"Halloween" Reading

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Does anyone do Halloween reading? In October I like to indulge in light fantasy, something like Harry Potter or Narnia. I usually admit one horror book the last week of October, something like Christine. This year I am hoping to read one of the classics – Dracula or Frankenstein.
 
Potter said:
Does anyone do Halloween reading? In October I like to indulge in light fantasy, something like Harry Potter or Narnia. I usually admit one horror book the last week of October, something like Christine. This year I am hoping to read one of the classics – Dracula or Frankenstein.
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Both are such fabulous choices! Frankenstein is so well crafted. Dracula is my personal preference of the two. I like to scour TCM for their horror showings in October. There are usually a few gems that aren’t shown at any other time of year.
 
I’m not at all for horror, per se, and not really anything that would be considered “Halloweeny,” but I love the old Gothic romances by Victoria Holt, and other such books as “Rebecca” by Daphne DuMaurier. Things like that. I love to read any time of year!
 
Crown_of_Stars said:
I’m not at all for horror, per se, and not really anything that would be considered “Halloweeny,” but I love the old Gothic romances by Victoria Holt, and other such books as “Rebecca” by Daphne DuMaurier. Things like that. I love to read any time of year!
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Healthier choices than the above… Have to go into town soon and am dreading the aisles full of ghouls and skeletons, and as for that HUGE HUGE spider atop the heap of pumpkins…

Sooner it is past the healthier… dark is dark and light is light
 
Stephen King’s “It” would be a good choice to go along with all the “creepy clown” stuff going on lately.
 
I’ve always liked Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
 
Father Robert Hugh Benson, who wrote Catholic SciFi and historical fiction at the beginning of the 20th century (The Pope is a fan of his novel, The Lord of the World) wrote a very creepy collection of stories titled A Mirror Of Shallot. You can find it inexpensively on Kindle. The basic premise is that a group of priests are attending a conference in Rome. They have dinner together each night, and each tell a tale of an an encounter they had with the supernatural. Some are very spooky, but all are informed by a Catholic worldview. I highly recommend it. Fr. Benson was a very good writer.
 
Arizona_Mike said:
Father Robert Hugh Benson, who wrote Catholic SciFi and historical fiction at the beginning of the 20th century (The Pope is a fan of his novel, The Lord of the World) wrote a very creepy collection of stories titled A Mirror Of Shallot. You can find it inexpensively on Kindle. The basic premise is that a group of priests are attending a conference in Rome. They have dinner together each night, and each tell a tale of an an encounter they had with the supernatural. Some are very spooky, but all are informed by a Catholic worldview. I highly recommend it. Fr. Benson was a very good writer.
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That sounds familiar, I think I have it on my Kindle.

I may read it after I finish The Exorcist.
 
Potter said:
Does anyone do Halloween reading? In October I like to indulge in light fantasy, something like Harry Potter or Narnia. I usually admit one horror book the last week of October, something like Christine. This year I am hoping to read one of the classics – Dracula or Frankenstein.
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Nope with these in this world turning darker I choose not really to celebrate the holiday. 🤷
 
Potter said:
Does anyone do Halloween reading? In October I like to indulge in light fantasy, something like Harry Potter or Narnia. I usually admit one horror book the last week of October, something like Christine. This year I am hoping to read one of the classics – Dracula or Frankenstein.
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Dracula is a great choice.
 
Dracula is actually a very Christian story about defeating what seems like undefeatable evil. And Frankenstein is a cautionary tale about man taking on powers that belong to God alone. Both are great literary reads, as well. 🙂

Not a book, but the original film, The Mummy with Boris Karloff is a classic. Not only creepy, but also a nod towards the power of good over evil. It’s a must see, Halloween or not.
 
I had a much harder time reading Dracula than Frankenstein. The diary/letter form of narration was very difficult for me to get into (Don’t remember if it was high school or before when I read it).

Not all his stuff is still scary, but some of H.P. Lovecraft’s stuff is quite creepy. I would recommend hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/hwr.aspx Herbert West, Reanimator. (and it’s out of copyright, so the link is legal).

Tom A.
“Ever hear of a shoggoth?”
 
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