Love them or hate them, Swedish theatrical pop/metal titans Ghost have had an undeniable chokehold on the music scene for the last several years, and that has not changed in 2025. Within the past month, the band has unveiled the newest transformation of Papa Emeritus and unleashed the first single – “Satanized” – from their upcoming album, Skeletá. They announced the release date for the record, April 25th, and shared the news of a coinciding world tour.
You can pre-order Skeletá and snag tickets/VIP packages for the tour at ghost-official.com!
My November was even slower than my October, in regard to the reading challenge. To be fair, that could have something to do with extra hours at work and my week-long trip to Colorado…
Anyway, I have only read five books since my last update. I did reach my goal of 55; time to raise the number again.
So here are the books I finished, complete with ratings and brief reviews. Enjoy, and remember to recommend anything you think I’d find interesting!
None of This is True (Lisa Jewell)
Rating: 4/5
None of This is True was an intriguing read – until the very end. The story was enough to hold my interest, and Lisa did quite well in keeping certain things shrouded in mystery. However, the big reveal was a mite disappointing and, frankly, dissatisfying. I would still recommend it, though, because not everyone will feel as I do about the conclusion.
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
Rating: 2/5
After hearing about Frankenstein for years, I finally decided to read it. How had I missed such a classic, right? Especially given how much I love all things horror. Well… having read this infamous novel, I feel that I could have continued living without it. I’m sure many of you will herald Frankenstein as a must-read, and I do understand its importance in literary history, but I just couldn’t get into it. Victor pissed me off. That’s the gist of my complaint. I won’t bore you with my opinion on this particular book any further.
Ghost (Kat Blackthorne)
Rating: 3/5
Ghost is the first in Kat Blackthorne’s “The Halloween Boys” series. I like the concept behind this book, and I love Kat diving into several facets of the supernatural. On the other hand, I lost my patience with Blythe, the female lead. I’ll give the short version of what didn’t win me over: everyone wanted Blythe, she accepted what was going on way too easily, and – I can’t believe I’m saying this – most of the smut was unnecessary.
Witching You Were Here (Amanda M. Lee)
Rating: 3.5/5
Amanda M. Lee’s “Wicked Witches of the Midwest” series are considered cozy mysteries, and that description is accurate. I read most of Witching You Were Here on my flights to and from Colorado. This is the third book in the series, and while I do enjoy the quirky relationships among the Winchester witches and their friends/significant others, I am waiting on a more intricate plot, or even a darker scenario like the murders in the first book. Still, these are fun and easy reads. I highly recommend grabbing your favorite blanket and a mug of tea (or coffee) and curling up with one of these books.
The Drowning Kind (Jennifer McMahon)
Rating: 4/5
My mom read The Drowning Kind first and told me that I would enjoy it, and she was right. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll say only that I was hooked from page one, I devoured this novel in three days, and this story carried me through a lot of emotions. It actually made me cry quite a bit. Read this. Read it now. Trust me.
**
I am currently reading Dracula (Bram Stoker) and The Witch of Halloween House (Jeff DeGordick).
I think I actually created this playlist last year, but it has undergone some changes since then! So click the link to visit the actual list on Spotify (this is NSFW), or simply read what made the cut below! Happy Halloween, y’all!
