Sharon Wray's Blog, page 34

It’s a Bookmas Time of Year!

As an author and a librarian, I’m lucky to be involved with a number of different author groups, and one of my favorites is Angela James’ Book Boss. And this December, something magical is happening! You’re cordially invited to join me in celebrating the Book Boss® Bookmas event, where a new romance ebook or free writing resource awaits you every day until Christmas!

But it’s more than just a giveaway. It’s a journey through the many variations of romance – contemporary, paranormal, urban fantasy, and more. Each book has been included to ensure your December is filled with love, excitement, and a touch of holiday magic. Remember, each book is like a snowflake – unique and here for just a moment. Each is available for free, but only for 24 hours!

Don’t let these fleeting moments of romance pass you by. Visit the Book Boss®Bookmas page every day and find your next favorite read or a writing resource to help level-up your writing experience. Discover today’s book/writing resource: https://bookboss.angelajames.co/Bookmas

And in case you were wondering, my story, Eve’s Christmas Kiss, will be available for free on December 18! Happy Holidays and Happy Reading!

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Happy Thanksgiving

I want to wish all of my family, friends, and readers a very Happy Thanksgiving! May this upcoming year be filled with friendship, love and every blessing you wish for.

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Ride Hard, Love Passionately

Despite writing day and night to meet deadlines, planning Thanksgiving dinner, and organizing my daughter’s formal wedding in Charleston, SC in January 2024, I have already organized my writing schedule for next year. And one of the projects I’m most excited about is this new MC Romance Anthology: Highway Addict! This anthology will include a new book in my Devil’s Renegades MC Romance series, Renegade’s Kiss.

The Devil’s Renegades MC series, set in the remotest regions of Virginia’s Shenandoah Mountains, follows the members of an outlaw MC as they struggle to find–and keep–their place in the ever-changing world of outlaw motorcycle clubs. These are bad boy redemption stories filled with brotherhood betrayals, MC wars, forbidden loves, and passionate reconciliations. Although this book doesn’t come out until next September, we’re revealing the cover today and it’s now up for preorder. Once the book releases, it will quickly scoot into KU. And it should also be available in paperback (although that won’t be available until the book goes live). We can’t wait to share our love of MC romance with you all–so preorder your copy today!

A new MC Romance AnthologyHighway Addict

Do you like dirty-talking bikers?

Loyalty above all else! These men will live and die for their club, but what do they do when they find a woman that bring them to their knees?

preorder highway addict here!

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An Early Christmas Present

‘Tis the time of year for early Christmas presents! And this month, I have two free anthologies for you thanks to the wonders of BookFunnel. All you have to do is click on links below and sign up for free delivery of theses anthologies directly to your email address. A Christmas Wish includes my sweet love story, The Christmas Lily, about a woman’s wish for a perfect Christmas Eve, not just for herself but for everyone she loves. Stocking up for Christmas includes my steamy romance, Home for the Honeymoon, about a bride who is facing a canceled Christmas Eve wedding–and honeymoon– due to a powerful winter storm. I hope you love these stories filled with love, hope, and all the holiday feels as much as I loved writing them!

Free from BookfunnelA Christmas Wish

Sweet and steamy holiday romances to get you in the Christmas mood! Authors include: Pandora Snow, Beth A. Freely, Meg Napier, Laurel Wanrow, Sharon Wray, Cata Ree, Kristen Fray, Alexis R. Craig, Patricia Mason, and Joann Baker.

My story in this anthology, The Christmas Lily, is a prequel to Every Deep Desire, book 1 in the Deadly Force series.

Is Christmas Magic worth risking everything for… including the love of those she cares about most?

Juliet Capel, from a remote southern sea isle shrouded in history and secrets, has never truly belonged anywhere. But now that she’s married to the man she’s always loved, she’s determined to share her dream of the perfect Christmas with her new family and the people of the Isle of Grace who’ve never accepted her. Except on Christmas Eve, a rare snowstorm hits the isle, her father disappears, and Father Thomas threatens to cancel Midnight Mass. 

