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Post by rallycairn on Jul 19, 2013 12:59:06 GMT 1
Hi, everybody ! I thought it might be fun to compile a list of candidates for top 10 pony books that are supernatural/spooky/ magical in a spooky way OR books that have significant content set around Halloween. I'm thinking most of Eleanor Jones's work, such as Dreams or Demons. Most of Pamela Kavanagh's, too. Then, I thought we might pick one or two as *unofficial* reads for October and just have an informal discussion thread, as long as that doesn't interfere with any plans Claire might have for the forum that month. **PLEASE MAKE A SPECIAL NOTE IF YOU KNOW A BOOK THAT ACTUALLY CONTAINS HALLOWEEN SCENES so we can give that special consideration for a possible October read. Thanks! I'll start off with those I mentioned: Jones, Eleanor. Circle of Blue. (questionably spooky although the heroine is very desperate to escape her situation, so I'll put it on the list. Jones's Fears and Phantoms is a time slip, by the way, so I'm not including it even though it is excellent.) Edwards, Monica. The Midnight Horse. Edwards, Monica. White Riders. Jones, Eleanor. Dreams or Demons (love this one!) Jones, Eleanor. Echo of Hooves. Jones, Eleanor. Spirit of the Sea. Kavanagh, Pamela. Dreamcatcher. Kavanagh, Pamela. Hoofbeats on the Wind. Kavanagh, Pamela. Pony Farm Mystery. Kavanagh, Pamela. Taladinn. Kenny, Kathryn. Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Headless Horseman. **Autumn Setting. Pullum, Isolde. Green Horse Hotel trilogy. Wigley, Ann. Tears for a Tall Horse (superb!) I think one of the Virginia Vail's (either The Palomino or If Wishes Were Horses, but I think The Palomino) culminates in a big Halloween party, but I need to double check and also make sure it's got enough of that autumn chill to qualify! I hope this idea for a poll makes sense. Just looking for spooky pony books, especially those that make you think of autumn and harvest time and Halloween and dark of night. PS: Should we include Ghost Horse on the Moor? Not only is it a drag, but I don't think anyone really thought it was a ghost even right from the beginning. But there IS that one Romney Marsh with the night rider who is supposed to foretell death for anyone who sees him -- which one was that? Same one as the one where they trade for the pony for the younger brother, and they are camping for an extended period at the farm.
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Post by susanb on Jul 19, 2013 13:59:19 GMT 1
Love the idea, but can't off the top of my head think of any books that actually contain Halloween scenes....why is that? Fall and pony books seem to go hand in hand, there really ought to be some? Will have to peruse the collection this weekend.
Re ghost horse, there is Mystery at Shadow Ranch by "Caroline Keene"
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allyk
Pony Clubber
Posts: 184
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Post by allyk on Jul 19, 2013 14:32:34 GMT 1
Bonnie Bryant - Saddle Club 24 - Ghost Rider
Bonnie Bryant - Saddle Club 48 - Mystery Ride
Bonnie Bryant - Pony Tails 9 - Corey and the Spooky Pony
Jessie Haas - Jigsaw Pony
Rumer Godden - Mr. McFadden's Hallowe'en
Laura Hesse - The Great Pumpkin Ride
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2013 14:57:37 GMT 1
White Riders By Monica Edwards?
Plenty of spooky old houses in pony books I'm sure, but like Susan I can't think of them at the moment.
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Post by susanb on Jul 19, 2013 15:53:35 GMT 1
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Post by haffyfan on Jul 19, 2013 18:40:29 GMT 1
Theres Red Horse Haunting (can't remember author) and the Grey ghost By Caroline Henderson from the JA Allen series that have ghost's in them. Both good reads I also enjoyed this - which does pop up now and again as a kindle freebie www.amazon.co.uk/Riding-Dead-Horse-Bonnie-Lewis/dp/1482532956/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1374255318&sr=8-2&keywords=bonnie+lewisAnother Eleanor Jones Fears and Phantoms had a supernatural element i'm sure...or at least a time slip of sorts and theres another in that Stabenfeld series where theres a time slip in which the girl rescues animals including horses from a barn and also finds out about her family history and circumstances around her Mothers abandonment but i can't for the life of me remember the title or see it on my shelves. Her new horse use to live at the barn and is the one who kept taking her there, i'm sure we discussed it on here some time ago.
