'A ghoul's best friend': Library clerk takes a stab at starting horror book club

Olivia Barton likes to curl up with a good book and get scared.

The Frenchtown-Dixie Branch Library clerk is taking a stab at starting a horror book club she’s calling “A Ghoul’s Best Friend Book Club 2023."

The 22-year-old is hopeful other horror fans will be dying to join.

The club will meet at 7 p.m. on the last Wednesday of every other month at the Nadeau Road library. No registration is required. Anyone interested in joining the club can stop at the library to pick up a book. A library card is needed.

Beginning April 26, members of the “scary good horror book club” will be discussing Chuck Wendig’s “The Book of Accidents.”

Due to the content of the books, the club is geared for adults and limited to 15 members. However, Barton is open to expanding the number of participants following this month’s meeting.

“If we do have teens that are interested, we can definitely gauge the content level of books for next year to make them accessible for all ages,” Barton said.

The Flat Rock resident selected some of her personal favorites and solicited sage advice from Dundee Branch Library community librarian Jennifer Grudnoski.

“She and I are the two sort of horror gurus in the system. Two of them were her suggestions, and two of them were mine,” Barton said.

Grudnoski suggested “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” by Grady Hendrix and “The Shining” by Stephen King.

Barton opted for “The Book of Accidents” and “Bad Cree” by Jessica Johns.

Barton admits her love affair with terrifying tales began when she read “The Shining.” The story of an off-season hotel caretaker and his family has been described as a psychological thriller.

“I was 15 and that started my interest in the horror genre,” she said.

Often divided into sub-genres of supernatural and psychological horror, many people like to read books intended to frighten and often disgust readers.

What Barton enjoys most about the horror genre is its ability to comment about social issues in society in a way that is unsettling and appeals to a person’s fears.

“In ‘Bad Cree,’ the book itself is about a young Cree woman who is living in Canada, who comes home and eventually succumbs to this strange dream world. … On top of having to fight the monsters that are in the book, she has to reconcile with her family and overcome generational trauma from being a Cree woman,” she said.

The book, published in January, was written by a Vancouver-based writer and member of Sucker Creek Nation in Treaty 8 Territory in northern Alberta.

For the first three meetings, members will gather at the library. October’s meeting will be held at the Michigan Museum of Horror, 44 S. Monroe St.

Barton said she wanted to arrange something at the creepiest spot downtown.

“I knew before starting the club, I wanted to meet at the Michigan Museum of Horror at some point. I called Nate Thompson and asked, ‘Do you have space for a book club to meet?’ and he was immediately on board,” she said. “I’m just super excited. I think it’s going to add a cool atmosphere to discuss Stephen King’s book.”

For more information about the horror book club, contact Barton at the Frenchtown-Dixie Branch Library, 2881 Nadeau Road or call 734-289-1035.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Library clerk takes stab at starting horror book club