This summer has been Hellish in many ways I’d rather not enumerate. I’m just glad September is here at last. I welcome crisp autumn days and cooler temperatures, and my way of celebrating the welcomed change of season is Vamptember, a reading challenge I participate in with some BookTube buddies every year. Vamptember, for me, is always a warm-up (or should I say cool down) to Halloween.

As someone who consumes- and writes- almost exclusively horror books throughout the year, this month, I’ll focus solely on vampire lore and legend. I’ll start by revisiting a classic I loved as a teenager and have reread at least twice since. The TV mini-series terrified me. Give up? Of course, it’s ‘Salem’s Lot, probably my favorite King. The book is a wonderful combination of literary ambitiousness and pulp horror conventionality–King at his best. As a warm-up to reading the rather dense novel, I listened to the BBC’s radio drama, and what a pleasant surprise! That Doug Bradley plays Barlow is icing on a black velvet cake. yum.

I’ll be reading and discussing sections of the novel on my YouTube channel, Regina’s Haunted Library, each week and offering additional vampy challenges along the way.

So, let’s embrace fall with Vamptember. Check out my new video for all the deets and be sure to follow my co-hosts.