Duration: 1st July – 30th December2021
Number of books: 60
Hosted by: My Vampire Book Obsession

Are you afraid of what lies beneath?
Afraid of the things that stand in the darkness, watching you.
The things that keep you up at night…..

Gather round the fire and share tales of terror with your friends to see who is really afraid of the dark.

Duration
July 1st – December 31st

Rules
Complete at least 10 tasks to get the vampire heart
All genres welcome
Rereads welcome
No minimum page count
One book per task

Levels
Terrified of the dark: 10-15 books
A little scared of the dark: 16-30 books
Not at all afraid of the dark: 31-45 books
Master of Darkness: 46-60 books

The Tale of the Phantom Cab
Two brothers who often fight with each other get lost in the woods, and come across a mysterious cab driver named Flynn. He leads the two boys to an unusual man named Dr. Vink to help them find their way out. The catch is that Vink will not help any of his guests until they solve one of his riddles. Failure to do so results in undesired consequences.
1. Read a book with brothers in the plot – A Chesapeake Shores Christmas by Sherryl Woods
2. Read a book where the MC gets lost
3. Read a book where a character takes a cab/Uber or something similar – Your Coffin or Mine? by Kimberly Raye
4. Read a book where the MC works in the medical profession – The Gap by Benjamin Gilmour

The Tale of the Lonely Ghost
Amanda is stuck spending time at her aunt’s house, and desperately wants to be friends with her snotty cousin Beth. She agrees to spend the night in the haunted house next door to become part of her group of friends. She soon finds out that the story regarding the “haunted” house may actually be true with a living connection close by.
1. Read a book tagged ghost(s) on the first page of tags
2. Read a book where a character can see or talk to ghosts – Hopcross Jilly by Patricia Briggs
3. Read a book with a scary or haunted looking building/house on the cover
4. Read a book where a character wants to fit it with other people – Happy Trail by Daisy Prescott

The Tale of Laughing in the Dark
Josh decides to prove that an amusement park fun house isn’t haunted by stealing the nose from a prop of Zeebo the clown. Zeebo was a corrupt circus clown who died in a funhouse fire while escaping from the police after stealing money. Josh soon learns that the story is indeed true when Zeebo’s ghost visits him demanding his nose back.
1. Read a book with an MPG of funny/humor or something similar – The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine
2. Read a book where a building is set on fire during the book – Witching Moon by Rebecca York
3. Read a book with the word “clown” in the text
4. Read a book where the MC steals something or is running from the police – Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre

The Tale of the Twisted Claw
In a twist on the classic story “The Monkey’s Paw”, two boys play a mean trick on an old lady the night before Halloween. The next night the boys return for trick or treating “disguised” in costumes, but rather than candy she gives them a wooden vulture’s claw. She tells the boys that this “gift” grants wishes warning them to “be careful what they wish for”. The two boys start making wishes with unintended terrifying consequences.
1. Read a book where a character celebrates Halloween – Harvest Moon by Robyn Carr
2. Read a book with a claw(s) or claw marks on the cover – Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs
3. Read a book a boy plays an important role in the book – Promise Canyon by Robyn Carr
4. Read a book tagged horror or thriller

The Tale of the Super Specs
A prankster named Weeds buys a pair of novelty glasses from Sardo that allow the wearer to see into another dimension. This alternate universe is populated by figures in black, that are looking to merge with the known universe unless Sardo can close the door between the two dimensions.
1. Read a book with more than one dimension in it
2. Read a book with glasses on the cover – Geekerella by Ashley Poston
3. Read a book with someone wearing black on the cover – The Grendel Affair by Lisa Shearin
4. Read a book set in an alternate dimension – The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

The Tale of the Captured Souls
A girl and her two parents move into a lakeside rented room for the summer where they befriend the young property owner Peter. Strangely the residence is full of mirrors that the owner cites as a “hobby”, and even stranger the parents start feeling weaker by the day. However when the girl discovers the young owner’s plot to take away her parents’ youth to keep himself young using a device connected to the mirror and make her as his mate, she has to stop him before it’s too late.
1. Read a book set during the summer – Wild Man Creek by Robyn Carr
2. Read a book with a mirror on the cover
3. Read a book where a character has an ability to stay young – Dawn’s Awakening by Lora Leigh
4. Read a book with a true or fated mate – Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