Green Beret Rafe Montfort will do anything for his new wife, even if that means hunting down everyone on the godforsaken Isle of Grace and forcing them to attend Midnight Mass. Although he doesn’t understand why his beautiful bride needs the acceptance of the people of the isle–especially those who treated her terribly during her poverty-stricken childhood–he knows this perfect Christmas is important to her. But what he’s willing to do for her could threaten everyone’s Christmas… along with their future happiness.

Available now! ↦Free from BookfunnelStocking up for Christmas

In this limited edition Christmas romance collection, love blooms underneath the mistletoe as holiday wishes of the heart come true. Get snowed in with 13 sweet and steamy stories where anything can happen through the magic of Christmas—and love.

My story in this anthology, Home for the Honeymoon, is from my contemporary romance Kingsmill Courtships series.

How far will a man go to save his marriage… on Christmas Eve?

Jacob Mosby is getting married the day before Christmas Eve and is desperate to be alone with his bride. Except when a blizzard cancels their flight and closes the mountain roads, they’re forced to honeymoon in their small hometown of Kingsmill, VA. Unfortunately, his house is under renovation, all the rooms at the inn are booked, and Clara, his beautiful wife, is desperate to save their plans. 

Clara is terrified if she doesn’t have the perfect honeymoon their marriage will end before it begins. While it’s a ridiculous thought, past betrayals have made her determined to have a perfect wedding night. Except now that they’re stuck in Kingsmill two days before Christmas, with no place to sleep, her fears may come true. Especially when their friends and family insist on “helping” with the new honeymoon plans, her teenage daughter goes missing, and a dangerous snowstorm puts those she loves in danger.

Now Jacob must convince Clara that true love, especially at Christmas, doesn’t promise a perfect life. It only promises a lifetime of imperfect happiness. A promise that’s worth sacrificing everything for… including the wedding night she’s always dreamed of.

Available now! ↦

The post An Early Christmas Present first appeared on Sharon Wray.

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NaNoWriMo Prep in a Day

As usual, I’m behind on everything. Normally I don’t worry until I’m backed up against a hard deadline. But today is November 1 and that means NaNoWriMo begins today. For those of you new to writing, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and it’s the time of year we all try to write 50,000 words in thirty days. I love to use October to prep for NaNo, but this year I didn’t get a chance as I was trying to finish up a few other projects. That means I need to do my NaNo prep in a day if I want to come close to my 50,000 word limit by the end of the month.

And, seriously, one day I’d like to talk to the people who thought doing NaNo in November was a good idea. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, my house is filled with company, meal planning, prepping, and cooking! So with all that in mind, I went through my archives and edited my NaNoWriMo Preptober posts from last year and put the links to the individual posts below. Each post deals with a different aspect of writing prep and planning and includes a lot of freebie downloads, including word count trackers and menu ideas. There’s even a Thanksgiving planner for those of us who have to both cook/serve Thanksgiving dinner to 20+ people and finish a novel in 30 days.

I hope you find these posts useful, and I wish you all the writing luck in the world! I hope your writing goes well and that the words flow and fill page after page!

NaNoWriMo Prep ListPreptober 1: All about NaNoWriMo–what it is and how to play–along with a checklist of ideas of how to prepare.Preptober 2: All about websites, video tutorials, and other resources out there to plan your books and get ready for a great month of writing.Preptober 3: All about the technology I use to write and craft books.NaNoWriMo Meal Plans: A month’s worth of nutritious and easy to make meals for you and your family so you can stay healthy and get your words down.Prayer to the Muse: Because sometimes we need an extra bit of inspiration.A bibliography of my favorite craft books, classes, videos, etc. This is a work in progress and will eventually be annotated. It just all takes time! (I am not an Amazon affiliate and make no money off any of the books I mention.)A fun coloring page of a turkey marked out by days. For every day you write, you can color in the turkey and write the word count in the blocks on the side. It’s goofy, but also fun!A fun autumn word count tracker. Also a bit silly, but also fun. A fun worksheet to help you figure out your settings.A Thanksgiving Planner I use to get my life ready for the holidays. This year, I’ve updated this planner to start earlier because I am stir very worried about supply chain issues, time, and the rising cost of food. 

