You Might Like—Spooky Recommendations from The Persistent

Welcome to You Might Like, a new recommendations column from The Persistent. Every Friday we’ll send you a short list of things that Persistent staff, contributors, writers and illustrators are loving—things we think you might like too.

Great books, compelling podcasts, exhibitions and albums—bring it! Of course, this being The Persistent, it’s not going to be just a boring old list: Each week will have a theme. Some themes be serious and some will be playful and all of them will be very exciting. Women in politics? On it. 90s nostalgia? Yes, yes, yes. This week—of course—we're kicking things off with Halloween. 🎃

Curl up with a bucket of your favorite candy (Dairy Milk chocolate bars!—FD, editor 🍫) and settle in for some must see-movies from feminist horror to kid-friendly anime; then cleanse your palette with a not-so-light read about the history of poison. Don't say we didn't warn you. ☠️

Movie & Theatre: My Halloween pick is "Kiki’s Delivery Service" by the Japanese animation studio, Studio Ghibli. The 1989 film is pure delicious fantasy; and while it is laden with gender stereotypes, it also breaks the mold as it charts the journey of a girl who leaves home to become a witch. There's a talking cat named Jiji; what more can I say? Studio Ghibli overachievers should also go see the cutesy-spooky remake of “My Neighbour Totoro” in London’s West End—a production with Nippon TV and the Royal Shakespeare Company, involving puppets. I would go on, but sometimes you just have to see it for yourself.
— Francesca Donner, Editor-in-Chief & Founder

TV Series: I'm not a horror fan, but I wrote my college thesis on vampires—solely because I loved the novels of Anne Rice. If you’re looking for viewing fare with teeth (sorry) this Halloween, check out the TV series of Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, which modernizes the setting, makes the queerness of Louis and Lestat’s relationship explicit, and even confronts issues of race by casting Louis with a Black actor. The result is, like a vampire’s kiss, intoxicating. The second season is now on Netflix, so I know what I’ll be doing Halloween night.
— Patricia Chui, Head of Growth & Marketing

Books: October is a great time to lose yourself in a creepy book. This month I’ve loved reading Deborah Blum’s "The Poisoner’s Handbook." It’s a chapter-by-chapter guide to the history of different poisons and how they’ve shaped American life and death, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s. Lots of grizzly mysterious stories about shady autopsies and ruthless killers! Another fantastic dark read that I’ve enjoyed recently is "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" by John Berendt. I’m a big fan of non-fiction that reads like fiction and this one is an absolute masterclass in unlikely true crime.
– Josie Cox, Founding Editor & Contributing Writer

Movie: My all-time favorite scary movie is "The Shining." It was of its time of course, and we now know that the brilliant and lately-deceased actress Shelly Duvall was mistreated by Stanley Kubrick. But as a writer who has suffered from writer's block herself, there is nothing quite like the moment when Duvall discovers that the manuscript Jack Nicholson has been working on so feverishly has only one sentence on it repeated over and over. Deliciously creepy—and horrifying.
– Paula Derrow, Features Editor

TV Series: Judd Apatow’s short lived 1999 series "Freaks and Geeks" is great nostalgia for me, and the Halloween episode (Tricks and Treats) is perfect from start to finish. It manages to be both hilarious and poignant while capturing the most beloved of childhood holidays, the awkwardness of high school and the spirit of the midwest town in the 1980s. I re-watch it every year.
– Kathleen Davis, Executive Editor

Movie: While advertised to a male audience when it was released in 2009, "Jennifer's Body" is not only made by women for women, but by queer women for queer women. The plot follows a pair of best friends whose relationship is complicated when one of them forcefully develops a taste for human flesh. Not just any human; "I'm killing boys," Megan Fox's character says when confronted about her murderous escapades.
– Han Goldstein, Social Media Editor

What are you obsessed with right now? Send your recommendations to hello@persistent.com and we might feature them in a future edition of You Might Like.

We’ll be back with more next Friday!