Hooked on Books discussion

Individual Challenge
Open-ended

Please consult the Toy Chest of Dread for your first toy selection. This is in the 4th tab of your spreadsheet. Post your answer that the Toy Chest supplies you with at the Occult Museum (check in thread).

Please note: You will only have to do one of each task...unless you feel like doing 3 of each. LOL!

Important Links
Occult Museum (Check-in Thread)
Ouija Board (Q&A)
Collectibles
The Monkey's Paw (Feedback)
SS: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...


Rules
⛓️Each toy/object has specific chains and/or tasks that need to be completed.
Examples:
1. Create a chain of 3 using titles consecutively (ABC)
-All the Light We Cannot See
-Becoming Mrs. Lewis
-Catching Fire
2. Create a chain of 3 with "dog" in the titles
-Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
-The Dog Stars
-Hot Dog Girl
⛓️One person should NOT complete a whole chain by themselves. This is a team challenge. However, if a toy/object has multiple chains and a slower reader can only/want to only read for 1 or 2 chains (they must read at least one), then the other two faster readers on the team can complete the other chains between the two of them.
⛓️You may choose which toy/object from the list to capture first, but you MUST complete it BEFORE starting a new toy/object.
⛓️You may use or drop articles: A, An, The
⛓️Standard Rules Apply
⛓️Since you have chosen to play non-competitively, you will play a self-paced game. You may choose to stop any time you want or continue until you have completed all toys/objects.

There is a spreadsheet link in message 1. You will have to request access. Once you have access, follow the directions in message one to get your first tasks.

Random Spin:18

18. Dybuk Box

The Dybbuk Box is a haunted object rooted in Jewish folklore and urban legend, a wine cabinet said to be possessed by a dybbuk, a malicious spirit of a dead person that clings to the living to cause torment.

The legend of the Dybbuk Box gained notoriety in the early 2000s, when a man auctioned it online, claiming it was responsible for a string of terrifying events: nightmares, unexplained illnesses, and paranormal disturbances. According to the story, the box had been brought from Europe by a Holocaust survivor and sealed with objects meant to trap the dybbuk inside, items like locks of hair, dried flowers, and a wine goblet.

Small and unassuming on the outside, the Dybbuk Box is a vessel of fear and spiritual unrest, said to carry a curse that follows whoever owns or opens it. Whether viewed as a psychological artifact, a cultural cautionary tale, or a genuinely supernatural object, it remains a modern legend that taps into age-old fears of unseen forces, spiritual possession, and the danger of disturbing what should remain sealed.

Complete the following tasks

🕯️2. Voices from the Past
Read a chain of 3 books where the past haunts the present — literally (ghosts, possessions) or metaphorically (family secrets, generational trauma, buried history).

💬5. Do You Hear That?
Read a chain of 3 books where the narration is unreliable, or the character hears voices, sees things, or isn’t sure what’s real. The Dybbuk loves a mind it can unravel.

🖋️6. The Author Was Marked
Read a chain of 3 books where the last letter of the author’s first or last name is found in the word BOX or DYBBUK.
(Ex: "Nicky James" → Y is in "Dybbuk"; "Cat Sebastian" → T/E is not, cursed and rejected!)

Team/Player Name: Sarah
Toy/Object finished: Dybbuk Box
Toy Chest answer: 19
Spreadsheet Link:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
What books met Belle's special rule? (minimum 1 per person): N/A

19. The Crying Boy Painting

The Crying Boy Painting refers to a series of mass-produced prints created by Italian artist Giovanni Bragolin (also known as Bruno Amadio) in the 1950s. These portraits typically feature a young boy with large, sorrowful eyes and tears streaming down his face. Though the painting was originally meant to evoke sympathy and emotion, it gained a far more sinister reputation in the 1980s.

A legend began circulating in the UK after numerous house fires left homes destroyed, but with the Crying Boy painting untouched and unscathed among the rubble. This eerie pattern led to widespread fear that the artwork was cursed, said to bring misfortune, fire, or tragedy to anyone who owned it.

The image of the Crying Boy(visually simple yet emotionally intense) became a modern folklore icon. Some claimed the boy's spirit was trapped in the painting, while others believed it was connected to an orphan who died in a blaze. Whether viewed as haunted or coincidental, the painting's legacy remains one of unsettling intrigue.

To this day, The Crying Boy Painting is remembered not just as a melancholy piece of art but as a symbol of how emotion, myth, and mystery can turn an innocent image into an object of dread.

Complete the following tasks
📅3. Trapped in 1950
Read a chain of 3 books where the number 1950 clings like soot to canvas. If it slips into the page count, at least two of its digits (1, 9, 5, 0) must show themselves. If it burns into the publication date, all four digits must appear, scattered through the numbers like an omen you cannot scrub away. A book of 290 pages, another of 315, or one with 519 would suffice… as would a date marked 09/15/2000 or 05/19/2014, where the Crying Boy’s shadow still lingers.

🇬🇧4. The Curse Circulates
Read a chain of 3 books that is set in the United Kingdom. Bonus points if it includes small towns, old houses, or tabloid-level folklore. Even more bonus if something burns.

🐍6. The Myth Behind the Mourning
Read a chain of 3 books that involves mythology or a myth retelling, especially if the theme includes grief, punishment, or eternal watching. Think Hades/Persephone, Medusa, Cassandra, or other figures who were misunderstood, punished, or trapped.