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A Cailleach for Halloween

Happy Halloween! Today is a busy day of work, exercise, appointments, and then cutting my jack-o-lantern before the trick-or-treaters show up. Since I love Halloween, I’m excited about my complicated pumpkin design and can’t wait to get started. Last year I made a basic scary pumpkin, but tonight I want to carve a more complicated one. I think I’m going to carve the profile of a witch, or more specifically a Cailleach.

What is a Cailleach? Technically, a Cailleach is a Celtic witch who appears in many old Irish folktales. Celtic witches are a bit different from those we see in movies. The Cailleach is descended from the world of fairies and practices rituals and rites based on Celtic mythology. The older stories from Ireland and Scotland talk about a Cailleach (which means Old Wife) who, on Samhain (our Halloween), descends from the high mountains and stays in and around villages until Imbolc (Groundhog Day). While she’s away from the mountain, she cares for the earth during its time of darkness and frigid temperatures and is worshipped as a goddess. Like Demeter in Greek myths, the Cailleach manages the seasons, with winter being her prime focus. With the wind, cold air, and shorter days under her control, the Cailleach is one of the more important figures in Celtic mythology so people in Ireland and Scotland spent a lot of time and effort to keep her happy.

The word Cailleach can also be translated as the “Veiled One”. She’s also known as the Blue Hag of Winter, Bone Mother, and more recently the Christmas Old Wife. She is a weather witch and bringer of destruction and death. But because the world of legends and folktales requires a balance, she’s not just a harbinger of dark days, she’s also considered a source of creativity and life – hence why so many more babies are born in September than any other month of the year.

One of my favorite stories about the Cailleach goes like this: One dark Samhain night, the Cailleach came down from a mountain and washed her large wool plaid in the Corryvreckan, a whirlpool, near the Isle of Jura. (it’s in Scotland). Anyway, once she finished her washing, her plaid was clean and white. As she shook out the heavy wool, she covered Scotland in snow. And as she walked around all winter long, she used her staff to tamp down any signs of growth. When she was tired of walking she rode on the back of a gray wolf. Then, one Samhain night she saw Brigid (a virginal young woman similar to Persephone – the Greek personification of Spring) walking around outside and took her prisoner. The Cailleach hid Brigid inside Ben Nevis. (A mountain in Scotland). Since one of the Cailleach’s sons, Angus (who is also the King of Summer), had been dreaming about Brigid, he asked the king of the Green Isle about Brigid’s whereabouts.

The King replied, “The fair princess whom you saw is Brigid, and in the days when you will be King of Summer, she will be your queen. Of this, your mother has full knowledge, and it is her wish to keep you away from Brigid so that her own reign may be prolonged.” (this is so similar to the Hades/Persephone myth–except for the summer versus underworld detail, and the evil mother who is mean to her son!)

So Angus went off to find Brigid to free her from his mother’s grasp. But he didn’t get there until the eve of Imbolc. Since The Cailleach had the gift of sight and knew what was about to go down, she allowed Angus to free Brigid but then chased them down and battled them all night long. She whipped up the wind and rain and snow, throwing all the bad weather at the lovers. Still they fought back against her. Finally, the Cailleach evaded her son’s fatal strike by turning herself into a standing stone. Now she maintains that form from Imbolc until Samhain, when she can free herself and bring winter back to the earth. Somehow, she also gets to imprison Brigid within the bowels of Ben Nevis during the winter. So while Brigid is the queen of summer, her mother-in-law is the queen of winter. But this also means that the cycle of light and dark, and all the seasons remain in perfect, continuous order.

In the old Celtic world, and up until the early 1900s, many households would find a piece of oak and carve the Cailleach’s face into it because she represented cold and death. On Christmas Eve, this piece of oak would be thrown into the fire and burned until the ashes were cold. This was done to ensure that the cold winter would eventually end and the warm days of spring would be sure to arrive. It also protected the members of that household from death during the winter when it was harder to bury them. And some say that lighting a fire keeps the Cailleach away, as she always prefers to move around in darkness.

