MN Lisa’s Comments (group member since Jul 20, 2023)

MN Lisa’s comments from the Hooked on Books group.

Chucky, the infamous doll from the Child’s Play horror franchise, is a seemingly harmless “Good Guy” toy possessed by the soul of notorious serial killer Charles Lee Ray. Using a voodoo ritual to escape death, Ray transfers his soul into the doll’s body, giving Chucky life and a terrifying agenda.

With his red hair, striped shirt, and overalls, Chucky looks like an ordinary children’s toy, at least until he starts speaking in his gruff, menacing voice, wielding knives, and launching brutal attacks. Known for his twisted humor, foul mouth, and violent streak, Chucky has become one of horror’s most iconic villains, blending childlike innocence with psychotic rage.

He first appeared in Child’s Play (1988) and has since starred in multiple sequels, a reboot, and a TV series, gaining a cult following and solidifying his place as the ultimate killer doll.

Complete the following tasks

Step 1: Destroy the doll completely
Read a chain of 3 books where something is destroyed

Step 2: Break the voodoo spell and banish the spirit
Read a chain of 3 books with VOODOO in the text
Read a chain of 3 books where something or someone is banished

Updated to here

17. The Monkey's Paw


The Monkey’s Paw is a legendary cursed object from W. W. Jacobs’ classic 1902 horror short story The Monkey’s Paw. It is a shriveled, mummified paw of a monkey that grants its owner three wishes, but each wish comes with devastating, often ironic consequences.

The paw was enchanted by a fakir to teach people not to interfere with fate. When someone makes a wish, the paw curls a finger, and the wish is granted, though never in the way the wisher expects. Wishes made with the Monkey’s Paw tend to bring tragedy rather than happiness, revealing that tampering with destiny comes at a terrible price.

Grimy and unsettling in appearance, the Monkey’s Paw is a potent symbol of greed, temptation, and unintended consequences. It serves as a chilling warning: Be careful what you wish for, because the cost may be far greater than you imagined.

Complete the following tasks
📘2. Spell the Curse: P.A.W.
Read a chain of 3 books with a title that spells out PAW

🧷3. Threads of Fate
Read a chain of 3 books with a hand on the cover — human, animal, skeletal, drawn, gloved, or ghostly. If it's grasping something? Even better.

🔮4. Wish Fulfillment Gone Wrong
Read a chain of 3 books featuring a deal, a wish, or a bargain that doesn’t go as planned. Doesn’t have to be supernatural — career goals, marriages, Faustian pacts… fate’s got range.

Mrsgeo wrote: "Say Nothing
The worst words are spoken without a mouth.
Read a chain of 3 books where the word “ventriloquist” or “dummy” appears somewhere in the text.

Is "dummies" acceptable?"
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

🗝️ Week 1 Response
This box doesn’t open on its own.
It opened because you showed up as yourself.

What did you learn about each other through these picks?

Every keyhole opens to conversation. Take this prompt and respond to each other—no more steps required.

I just finished my last book. Can one of you spin and post our completions?

🗝️ Week 1 Response
This box doesn’t open on its own.
It opened because you showed up as yourself.

What did you learn about each other through these picks?

Every keyhole opens to conversation. Take this prompt and respond to each other—no more steps required.

Updated to here

Bonus items are optional, BUT your team must decide now whether to do them or NOT. Once a decision is made, it cannot be changed.

The Koh-i-Noor (meaning “Mountain of Light” in Persian) has a long and bloody history. The diamond passed through many hands—rulers of Persia, Afghanistan, India, and the British Empire—often during violent wars, betrayals, or assassinations. These transitions, coupled with the downfall of many of its male owners, fed the myth of a curse.
Many male rulers who possessed the diamond suffered tragic fates—defeat, dethronement, or death. Among them:

*Emperor Nader Shah of Persia, who stole it, was later assassinated.

*Ranjit Singh, the Sikh Maharaja of Punjab, who owned it, died soon after.

*Duleep Singh, his son, was forced to give it to the British as a child and lived in exile, disconnected from both British and Indian identities.

After the British took the diamond in 1849, it was presented to Queen Victoria. Perhaps to respect the curse (or just superstition), it was only worn by female royals afterward—including Queen Victoria, Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother). It has never been worn by a king, reinforcing the legend.

The Koh-i-Noor is now part of the British Crown Jewels (in the Queen Mother’s crown), though it's steeped in controversy due to colonial appropriation and repeated demands for its return by India, Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan.

To Catch the Koh-i-noor Diamond
Read a book with a character named Victoria
Read a book with a crown on the cover
Read a book set in India, Pakistan, Iran, or Afghanistan

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!)

I just finished How to Hack a Hellhound. Its mates and just being perfect for each other, which is a bit mythic....???

🔐 Week 2 Prompt: Judge This Book
Some locks don’t care what’s inside—only how it looks.
Choose a book based solely on the cover.
No blurbs. No reviews. No second guesses. Just vibes.

I can too. My next two books both works.

I've go Aliens who crash on an enemy planet, but end up rebuilding the relationship with them. (Submitted by Sam Burns)

and Nowhere Else by Felicia Davin. Scientists breaks the fabric of reality and caused a rift in space, but then he goes and fixes it.

🗝️ Week 1 Response
This box doesn’t open on its own.
It opened because you showed up as yourself.

What did you learn about each other through these picks?

This message is yours to unlock together. Keep the responses flowing between you; nothing else needs to be checked in.

🗝️ Week 1 Response
This box doesn’t open on its own.
It opened because you showed up as yourself.

What’s one thing from your book you hope your partner always associates with you?

Every keyhole opens to conversation. Take this prompt and respond to each other—no more steps required.

The central supernatural object in the horror film Oculus (2013), an antique mirror, is a malevolent and sentient artifact that distorts reality and manipulates those who come near it.

The mirror’s dark power preys on the fears, memories, and guilt of its victims, twisting their perceptions and driving them to madness or violence. It can create terrifying illusions, alter time and space, and even physically harm or kill.

In the movie, the mirror is revealed to be the source of a family’s tragic curse, feeding off their trauma and ensuring its influence persists through generations. The Oculus mirror embodies the idea of a haunted object that blurs the line between reality and nightmare, making it a chilling and iconic artifact in modern horror.

Complete the following tasks:
👨‍👩‍👧2. Read a chain of 3 books where family is at the center of the horror
Bloodlines, inheritances, generational trauma, or just good old-fashioned cursed relatives. If it haunts your DNA, it counts.

🎭5. Read a chain of 3 books featuring manipulation, control, or perception games
Look for characters who twist reality, emotionally trap others, or make you question what’s really going on. Bonus if mirrors are involved.

🏛️6. Read a chain of 3 books featuring antiques, heirlooms, or historical objects with meaning
Whether it’s cursed silverware or a haunted dressing table, if it’s old and shouldn’t have been touched, it’s fair game.

Updated to Here

🗝️ Week 1 Response
This box doesn’t open on its own.
It opened because you showed up as yourself.

What’s one thing from your book you hope your partner always associates with you?

You’ve opened the lock; the rest is dialogue. Respond to each other here, and let the box stay open.

🗝️ Week 1 Response
This box doesn’t open on its own.
It opened because you showed up as yourself.

What’s one thing from your book you hope your partner always associates with you?

Every keyhole opens to conversation. Take this prompt and respond to each other—no more steps required.