The passion for reading often happens when we are children. Remember when our parents read us stories, or when during school hours we went to the "ABCD" of the school.
Sometimes we chose by chance our readings, or we decided to beat our fears, but in any case it happened many times when we had the chocottes while reading. The editors of JustFocus have used their memories to share with you scary readings they did during their childhood…
Soraya: Tales of Broca Street – Pierre Gripari
I remember discovering reading and the feeling of fear provoked by a book with Les Contes de la Rue Broca. I was already an avid spectator of Fais Moi Peur et Mont de Poule (child of the 90's represents). But until I discovered this book, my fears were provoked by images I saw. No real work of imagination there!
The tale that struck me the most in Pierre Gripari's work is that of the witch in the broom closet. It tells the story of Mr. Pierre, who buys a large house for a pittance. The reason for this attractive price? The presence of a witch within its walls. Indeed, in the broom closet, lives a rather harmless witch. Finally, as long as we do not pronounce the famous sentence that puts her in a mad rage. And this sentence… It's… Witch, witch, beware of your behind! Now that you know it, it's impossible not to want to say it out loud. And that's exactly what scared me about this tale: what if a witch also lived in my house? And that by saying these few words, I made her angry and that she was attacking me? These are the questions that troubled my 7-year-old head!
But at the same time, what a pleasure it was to discover the world of Broca Street and start to use my imagination.
Kler: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling & The Witch of the South by Michel Honaker
When I think back to my fears during my reading hours as a child, the first thing that comes to mind is: Harry Potter 2. The Chamber of Secrets is the second book in the inevitable Harry Potter saga written by J.K Rowling, and I recall him reading it for the first time as if it were yesterday.
Like many people of my generation, I read Harry Potter as soon as I was old enough, around 7-8 years old. Having devoured volume 1, I obviously start reading volume 2. Except that I was not ready to face the huge beast that walks through the pipes of Hogwarts, namely the giant Basilisk… It all starts when Harry hears voices coming from the walls; That was my first big fear. I see myself reading it and looking around, for fear of hearing these voices. My fear increased tenfold when we learned that it is the Basilisk that makes these noises. This gigantic snake still haunts me today when I think about it. Luckily our brave Harry managed to kill him, I think otherwise I would still stress if he appeared in my room!
In middle school I had to read La Sorcière du Midi, a novel for teenagers written by Michel Honaker. The teacher had chosen her reading well because we were in the ideal period: winter, when we go to school when it is always dark, and night has already fallen when we leave. This is also what happened in the novel for our two heroes, but for them the concern is great: their comrades disappear gradually.
This novel is a small wonder. It plunges us into a dark and cold atmosphere that immediately causes a sensation. I remember imagining the dark night, full of snowy trees and the sound of the icy wind. It already scared me. But when the children of the village gradually disappeared, I became dead of worry. My heart beat more and more as soon as Ed, our protagonist, thought a witch was kidnapping the children. In short, a perfect read for winter and Halloween atmospheres when you are between 10 and 15 years old.
Cecile: The Island of the Skull – Anthony Horowitz
David Eliot has just been kicked out of his college and his father is in a mad rage. Pure coincidence, the Eliot family receives the next day a flyer for a strange school, lost on an island: Groosham Grange.
The college promises an iron discipline, cooking and astronomy classes and only one day of vacation per year. David is sent there on the spot. On the way to his new school, he meets Jill and Jeffrey. The two teenagers were also expelled from their respective colleges and received the following day the mail from Groosham Grange. Oddly, each advertisement for the institution promised different courses. These flyers will be the least strange things the three will encounter at Groosham Grange. What's the scariest? Having to sign the admission form with your own blood? The deputy director who has no reflection in the mirror? Students who wear badges with names different from their own? Teachers who fiddle at the full moon? David must leave this island before it is too late… The Island of the Skull is a compendium of black humor and anxiety. Anthony Horowitz knows how to raise fear and tension. His characters are mysterious, full of flaws, funny, scary… We hesitate between the desire to know the end of the story and the desire to close the book to drive from our minds the images it creates. Once finished, rush to the sequel to The Island of the Skull, Cursed Grail. An equally funny and dark novel.
Hoping you all have a happy Halloween, feel free to share your scariest reads!
