communications imoā¦
Jul 10, 2025
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My dad teases me about how when I was a little kid, my favorite thing to do when I was on the landline phone with somebodyābe it a relative or one of my best friendsāwas to breathlessly describe the things that were in my bedroom so that they could have a mental picture of everything I loved and chose to surround myself with, and where I sat at that moment in time. Perfectly Imperfect reminds me of that so thanks for always listening and for sharing with me too š
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