The Curator: underrated spooky season film recs & book pairings for everyone from weenies to pros
on a scale from mild mannered to absolutely unhinged
The worst thing you can ever do while living alone is watch a scary movie.
Especially if it’s the first month of your entire life that you have ever lived alone, are legally blind without medical assistance, and/or have a robe hanging on the back of your bedroom door at the same time nightmares cause you to awaken in the dead of night paralyzed with fright convinced the robe is a real-life man come to kill you. Thank you, Paranormal Activity franchise.
I went through a phase where the scariest thing I would watch was the Disney Channel original movie Halloweentown, so I haven’t always been this brave. It took dedication to some perverse nonsense about facing my fears and a lot of wine and snacks to become comfortable with scary movies. Also, having a person to hide behind really helps.
At current count, I’ve consumed over 100 horror or horror-adjacent films and TV shows, everything from mildly spooky to straight terrifying. I’ve stayed up late watching stellar A24 films and campy B movies (and some that should never have been made). Some of my very favorites include Scream, Hitchcock’s Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, Hereditary, The Conjuring Franchise, and The Craft. What I cannot withstand are the ghoulish body horrors like Saw or Hostel [I LOATHED Evil Dead]. I have very little interest in being forced to consider if I like my arm or my life better.
No matter what your comfort level, here are thirteen underrated spooky movie recs with book pairings for your October enjoyment. All movies are listed from least to most scary. Hopefully, you find something new that you like - and likes you back.
👻level one: mild scary, no gore, more suspense, a little campy, good for even the scardiest of cats.
Death Becomes Her | Directed by Robert Zemeckis (1978)
A black satirical comedy about a bunch of aging women fighting over the same guy while selling their souls for outrageously overpriced magic youth serums.
Lisa Frankenstein | Directed by Zelda Williams (2024)
A misunderstood teenage girl reanimates a hot Victorian corpse. Campy nostalgic and weird.
Stir of Echoes | Directed by David Koepp (1999)
Kevin Bacon is hypnotized into seeing visions of a ghost girl in need, bringing him to the brink of a mental breakdown. We love anything with a ghost!
Book Pairings: My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix, The Sundown Motel by Simone St. James
🦇level two: mid-level spooks, mild violence, mostly psychological creeps, a lot of gaslit women, and a few jump scares
Things Heard and Seen | Directed by Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini (2021)
A young woman settles for a man, moves to an old house, and starts to suspect her marriage has a sinister darkness. This one is slower and spooky and a bit of a mash of tropes to keep you guessing until the end.
The Invisible Man | Directed by Leigh Whannell (2020)
Elizabeth Moss as a woman being stalked by her ex but taken to a whole new level. I scream excessively every single time I watch the paint scene. Enjoy this masterpiece.
The Night House | Directed by David Bruckner (2021)
A widow begins to uncover her recently deceased husband’s disturbing secrets, but of course, from an isolated home in the woods near a terrifying body of water. Supernaturally psychological, I really wish I could watch this again for the first time.
Unsane | Directed by Stephen Soderbergh (2018)
A searing indictment on modern American mental healthcare in the age of capitalism. I was not prepared for how emo I would get over the story of a woman locked up for insurance money.
Book Pairings: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlott Perkins Gilman
👀level three: let’s get freaky! more jump scares, supernatural monsters, late-night hauntings, mild body horror or gore
Insidious | Directed by James Wan (2010)
Lots of people have seen The Conjuring, but you haven’t lived until you’ve seen a little ghost boy in britches creep around to the sound of “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” by God Bless Tiny Tim.
Late Night with the Devil | Directed by Cameron & Colin Cairnes (2024)
More camp, more demons, more retro vintage Exorcist vibes without all the vomit. I devoured this film. Twice.
Watcher | Directed by Chloe Okuno (2022)
There is nothing scarier than a woman in danger who isn’t believed. Maika Monroe is my new scream queen (not to be confused with The Watcher or Watchers. the title department needs some new talent).
The Taking of Deborah Logan | Directed by Adam Robitel (2014)
I can barely even look at the film posters but this was one of the freshest horror films I’ve ever seen - perhaps because it features an older woman MC and a really great plot. Not as gross as Google would make it seem.
Book Pairings: Ghost Story by Peter Straub, The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
💀level four: the most unhinged, horrifying, disturbing thing I have ever seen
Wrong Turn | Directed by Mike P. Nelson (2021)
A bunch of hikers get lost on the Appalachian Trail and find a primitive settlement that settles conflict with violence and terror. I almost perished watching.
Incident in a Ghost Land | Directed by Pascal Laugier (2018)
Don’t watch this you will never sleep again.
I mean it, don’t.
I regret it every day.
Book Pairings: Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis, Red Dragon by Robert Harris
are you alive? ok? you made it to the end or did you skip that last part? I’m proud of you either way.
reading 📖→
Didion’s The White Album for
‘s October Didion project, and oh my god, she is queen. I get it now. I get why everyone carts her books around like status symbols. I had previously only read an essay here and there, but nothing hit me like the first section of this collection. Her combination of dry observation on horrendous topics, personal introspection, cultural analysis, and obsession with not only the American but specifically the Californian experience is peak obsession. I have always been a bit obsessed with novels set in my home state, and Didion solidifies that feeling.Still The Historian. I really want to stop time and do nothing but read this novel.
consuming📽️🎧→
Holy cannoli Batman - SALEM’S LOT (2024). Go into it with no expectations and just enjoy the ride.
book news and restacks📰→
Need even more horror movie recs for that hit of dopamine?
has got you covered (Substack)- writes a brilliant argument for the undying allure of the vampire (Substack)
- makes turning thirty seem fucking awesome (Substack).
- gives us an exercise in paying attention to two very excellent novels (Substack)
The most moving, gorgeous, hilarious essay from
on turning into your parents (Substack)I didn’t think she could get any more relatable, but Ann Patchett regrets getting an email address 30 years ago (NYT gifted link)
and cats 🐈⬛→
the adults do dinner
let’s chat 👻→
what is your favorite scary movie?
do you have any fun plans for the last two weeks of spooky season?
what are you reading currently, and is it any good?
in case you missed it 🖤
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See you around the bookshelf!
As soon as I saw the trailer for Hold Your Breath, I wanted to see it! But it also really freaked me out. So I waited until I was with friends to watch it. It was good and so was Speak No Evil (more frustrating than scary)! Though not explicitly spooky, I want to see The Substance!
Thanks for the shoutout ☺️
I loved but loved Late Night w the Devil! So surprising, and the highest of quality! And I’m not the biggest horror aficionado.