While the Cailleach’s job is to ensure winter arrives, her position had an important purpose. For without winter, the earth’s fertility would suffer and anything that tried to grow in winter would never make it until spring which, in turn, would limit new spring growth. She is also knows as the Keeper of Seeds and infuses the sleeping earth with her life-force which ensures the fertility of the land in the spring and summer.

The Cailleach isn’t as scary as witches in some movies, but her story is as eerie as Halloween stories come. The really interesting about her is that her legend is found in all cultures throughout the world. Besides the Green Demeter, there is the Spanish Bruja and the Hindu mother Kali, to name a few. This idea of a mother crone witch who appears on Halloween and protects the earth until Imbolc is one of the oldest myths going. So tonight, as you eat/hand out candy (or hide in the house) throw a log on the fire (or light a candle) to keep the Cailleach away!

I hope you all have a Happy Halloween!

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Sarah Munro’s Halloween Chai Tea

This time of year I’m always looking for luscious warm drinks to take away the chill in the morning air. And I was very excited to stumble upon some recipes specifically for Halloween teas. After playing with them, I came up with this adaptation for a Chai Pumpkin Spice tea. I don’t love Chai flavored things, but with the addition of cream and maple syrup, this one is delicious.

For those of you new to this series, Sarah Munro, the heroine in ONE DARK WISH, the second book in the Deadly Force series, is an 18th century historian who inherited a collection of colonial-era herbal and homeopathic remedies. And, in this blog space, I’ve been sharing her recipes with you all. I’m adding this recipe to this collection because there is some “chatter” that Chai tea can aid with digestion and weight loss, and all of these ingredients have been used this time of year for centuries. Since Chai tea is a combination of black tea, ginger, and cinnamon (as well as cloves, black pepper, and a few other spices), it can also aid in lowering blood pressure, lowering blood sugar and insulin levels. It can even help with nausea, probably from the ginger. I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons pumpkin puree½ cup whole milk (or almond/oat milk)½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice1 teaspoon pure maple syrup1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract1 rounded teaspoon loose Chai tea leaves or your favorite leaf black tea1/4 cup boiling water2 Tablespoons of heavy creamWhipped cream for topping (optional or use a non-dairy cream of your choice)Ground cinnamon for toppingSpiders (plastic ones only) or star anise and cinnamon sticks for garnish.DirectionsIn a glass measuring cup, pour the boiling water over the tea leaves and steep the tea for 8 minutes (or longer/shorter depending on your preference).In a small saucepan, stir together pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice over a low heat. Once the pumpkin mixture is warm, stir in the milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Raise the heat to medium-low and stir consistently for 10 minutes–but do not boil. Meanwhile, once the tea is steeped, strain it into another measuring cup and set aside. Lower the heat and stir in the heavy cream and strained tea. Stir over low heat for 1 minute and remove from heat. Using a small battery-operated hand blender, blend the tea until it’s frothy and pour into a mug. Top with a dollop of whipped cream (or a non-dairy equivalent) and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Serve with star anise or a plastic spider for a wonderfully spooky Halloween treat! IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER ABOUT WILD PLANTS, FORAGING , AND MAKING HERBAL REMEDIES:

I am not a medical professional and nothing written on this blog is medical advice. None of my statements have been evaluated by the FDA (I am legally required to give you this disclaimer).

It is important to do your due diligence before foraging, harvesting, and/or consuming any type of medicinal plant.

If you are taking any medications, talk to your doctor about any potential drug interactions.If you are allergic to anything, make sure whatever you are foraging is not in the same family. Example: While dandelions are typically considered safe, those who are allergic to ragweed, latex, daisies, or any other plants in the same or similar families, may not be able to consume dandelion.

Always research potential side effects, dosage recommendations, and how to properly prepare and consume each medicinal plant.

Always make sure you are foraging what you believe to be. Fully prepare and study the anatomy before harvesting wild plants.

Always make sure your kitchen/work area is clean and that all materials are sterilized.

Do not forage plants from areas that have been sprayed within the past 2 years at the very least.

I am not legally or morally responsible for the health of any of my readers. Please do your own research!