Type O Negative: “Love You to Death”
Type O Negative: “Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)”
Small Town Titans: “Monster Mash”
Marilyn Manson: “This is Halloween”
Ed Ivory, Ken Page: “Oogie Boogie’s Song”
Danny Elfman: “Remains of the Day”
Bruno Coulais, The Children’s Choir of Nice: “Coraline End Credits”
London After Midnight: “The Black Cat”
Avenged Sevenfold: “A Little Piece of Heaven”
Alice Cooper: “Feed My Frankenstein”
Depeche Mode: “Enjoy the Silence – 2006 Remaster”
Marilyn Manson, Sneaker Pimps: “Long Hard Road Out of Hell”
Sneaker Pimps: “6 Underground”
Little Nell, Patricia Quinn, Richard O’Brien: “Time Warp”
Lana Del Rey: “Season of the Witch”
Eagles: “Witchy Woman – 2013 Remaster”
Collide: “White Rabbit”
Rob Zombie: “Dragula”
Crosses: “Bitches Brew”
White Zombie: “Thunder Kiss ’65”
Fall Out Boy: “Uma Thurman”
Backstreet Boys: “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”
The Weeknd: “Blinding Lights”
The 69 Eyes: “Lost Boys”
Ghost: “Dance Macabre”
Keith David: “Friends on the Other Side” (from The Princess and the Frog)
The Alan Parsons Project: “The Raven”
The Alan Parsons Project: “(The System Of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Feather”
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: “Red Right Hand”
Front Line Assembly: “Ghosts”
Creature Feature: “The Greatest Show Unearthed”
Jyrki 69, Steve Stevens: “White Rabbit”
Die Krupps: “The Vampire Strikes Back”
Panzer AG: “Monster”
Rob Zombie: “House of 1000 Corpses”
Rob Zombie: “Pussy Liquor”
John 5: “Beat It”
Anarchy Club: “Behind the Mask”
Graveyard BBQ: “Cheat on the Church”
Bobaflex: “I’m Glad You’re Dead”
Rammstein: “Mein Teil”
Ghost: “Call Me Little Sunshine”
Ghost: “Hunter’s Moon”
Atlanta Rhythm Section: “Spooky”
Alice Cooper: “Welcome To My Nightmare”
Tom Petty: “Zombie Zoo”
Wednesday 13: “I Walked With a Zombie”
Murderdolls: “Love at First Fright”
Escape the Fate: “Zombie Dance”
Escape the Fate: “Gorgeous Nightmare”
Escape the Fate: “Lost in Darkness”
Powerman 5000: “Black Lipstick”
Deftones: “Change (In the House of Flies)”
Muse: “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween”
Strvngers: “Crucifixxx”
Strvngers: “Necromancer”
Crywolf: “Halloween, 1987”
Andrew Gold: “Spooky, Scary Skeletons (Undead Tombstone Remix)”
Ghost is touring the US again this summer! With support from Amon Amarth, the Re-Imperatour kicks off August 2nd in Concord, CA. You can get your tickets (if you haven’t already) at ghost-official.com.
8/2 – Concord, CA – Concord Pavilion
8/4 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
8/5 – Airway Heights, WA – BECU Live Outdoor Venue
8/7 – West Valley City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
8/8 – Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
8/11 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
8/12 – Milwaukee, WI – American Family Insurance Amphitheater
8/14 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
8/15 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
8/16 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
8/18 – Syracuse, NY – St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
I have been to more concerts than I can count, so there are no wrong answers here. Lol. However, I will choose a song that was a highlight for me when I finally saw it performed live.
I think it’s somewhat fitting that my first man crush in October is Papa Emeritus of Ghost. I actually saw the band about a month ago in Huntsville, and I must say Papa is an entrancing performer.
Five days after seeing Shinedown in Knoxville, I went to the Spiritbox, Mastodon, and Ghost show in Huntsville. Ghost had been on my bucket list for a while, and they did not disappoint! It was fun and a little cheesy and I loved every minute of it (especially The Nameless Ghouls wrapping up their guitar duel with the instantly recognizable riff to “Sweet Home Alabama”).
And now, the days are shortening, the temperature is dropping, horror movies are starting to come on…fall is returning. Last Saturday, the college football season kicked off (ha!) and my favorite team – the Crimson Tide, of course – annihilated Utah State. We play Texas this weekend. I hope we stomp them into the ground!
Mom and I ventured out on our first quest for Halloween things on Monday. We already have our The Nightmare Before Christmas pajamas from Wal-Mart. (We buy a set every year.) I found some cute sweats that say “HalloQueen” and socks with Jack Skellington and Zero on them. Oh, and my parents got me some Hocus Pocus sleep pants for my birthday. Now I just need the Spirit of Halloween near here to open. Actually, on second thought, maybe not. Lol. I always spend too much money in there.
I’ll update y’all on my reading challenge soon, and I’m aiming to post a “3 Bands/Artists You Should Be Following” next week. I don’t have any big plans, so I should have time to sit down and put it all together.
I hope this blog finds all of you well, and Roll Tide!
Ghost is kicking off their Imperatour on August 26th in San Diego! Mastodon and Spiritbox are their supporting acts. You can get your tickets via their website or through Ticketmaster. I am so ready for September 2nd!!!!!
8/26 – San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena
8/27 – Tucson, AZ – Tucson Convention Center
8/30 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
8/31 – Corpus Christi, TX – American Bank Center
9/2 – Huntsville, AL – Propst Arena
9/3 – Duluth, GA – Gas South Arena
9/4 – Asheville, NC – ExploreAsheville.com Arena
9/6 – Tampa, FL – Yuengling Arena
9/8 – Danville, VA – Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2022*
Mostly Music 