When Reading Turns Spooky....

[Paul Whybrow]

I had a discombobulating experience last night while reading in bed. I normally have several books on the go at any one time and am currently enjoying a French crime novel and the second part of a fantasy trilogy.

Sophie Hénaff's first novel The Awkward Squad is entertaining and very Gallic, featuring a group of mismatched, rogue detectives, who've been given one last chance to redeem themselves by solving cold cases.

One of the detectives is an avid reader, and the book he's reading is Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb—which is the other novel I'm currently enjoying!

I normally like it when novelists have their characters read books or listen to music that I'm unfamiliar with, and I've gone on to enjoy their choices, but this felt weird! It's simply coincidence, of course, though it made me wonder if there were other commonalities to do with reading preferences—would Robin Hobb like Sophie Hénaff's novel?

What does it say about me, that I like both?

In an ideal world, a fictional character in another writer's novel would be reading one of my books!

Have any of you had any spooky reading experiences?

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Remember Cujo? Yeah. I was trapped in a house by him once. I suppose it wasn't a creepy reading experience, but being attacked by a rabid dog meeting Stephen King's description of the rabid dog Cujo was seriously weird. The dog was attacking whenever we opened the door. I ended up getting out by having someone make noise at one door, while I dashed to my car through another.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

Remember Cujo? Yeah. I was trapped in a house by him once. I suppose it wasn't a creepy reading experience, but being attacked by a rabid dog meeting Stephen King's description of the rabid dog Cujo was seriously weird. The dog was attacking whenever we opened the door. I ended up getting out by having someone make noise at one door, while I dashed to my car through another.

That's scary. I've done several door-to-door jobs, including being a milkman, so I got used to aggressive dogs. The small, yappy lap dogs were more of a threat than big guard dogs, and I must have been bitten a dozen times—with the owner always saying, "Well, he's never done that before."

We're fortunate not to have rabies in the U.K., though we had a close call back in 1969. I had to shoot dead a rabid racoon in Atlanta, which was menacing my work crew, frothing at the mouth. I bagged it and took the corpse to my local vet, who confirmed it had rabies.

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Yeah, rabies is pretty common in Pennsylvania (or, at least it was, last I lived there). A bit unusual to see it in a dog, actually, because most people vaccinate, but it happens.

 

[Marc Joan]

I got chased by a rabid dog as a child once; it bit the boy who was with me (I was a faster runner). This was back in the days when rabies bites were treated by a course of injections into the abdomen; poor kid. But he survived.

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Yes, not a fun thing, rabies. I've been vaccinated against it (Peace Corps requirement), which is rather nice, as I've always been the one people call to deal with animal problems. Doesn't matter here--no rabies--but it was good when we lived in the States.

 

[James Marinero]

That's scary. I've done several door-to-door jobs, including being a milkman, so I got used to aggressive dogs. The small, yappy lap dogs were more of a threat than big guard dogs, and I must have been bitten a dozen times—with the owner always saying, "Well, he's never done that before."

Me too, 15 years on the doorsteps. The other warning signal was 'Don't worry, he doesn't bite'.