Total Skull: September, 2026

Things that brought me delight in September:S. M. Hallow, The Halls of the DeadS. M. Hallow's The Halls of the Dead was an absolute delight. In a medium-sized novel we've got heretic Victorian-esque necromancers trying to rebuild a repository of occult knowledge, dealing with bites being taken out of their souls, abusive ghosts, and coming back from the dead with a newfound ravenous hunger for flesh. And that's just the broad outline--there's a lot going on here. The Halls of the Dead immediately went on my list of "best books I've read this year." S. M Hallow did a tremendous job crafting a complex little book where all the pieces fit together just so, yet not in a way that was immediately obvious.DeliriumIn 1972's Delirium (not to be confused with the hundred other movies named Delirium), a scientist is driven into a murderous frenzy by shapely legs and mini dresses, as I assume we all are. Overall, Delirium is pretty standard Italo-Gothic thriller fare, but what saves this movie is…