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Post by Claire on Jul 19, 2013 19:35:19 GMT 1
Haffy - I think that one is Abandoned by Angela Dorsey? She also did a good ghost story called Freedom. Mary Beth's Haunted Ride in the Riding Academy series by Alison Hart is a Haloween themed one and also one of the later Maggie Dana Timber Riders books (will have to check up which one unless someone can enlighten me) has a Haloween party. Good idea we could have a Haloween themed group read at the end of October. Hopefully this thread isn't too early and we won't have forgotten all the suggestions by then. BTW for the enlightenment of the newbies - October is usually when we do the Pony Book Mastermind competition which has become an annual event. Hopefully you newbs will join in
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allyk
Pony Clubber
Posts: 184
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Post by allyk on Jul 19, 2013 19:45:22 GMT 1
BTW for the enlightenment of the newbies - October is usually when we do the Pony Book Mastermind competition which has become an annual event. Hopefully you newbs will join in *checks join dates and post counts of people in thread* 2010 / 504 2007 / 2,153 2013 / 48 2009 / 4,187 2007 / 2,597 2007 / 10,182 *one of these is not like the others*
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Post by Claire on Jul 20, 2013 10:47:00 GMT 1
Lol Ally I think its great you are posting a lot. Has anyone mentioned The Grey Ghost by Carolyn Henderson?
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Post by rallycairn on Jul 20, 2013 14:30:21 GMT 1
Great ideas, keep them coming, then I'll put the top ones in a standard top ten poll format.
I think I'll leave off the time slip ones because even though they are certainly suspenseful and thrilling I'm thinking more along the lines of ghosts or things thought to be ghosts or spooks or whatever. I think I'll take Circle of Blue off too as it's an alternate reality situation.
One I should add is Outfoxed by Rita Mae Brown. There are a few ghostly appearances, starting with an opening scene with the Grim Reaper (for real, not a joke), and later other specters, and the whole book is just immersed and suffused almost every moment with autumn and hunting.
A few months ago I read a delightful children's book that has a strong autumn setting, Bill Miller's Heroes and Hounds.
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Post by rallycairn on Jul 20, 2013 14:34:04 GMT 1
PS Hey, Ally, have you read those Bonnie Bryant ones? Do you think they should be in a top 10 list? Mystery Ride does sound like fun.
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Post by Claire on Jul 20, 2013 19:52:25 GMT 1
Here's some more I found that I had listed on my subject page under 'ghostly'
Betty Levin - A Binding Spell Anne Marie MacDonald - The Ghost Horse of Meadow Green Shirley Rousseau Murphy - White Ghost Summer K. M. Peyton - Stealaway Janni Lee Simner - Phantom Rider series Nancy Springer - Sky Rider Joyce Stranger - Midnight Magic
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Post by haffyfan on Jul 20, 2013 20:53:02 GMT 1
oh yes Stealaway - it's quite good but very short as aimed at yonger readers.
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allyk
Pony Clubber
Posts: 184
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Post by allyk on Jul 20, 2013 21:11:33 GMT 1
PS Hey, Ally, have you read those Bonnie Bryant ones? Do you think they should be in a top 10 list? Mystery Ride does sound like fun. Well Mystery Ride isn't very halloweeny, just a mystery that happens to take place in the autumn. It's tough for me to judge such things, but it is targetted for a much younger audience. I would go with McFadden's Hallowe'en over that by quite a bit. Better story and it actually deals with halloween.
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Post by trixiepony on Jul 21, 2013 3:50:11 GMT 1
How about Monica Dickens the messenger series there werd.
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Post by kunuma on Jul 21, 2013 11:20:03 GMT 1
Does the Legend of Sleepy Hollow count? Plus I have never been able to find it, but I know there is a book with a story of a ghost horse on an island, that you see the horse from a distance, but when you land there is only a horse skeleton -I know it exists somewhere (the book that is!)
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Post by Claire on Jul 21, 2013 11:49:12 GMT 1
Oh yeah I remember us trying to work out what that horse ghost/skeleton book was and we never did. I'd love to track it down (book not skeleton lol)
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Post by foxglove on Jul 23, 2013 10:26:18 GMT 1
I haven't read ANY of these! I love a spooky mystery though so looking forward to your recommendations.
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Post by rallycairn on Sept 18, 2013 17:20:52 GMT 1
Well, I really dropped the ball on this one! Should have had a poll up by now. How about -- I'll create a poll for spooky books that we can all vote and comment on for October; AND MOST IMPORTANTLY --
Would anyone like to join in a read of ANN WIGLEY'S TEARS FOR A TALL HORSE during October?
This is one superb book with great contemporary and historical characters, good atmosphere, and excellent ghostly elements (with lots of back story). Is this book readily available in the UK? I'm just picking a book because I didn't get the poll up in good time -- I don't mean to be dictatorial. Hope everyone considers this, though, because this is a great book and good for October.
