Hello my fellow Bookdragons!
Do you enjoy reading stories about ghosts and witches? Which books do you love to read under your cover on Halloween? Something with monsters? Or witches? Ghosts and werewolves perhaps? I’ve picked some of my favourite horror stories and books that fit the Halloween theme. Happy browsing!
I don’t know how often I have read and re-read Haunting Stories of Ghosts and Ghouls by Geoffrey Palmer and Noel Lloyd. It has everything a gripping collection of horror stories needs: headless riders, floating candles in the graveyard and restless souls. I remember them being quite creepy. I might read some again this year and see if I can still be scared.
Fitting right in with the headless rider, the classic Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories is also a great read for Halloween! There are a lot of editions ghosting around the book market and I am sure you will find the perfect book for you, whether you prefer Collins Classics or a picture book for children.
Other classics include Stephen King of course. One of my favourite books by him is Pet Sematary. Boy, was I scared of that undead cat! If you aren’t that much of a cat person, don’t fret, Cujo is the book for you! I thoroughly enjoyed the short story Room 1408 which is included in his short story collection Everything’s Eventual. Perfect for Halloween, actually! I tried reading It but it was so tedious and while the creepy scenes were super creepy, there were too few and I dropped the read after 300 pages. However, I can recommend all of the film adaptations of these books. Flippin’ terrifying.
Werewolves more your thing? A friend of mine has got great recommendations when it comes to brutal and violent werewolf stories. If you want to obsess together or want more recommendations, you’ll find her book blog here. Red Moon by Benjamin Percy is set in a dystopian world where werewolves are a hunted minority. Bloody, brutal and absolutely gripping. Keith C. Blackmore’s Breeds isn’t your typical werewolf story either. An isolated, snowy area. It is dark and there is no reception. A bloody frenzy follows.
If we are talking about werewolves, I have to give you some vampire books as well. Unfortunately I am not that much into vampire books. I know Dracula of course. But there is one more vampire book I absolutely want to read: Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. A lesbian vampire story. Sounds perfect for me. If you are looking for more lesbian stories, I can offer Wicked Things which is a collection of lesbian Halloween stories.
As a child I absolutely adored R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps Books and his Fear Street series. Those stories were wonderfully creepy and scary. Gave me goosebumps all right. I’d say Stine’s books are not just for children. Adults will enjoy them, too! I have to say I prefer the German Fear Street covers, though.
What is the scariest thing you can imagine in a book? Ghosts? Undead? Witches? Vampires? Or is it dolls and toys coming to life? With me it’s definitely the latter. Annabelle comes to mind – and to life. With Coraline it’s not technically a doll that scares me but it is absolutely frightening to read. And with MaMa the cover alone wants me to hide under the blanket. If you are looking for movies to watch on Halloween that will keep you up all night, watch one of these film adaptations. You won’t sleep, believe me.
Let’s move on to some children’s books that are a bit creepy but overall just fun to read.
Monsters, skeletons and magic. If you want a book that’s both witty and full of adventure and also features a skeleton then the Skulduggery Pleasant series is the perfect read for your Halloween! Action-packed and funny. Skeleton-detective Skulduggery Pleasant and his new partner in crime, Stephanie, set out to stop an evil sorcerer from taking over the world. Along their way they encounter monsters, vampires and trolls.
We don’t always want to be spooked so bad we can’t sleep afterwards. This is why I have this softer selection as well. Terry Pratchett for example writes gloriously hilarious books about witches. Wyrd Sisters, Equal Rites and Witches Abroad come to mind.
-When shall we three meet again?
-Well, I can do next Tuesday.
If you are looking for cool Halloween movies I think there is none better than Hocus Pocus. Funny, witty and it has got a lot of snarky witches in it. Tim Burton’s movies embrace the theme as well.
The book series Witch & Wizard by James Patterson is set in a dystopian world where magic is forbidden and an evil regime has taken over the world. The siblings Whit and Wisty are imprisoned but they won’t give up and try to save the world. I am especially fond of the manga edition of the series.
Demons, vampires, werewolves and warlocks. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare tick all the boxes when it comes to supernatural wars between angels and demons or in this case Shadowhunters and Downworlders. I can highly recommend the TV-show Shadowhunters. The first season was superb and I only haven’t gotten round to really watching the second one is because I don’t like Clary – the main character.
As we are talking about TV-shows, there are some more I can recommend for Halloween. BBC’s Being Human is about a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost sharing a flat. It’s not as funny as it sounds, it is more of a dark, serious show with a sad ending.
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction was part of my childhood and I would always watch it. I am sure some of you remember it. Where Jonathan Frakes would tell you five unbelievable and scary stories and you had to guess which ones were based on true events. Even now as an adult I enjoy the show massively and I am still creeped out by some stories.
An obvious show that fits the Halloween theme is Supernatural. The name says it all and I think everyone has heard of it – the series that won’t die. But the first four or even five seasons were awesome!
My last recommendation would be Edgar Allan Poe. I love his dark and sombre writing. My favourite poem would be The Raven of course but actually I wanted to present Tales of the Macabre. In especial this beautiful edition which was illustrated by Benjamin Lacombe.
I hope I could show you some nice books and movies to enjoy on Halloween. If you have recommendations as well, let me know and I will check them out. In the meantime I wish you a lovely day, collect sweets and have fun! Happy Halloween!
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