2. The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde - There is nothing scary about this book featuring a traditional English ghost in a traditional manor house who is not at all happy when an American family moves in and is decidedly un-scared by his ghostly behavior. While the ending is a little odd I love the rest of this short little incredibly entertaining book!
3. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - I just read this one for the first time and really enjoyed it. I'm not sure if I'll be rereading this every year but I can definitely see trying to get it in audio next Halloween!
4. Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe - I don't think I'd heard of this little book about a vampire bunny until Stormi mentioned it as her favorite Halloween book a year or two ago and then I was lucky enough to win it in a giveaway. It's been the bedtime book for the Tornado this past week and he's loving it. I was worried it'd be too scary but it really isn't and it's just wildly entertaining. I see there are more books in the series and I'm looking forward to getting them next year.
6. The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co. #1) by Jonathan Stroud - I really enjoyed this first one in the series about a group of adolescent ghost hunters. The main characters are smart and entertaining and the ghosts are definitely menacing. This is a series I'm really looking forward to continuing.
7. Among the Shadows: Tales from the Darker Side by L.M. Montgomery - When you think of Montgomery books what tends to come to mind are stories of optimistic hard working people who always look on the bright side of things. In this short story collection things take a bit of a different turn with unsettling events, miserable characters and more than a couple of ghosts. While most do have a happy or at least positive ending they're much darker than I would normally expect from the creator of Anne, Emily, Jane, and Marigold.
8. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle - I read this years and years ago but as I've been getting reacquainted with Holmes through reboots like Sherlock and Elementary I'm anxious to reread this one!
9. The Moonstone Castle by Carolyn Keene - I have this one on my nightstand ready for a reread before Halloween happens. While I devoured all of the Nancy Drew books as quick as I could as a child this one really sticks out in my head as one that gave me a serious case of the creeps. I'm looking forward to seeing just what it was that I found so creepy!
10. Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey - After Liberty Hardy describe this book on the Book Riot All the Books Podcast I knew there was no way I could pass it up! She compares Colin Dickey to a somewhat more morbid Mary Roach and it's all about ghosts! I just started this one and I'm so excited about it!
What reads do you want to pick up at Halloween time?
This is a great list, Katherine! I have some catching up to do though... have only red a few of them.
ReplyDeleteI think catching up is our constant state of being!
DeleteI haven't read any of these! Not a huge shocker, since I don't do scary 99% if the time. I can see myself picking up some of these though :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge scary fan either! I can handle a good thriller but horror creeps me out!
DeleteThe House of Many Shadows- what an awesome title! And same for The Moonstone Castle- I hadn't thought about a Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew read for Halloween but that's a great idea! I'm trying to remember if I read that one- the Mystery of the Moss Covered Mansion I think is the one I remember, the one with a panther on the cover lol. For some reason i remember that. Anyway great list!
ReplyDeleteMoss Covered Mansion is another good one! I'd love to do some major Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys rereading!
DeleteA bunch of these I really need to get around to reading!
ReplyDeleteSome of these are recent reads for me too!
DeleteI really want to read The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and The Graveyard Book! Great list. I wonder what it would be like rereading a Nancy Drew at this age??
ReplyDeleteThe Haunting of Hill House is great! It's good in audio if you have an opportunity to go that route. I've reread a couple of Nancy Drews and the value is mostly nostalgic but still entertaining!
DeleteI wish I could go back to the beginning of October and read some of these!
ReplyDeleteI know! There were so many Halloween-y reads I really wanted to read or reread this year but never ended up with time.
DeleteI love Bunnicula! It's one of my favorite kid's books and I recommend it all the time. It's so funny. The Graveyard Book is perfect this time of year too.
ReplyDeleteIt's so great! I wish I had come across it years ago.
DeleteI love the Hound of the Baskervilles, I have read it as a teen and an adult and it still gives me shivers. Great list!!
ReplyDeleteIt's been so long that my memories are really vague. I definitely need a reread.
DeleteGreat list, Katherine! I read the Bunnicula books to my son when he was about the Tornado's age and he loved them. I think I read that Barbara Michael's book many years ago. I remember it being creepy! Enjoy your Nancy Drew read!
ReplyDeleteI love Barbara Michaels! She's always such fun with just the right level of creepiness.
DeleteYour mention of Bunnicula takes me back! When I had first started teaching, the GATE teacher next door used that series. I have no book in particular to read whenever it's Halloween but I plan to cast on a Halloween sock before the month ends!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of Halloween socks!! What fun!
DeleteGreat choices -- I've heard of many even if I've only read a few. Maybe this will be the year I finally read The Canterville Ghost... although first up (after a must-read ARC) is probably Agatha Christie's Hallowe'en Party. I'd like to read The Graveyard Book and The Screaming Staircase some year, too.
ReplyDeleteHallow'en Party almost made my list. It's such a great mystery. I think you'd like The Screaming Staircase. There's some really fantastic characters.
DeleteI missed it too until Stormi mentioned it last year! I wish I had discovered it years ago!
ReplyDeleteHeh I haven't read a single one of them but not a surprise since I'm a total scary/spooky/halloween wuss. ::snort::
ReplyDeleteI'm not shocked by that at all! There are a few on here I think you'd enjoy - they're wuss proof!
DeleteI often see creepy and horror going hand in hand in some lists, such as you find to be the case with The Haunting of Hill House, and they are quite different things. Great list - some new to me titles. I keep hearing about Ghostland lately; I hope you're enjoying. I think you chose the right time to pick it up!
ReplyDeleteI'm reading Ghostland now and it's not what I was expecting at all. Fingers crossed it improves! There is a difference between creepy and horror and I think frequently people are looking for one and not the other.
DeleteI need to refresh my memory about The Moonstone Castle! My TTT
ReplyDeleteI remember so many Nancy Drew covers vividly but unfortunately the plot hadn't stuck nearly as much!
DeleteI heard that the audio for The Graveyard Book is amazing, Neil Gaiman actually narrates himself. I think I'm going to give it a try myself soon.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I've been thinking. I enjoyed the read but I can see how it would be amazing in audio.
DeleteOh, yes, The Haunting of Hill House is so great - you just never know what happened in that one! I don't really tend to read Halloweenish books during October although I do pull out one or two more eerie or thriller kinds for R.I.P.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really a horror fan but I do like some creepiness or eeriness now and then. Haunting of Hill House definitely has more than a little of both!
DeleteI don't think I've ever really read any books as they specifically speak about Halloween unless it was tied to a romance years ago. I was, however, a serious fan of Stephen King's work, which was pretty creepy. (lol) Now, I definitely don't read anything that will keep me up at night, but I do enjoy finding out about true ghost stories from back in the day because they seem really fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI love ghost stories! So fascinating and I love when they look at the history a bit.
DeleteOh Bunnicula! It's been ages since I've read it but I really loved it. And yes to Sherlock! Great list, Katherine!
ReplyDeleteI was not aware of the Tales From the Darker Side book! Thanks for the heads up and I also agree with alot of your choices and need to reread some if them next Halloween season. :)
ReplyDelete