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Post by susanb on Sept 18, 2013 17:33:02 GMT 1
I'm not sure if I have a copy of Tears for a Tall Horse, but if I don't I'm game to find a copy....I know I liked her Red Horse Haunting!
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Post by Claire on Sept 18, 2013 17:34:31 GMT 1
I'd be happy to join in with a reading circle of that book Rally. Its not easy to find in the UK but I do have a copy which can be passed around to the other Brits who want to join in.
Let me know if you have any probs putting up a poll as one or two other people haven't been able to manage it and I can't find an option anywhere to enable forum members to add polls like there used to be on the old forum.
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Post by rallycairn on Sept 18, 2013 17:58:14 GMT 1
Ok, thanks about the poll, Claire. Glad you and Susan are interested in joining in for a read.
Re: Tears for a Tall Horse, I can check around here in the US, too, and mail you a couple of copies to be forwarded on if it is hard to get in the UK. Anyone who is at all interested should not miss this excellent book!
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Post by brumby on Sept 18, 2013 22:52:36 GMT 1
Would love to join, always happy to read other peoples recommendations, have found a reasonably priced copy but not sure it will get here in time for the discussion. Off to do another search.
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Post by rallycairn on Sept 19, 2013 3:36:15 GMT 1
brumby, we won't be starting til October, so hopefully even a book rate shipment would reach you in a couple of weeks??! Hope you can find a copy you feel will get to you on time!
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Post by susanb on Sept 19, 2013 13:56:09 GMT 1
I checked the shelves and found that I do actually have a copy, so ready to go when October comes around!
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Post by rallycairn on Sept 19, 2013 14:34:57 GMT 1
Great to see some interest already! I see, though, that on the PonymadBookLovers website Tears for a Tall Horse gets mixed comments and only three horseshoes, mostly regarding the Americanization of some elements. Although that is certainly a valid criticism, at least the editors didn't go so far as to try to out-and-out pretend the book takes place in America (which they did with some books) -- I think they just tried not to use Britishisms so esoteric American readers wouldn't get them. After all, there is a lot of historical backstory, so they couldn't completely change the location without it being nonsensical. And I think the strength of the backstory and the connections between past and present are what raise the book a bit above others of the genre. Much as I love some other ghostly books, few have this story's level of detail and specificity about the history of the ghostly presence. More typical I think is, "there was this bandit, the Bad Dude, and he marauded in this area" or "there was a powerful witch here" and that's pretty much it. Maybe a little more detail, but not detail like in Tears for a Tall Horse. I mean, I really am WITH that character and the events that led up to there being a ghostly presence (I'm trying not to spoil here, obviously, which is the reason for the tortured phrases). I have sent an email to an abebooks seller who has three copies to request cost and postage for all three; if it looks like you in the UK can't get reasonably priced copies, let me know in the next few days and I can buy those three and send them to Claire to then forward on -- if y'all want to do that, of course.
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Post by Claire on Sept 20, 2013 2:03:43 GMT 1
Thats very nice of you Rally, but lets see how many people want to join in as in the past I have passed the same copy onto 2 or 3 people before it comes back to me (really is a reading circle!) so if not too many join in I think we can probably manage without you forking out money and going to the trouble of sending a copy across here. I've actually been toying with the idea of starting some sort of group fund or subscription for buying copies of reading circle books and posting them to people. Something to think about/discuss in the future. Lol Rally you are discussing the book already and we haven't even started the group read yet Hold you horses, if you'll excuse the pun! BTW the horseshoe ratings can change due to consensus of opinion. If we get a lot of 'very goods' on the reading circle I may change it to 4 horseshoes.
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Post by rallycairn on Sept 20, 2013 3:19:36 GMT 1
You're too right, Claire, on all points -- of course I'll wait to see if any books are needed before buying extras. And my other comments were because I was afraid someone might be thinking of joining in, but then see the average rating/comments and decide not to bother, or be puzzled as to why I was touting it so highly.
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Post by haffyfan on Sept 20, 2013 21:28:24 GMT 1
I really enjoyed red horse haunting but looking up this one on book finder the Uk copies are a bit pricey for me for this author/style of book. Plus i rarely actually get around to reading them in time to join in if i'm honest.
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Post by Charlotte on Oct 7, 2013 21:44:34 GMT 1
Horseman's Island by Marjorie M Oliver presumably isn't the mysterious ghost horse/island book, it has rather limited supernatural overtones so hardly suitable as a halloween read. But it does refer to Irish fairies and ancient deaths of people/horses when trying to reach a lake island and possible ghost(s), though seemingly not of horses.
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