The Tale of the Hungry Hounds
Amy and Pam discover their late aunt’s old horse-riding jacket in an old trunk. When Pam puts on the jacket, she becomes possessed by the aunt’s spirit, who must feed her hungry dogs in order to rest in peace.
1. Read a book with a dog on the cover
2. Read a book where a character is possessed – Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas
3. Read a book with food on the cover – Moonlight Cove by Sherryl Woods
4. Read a book with a jacket on the cover – A Wild Life by Martin Hughes-Games

The Tale of the Nightly Neighbors
A new family moves into Emma’s neighborhood. They are originally from Eastern Europe, wear black, collect blood, and are only active at night.
1. Read a book where the MC moves – Driftwood Cottage by Sherryl Woods
2. Read a book with a vampire – Archangel’s Blade by Nalini Singh
3. Read a book set in Europe – The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason
4. Read a book where a character is active mostly at night

The Tale of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Dean is a high school outcast who gets a chance to have some power from awakening an ancient secret hidden in the school. In doing, so he briefly forgets the person who cares for him most without realizing it.
1. Read a book where the MC is a student – Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot
2. Read a book where a character suffers from amnesia for at least part of the book – The Answer to the Riddle is Me by David Stuart MacLean
3. Read a book with an MPG of magic – Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews
4. Read a book where the MC is a witch or wizard – Sky of Ash by Rachel Madbury

The Tale of the Prom Queen
Three kids attempt to find the truth behind an urban legend of a young girl who died while waiting for her boyfriend to pick her up for the prom.
1. Read a book with a 3 in the page count – The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 edited by Trisha Telep (531 pp.)
2. Read a book where the MC dances – Hidden Summit by Robyn Carr
3. Read a book with a creature from a legend or myth – Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
4. Read a book where a character dies – On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle

The Tale of Jake and the Leprechaun
Jake Joysen is an aspiring, young actor who is excited to be part of a play titled Will o’ the Wisp, but Jake himself soon learns in due time that there is much more to the play than meets the eye.
1. Read a book where a character is an actor/actress – Redwood Bend by Robyn Carr
2. Read a book with an MPG or mystery – Marriage and Murder by Penny Reid
3. Read a book with an Irish character or Leprechaun – An O’Brien Family Christmas by Sherryl Woods
4. Read a book with an author or an MC who has the same first and last initial – Cowboy and the Captive by Lora Leigh

The Tale of the Dark Music
Andy moves into a new neighborhood where things do not start out well until he figures out that there is something hidden inside his basement that only seems to appear whenever music is played.
1. Read a book with an MPG of music
2. Read a book where a character goes into a basement during the book – The Wanderer by Robyn Carr
3. Read a book with a dark cover – Engagement and Espionage by Penny Reid
4. Read a book with an author or MC who has either a first or last initial of A – Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

The Tale of the Pinball Wizard
Despite being warned by his boss against playing the pinball machine and finish cleaning up before going home, Ross plays a pinball game that comes to life when he is left in the mall after closing time.
1. Read a book where a character gets in trouble with his/her boss – Dragonkeeper by Carole Wilkinson
2. Read a book where a character plays a game – Beach Lane by Sherryl Woods
3. Read a book where a character is somewhere they are not supposed to be – Stranger Ranger by Daisy Prescott
4. Read a book with a wizard on the cover

The Tale of the Final Wish
Despite being 13 years old, Jill still loves fairy tales and believes in “happily ever after.” When Jill wishes for everyone who has bullied her and lectured her about her immature behavior to go away, a hippie-looking man known as The Sandman kidnaps Jill and shows her a world where her wish has come true and her beloved fairy tales have a dark side.
1. Read a book with a HEA – Bring Me Home for Christmas by Robyn Carr
2. Read a book where a character is bullied – The Edge of Heaven by E.M. Lindsey
3. Read a book a character is kidnapped – Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
4. Read a book where someone has a dark side – Beard Necessities by Penny Reid

The Tale of the Midnight Madness
Dr. Vink helps a struggling movie theater gain more patrons with a copy of the classic vampire film, Nosferatu, but when Dr. Vink gets cheated out of his money in saving the theater, he curses the famous movie monster to step out of the movie and haunt the theater, and it’s up to two teenaged ushers to break the curse.
1. Read a book where the MC watches a movie
2. Read a book with a curse in it – The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
3. Read a book with a monster in it
4. Read a book with the word midnight in the title