The post Sarah Munro’s Halloween Chai Tea first appeared on Sharon Wray.

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The Hungry {Romance} Writer: Spiced Pear Chutney

Tomorrow night I’m serving my version of the Van Tassel feast that Washington Irving wrote about in his famous spooky story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I’m serving ham and cheese hand pies, roasted chicken in a pumpkin, spiced peach cake, and to accompany it all I’m also making my favorite spiced pear chutney.

This chutney works great with chicken, pork, and duck and can also be served on a charcuterie board with rustic crackers and your favorite cheeses. Then, after dinner, we are off to walk our local Halloween Haunted Trail–with a flask of hot chocolate, of course. I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween-inspired weekend!

PrintSpiced Pear ChutneyThis is a delicious accompaniment to roasted chicken, pork, and duck. It's also wonderful with sliced ham and used as a spread on sandwiches. It's easy to make and is easily canned into 10 half pint jars.Prep Time 20 minutes minutesCook Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutesServings 40Ingredients6 lbs ripe pears peeled, cored & chopped into 1/2″ pieces2 1/2 cups light brown sugar packed3 cups apple cider vinegar1 1/2 cups golden raisins1 lemon washed, seeded, and finely chopped2 cloves garlic peeled and minced1 chile pepper washed, seeded, and finely chopped1 Vidalia Onion small and finely chopped1 cinnamon stick1/4 teaspoon allspiceInstructionsIn a 5-quart heavy saucepan, stir together all of the ingredients. Place on stove and bring to a medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to simmer. Meanwhile prep 10 half pint canning jars and lids.Lower the heat to low and cook the chutney, stirring often, for 45 minutes, until the pears soften and begin to fall apart while you stir. The pears will now be soft and the mixture slightly reduced. So increase the heat to medium-high, stirring often. Cook until the mixture has been reduced by 1/3, about another 20-30 minutes.While the pear chutney is cooking down, prep the water bath canner. Sterilize the jars and two-part canning lids. Fill the water bath canner with water and bring to a boil.Once the chutney is finished (if you move a spoon across the bottom of the saucepan, separating the chutney, it should take a few seconds for the thick mixture to fill in the space you made), spoon the chutney into the 1/2 pint jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. Using a damp paper towel, clean off the jar rims until dry and clean. Place the lids on top and finger tighten the rings. Place the jars in the water bath canner. Process for 10 minutes. Meanwhile lay out towels on the counter.Remove the jars and place on towels on the counter. Wait at least 12 hours to check for a good seal. Place jars in a cool, dark cabinet until ready to use.

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Longfellow’s Haunted Houses

Since Halloween is about a week away, I thought I’d share one of my favorite spooky poems. Most people have heard Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s more famous long-form poems Paul Revere’s Ride, Evangeline, and A Song of Hiawatha. But this poem, Haunted Houses, published in the Birds of Passage Collection in 1858, is one of his lesser known works. This poem, which is meant to reassure us with its description of ghosts going about domestic, daily chores, also offers a desolate view of death. It’s also scary because, unbeknownst to Longfellow, this poem foreshadows the tragic death of his beloved second wife Fanny. Maybe it’s the coziness of this poem, with its choice of words, ethereal imagery, and soft rhythm, that lulls the reader into a sense of safety. But it’s a safety that ultimately sends chills down the spine when the reader begins to wonder if we too can make it across the bridge of light or else end up, forevermore, in the dark abyss.

This poem is in the public domain.Haunted Housesby Henry Wordsworth Longfellow (1807 – 1882)

All houses wherein men have lived and died
Are haunted houses. Through the open doors
The harmless phantoms on their errands glide,
With feet that make no sound upon the floors.

We meet them at the door-way, on the stair,
Along the passages they come and go,
Impalpable impressions on the air,
A sense of something moving to and fro.

There are more guests at table than the hosts
Invited; the illuminated hall
Is thronged with quiet, inoffensive ghosts,
As silent as the pictures on the wall.

The stranger at my fireside cannot see
The forms I see, nor hear the sounds I hear;
He but perceives what is; while unto me
All that has been is visible and clear.

