The Endless Library

Hey spooky friends! Did you know there was a TV show based on the movie "Scream"?  Aurelien and Dustin are going back to 2015 and watching season 1 of the MTV original series SCREAM!  Did you watch it? Trick question - no matter your answer, jump in and join us for The Rewatch Recap.  See you there~ Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rewatch-recap/id1636230425 List...

Whether you finished reading "Galax-Arena" or you're just here for a good story, proceed with caution: there's spoilers ahead!    Aurelien spills this story's secrets, and screams alongside the characters, through the rest of this wild, YA mind-f$ck adventure. Plus, what's up with Bro Rabbit? And how about that ending?  -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound ef...

" What does the future matter, if until the past is told I'm living in limbo, neither alive nor dead?"   Keep your instincts sharp and jump into cross-genre YA weird " Galax-Arena "(1992) by Gillian Rubinstein. Don't get stuck on the sci-fi-y title -- this story is not what it appears to be.    No spoilers in this one!   Episode references:  Learn more about patois languages like Jamaican Patwah/P...

"A shudder, a plunge, a second of darkness, and I'm back in the in-between."   Aurelien is back to talk about " Tunnel of Bones" (2019) by Victoria Schwab, a positively paranormal tale of Parisian peregrination. The second book in the City of Ghosts series, it's another spooky adventure with Cassidy Blake.  No spoilers in this one!   Listen to Aurelien talking City of Ghosts #1:  https://pca.st/q4...

"The starsong is louder now, swelling in a way that says something's coming."   Pop into the endless library for a sweet treat: "Starsong" (2018) by Tehlor Kay Mejia. Published in the excellent witchy collection Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft , edited by the fabulous Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe, it's a story of growing up and finding your magic. (And flirting with cute girl...

"The atomic bomb meant, to most people, the end. To Henry Bemis, it meant something far different - a thing to appreciate and enjoy."   Gather round for a story, spooky friends! Aurelien reads aloud " Time Enough At Last" (1953) by Lynn Venable, the source material for your favorite original Twilight Zone episode. It's a subtle horror story, that draws you in and knifes you in the back.    Read th...

We start books with the best of intentions, but sometimes the timing isn't right.   Aurelien introduces five strange, mysterious, intriguing, and eerie recently started books. No spoilers!   Secretive Scottish boarding schools, cosmic crime scenes, ghosts (of course), seances, and more questions than a crossword.    Madam by Phoebe Wynne (2021)   Department Zero by Paul Crilley (2017)   Small Town...

"It was as if all the pain in the world had found a voice."   Aurelien took a short trip to "The Island of Doctor Moreau" (1896) by H.G. Wells. It's an unfortunately readable classic about brutality, ego, torture, and humanity.  To paraphrase Hobbes: it was nasty, brutal, and not short enough.    Add "Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?" by Frans de Waal to your tbr: https://wwnorto...

"A little special. A little strange. Not quite alive but definitely not …"   It's that time of year, spooky friends! The spookiest season of all. Let's tell ghost stories!   Gather round the fire for "City of Ghosts" (2018) by Victoria Schwab, the story of a strange girl with a dead best friend, the ability to see ghosts, and, ironically, ghost-hunting parents! Part Lydia Deetz, part Lyra Belacqua...

"It's impossible. But it's here. Can we keep it?"   Grab your canoe and meet Aurelien at the secret lake for "A House At the Bottom of A Lake" (2016) by Josh Malerman.   Let yourself be swept away in this weird dreamy story of first dates, summer love, and the thrill, and horror, of discovery.    Listen for the spoiler warning around 19:50!   -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additi...

"I can't decide if the effect is beautiful or creepy or something in between."    Throw on a deerstalker hat and join Aurelien in the library for "The Stitchers" (2020) by Lorien Lawrence. It's a spooky middle grade mystery where amateur detectives Quinn and Mike try to find out just what is up with their strange  neighbors who don't seem to age, and the eerie pond at the end of the lane. Are they...

"Josie Schuller is a picture-perfect homemaker, wife, and mother - but she's also a ruthless, efficient killer"   Join Aurelien for a recap of the darkly funny (and fully bloody) Lady Killer vol 1 by Joëlle Jones and Jamie S. Rich. This bold graphic novel tells the story of a mid-century American woman trying to have it all: a loving husband, adorable children, killer style, and successful career...

""Please help . . ." His voice was faint, but it was there."   Avoid the roads at night and keep your wits about you for " 58 Rules to Ensure Your Husband Loves You Forever " (2019) by Rafeeat Aliyu. It's a deep dark story that asks: what are you willing to do (to someone else) for love? And it's a little gross.    Read the story at Nightmare Magazine : http://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/58...

