Everything I Read and Watched in March

This is my third spring in Washington state, and it’s arrived as suddenly as ever. The so-called Big Dark abruptly gives way to golden afternoon sun, big crows cawing, spiders weaving fresh webs. Our yard is a tangle of green. The raspberry bushes that climb the chain link fence are sending out bright leaves.

Indoors, it’s been a busy month in a busy year. During the week, I play Corporate Barbie at a software company. Every time I enter a Zoom call, I chirp about how Q1 flew right by, can you believe it?

The past few springs have been very rough indeed, so this year feels like a reprieve. Last year, I was nursing a broken heart after my biological mother’s death, the previous spring was a hectic entry into first-time home ownership, and the one before that was when we decided to pack up and move cross-country. It’s nice to just be still now, listening to Dummy and watching deer graze in the neighbor’s yard.

It was a very average media month for me—not too barren nor particularly prolific. I finished four books, three of them horror or horror-adjacent, and watched six horror movies. That’s a book and a movie just about every week, a nice steady pace that I can manage most of the time without feeling rushed.

Books

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

Harris weaves a story that’s full of intrigue and tension as a publishing company’s sole Black employee is joined by a newly hired Black counterpart. Soon after, she begins receiving threatening notes. It couldn’t be…unless…?

Harris worked as an editorial assistant at a publishing company, and as a former media EA, I shuddered at how deadly-accurate this novel felt. In a competitive, elite environment, there are a thousand little unspoken signals (white) (powerful) (wealthy) people send to each other all day. But Harris is very funny too, and I loved that she took some bold creative risks while gradually revealing exactly what her protagonist is up against.

December Park by Ronald Malfi

I had never read Malfi before, but I will certainly read him again. December Park is a slice of life that captures nine-ish months in the early ‘90s, as a group of friends come of age in a small Maryland town where a serial killer is abducting children. Malfi knows Maryland deeply; I could practically feel the crunch of bike path gravel and smell the crab traps baited with chicken, dredged up from childhood visits with my adoptive grandparents. His story is a steady, unwavering march toward a horrifying conclusion, if the kids from It experienced only the horror of other human beings and mourned Kurt Cobain. I loved it.

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

I’d previously read and liked Daphne, so I was intrigued when Malerman’s latest novel became popular on BookTok and r/horrorlit. I was prepared for the novel’s inventive monster, “Other Mommy,” but not for the profound bleakness of its themes of childhood abuse and neglect. It left me feeling hollow and a little disappointed, although its highs are admittedly high and its creature design was superb. I want to write a full newsletter about this sometime soon.

Woodworking by Emily St. James (non-horror)

I always enjoy a palate cleanser among the spooky books, and this month’s was particularly delightful. In many ways, I’m a writer because Emily St. James sat across from me at the Dupont Shake Shack when I was 22 years old, looked me in the eye, and told me she believed in me. I will always be immensely grateful for her kindness and one of her biggest fans. But even if I didn’t know what a lovely and generous person she is, I would be able to feel it in her heartfelt, funny, moving debut novel.

Woodworking is a story of three very different trans women navigating life in South Dakota. It’s a character-driven story that plunges the women into delicious moments of dramatic irony and conflict, forcing all of its characters to grow and evolve and come to terms with their own truest selves. I loved it so, so much.

Movies

The Conjuring

I was prepared for Vera Farmiga to steal this movie, but Lili Taylor? Are you kidding me? It was an absolute delight to see her outside of her iconic Six Feet Under role. There’s a lot going on with this haunting’s lore—maybe a little too much—but I’m not complaining. A spooky crowd pleaser that’s never too gross or disquieting; it’d be a good pick to share with horror-curious friends.

The Conjuring 2

Someone on Letterboxd put it best: This is a nearly three-hour hangout movie with a multimillion dollar budget. I’m so sorry, I know a lot of you guys want to be in a polycule with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, but his performance gives about as much flavor as a can of LaCroix. I wish Ed got to be a little sleazier; once I pictured Bob Odenkirk in the role, I couldn’t unsee it.

If you’re primarily interested in the Enfield haunting, this old episode of Unexplained is way scarier imo. But if you want a freaky nun? This movie does deliver, albeit all too briefly. (The Nun movies are next on my list.)

The Blair Witch Project

For years, I thought I’d seen this movie, but apparently I am a dumbass, because I’d only seen the 2016 sequel, Blair Witch. I finally corrected the error of my ways! The Blair Witch Project was a tough watch at times, particularly as our Kat Stratford-coded heroine is repeatedly screamed at by two men she barely knows, far away from anyone who could possibly intervene. I enjoyed this movie and found it disquieting, despite the (intentionally) poor video quality and long sequences of black, audio-only night scenes. I know a lot of people feel it’s aged poorly, and I get that, but it worked for me!

Heretic

I need an HGTV-style prequel about all the weird timers and locks and hidden dungeons in Hugh Grant’s wet, drippy, threatening faux church/house.

The Evil Dead (1981)

I hadn’t seen this absolute classic before! I enjoyed the first half, but I loved the final fight sequence. The stop-motion animation alone is superb. That’s all I got!

30 Days of Night

There is not a single moment that drags in this tense survival horror set in Barrow, Alaska. As the sun sets for an annual extended darkness, vampires descend to terrorize the few residents who endure the harsh landscape year-round. It’s refreshing to see characters who are generally competent and capable of working together; a lesser movie would have gotten bogged down in interpersonal drama, but this one has a masterfully light touch. The fake blood is also really, really gross—coppery brown, just like the way real blood looks when it’s smeared (compliment).

DNF: The Curse of the Blair Witch

I will finish this boring, boring movie at some point, but I need to be in an extremely specific mood for it. As a mockumentary, it’s a little too successful at cloning the History Channel’s soft spoken historians and b-roll of random bushes and streams in the woods. Every time I put it on, I fell asleep.

How About You?

I’d love to hear what you’ve been reading and watching this month! Are there any horror happenings that should be on my radar? I’m heading into The City (Tacoma) soon to hunt around some of my favorite used bookstores, so currently compiling a list of titles to keep an eye out for.

Scare Me! graphics by Sam Pugh