Thursday, October 24, 2013

Classic & YA Spooky Story Pairings

Sponsored Link: I use Grammarly to check for plagiarism because it's only cool to recycle waste, not words. 


In honor of the upcoming holidays, I decided to throw some chilling literary classics together with a few eerily entertaining YA novels! 
BEOWULF + SWEET VENOM: Monsters, heroes, humor, and battles, these two stories are definitely exciting reads! 

THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO + CARRIE + FURY + ENVY: This is more than a pair, but they work so well together. Drama, the supernatural, chills, and revenge, these stories will pull you in with ease and leave you with chills by the time you've finished. 

BLEAK HOUSE  + THE DIVINERS: Featuring a large cast of characters and plenty of small eerie moments (or large eerie moments, if you're reading THE DIVINERS), these two were meant for each other. If you want a slightly eerie classic, you'll enjoy Dickens's novel. If you're looking to be terrified, up late at night, you'll want Bray's latest work. 

JANE EYRE  + JANE: Dive into the past with JANE EYRE and discover the mystery surrounding the gothic Thornfield manor. Or, try JANE, a retelling with fresh ideas while still maintaining the bare bones of the original story. Either way, it is easy to fall in love with these subtly spooky tales! 

SHERLOCK HOLMES + THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER + TEN: You're probably wondering how these stories interrelate, and I'm sure it's a bit of a stretch. But, all three stories portray excellent mysteries and a delightfully eerie atmosphere. Start light with SHERLOCK HOLMES, move into psychological terror with MARA DYER, and try to survive on an island tormented by an unknown murder in TEN.

THE TELL-TALE HEART + NEVERMORE: I think any Poe tale would fit nicely with Kelly Creagh's creative NEVERMORE, which was inspired by Poe's works. Dark, eerie, and captivating, both will keep you up late at night.

DOCTOR FAUSTUS + DEVILISH: Never sell your soul to a devil, because you might not like what you receive in return. From darkly ominous (DOCTOR FAUSTUS) to delightfully diabolical (DEVILISH), you'll be entertained from start to finish.

INFERNO + BLEEDING VIOLET: Descend into a strange world, because in both of these texts, you're definitely in for something strange. From journeys through the circles of hell, to the odd town of Portero, it's easy to become hooked on these stories! 

Which spooky YA and literary classic stories would you pair together? I was tempted to throw in DRACULA, but never having read it (I know, shame on me), I was not quite sure which novel it fit the best with...

16 comments:

  1. I looooooove this list. I'm SO tweeting it.

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  2. Can I tell you how much I LOVE this post?!! Fantastic idea pairing classics with YA lit! Your choices for Bleak House and Poe are perfect. I haven't read the other suggestions, but I really want to, especially Bleeding Violet and Jane.

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    1. Thank you! I had a lot of fun working on it.

      Jane is fabulous (rock star Rochester = AWESOME), and Bleeding Violet is wonderfully eerie / creepy!

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  3. Fantastic list! I will have to check out Bleak House. I loved The Diviners. I also love Jane Eyre and I liked the contemporary retelling. And Then There Were None would be a good classic to go with Ten since that is a modern retelling of the Agatha Christie mystery.

    I like the pairing of The Tell-Tale Heart with Nevermore. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer reminds me of Poe too for some reason.

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    1. Bleak House is great - it takes some time to get into the writing style, but it's worth it in the end.

      Ooh, good choice! I should have paired TEN with that book!

      I was debating back and forth about where to put Mara Dyer - it definitely fits well with Poe too!

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  4. Oh this is a fun post! I haven't read Bleak House, but I read The Diviners and I have read other Dickens books so I can see how that fits. I'm thinking I do need to read Bleak House now though. And I agree with Nevermore and Poe, definitely!

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    1. You should check out Bleak House, it's great!

      Thanks for stopping by :)

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  5. Such a fun list! I just read TEN, and I LOVED it's awesome spookiness. Also, NEVERMORE was one of those books that surprised me--I didn't know I would love it so much!

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    1. Such an eerie story, right? Perfect for the holidays :)

      I was surprised by NEVERMORE too! I was expecting to hate it, but ended up adoring the story! Glad you loved it, too.

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  6. The Tell Tale Heart Lea! *shudders* That's the only classic I've read on that list, but that one scarred me for life. I swear I heard a heart beating in my sleep for weeks after reading that story. So, so creepy. I adored Nevermore, and it definitely goes well with Poe!

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    1. That short story always creeps me out, too! Poe's works are always good at freaking me out ;)

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  7. Definitely The Tell-Tale Heart and Nevermore! Perfect pairing! This is a great list!

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  8. Ohh, awesome post :D I must check out some of these ;p Have only read a few of the new YA books, none of the old ones ;p Thank you for sharing. <3

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    1. You should check out some of the older ones (Jane Eyre and Bleak House are especially good)!

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