What has eerie red eyes, a pronounced widow's peak, surprisingly fang-like fangs, and a soft pink nose? It's " Bunnicula " (1979), a spooky cute middle-grade comedy adventure written by Deborah & James Howe. This time, Aurelien is joined by Dustin, fellow podcaster and magical library elf! Find Dustin's podcast episodes and social media: https://linktr.ee/DustinCanRead Explore the Bunnicula series...

Hey, spooky friends! Aurelien astral-projected over to the new horror deep dive podcast Autopsy of a Horror Movie  to discuss the straight from quarantine horror hit, Host (2020).    Brucker and Aurelien get into how impressive the editing is, the different types of fear, the scariest scenes, and Aurelien invents a new subgenre. If you're a horror movie fan, give it a listen!    Follow Autopsy of...

"Sour candy trumps chocolate."   Celebrate Valentine's weekend with Aurelien and a creepy horror story that will make you happy to be alone. "Sour Candy" by Kealan Patrick Burke (2015) starts with an everyday encounter and quickly devolves into more nightmares than you can count.   Buy the book and read more from Kealan Patrick Burke: https://www.kealanpatrickburke.com/books   -- Theme: Magical Tr...

"Creatures of the night, they get along just fine in the darkness."   Happy new year, spooky friends! Join Aurelien for a dark modern horror tale of unconventional friendship,  the beauty of the night, and some light murder: "The Night Cyclist" by Stephen Graham Jones (2016).    Read the story on Tor.com: https://www.tor.com/2016/09/21/the-night-cyclist/ Find more from Stephen Graham Jones: https:...

"I asked how many days it took before she was aware of the ghost."   It's time for another flash fiction roundup! Join Aurelien for a quick tour of the latest sweet, spooky, supernatural, super weird, and, of course, super short fiction she's loved lately. No spoilers!    "Not the Pizza Girl" by Michelle Ann King: https://everydayfiction.com/not-the-pizza-girl-by-michelle-ann-king/ "Ghost Collecti...

This week for book club, let's go on a spooky tour of Aurelien's horror shelf, from teen witches and the perils of friendship, to creepy haunted houses, dark family secrets, and suspenseful short stories. No spoilers!   "A Head Full of Ghosts" by Paul Tremblay "And the Trees Crept In" by Dawn Kurtagich "The Twisted Ones" by T. Kingfisher "The Scapegracers" by Hannah Abigail Clarke "The Southern Bo...

"Haunting is an art."   Find us in the secret room for a hauntingly good time with " Open House on Haunted Hill" (2020) by John Wiswell. Autumn isn't only spooks and screams; it's also about loneliness, change, and the warmth of home. Warning: this story might melt your horror-loving heart.    Read the story: http://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fiction-64a-open-house-on-haunted-hill-by-john-wiswell/...

"What fearful shapes and shadows beset his path amidst the dim and ghastly glare of a snowy night!"   Let's meet at the spooky old church for book club to talk about a classic American ghost story: " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow " (1820) by Washington Irving. Featuring superb descriptions of fall foliage, an excellent spooky atmosphere, and ghostly, mysterious ending, this story will immerse you in...

"Terror can fill any space."   It's time for book club, and for the exciting conclusion of Michael Crichton's " Sphere " (1987)! Packed with thrills, chills, and more giant squid than you can shake a stick at, Aurelien covers the second half of this mysterious scifi adventure. This episode is full of spoilers!   -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Additional music and sound effects fr...

"What they find defies their imaginations and mocks their attempts at logical explanation..."   Something has been found on the ocean floor, something intriguing and impossible. A group of scientists are sent 1000 feet down to investigate - and there, they find something even stranger. Aurelien covers the first half of " Sphere " (1987) by Michael Crichton, a paranoid, weird sciencey horror thrill...

"Black winter had descended in a single night."   Watch the tides and slip out in the cover of night for Daphne Du Maurier's " The Birds " (1952). It's a chilling, suspenseful story that's not really like the movie adaptation at all, and will fill your heart with dread. If you're a Shirley Jackson fan, add this one to your tbr! Spoilers ahead!   -- * Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod * Add...

And now she sat so very quietly, so very still, like a living-dead doll staring out the window.   Buenas noches, spooky friends! This week, let Aurelien tell you all about how Georgina's perfectly planned life got flipped-turned upside down - by Death. Set during the Mexican Revolution, " This Strange Way of Dying " (2011) by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a spooky dark historical love story about choosi...