Supernatural Fiction Readers discussion

Since we've gotten some new members recently (and welcome to the group; we're glad to have you!), I thought I'd start this thread, to give both older and new members a chance to introduce yourselves briefly, if you want to, and help us get to know you. Of course, we can read more on your profiles, but maybe you can give a short sketch of who you are, and your background in the supernatural genre.

For example, I'm a college librarian with a wife and three grown daughters, and just turned 56 last month. I grew up in Iowa, but now live in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia and love it there. As soon as I learned to read at the age of six, I fell in love with books! My interest in the supernatural goes back to when I was a kid, and used to watch Boris Karloff's old TV series Thriller --after watching it before naptime, I'd be so scared that I'd bury myself under the covers to hide from spooks, but next time I'd be right back glued to the screen. Later on, I was a big fan of Dark Shadows, and of Rod Serling's Night Gallery, among other shows. That led into reading similar books and stories, but I'm still not as well read in the genre as I'd like to be --I like a lot of other types of reading, too, so I'm pulled in different directions. But knowing that there's a lot more stuff out there to read gives me something to look forward to!

Greetings, my name is Kelly, I'm 27, married and have two daughters. I live in Goddard Kansas, right outside of Wichita. Since 2nd grade I've never went without a book to read. I've always been enraptured with the supernatural. I was one of those obsessed kids that devoured every ghost story and scary movie there was. Actually I still do.
Dark Shadows is one of my favorite TV series. I caught the re-runs when they use to play them on sci-fi. I've also managed to collect a couple of the seasons on box-set.
As far as supernatural reading goes Anne Rice has been a great pleasure of mine. Her vampire chronicles and Mayfair witches make my blood run hot. I'm overwhelmed with the feeling of passion these books provoke from me. I'm not a big fan of her other work though, just not my style. I'm sure there are countless other books I can add to this list. But for now this will suffice.

I'm Jim, 49, live on a small farm outside Frankfort, KY. I have 3 grown children & a wife who has 4 dogs & 4 horses, so the nest isn't very empty. I'm a Sys Admin for a living. Carpentry - mostly turning bowls out of green wood - is my main hobby along slowly labeling all the plant life on the farm with tags showing their common & Latin names.

I was an only child growing up in the country, so I found a lot of time for reading very young. I was fascinated by the cover art of my father's paperbacks - mostly by the Frazetta covers on his books by Robert E. Howard (the creator of Conan) who also wrote horror. Karl Wagner is another favorite author.

Serling's 'Night Gallery' & 'Twilight Zone' along with 'The Outer Limits' were the few shows we never missed, if at all possible. I liked the few 'Dark Shadows' episodes I caught, but like all soaps, I always wanted to fast forward or compress them.

Hello,
My Name is Alexis,22, I live in Surprise, AZ. I work as a Leasing Consultant for Mark Taylor Management. I am married but I don't have any children... yet. Since I was a child I have loved reading. I spent my summer days reading and I read almost every night before bedtime. I still read every night before bedtime (it's my favorite hobby and a relaxing one at that). I actually didn't start reading any supernatural, or horror books until I was about 16 and then I got hooked.

I find books about the mysterious fascinating. I'm not a big fan of scary movies because for some reason they just don't frighten me as much as reading a horror novel. It's imagining this secret world right under our noses that keeps my interest.

Alicia her I am a sahm with 3 girls.I have loved reading since my grandma taught me when i was 4.I have loved ghost storei and horror and anyhitng supernatural since the jr high.

Well met, as they say in the Forgotten Realms.

My name is Henrik Sandbeck Harksen, I am 37 years old, am married to my beloved, Hanne, who is pregnant with our first child (due Dec. 28). So we're having some exciting years ahead of us;-)

Ever since early childhood I have loved to read; when I learned the art of reading I never turned back, hehe. Nowadays my favourite genre is horror (especially Lovecraftian kinds of horror), but back then it was sci-fi; after some years it was fantasy (with an emphasis on modern pulp fantasy, such as the roleplay game worlds, Dragonlance and the Forgotten Realms).

Hello, all!

I'm Ikiwiki and a total book hoarder. By day I work at a college helping students figure out what they want to be when they grow up. By evening I'm a bellydancer and an avid reader.

I'm very into vampires, werewolves, and the paranormal right now. My reading mood shifts from time-to-time so I happen to be in this genre right now.

