It’s September 1st. You know what that means: RIP (R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril). Or, if you’re me, just an average couple of reading months…
Here are the categories to choose from:
Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.
Or anything sufficiently moody that shares a kinship with the above. That is what embodies the stories, written and visual, that we celebrate with the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril event.
RIP VIII runs September 1st through October 31st. It’s hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings and it’s my favorite reading event of the year. There are only two rules:
1. Have fun reading (and watching).
2. Share that fun with others.
I’m choosing Peril the First, which means at least four books. Here’s what I’m thinking:
Read:
The Thicket by Joe R. Lansdale
Red Moon by Benjamin Percy
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
Watch:
The Walking Dead. I watched the first episode. Alone. In the dark. It scared me. What can I say? Waking up in an abandoned hospital is a nightmare of mine.
Haven. Maine + Stephen King + the unexplainable. These are a few of my favorite things.
Dark Skies. I don’t know why I torture myself with horror movies, they scare me quite effectively (at least the ones that don’t show too much, showing too much always decreases the scare factor). I’ll be watching this one because of Keri Russell.
Needful Things. I’m not holding out much hope for this movie, but I just finished the book. So…
RIP VIII is just another reason to love autumn – like I needed another. For the next two months (if the temperatures ever fall below 90F again), you’ll find me wearing boots, drinking cider, and eating pumpkin cookies while reading/watching ALL THE HORROR (read: things that scare me). You should too. Will you be joining in? More importantly, do you torture yourself by watching or reading things that scare you? Care to share the book or movie that scared you the most? I know my imagination is terribly overactive, yet I can’t seem to help myself…
PS – If you’re curious, the two movies that scared me most are The Ninth Gate and Aliens. If 75% of a movie counted I would’ve included The Ring as well. The books that disturbed me the most are Cock and Bull by Will Self, Pet Sematary by Stephen King, and Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Rosemary’s Baby is a contender too, if only because it plays on my fear that no one’s listening…
flannel and folklore 
I really want to watch both Haven and The Walking Dead…
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I’m on episode three now of The Walking Dead and I like it. I’m a huge Haven fan, if only so I can try and catch all the Stephen King references in each episode. I don’t have cable, so I have to rely on SyFy’s website to watch the series and they’re not great about keeping it updated. ;(
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I love The Walking Dead and it is absolutely terrifying!! So excited to join in with everyone during RIP this year. We’re going to have so much fun.
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Agreed! RIP is my favorite reading event of the year and pretty much the only one I actively participate in. Not only does RIP cover my favorite genres, but it occurs during my favorite season. I’m so happy I live in a world where there are Octobers.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who finds The Walking Dead a bit on the scary side. I’m thinking I’ll keep the light on next time. And really, who wouldn’t be terrified to wake up out of a coma in a hospital filled with dead and living dead people?
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Enjoy Burial Rites. Needless to say, this is a reading challenge that I won’t be participating in!
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You could make it as scary, or in your case, as not scary as you need it to be. Now I’m curious, do you ever watch horror movies? Despite reading dark, dark books, I’m not one for scary movies. I don’t know why. Maybe I’m a visual person…?
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I am obsessed with the walking dead..it is amazing!
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You’re back! I hope everything’s calmed down.
The Walking Dead, aside from scaring me, seems great so far. I didn’t realize Frank Darabont was behind it, if I’d known that I would’ve watched it immediately.
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Thanks for sharing. I haven’t heard of this event yet. I think I might partake. I love Rosemary’s Baby. The idea of being alone and not sure of who you can trust definitely keeps me on the edge. I’ve been wanting to watch Haven for the longest time but I’ve never seen it. Have you started it yet?
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You should! It’s a low key event, but still fun and timely. I like Rosemary’s Baby, both the book and the movie – I always wanted Mia Farrow’s haircut from the movie.
I’m mostly caught up on Haven. I do enjoy it, there are both hidden and overt references to Stephen King throughout the show. I like the Maine setting and I enjoy the actors. That being said, it’s not great. It’s on SyFy, so the expectations only get so high. If you watch it with the right mind set, it’s a lot of fun. It’ll never be the X-Files, but it’s a tad more literary than your average television show. I’d recommend it with only minor reservations.
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You’ve inspired me. I’ve joined the fun. http://wp.me/pc1LK-Ia
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Excellent. You’ve made my week.
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I. Love. The Ninth Gate.
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The nightmares that movie gave still live on, quite vividly, in my head. 13 years later.
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This does sound like a fun event… I was planning on doing something similar for the month of October and read books off my eek the creepies shelf. lol I love a good scary book but can’t bring myself to watch a scary movie. But I love the Walking Dead.
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I watch scary movies, but I don’t know why. They disturb me, sometimes profoundly. And they live on in my head far too long. But I can’t say reading/movies haven’t taught me anything – thanks to In the Tall Grass and Jeepers Creepers/Wrong Turn, I’m never driving in the middle of nowhere if I can help it.
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Oh good grief. YES. In the Tall Grass and Jeepers Creepers scared the heck out of me. I actually did watch that movie forever ago. I have the same issue… scary movies leave a mark on my brain and it’s hard to forget about them. I can’t for the life of me remember the last one I watched. I think it was The Crazies. I only watched it because of Timothy. *swoon*
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Timothy Olyphant, be still my heart. He’s my number one crush (a Garbage reference for you). I don’t care that he’s practically old enough to be my father. He is, in fact, responsible for a lot of my questionable movie choices. I watched The Crazies because of him. Not to mention I Am Number Four (absolute shit), Hitman, Perfect Getaway, and Catch and Release…
And of course there’s Justified, which he is divine in. Jeepers Creepers was super scary until they showed the monster and his lair, that actually helped me sleep later at night. If they hadn’t showed him, I can’t even imagine the places my mind would of gone
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I actually kinda liked Perfect Getaway. I had no idea he was in I Am Number Four… I really had no intention of ever watching that though. Catch and Release… hmm… can’t say I’ve watched that one either! Justified is amazing. Hitman was funny. He looks much better with hair.
I can’t even recall Jeepers Creepers.. only being scared. Lol
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I didn’t mind The Perfect Getaway and I think he was shirtless for parts to it. I won’t complain about that.
I Am Number Four – so, so bad. You should watch Catch and Release though, it was filmed at the university I attended (while I was attending). It’s not a wholly terrible romantic comedy-drama.
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This sounds like a fun event… I’ve been saving some of my scary reads for October (but you know me and my scary threshold… It’s low.)
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I STILL can’t believe Bag of Bones scared you. That actually makes me smile…
It’s my favorite event the year. It gives me an excuse to revel in dark fiction and appear totally normal for it.
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Biggest chicken ever. Right here. I’ll be keeping an eye on your RIP posts (to live vicariously, of course.)
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I’m fine with scary books, okay with scary movies, but I’m petrified of roller coasters. I’m also scared of driving and flying (I do both often). But a possessed magnetic alphabet – I’m all over that. And bring on Bunter’s phantom bell.
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I’m planning on signing up for this tomorrow. Ya’ll are getting me excited about it! And I just bought Bag of Bones at the library for $1 (I ONLY recognized it because of you chatting about it!) so I have at least one book to add to the list.
Have you gotten any farther in The Walking Dead? Isn’t it great? Oh also, my friend is kind of forcing me to watch Aliens (or Alien? Is that the same?) soon, soooo not looking forward to it… It’s just one of those things that I have no interest in but apparently I HAVE to see it.
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