We have no title-deeds to house or lands;
Owners and occupants of earlier dates
From graves forgotten stretch their dusty hands,
And hold in mortmain still their old estates.

The spirit-world around this world of sense
Floats like an atmosphere, and everywhere
Wafts through these earthly mists and vapours dense
A vital breath of more ethereal air.

Our little lives are kept in equipoise
By opposite attractions and desires;
The struggle of the instinct that enjoys,
And the more noble instinct that aspires.

These perturbations, this perpetual jar
Of earthly wants and aspirations high,
Come from the influence of an unseen star
An undiscovered planet in our sky.

And as the moon from some dark gate of cloud
Throws o’er the sea a floating bridge of light,
Across whose trembling planks our fancies crowd
Into the realm of mystery and night,—

So from the world of spirits there descends
A bridge of light, connecting it with this,
O’er whose unsteady floor, that sways and bends,
Wander our thoughts above the dark abyss.

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A Romance Writer’s Favorite B&W Halloween Movies

I love this time of year. I love the costumes, decoration, and all the chocolate. But I also love the TV shows and movies–maybe because I’ve been addicted to horror novels since I was a kid and can’t get enough of being scared. But, regardless of the why, one of the things I look forward to the most is watching my favorite black and white horror movies. From Dracula to The Thing, I love the overacting, moodiness, and general gothic feel of them all. So let’s get started. Below are a few of my absolute favorite black & white movies to watch this weekend! (Thank you IMDB and WikiCommons for the links and images!)

The Thing From Another World

Also known simply as “The Thing.” This movie, made in 1951 is more of a Sci Fi flick than straight up horror movie, but it is still terrifying. It’s about a group of scientists and Air Force pilots (all of whom fought in WWII) who are stationed up at the North Pole, in a storm, all alone, and how they have to fight off an alien invader to save the world. It’s also famous for the two women who also star in this film. In the face of a lot of male-dominated action, the women hold their own and throw out a few sexual innuendos that I honestly didn’t catch until I was an adult. It’s a fast-paced movie, with a lot of (good) jump scares, a bit of well-time humor, and a touch of romance that is charming despite the fact we assume no one will get out alive.

IMDB LinkDracula

Don’t let the color movie poster fool you. This movie is a solid black and white classic. And it stars the great Bela Lugosi. If Bela Lugosi (or Vincent Price) are in a movie, I’m watching it. But this one, in particular, is a real treat. Made in 1931 (I can’t believe it’s almost 100 years old!), this movie follows Count Dracula as he moves to a London estate and begins his hunt for his victims. This movie, although not as deeply philosophical as Bram Stoker’s book (which is one of my all time faves!), has many of the vampire tropes we expect: coffin sleeping, afraid of crosses and garlic, he wears a cape, etc. Maybe its the age of the film, or the low light in which it was filmed, or the never-ending fog, but this movie still gives me the creepy gothic vibes I need this time of year. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it!

IMDB LinkFrankenstein

One of the first movie adaptations from Mary Shelley’s famous novel, this is still my my favorite. The gloomy lighting and great acting (yay for Boris Karloff!) add to the movie’s creepy feel, but I honestly think that this movie is still scary because there are few special effects. It was filmed in 1931 and due to the technology available at the time this movie relies on the power of the original story, great acting, and set design to set up a scary story. This movie proves that more is not necessarily better.

IMDB LinkThe Black Cat

This is my favorite adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s story by the same name. Again, it stars Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi and was filmed in 1934. And it proves that evil has been around this world for a long, long time. When a newlywed couple end up in an accident, and at the mercy of a devil-loving priest, it will truly take a miracle of love to survive.

IMDB LinkThe Raven

Another Poe adaptation with Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff filmed in 1935. Although the original work is a poem, this is a great “expansion” of the story beneath the poem. There is a later movie with Vincent Price and Boris Karloff, but this one is my favorite. Again, maybe because special effects weren’t as sophisticated, this movie is just super-duper creepy and relies on setting and dialogue for emotional impact. This makes a great double feature with The Black Cat!