I don't do scary very well (I'm a total whimp) and am still a bit afraid of the dark (at age 28) and of things that go bump in the night. All the same, I enjoy a good paranormal read.

Of late, I've been reading Stephenie Meyer, Dean Koontz, Ted Dekker, Frank Peretti, etc. I tend to lean toward the "not-to-scary" but my bravery is picking up.

I look forward to learning more about everyone and chattin on the message boards.

I not only read supernatural fiction (horror, fantasy, urban fantasy and paranormal romance) but write it too, both as Pamela K. Kinney and Sapphire Phelan (for the paranormal romance, erotic horror and erotic urban fantasy). I even have a nonfiction ghost book out, Haunted Richmond, Virginia.
I am happily married since '77 to same man, with a son who is 30 now (and loves horror and true ghost stories too), make and wear costumes (mainly at conventions), read science fiction too, though more of horror, fantasy, paranormal romance and nonfiction ghost books these days), and watch movies and TV shows of the same genres. And I am a published author of what I love to read. October is my fave month and Halloween my fave holiday.

Pamela K. Kinney
http://FantasticDreams.50megs.com
http://www.myspace.com/PamelaKKinney
http://PamelaKKinney.blogspot.com

Be prepared to take a journey into Pamela K. Kinney's fantastic dreams of horror, science fiction and fantasy, plus true ghost stories in Haunted Richmond, Virginia.

Coming out December 2008: Twisted Twins Daily Chills Calendar, with poems, "My Nightmare Thing" and "Dreams Darkly" by Pamela K. Kinney, plus other dark poetry and chilling flash fiction from other horror authors for each day in the calendar. Will be available at Amazon and in brick and mortar bookstores in USA and United Kingdom. Also my story based on a real legend of New England, "Pukwudgies: The Little Monsters of New England" will be availabe in Northern Haunts: 100 Terrifying New England Tales anthology. This anthology, which all proceeds go to the American Cancer Society is available for preorder for both trade paperback and hardback at http://www.shroudmagazine.com/norther... .

Sapphire Phelan
http://FantasticDreams.50megs.com
www.myspace.com/SapphirePhelan
http://SapphirePhelansPassionCorner.b...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sapphir...

Go beyond the usual, instead take the unusual that stretches the boundaries and find romance with Sapphire Phelan's aliens, werewolves, vampires, fairies, and other supernatural/otherworldly heroes and heroines.

Available now: Shifting Desires--print anthology of three feline shapeshifter novellas by Sapphire Phelan, Skylar Sinclair, and Jude Mason from Phaze Books. Get it from Phaze, Amazon, and BarnesandNoble.com

Available in November 2008: Unwitting Sacrifice, an erotic Lovecraftian horror novella from Under the Moon Publishing. eBook, then three months later a print chapbook.

Ikiwiki - I'm a belly dancer as well. It’s a small world out there. Do you participate in the SCA?

Kelly - It really is a small world! I don't currently participate in SCA, only local Wisconsin/Illinois/Minnesota events and such.

Congratulations about the baby Henrik! Boy or girl?

Hello All! My name is Allison. I am from South Carolina, married with 3 children. I love a good scary book, but my favorite genre is Psychological thriller. When I have a chance, my favorite thing to do is curl up on the couch on a rainy, dark day and read a good, scary story. I'm so glad I found this website!

Hi, I'm Sarah. I'm 29 years old and I live in a small apartment with my little pug, Muggle. I grew up in Hutchinson KS and I now live in Kansas City MO. I work in the marketing department at a law firm and I'm a freelance photographer. I taught myself to read at a very early age and haven't been without a book in my hands since! I love all sorts of books, but supernatural books are high up on my list of faves. I'm looking forward to some good recs. :)

Hi I'm Emilee: Book lover, GR obssessed and really love reading.

Also scrapbook, quilt & buy books! Iki is in another book group with me and recommended this one. Glad to be here!

Hi, I'm Lori. I am 40 years old (ugh!) and live in Massachusetts. I am a WAHM, married with 2 children. I am an Independent Consultant for Tastefully Simple. If anyone is interested my website is www.tastefullysimple.com/web/ljones1. I am not plugging my business so I won't go into it. I love vampire books and ghost stories. I love the paranormal/supernatural. My favorite shows to watch are Most Haunted and Paranormal Egypt, Reaper, True Blood, etc. I hope to get some great recommendations from this group. I am currently reading In Search of Dracula by Raymond McNally and Radu Florescu.

