Connect with us

News

Celebrate Banned Books Week with these 7 Banned Horror Books

Published

on

Banned books

Banned Books Week is Sept. 24–30.  To celebrate your right to read the creepiest, darkest and most controversial books you can find, check out these books which have been banned or challenged at one time or another.

1. ‘American Psycho’ by Bret Easton Ellis

The story of Patrick Bateman and his grisly double life had a tough road to publication. The novel was so controversial that Simon & Schuster backed out before going to press with it, and it was eventually published by Vintage. “American Psycho” was outright banned in the Australian state of Queensland, and restricted to readers 18 and older in other Australian states as well as Germany and New Zealand.

The graphic violence earned Ellis hate mail, and even death threats. Of course, that didn’t stop it from being a major hit and spawning an iconic film adaptation with Christian Bale.

2. ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ Series by Alvin Schwartz

According to the American Library Association (ALA), this dark folklore series was the most banned book in the US during the ’90s, and remained at No. 7 from 2000–2009. Despite this, these gruesome tales have still been traumatizing children for a generation. I have to imagine that Stephen Gammell’s beautifully disturbing illustrations played a part in this.

3. ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding

William Golding’s tale of schoolboys stranded on a desert island may not be a traditional horror story, but it’s dark and disturbing all the same. “Lord of the Flies” has been banned in many US states for its violence, language, sexuality, attacks on religion and more.

4. ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood

Another story that might not be considered a traditional horror tale, this dystopian novel is still damn scary. It’s set in a future where people are facing an infertility epidemic and the US government has been replaced by an oppressive religious regime that makes sex slaves out of the remaining fertile women.

Naturally, it’s been challenged and banned since its publication. Time reported on one notable case in 2006, in which a Texas school superintendent removed it from the AP English curriculum for being offensive to Christians. However, that was overruled by the school board. Today, it’s more popular than ever thanks to the TV adaptation.

Banned Books Week

Frankenstein

5. ‘Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus’ by Mary Shelley

When it was first published in 1818, the world wasn’t ready for Mary Shelley’s masterpiece. Shelley originally published it anonymously — partially because fiction writing wasn’t considered an appropriate profession for women at the time, and partially because it was such a grotesque, horrific story.

A book about a mad scientist stitching together body parts to create new life set a whole new bar for scary stories at the time. Like Frankenstein’s monster himself, the book was originally viewed as nothing but an abomination to many. Shelley’s name was added when it was republished in 1823.

The novel was banned during Apartheid in South Africa for having “indecent” and “obscene” material. It’s also been banned or challenged by Christian groups in the US. Today, “Frankenstein” is known as a gothic horror classic and a predecessor to science fiction.

6. ‘Goosebumps’ Series by R.L. Stine

R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series was wildly popular with young adults in the ’90s. It wasn’t so popular with parents and school boards in the US, which made it the fifteen-most banned book in that time period. PEN reports that parents feared stories such as “Night of the Living Dummy” and “The Werewolf of Fever Swamp” were too scary for kids, and even Satanic. I’ll have you know that I ready plenty of Goosebumps books as a kid, and I never summoned any evil spirits because a kids book told me to. I did that because I just wanted to, damn it.

In addition to spawning a TV adaptation, the Goosebumps series also inspired a recent film starring Jack Black, with a sequel set for 2018.

7. ‘Bumps in the Night’ by Harry Allard

Allard’s short children’s book is about Dudley the Stork and his animal friends dealing with a haunted house. It was written for early readers so it’s much tamer than anything else on this list. However, it was still one of the 100 most banned books according to the ALA. Why was it banned? Banned Library reports it was for “occult and various supernatural issues, description of families in a derogatory manner and encouraging disrespectful language and disobedience to parents.”

No matter what bumps in the night, there’s nothing more terrifying than censorship. Enjoy Banned Books Week and celebrate your freedom to read whatever you want!

 

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

on

Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

Published

on

In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

News

Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

Published

on

Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading