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This classic novella was atmospheric and tense, and it inspired a lot of modern cosmic horror stories. However, I found it slow moving and didn't care for any of the characters.

#gottacatchemall @PuddleJumper (prompt 78, Corsola: Isolated person or location)
#DoubleSpin #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#52bookclub24 (prompt 23, The “other“ book with the similar plot) This book inspired T. Kingfisher's The Hollow Places

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃 I can literally feel the influence this author and this story had on H.P. Lovecraft. For me the true horror comes in the feel and atmosphere of dread. And nothing gives off those vibes like being along in the woods. Nature has a way of being terrifying just by being in their realm.

Blackwood had influenced many of our cosmic horror authors and yet they all seem more famous than he. . This was a most satisfying read.

It was very spooky sure, but I didn't really find I enjoyed it. The main character was very full of themself. If you like suspense and wilderness horror I would recommend this for you.

I had this read to me on a podcast.

1. How the Word is Passed (Smith), Battle Royale (Takami), and Flights (Tokarczuk)
2. It depends on the story and the execution.
3. The Willows by Algernon Blackwood

#weekendreads

Have you ever read something that you couldn‘t put into words how it touched you? The Willows is a genre of horror that I gravitate to & I‘m not sure how to categorize it. Eco-horror? Weird Fiction? Where ominous otherworldly/inhuman horrors are derived from nature. Annihilation was like that. The Willows has to be one of the earliest stories I‘ve read that conveys that type of terror thats unable to be put into words. Beautifully written!

There‘s something I find comforting in old horror stories. Back in April I read The Willows and the Wendigo, both about men in the wilderness facing ineffable malicious forces. The Willows was creepy in a quiet, slow-burn, don‘t-trust-your-senses kind of way. Both effective stories and available on Project Gutenberg! Happy October! 🎃

My book review is up on "The Willows" by Algernon Blackwood.

https://youtu.be/waHSv9uHHTc

"But you're quite right about one thing," he added, before the subject passed, "and that is that we're wiser not to talk about it, or even to think about it, because what one thinks finds expression in words, and what one says, happens."

I think I first put this on my #SerialReader list when I saw it referenced as possible inspiration in Tolkien‘s writing. The story has a fairly simple premise, but it is incredibly creepy. I can also easily see its possible influence in some of the forests of Tolkien‘s stories.

#YearofTolkien #FellowshipofTolkien

Fabulous little creepy story to get the mood ready for fall.

Starting this next on @SerialReader #currentlyreading

This took a moment to get into, but it maintained the typical beauty that one would find in a Blackwood tale.

Although the evil in this classic isn't specifically called by name, one can gather that the willows are possessed by elementals. In turn, this causes the narrator and his Swedish friend to race for their lives as the willows demand blood.

I still recommend, "The Windigo," as Blackwood's best work, but this tale is a close second.

I love this quote. So chilling.

I'm usually never sure about what counts as proper #horror but this 1907 novella (short story?) was an atmospheric creepfest and I loved it.

#litsyclassics #maylovesclassics @Sarah83 @Bambolina_81

What a fantastically creepy story!! Such a simple premise (two fellas on a boat trip down the Danube) manages to become so atmospheric that you truly feel the sense of horror these characters do. An excellent, well-written tale!!! #serialreader

Thanks again, @SerialReader .

I‘m going to Budapest this weekend (I can‘t believe I‘ve just typed those words!), and was pleased to discover that this story takes place on tiny, shifting islands in the Danube River.

I hope to stand on the river banks and imagine these willows, which were certainly more than they seemed.

I woke up at 2 am for no apparent reason and can‘t get back to sleep, so I finished my Serial. 😃

This is such a creepy, atmospheric story... loved the writing, and more than once I got that feeling of dread while reading that makes me afraid for the characters and (almost) too scared to keep reading. Perfect selection for #allhallowsread

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

@SerialReader featured this one on a Litsy post yesterday, and I was in between serial reads, so....

😃

A creepy tale for Halloween season. Two friends on a canoe trip down the Danube find themselves stranded on a sandy island. The river rages around them, disintegrating their island refuge, as around them eerie willows wave in the wind. It's a likely inspiration for Tolkien (he admitted Blackwood inspired the phrase "crack of doom") who would later pen his own unsettling experiences with willow trees.

I first read The Willows in a horror anthology book. I enjoyed a good reread; mostly while sitting in a park near work, with rustling leaves in the trees. 😄👻 It's a great atmospheric spook story, with random strangeness that Blair Witch fans will enjoy. Maple trees worked well, in later hopes of reading under a willow. 🎃🍁 #serialreader

Loved it! Wonderfully creepy. Lovecraft himself would have botched that by revealing too much

Atmospheric and creepy. The setting and characterisation were incredibly well done for a short story and it would be best to read it in one sitting, I think, without knowing anything about it. (Though I enjoyed reading it on the Serial Reader app; my first attempt at using it. It was fun to anticipate a new issue each day and it was also quite soothing to have my reading broken down into manageable bits.)

So... A few things you need to know about The Willows: 1. It takes place on the Danube (seriously, the author mentions this eleventy billion times). 2. It has a super abrupt ending (still unsure whether or not I like this). 3. It's pretty dang creepy and I mostly liked the writing style. Second venture with serial reader just ok.

So... A few things you need to know about The Willows: 1. It takes place on the Danube (seriously, the author mentions this eleventy billion times). 2. It has a super abrupt ending (still unsure whether or not I like this). 3. It's pretty dang creepy and I mostly liked the writing style. Second venture with serial reader just ok.

Using the Serial Reader app to chomp through some classic literature. I found the horror section 😍

This short 1907 horror novella was such a disappointment. It started out promising: it's about creepy sinister trees! The writing is atmospheric, the landscape is unsettling, the description of the Danube is fantastic. But then, NOTHING happens. The continual descriptions of creepy atmosphere become repetitive, boring and worst of all, completely UNscary. The ending is too convenient and unsatisfying. Boo.

More creepy goodness from Algernon Blackwood, an outdoorsy kind of guy living at the turn of the twentieth century who liked to write eerie tales.

Perhaps my favorite scary story and perfect for readers who don't enjoy the monsters and gore of other horror - none of that here! Just wonderfully oppressive atmosphere and chilling tension. It's a quick read too. Just try to read this one while camping!