Sarah - I love that you named your dog Muggle! Too cute!!!

Emilee - *waves* Welcome!

Lori - How's "In Search of Dracula?"

Ikiwiki: So far it is interesting. It is all historic facts. Vlad's war strategies, how he became Vlad the Impaler, etc. Then in other chapters it goes into how Bram Stoker got his influence to write Dracula, Vampire Folklore, and on how Dracula was brought into Hollywood. Then in the end it has his family tree which is very interesting. It is definitely something worth checking out.

Thanks, Alexis. It's going to be a girl, they say:-)

And welcome to all you "newcomers". Good to see so many arriving at the doorstep of this great place of scaryness;-)

In Search of Dracula sounds good. I'm going to have to add it to my TBR list!

Hi All,

My name is Fiona and I live in the UK about 30 miles from London.

I am married to my Hubby since 1991 - I do not have any kids, but I do have a Greyhound Pip, Parrot Pi, and cat Esther..

I am a book lover/horder/obsessive!! is that a word?LOL

I will read anything

Good to meet yalll

Fiona

Hi Fiona. Welcome. I am a newbie too. - Lori

Hello! I'm Becky, 26 from Wilkes-Barre, PA... No kids yet, but I do have 2 cats: 3 year old Alfie and 8 month old Indica.

I am a huge fan of Stephen King, JK Rowling and Tolkien... I am pretty much up for anything but those 3 have a special bookshelf in my heart! LOL

I also enjoy gothic romance/mysteries, ghost stories, vampire novels, historical fiction, etc etc etc... I will try anything once, and some things more than once if I feel like I SHOULD like it but didn't get into it the first try...

Nice to meet you all and I look forward to some interesting discussions here!

Hello!
My name is,as said above ;), Christina. I am 31 and from Hanover in Germany. I'm a goodreads member only for a few weeks.

These days my favorite are paranormal books, especially urban fantasy.

But I wanted to be member in different sort of groups here, maybe I can learn one thing or another and discover even a few book genres I like?

I hope you don't mind if I make mistakes in my postings, cause I´m no natural english speaker... ;)!

Hello, fellow afficionados of Supernatural fiction! I'm Cathie, and I live in the suburban New Orleans area, so I'm exposed to creepy bigtime. I've been a fan of "scary stories" since I was a preteen and used to rush home from school to put Dark Shadows on tv in the afternoons! Vampire stories, shape shifters, etc. - love em all - and a good sci fi read doesn't hurt either. I'm reading the Sookie Stackhouse books now to try to see how close True Blood is to the actual stories. I have read many of the intros here and I am glad to meet all of you. I look forward to many good recommendations from y'all and some good times talking about books and topics together! See y'all online - Cathie

Hi everyone,
I've been a member of the group pretty much since Werner started it, but I'm been off line a good deal lately, so here's my somewhat tardy intro.
I'm 53, live in Newnan, Georgia, USA - a suburban town south of Atlanta. Native Georgian, have loved reading since I can remember. First literary loves were history and biography and mythology, about 1966 or 67 started reading fantasy, science fiction, especially the classics and the old pulp writers. Most supernatural writing I read for a good bit was usually by pulp writers such as Clark Ashton Smith, H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard etc. Although I do remember really liking Edgar Allan Poe and some Walter de la Mare stories.
In the 70's I read Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire when it came out and really liked it, but I never kept up with the series - her books are on my "to read someday" list, which I will probably never complete.
Regarding strictly supernatural stories, I really like Russell Kirk's ghost stories, have just started reading Martin Millar fantasies about fairies and werewolves, and just completed a very fine vampire story (with some twists however) entitled "Lifeblood", which just happens to have been written by our group mentor Werner. I highly recommend it.
The TV series "True Blood" has gotten both my wife and I interested in the Sookie Stackhouse series, and I've enjoyed the two books I've read in the series so far. While always looking for new stuff to read, I also enjoy going back and reading or re-reading old favorites.

Forgot to mention (sorry for rambling) I'm married to a spouse who is better than I deserve, who loves books also. We have two children, a son 17 and a daughter 13, plus 3 dogs and 4 cats. I'm a former history teacher and track coach, now a school counselor in a school for kids who have been put out of their home school for discipline problems. Enjoy my job most days.
I'm happy to get any new book or author recommendations from other goodreads folks and group members. Thanks,

I loved Dark Shadows too. Showing my age, I remember watching the very first episode and telling my mom how excited I was that a show about the supernatural (that may not have been the term I used - but that was what I meant) was coming on.

I'm glad to see that DS is available on DVD, I'll have to add it to my "want list". Of course, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride...

Like Jim, I was drawn by the original Lancer papebacks of Robert E. Howard's Conan, the ones with the Frank Frazaetta paintings. Circa 1967 was a magical time, as I would go to the bookstore and struggle to decide whether I wanted the latest Lancer published Robert E. Howard, or Ace published Edgar Rice Burroughs (Ace had those little paperbacks which sold for 40 cents, and they had great artwork on their covers too) or the Ballantine published books of fantasy, inspired by the Tolkein boom, which I remember as being similar to the Harry Potter and Twilight booms of present days in that even my non fantasy reading friends wanted to check out Middle Earth...

Hi,

I just joined. Nothing too special about me (grin)--I just love to read horror/supernatural horror and I hope to get some good book recommendations and to give some too.

Mike

I am Emily and I am an unemployed 20 year old from the UK. :)

Growing up my parents were avid readers, mainly of Fantasy stories. My journey to my obsession with supernatural fiction probably started when my point horror books lead me to Christopher Pike and his Last Vampire series. Now my parents also read a lot of supernatural fiction, mainly the Anita Blake Series, Rachel Morgan and Women Of The Otherworld. My own tastes include those too and tend towards vampire fiction.

I joined to get some ideas for books to read next because I am running out of things to read.

xxx

Hello!

Well, I'll try to keep this short and as interesting as possible.
Currently living in Connecticut and moving back to Arizona in April, very excited. I found Goodreads on Facebook and have been addicted. Just started my first group, Ghost Memoirs. (I just finished Haunted Lily and my group is dedicated to the new up and coming author that I'm addicted to now!) lol
I've recently submerged myself in thriller, mystery, supernatural, urban fantasy books and absolutely love it. I have to read books that are like a roller coaster, I will never make it through a book that is to serious, political or whatnot...I get so bored to easily. Right now I'm trying to get through The Historian, which I love but the amount of detail is killer so I'm having a hard time staying motivated to finish, I've read to other books since first cracking the cover of Historian!

ANYWAY, hope I didn't bore you to much! :) THANKS!

Hi, This looks like about the perfect group for me. I am especially interested in the supernatural side of Norah Lofts who adds many ghosts and other supernatural things into her many books.
I became interested in the supernatural long ago and you can read one of my first experiences at the bottom of my page which I wrote up for a short story assignment about age 13 in Newfoundland.
I was very sad last fall when the writers strike caused Moonlight to go off the air. I am more interested in werewolves than in vampires and even more in ghosts than either one.
Alice

Hi, I'm Roger Cottrell and in between being head of film studies at Kidderminster College (UK) I writer crime thrillers AND supernatural thrillers both as novels and graphic novels and feature film screenplays. My most recent is an unashamed tribute to Nigel Kneale's Quatermass series and called THE LUNDQUIST CHRONICLES, available on http://www.lulu.com/content/4649341 The ISBN is ISBN 978-1-4092-4155-3 Reviews are always welcome.
Cheers,
ROGER

Hi all, I'm Michelle and I am 29yrs old, live in Australia and I have a 10yrs old son who loves watching Supernatural, buffy, well anything he can get his hands on.

I love reading books about Vampires, shapeshifters, demons... well you get the picture.

I have hundreds of books and I am always looking for more suggested books and Authors. So keep those reviews rolling in.

Hi, I'm Stealish and I'm just 16. But I like to read mysteries, ghost stories, vampire novels, historical fiction, demons,etc...
I hope I can get some good books recommendations and sharing too..

hey im tara. i am 16 and live in the boondocks of new york. my favorite books are about vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural stuffs. my favorite books would have to be the twilight series and jake being my favorite character. any suggestions for books are always welcome!

Hello

I'm Simon, I live on the edge of Epping Forest near London. By day I'm a copy writer, researcher and editor working oh heritage products. I'm 50 in about a week and happily married with a grown up daughter at university.

First got into horror through Hammer films, Bram Stoker, MR James, EF Benson, Edgar Allen Poe, Pan and Fontana Books of Ghost and Horror stories.

