Turning Off The TV #10: Supernatural

Welcome to my regular Thursday feature, Turning off the TV! In this feature I recommend books similar to TV shows or films you may have enjoyed, both series and specific episodes.

The TV series this week is: Supernatural.

Two brothers follow their father’s footsteps as “hunters” fighting evil supernatural beings of many kinds including monsters, demons, and gods that roam the earth.

This is the third of this feature covering Supernatural, as I hope to be looking at this series in more detail. So many creatures and urban legends are featured that it opens up a choice of so many more books!

Enjoyed ‘Provenance’ (Season One, Episode Nineteen)?

This episode is about a haunted painting that Sam and Dean have to somehow obtain from an auction house, and then dispose of. So what would be a better choice than The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde? This infamous story follows the eponymous Dorian Gray, who sells his soul in exchange for eternal youth and good looks. However, his recently commissioned portrait reflects the extent of his sins, whilst the real Dorian remains perfect – at least in appearance. It was a pretty scandalous book when it was released, and there’s also a fairly recent film adaptation starring Ben Barnes which only builds upon and adds to the scandalous moments. And then there’s The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co #1), the first in a brilliant new series by Jonathan Stroud, about young members of a ‘supernatural agency’. Like the Winchesters, Lockwood & Co have to deal with many haunted and possessed objects. I reviewed this book earlier in the year.

Enjoyed ‘Devil’s Trap’ (Season One, Episode Twenty-two)?

After their father, John Winchester, is captured, Dean and Sam along with Bobby succeed in trapping the demon Meg, who reveals that their father is in Missouri. Unfortunately, he has been possessed by Azazel, the yellow-eyed demon that killed their mother. There are countless books on demons, demon possession and demon worship – and quite a few episodes to do with Ol’ Yellow Eyes throughout the show, so I’ll just recommend three books for now. Firstly, there’s the super obvious one – The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. Do I really need to explain the plot?? A more recent release, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea tells the story of Violet, who lives in a sleepy little town where nothing much happens – until River makes an appearance. It’s a classic tale of that enticing new stranger being not quite what they seem… And finally, The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates describes how a whole town falls under the influence of a supernatural force. Although it’s part of the Gothic Saga, it can be read as a standalone as the series is more a collection of gothic novels by the same author, rather than novels containing the same characters and similar events.

Enjoyed ‘Everybody Loves A Clown’ (Season Two, Episode Two)?

The Winchesters investigate a series of murders at a travelling carnival, which turns out to be a Rakshasa (of Hindu mythology), transforming into a clown in order to trick children, before then murdering their parents. Of course, the first book that came to mind linked to this episode was It by Stephen King, which I won’t be reading any time soon thank you very much. Clowns are already creepy enough as it is. Another Stephen King novel with a carnival theme (maybe we should just avoid carnivals and funfairs??) is the more recently released Joyland – now this one I definitely want to read sometime. And now for a non-Stephen King book: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, in which a creepy carnival (*makes a mental note to avoid carnivals in the future*) comes to town, and two young boys have to save their home from its evil clutches.

Are you a fan of Supernatural? Do you have any recommendations to add?

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Horror October: Spooky Soundtrack

Previously, I’ve discussed my love for film and video game soundtracks on the blog. They’re something I love to listen to whilst reading – music with lyrics tends to be distracting, but instrumental music is just perfect. So I’ve decided to put together a ‘spooky soundtrack’ for Horror October, organised by Leanne at Literary Excursion. Songs will be a mix of spooky, creepy and tense! They won’t all be from traditional horror, but will be any that I feel fits the mood well.

Here’s the playlist, it’s also available to add or favourite on Spotify!

Here’s my selection, and why I chose them:

• Going In by Marc Streitenfeld, from Prometheus – I loooooooved this film, despite its total lack of sense. This track is the one that plays when they first go into the mounds, and it’s really eerie, very foreboding of what is yet to come…
• The Night’s Watch by Ramin Djawadi, from Game of Thrones – if you watch or read this series, you know what the Night’s Watch are there for. And you know it’s pretty terrifying.
• Leaving Earth by Clint Mansell, from Mass Effect 3 – maybe not a traditional choice, but the scene to which this is set is truly scary, plus the juxtaposition between the piano score and the sound of the Reapers is great.
• The Ardat Yakshi by Cris Velasco, from Mass Effect 3 – at a certain point in this game, you meet enemies called Banshees. Enemies which, unsurprisingly, let you know that they’re coming for you by their loud and incredibly terrifying shrieks. This is the song to go with that moment…
• Bill’s Lament by Nathan Barr, from True Blood – this whole soundtrack is pretty brilliant for a ‘spooky’ soundtrack, but this track in particular is a great low-key creepy one. Nathan Barr uses a lot of cello throughout the entire score, and it works so well.
• Those We Don’t Speak Of by James Newton Howard, from The Village – even though I knew the ‘spoiler’ for The Village when I watched it, it was still creepy as hell and music like this just increases the atmosphere ten times over.
• Rising From The Mud by Marco Beltrami, from The Woman In Black – I haven’t seen the film yet, but this song is from the creepiest part of the book (at least for me).
• Inferi In The Firestorm by Nicholas Hooper, from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – those strings! When I saw the film in the cinema with my best friend, we both told each other we’d never jump when the Inferi appeared because we knew it was going to happen. We jumped right out of our seats.
• Cannibal by Two Steps from Hell – I just discovered this one when deciding on which of their songs fitted best! They apparently have an entire Halloween album with loads of super creepy things on. They do awesome music for film and game trailers, definitely check them out if you get a chance.
• Possessed Gramophone by Two Steps from Hell – another one from their Halloween album. This kind of freaked me out…
• Bathilda Bagshot by Alexandre Desplat, from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One – it doesn’t matter if you know she’s about to turn into a giant snake that wants to bite Harry’s head off. This scene is still scary, and I blame this song!
• Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield, from The Exorcist – and now for the more traditional stuff. This song sends chills down my spine, even though I’ve never seen the movie and refuse to…
• Main Theme/Murder by Bernard Herrmann, from Psycho – just one tiny bit of this theme has become synonymous with serial killers and murderers, so it’s got to go on the Horror October playlist (and you know which bit of the theme I mean!)
• The Omen – Ave Santani by Jerry Goldsmith, from The Omen – don’t worry, I’ve included some Latin chanting to keep away the demons. You’re safe now!
• Decapitation Variations by Jay Gruska and Christopher Lennertz, from Supernatural – a fun electric guitar variation on a horror theme, from an awesome TV show. Oh, and don’t forget the strings!

What do you think of my playlist? What would you have on your Horror October playlist?