Caught up in what Dr. Seuss’ Grinch calls “the trimmings and trappings” of Halloween (how is it there’s no Grinch Who Stole Halloween out there)? There are certainly lots of resources both on the shelf and online for recipes and party planning ideas, craft and decoration ideas, and costume ideas  (hello, Pinterest).  But Halloween is also a holiday for celebrating the things that go bump in the night, and there is plenty of both fiction and nonfiction for all ages that either take advantage of or explain its origins and mythologies. Looking for a good Halloween read as the holiday approaches? These certainly aren’t all of the ones available, and there are many excellent titles that aren’t listed below, but here are thirteen (plus one) titles that celebrate the Halloween season.

   The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. This is a good choice for reading aloud with your school-aged children.

Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie. I know Agatha Christie’s books aren’t horror (mostly) but if you want to curl up with a mystery, you can’t go wrong with Hercule Poirot.

Halloween Man by Douglas Clegg. Douglas Clegg is a very talented horror novelist. I haven’t read his books, as his novels can be quite graphic, but this one has also been described as eerie and compelling.

The Legend of the Pumpkin Thief by Charles Day. This 2013 Bram Stoker nominee doesn’t appear to be easily available right now, so hopefully you already have it in your collection! It looks like a romance, but in actuality is more of a YA horror/mystery combination.Want a review? Find one here.

Hallowed by Bryant Delafosse. This is a YA paranormal/horror title, and I can’t claim to have read it, but I have heard good things about it. Yes, there are plenty of YA paranormal reads, but this one is set right around Halloween.

Halloween edited by Paula Guran. This anthology includes both reprints and original stories related to the holiday, including stories from such notables as Ray Bradbury, Peter Straub, H.P. Lovecraft, and Edgar Allan Poe. One reviewer on Amazon noted that the Bradbury story does not appear in the ebook version of this book, as Bradbury was very opposed to ebooks, although I know he did release a book in ebook format before his passing… so I don’t know if that is still the case. It is well worth looking up!

Halloween: Magic, Mystery, and the Macabre edited by Paula Guran. This is NOT the same anthology as the one I listed just above– it is more recently published. While the first one had stories by many of the giants of the genre, this one has a different collection of authors, who cover a wider breadth of the genre.  These include such excellent writers as Maria V. Snyder and Carrie Vaughan as well as authors more solidly identified with adult horror such as Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and John Shirley.

Black and Orange by Benjamin Kane Ethridge. Black and Orange is also the recipient of a Stoker Award. We reviewed it here, and it got a fantastic review!

Halloween by Melanie Jackson. Not every book about Halloween is a scary one. This one tells of the adventures of four ten year olds out trick or treating for Halloween. Set in the 1960’s, this is a book that might be enjoyed more for its nostalgia value (if you were a kid at that time) or for reading with an older child.
Mischief Night by Paul Melnizcek. This is a novella from Bad Moon Books’ series of Halloween novellas, now also available on Kindle. It’s a nice little haunted house story. You can check out our review here.

A Hallowe’en Anthology: Literary and Historical Writers Over the Centuries edited by Lisa Morton

Lisa Morton is a Halloween expert who has published both fiction and nonfiction, and this collects some of both, with sources documenting Halloween from its origins to the early 20th century. Certainly, this is a unique collection that will be of interest to anyone who prefers to learn about the historical holiday rather than today’s trimmings, trappings, and trick-or-treating. In the interests of saving space, because Lisa has written extensively on Halloween, I’m going to just list a few of her other titles worth looking into this holiday season: The Halloween Encyclopedia (nonfiction), Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween (nonfiction), and The Samhanach (fiction– and a top pick for 2011 at Monster Librarian, reviewed independently by three different reviewers here).

Horrorween (Orangefield Series) by Al Sarrantonio.  Orangefield is a town inhabited by Samhain, Lord of Death.  Other books in the series include Orangefield, Hallows’ Eve,  and Halloweenland. We’re awfully close to the end of October to power through all of them, but maybe you can make a resolution to try them out next year…

Gods of the Nowhere by James Tipper. The protagonist here is a disabled teenager, which is pretty interesting, as you don’t find many disabled protagonists in horror fiction. And he has a Latina friend, also an unusual find in horror fiction. It’s been described as a creepy and original take on Halloween. This is not a children’s book– maybe an older teen would appreciate it, though.

Halloween Spirits: 11 Tales for the Darkest Night edited by Lisa Morton. I know I said I would only mention Lisa Morton once, but this is an interesting collection of short stories that (mostly) tie in to Halloween,  and are intended to get you into the Halloween spirit.  These are not (mostly) stories about trick-or-treating, which is what we normally associate with the holiday, but, especially if you’re short on time, this book is a nice way to give yourself small doses of holiday excitement throughout the month of October.  The authors include Kealan Patrick Burke, Scott Nicholson, John Palisano, Jeremy Shipp, and Nate Kenyon, to name just a few. It’s also an inexpensive way to get into the spirit– available only as an ebook, it’s just $2.99 at Amazon right now.

So there you have it… a list of all kinds of Halloween reads, for all kinds or readers. Check them out and see if one of them is a match for you! And a Happy Halloween to you!