They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with Rachel Rust, whose latest, 8 Souls, comes out today from Entangled Teen!
What does Rachel love when she’s not writing thrillers that chill you to the bone? Spoiler alert: real-life creepy locations, a superheroic relationship that’s still influential, a book that stretched the imagination, and vampires to avoid. Intrigued? Read on to learn more!
Favorite Haunted Place: The Villisca Ax Murder House
It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I love haunted locations. If it’s creepy, sign me up. I’ve managed to check off a few from my must-see list: The Stanley Hotel, St Louis Cemetery No.1, The Birdcage Theater, and The Queen Mary. But the creepiest has been The Villisca Ax Murder House. It was in this Iowa home where eight people were bludgeoned with an axe in 1912 by a still-unknown assailant. I grew up just a few hours from Villisca and my eerie fascination with the story grew as I grew. The backstory to my newest book, 8 Souls, is based on these murders.
While visiting the Villisca house with my fearless mother, we didn’t see any ghosts. But there was something else creepy that happened. After finding ourselves in the small murder house with a group of strangers, we were allowed to walk around and explore. All I could think of was, “What would stop someone in here from doing a copycat murder right now?” I moved around the cramped rooms feeling very distrustful of the people around me, and completely consumed with thoughts that someone in the house harbored murderous intentions. This was obviously upsetting, but I cast it to the side as a result of being in a spooky location. Until later that day when my mom and I were hours away from Villisca, and she confessed to me the same exact sensation of danger. While in the house, we had both felt the dread of a copycat killer! Had that joint experience been a supernatural occurrence? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Because even though I love spooky locales, and have even written a book about one, I remain a huge skeptic of the paranormal in real life. But I’m always looking to be proven wrong.
Favorite Superhero Movie: 1978 Superman
To say I was obsessed with Christopher Reeve’s Superman movie when I was little would be an understatement. I watched it whenever I could, never tiring of the heroic antics of both Superman and the indomitable Lois Lane. In my young mind, I was simultaneously both roles at once — the superhero flying around the world with physical feats of strength, and the reporter battling villains with tenacity and intellect. The relationship between Superman and Lois Lane also shaped my view of romance. It’s not just the big scenes of dramatic kissing or flying around in a flowy gown, it’s more about the witty banter and stolen glances. Superman and Lois Lane are my ultimate it couple. And I learned from Lois Lane that the smart, determined woman lands the coolest guy. In my first-ever published book, All Kinds of Bad, main character Lydia Lanski is a budding journalist and was given those initials on purpose.
Favorite Book: A Wrinkle in Time
In elementary school, after enjoying a steady diet of Sweet Valley Twins books, my reading teacher handed me a copy of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time.
What was this book promising adventures in space and time? It didn’t look like anything I had ever read before, and I opened the cover with great uncertainty. But then something happened — I devoured the story. It wasn’t just entertaining, it was transforming. That little book with big ideas sparked a realization that not all stories have to be grounded in things easily understood. It expanded my thoughts of the world and stretched my imagination far beyond the boring, day-to-day realities of being an Earth-dwelling girl. It is still my favorite book decades later — I even have the copy from my reading class because I never turned it back in! (Oops.)
Favorite Baddies: Vampires
Is it cliché to say I love vampires? Because I do. And I don’t just mean the Salvatore brothers. I like the grisly stuff and the old stuff. Nosferatu, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Fright Night, and Near Dark. My favorite vampires are those best to be avoided because they’re more likely to kill you than kiss you. I find vampire lore fascinating because it’s darkly human and forces us to explore the line between instinct and restraint.
Now don’t get me wrong, I also enjoy the campy stuff. It doesn’t get much funnier than watching the Frog Brothers try to take down The Lost Boys. And like many in the 90s and early 00s, I was an avid viewer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I’ve read Twilight and the Vampire Diaries and The Southern Vampire Mysteries. If it’s about vampires, there’s a good chance I’ll read it or watch it. But my best reviews will always go to the most ruthless bloodsuckers.
Rachel Rust is an author of young adult books, including her newest release, 8 Souls, from Entangled Teen. Her book Or the Girl Dies was a 2018 Raven Award finalist and an Editor’s Pick. In both reading and writing, Rachel loves all things mysterious, romantic, and thrilling. If it’s a whodunit, she’s all about it. When not making up stories, she can usually be found with her family and two dogs — a pug and a chug (chihuahua/pug).
Rachel is represented by Eva Scalzo at Speilburg Literary Agency. Visit www.rachelrust.net to learn more about Rachel, her books, and to sign up for her newsletter. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Author Photo by Louisá Bunger at Lulu B. Photography
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I love your books’ covers and 8 Souls sounds really interesting. I reread A Wrinkle in Time a few years ago and was suprised by how much I still liked it as an adult.
Thank you so much! And I truly believe A Wrinkle in Time is a timeless classic. It’s one of the few books I reread.
Rachel, thank you so much for joining us! To this day, I still haven’t read A Wrinkle in Time (I may have read excerpts in reading books in grade school, but I don’t remember it and therefore it doesn’t count). The Ax Murder House sounds like a cool spot to visit, and even though I know these vampires aren’t brutal, in the slightest, but have you watched the movie (and spin-off television show on FX), What We Do in the Shadows?