RIP Update and a Friday Freakout

Nat has informed me that it was Carl V. who came up with the R.I.P. (Readers Imbibing Peril) challenge and that the books must be finished by October 31. Thanks to Carl, I'm enjoying a second novel that is very atmospheric. However, I must revise my goal list because it turned out that Don't Look Now by Daphne du Maurier is "short stories". They look novella length to me, but that's what it says in the book. I hadn't bothered to check, as I haven't picked up the book in a very long time. So, after removing it from the shelf to read and rejecting it because I'm in the mood for a longer work, I tiptoed into the office and located another du Maurier: My Cousin Rachel.

So here's my new challenge list:

1. Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland (finished - review forthcoming)
2. Now You See It - Richard Matheson
3. My Cousin Rachel - Daphne du Maurier
4. Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury
5. Haunted - Heather Graham (just arrived in the mail!!)

Others I want to read:

The House of Seven Gables - Nathaniel Hawthorne
A Long, Fatal Love Chase - Louisa May Alcott
The House on the Strand - Daphne du Maurier (if I can find it)
and I'd like to reread
The Return by Daoma Winston, as that's an old favorite that has a great, spooky atmosphere.

I hope to get the Girlfriend in a Coma review up by tomorrow evening.

I'm trying to inject some Autumn color into this post, in case you were wondering. Also, I have no idea how to put the challenge icon in a side column and I'm embarrassed to ask for help, once again, but if anyone feels like telling me I'm willing to learn.

And, now for the freakout. Whilst reading the evening news, which I haven't managed to read for at least a week (figured I ought to at least try to squeeze one in, since I'm falling behind on world events), I had a bizarre epiphany. Has anyone followed the story of the Austrian girl who spent 8 years imprisoned in a small cell? As I was reading a story in which she spoke to the press about her experience, I remembered that I had a very strange dream a few weeks ago. I looked in my outbox and here's what I wrote on the morning of August 24:

Last night was one of those fascinating nightmare nights. I wish I could put together the bits of the dream that I remember because it was actually really interesting. I can "see" the house, the basement (very tight staircase and everything was neatly organized but it was tiny), the countryside (gorgeous), the bad guy (handsome but with sinister eyes), etc. Weird. Someone was kidnapped but I can't figure out who.

I read about the extremely cramped cell Natascha Kampusch was forced to live in, this evening, and that's what spurned the idea to look up images on the internet. And, I nearly fell out of my chair. The staircase, in particular, was almost identical. The cell itself wasn't as orderly as my dream, but there were some stunning similarities. So weird.

Here's a link with photos, if anyone is interested:

BBC News Article

This is not the first time I've had one of those, "Oh, wow, I dreamed that," moments. But, they never cease to stun me as they don't happen often (maybe once a year or less). I thought this was a fitting story to mention with spooky reads on the menu. Nothing like a little real-life weirdness.

I've been under the weather, today, so I'm going to head on to bed to read. Thanks, again, Carl and Nat!!

Freaked-Out Bookfool