IMDB LinkThe Haunting

One of many adaptations of Shirley Jackson’s novel The Haunting of Hill House, this one is my favorite. (Athough I do love the Netflix TV version). Of all the movie adaptations, this one tries to stay true to the original book. The book was s wonderfully scary in a psychological way that can be hard to put on screen, but the amazing acting–especially by Julie Harris–and the new-at-the-time way of filming makes this a movie you do not want to watch while alone in the house. And if you haven’t read the book, go read it. It will make all the movie/tv adaptations that much scarier!

IMDB LinkThe Creature from the Black Lagoon

This movie, made in 1954, was one of the first 3D movies I ever saw. Now, it was old at the time that I saw it but I watched it in a small theater that specialized in classic B&W movies–and the Saturday matinees were $1.50 for TWO movies! Anyway, this is a classic story of a group of post WWII scientists bumbling around the Amazon and discovering a gilled man who lives in the Black Lagoon. It might sound corny, and it kind of is, but there are still twists and turns to the story that will keep you up all night.

IMDB LinkThe Bride of Frankenstein

I actually like this movie better than Frankenstein. Dr. Frankenstein, who survived the first movie (if not the original book), is now being bullied by another scientist into making the monster a mate. While it is a weak premise, the morality issues this movie brings up are actually quite relevant and terrifying. In this movie, the monster (Frankenstein) has evolved into a much more complex being who just doesn’t want to be lonely anymore. It was filmed as a sequel to the original Frankenstein movie, but apparently there is some lost prologue footage that tied the two moves together more easily. Hopefully someone will, one day, find that lost footage!

IMDB LinkDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

This is my favorite adaptation of my favorite Robert Louis Stevenson story. It stays pretty true to the original work, and the acting is superb. Again, because the special effects were limited in 1941, the director had to pull all the emotion he could out of his actors and his set designers and the results fabulous. Great writing, directing, and acting has left us with a gift of a true study in the horror of the duality of mankind.

IMDB LinkMurders in the Rue Morgue

I adore Poe, and this 1932 Bela Lugosi classic is one of my favorite all-time Poe adaptations. The filming is a bit dark, but the dialogue is sharp and witty. If you don’t know the story, basically it’s about a scientist who wants to mix human female blood with that of an ape. The premise might seem silly, but both the short story and this movie are actually terrifying as only Mad Scientists can be. When this movie was made, censors cut out scenes where the women were brutally murdered. I recently saw those scenes and was shocked at how violent they were for the time. While I’m kind of used to current slasher pics, these old scenes, all in B&W, were quite brutal. Honestly, if you have the choice, watch the cut version. Those added scenes gave me nightmares.

IMDB LinkThe House on Haunted Hill

Another adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. While this one doesn’t stay as true to the books as The Haunting movie, it stars Vincent Price which is why it’s on this list. It was filmed in B&W in 1959 and has since been colorized. But I prefer it in black and white–it’s much spookier that way. Instead of paranormal scientific endeavor, this movie is about a millionaire who offers money to five people to spend the night in a haunted house. This isn’t my favorite movie in the list, but it’s worth watching, especially if you love the book since there are nods to the original work.

IMDB LinkThe Mummy

What do you do if you’re an Egyptian prince who is inadvertently resurrected in 1921? Why you wait around for ten years, disguising yourself as an accomplished Egyptologist, until you find the reincarnation of the lost love of your life and try to convince her she’s in love with you? I guess, if you’re Boris Karloff who is playing the mummy, you fight hard to win the girl of the your dreams while taking down all those who oppose you. This movie is a bit silly, but I love it. It’s got a never-ending love story that makes the scary parts seem reasonable–if one decided that killing others for love is a reasonable thing. Anyway, this Boris Karloff classic has great dialogue and one of my favorite scary movie heroines of all time. Helen Grosvenor, the reincarnation of the mummy’s great love, is beautiful, witty, and leaves all the men in the movie wanting more.

IMDB Link

The post A Romance Writer’s Favorite B&W Halloween Movies first appeared on Sharon Wray.

The post A Romance Writer’s Favorite B&W Halloween Movies appeared first on Sharon Wray.