With the internet at our fingertips, learning about the people who make our media has become much easier. Sometimes, we learn things we wish we could un-learn. The betrayal feels so personal. How can the stories that inspire and comfort us be created by people who cause harm? Can we still enjoy a piece of media if we don’t support the creator’s actions?
It’s messy and muddy territory, and there is no single right way to navigate those feelings. However, a few things may help you feel better in the wake of bad news.
- Know that it’s okay to be upset. Give yourself space to feel what you’re feeling! Consider journaling or seeking out community, such as a book club.
- If you still want to read, watch, or listen to a certain creator’s work, don’t buy them new. Get a copy from a friend, find it in a secondhand shop, or borrow it from the library. Libraries do buy new copies of books, DVDs, and CDs from our vendors, which supports creators, but it’s lower-impact for the library to pay for one copy that can be shared by 20 people than for 20 individuals to each buy a copy.
- There are so many other great works waiting to be discovered! Use tools like StoryGraph, Goodreads, or NoveList Plus to find read-alikes for your favorites. Or, even better, ask your local librarian for recommendations!
Here are a few dark and spooky fantasy favorites from Free Library librarians, ranging from light-hearted to truly twisted:
Children’s Titles:
Valentina Salazar Is Not A Monster Hunter by Zoraida Córdova
11-and-a-half-year-old Valentina Salazar grew up as a monster protector until her father's loss, but when a video of a mythical egg appears, Valentina convinces her older brother and sister to help her find and save it — all while avoiding the monster hunters who want to destroy it.
Brick Dust and Bones by M.R. Fournet
12-year-old Marius Grey has a job as a Cemetery Boy, looking after the ghosts in his family's graveyard, but he also hunts monsters and, along with his flesh-eating mermaid friend, must race against the clock to save the ghost of his dead mother.
Teen Titles:
The Memory Eater by Rebecca Mahoney
A teenage girl must save her town from a memory-devouring monster in this piercing exploration of grief, trauma, and memory, from the author of The Valley and the Flood. For generations, a monster called the Memory Eater has lived in the caves of Whistler Beach, Maine, surviving off the unhappy memories of those who want to forget. And for generations, the Harlows have been in charge of keeping her locked up and keeping her fed. After her grandmother dies, 17-year-old Alana Harlow inherits the family business. But there's something Alana doesn't know: the strange gaps in her memory aren't from an accident. Her memories have been taken and eaten. And with them, she's lost the knowledge of how to keep the monster contained. Now the Memory Eater is loose. Alana's mistake could cost Whistler Beach everything, unless she can figure out how to retrieve her memories and recapture the monster. But as Alana delves deeper into her family's magic and the history of her town, she discovers a shocking secret at the center of the Harlow family business and learns that tampering with memories always comes at a price.
At The End of The River Styx by Michelle Kulwicki
Before he can be reborn, Zan has spent 499 years bound in a 500-year curse to process souls for the monstrous Ferryman, and if he fails he dies. In Portland, Bastian is grieving. He survived a car accident that took his mother and impulse-purchased a crumbling bookstore with the life insurance money. But in sleep, death's mark keeps dragging Bastian into Zan's office. It shouldn't be a problem to log his soul and forget he ever existed. But when Zan follows Bastian through his memories of grief and hope, Zan realizes that he is not ready for Bastian to die. The boys borrow time hiding in the memories of the dead while the Ferryman hunts them, and Zan must decide if he's willing to give up his chance at life to save Bastian, and Bastian must decide if he's willing to keep living if it means losing Zan.
Adult Titles:
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
From T. Kingfisher, the award-winning author of The Twisted Ones, comes What Moves the Dead, a gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher." When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania. What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves. Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.
The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey
Julie is a coked-up, burnt-out 30-year-old whose only retirement plan is dying early. She's been trying to establish herself in the NYC magic scene, and she'll work the most gruesome gigs, exorcise the nastiest demons, and make deals with the cruelest gods to claw her way to the top. But nothing can prepare her for the toughest job yet: when her best friend, Sarah, shows up at her door in need of help. Keeping Sarah safe becomes top priority. Julie is desperate for a quick fix to break the dead-end grind and save her friend. But her power grab sets off a deadly chain of events that puts Sarah — and the entire world — directly in the path of annihilation.
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