Favourite reads are the above, plus Sax Rohmer, RL Stevenson, Sheridan le Fanu, Michael Moorcock, Dennis Wheatley, Neil Gaiman, Poppy Z Brite, plus Bernard cornwell, Ian Flemming, Raymond Chandler and Patrick O'Brian.

By night I'm the chronicler of Fishy and Bert, Victorian detectives of the weird

Welcome to everybody who's joined our group recently! Sorry I haven't had time to welcome every new member individually --I'd love to be a full-time moderator/ Goodreads member, but unfortunately I can't quit my day job. :-)

I noticed that some of you are writers. If you have any published books that fall into the supernatural genre, don't forget to post them to our "written-by -group members" shelf!

I am an English major at Kennesaw State University and a self-admitted book addict. I enjoy reading about a wide range of subjects- from nonfiction works on history and sociology to mystery novels and the classics- but my favorite genre is undoubtedly fantasy. (I blame my older brother for filling my head with fairy tales and legends when we were children.) :) I’ve yet to find a subgenre of fantasy I don’t like- generic fantasy, supernatural fiction, magical realism- I love it all. I really enjoy books that draw inspiration from mythology- especially Celtic lore, which I've studied for years. I’m a fan of an obscenely long list of authors, but my favorites would have to be J.R.R. Tolkien, Stephan R. Lawhead and Charles de Lint. I write a good deal myself, and I've finished the rough draft of a first novel, but I've had to move it to the back burner until I can finish my degree.

Hey there, thanks for the invite. I'm a published author, currently living in a converted loft over an old movie theater in a small Texas town. I read and write supernatural fiction, urban fantasy, and other stuff. Most recently, I wrote "Blood & Thunder: the Life and Art of Robert E. Howard." It's not supernatural, but it's somewhat related.

As for what I like: REH, HPL, CAS (natch!), KEW, Tim Powers, John Collier, Saki, Bloch, de Lint, Matheson, and the short stories of Stephen King. I think we all watched the same warping shows on television (I'm almost forty, so that makes me a Night Gallery/Twilight Zone in Syndication fan).

Welcome to the group guys! :)

Mark, glad to have you join us! A quick question: I know who REH and HPL are, but what are the full names of CAS and KEW? I hate myself for showing my ignorance by asking (and I'll no doubt kick myself when you tell me!); but if we don't ask questions, we don't learn anything. :-)

Werner wrote: "Mark, glad to have you join us! A quick question: I know who REH and HPL are, but what are the full names of CAS and KEW? I hate myself for showing my ignorance by asking (and I'll no doubt kick m..."

It'S my fault for assuming! CAS is Clark Ashton Smith and KEW is Karl Edward Wagner.

Werner, you got 2/4, which is 2 more abbreviations than I got, so don't feel bad. I just didn't think to ask, shame on me. ;)

Thanks, Mark! (I did kick myself. :-)). And Becky, REH and HPL are Robert E. Howard and Howard Philips (H. P.) Lovecraft --unless Mark's into reading some other authors with those initials that I don't know about. :-) (I happened to know those two because they're a couple of my own favorites as well.)

Ah, thanks. I'm terrible at initials- unless they're my own. ;)

I'm Charles Gramlich. I'm a big fan of REH, HPL, CAS, KEW, and ERB! How's that for some initials. Some of my favorite supernatural fiction comes from old British writers like Oliver Onions and M. R. James. I've read a fair amount of Stephen King.

I write horror myself, but tend to write mostly psychological horror (since I'm a psychologist), or monsters of a biological, non-supernatural form. I've been fiddling off and on with a supernatural thriller though.

Charles wrote: "I'm Charles Gramlich. I'm a big fan of REH, HPL, CAS, KEW, and ERB! How's that for some initials."

I'm almost positive those are initials. Yep! ;)

Welcome Charles!

Hi everyone,

I'm Kathy-Diane Leveille, a former broadcast journalist turned fiction writer. My new novel is a suspense/mystery; a modern Gothic tale. I live on the Canadian east coast and have always been intrigued by the supernatural. I read a lot of nonfiction about mysterious phenomenon (StoneHenge, alien abductions, black holes), and am currently on a kick reading psychic, Sylvia Brown's, books. I'm looking forward to getting to know the fiction side better through the group.

Best
Kathy-Diane
http://kathy-dianeleveille.com