Five Scary Books for Halloween Reading

Some of these books great to read, then read again. The shivers are actually better when you know they are coming . . .




The short graphic novel Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King is an overlooked classic, in my opinion. The story goes through the yearly cycle of full moons in the small town of Tarker's Mills, Maine, as the townsfolk slowly realize that a werewolf is living in their midst. And who will unmask the true identity of the beast? I will only give a hint: this is a truly satisfying story about courage and hardship while growing up, much like King's novel Hearts in Atlantis," or the story "The Body," which was the basis for the movie Stand by Me. And the wonderful werewolf illustrations make the story come to life. As one reviewer on Amazon put it: "A Fast Furry Fantasy."

If a reader isn't familiar with H.P. Lovecraft, you might believe he is a science fiction writer thanks to some of the gaudy book covers displaying alien-looking characters from the Cthulu Mythos. But once you read several of his stories set in New England, you will realize he is writing in the same tradition as Edgar Allen Poe and Washington Irving, a tradition that embraces local American history, folklore and ghost stories. There are shadowy valleys and strange fishing villages where no one dares to go. And like his literary descendent, Stephen King, Lovecraft can produce a supernatural shiver that goes up your spine in the midday sun, or when you notice something not quite right and the universe shifts around you. Like a good nightmare, these stories can shake you up, so read them with the light on, and be sure to lock the door first.



The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story was recently made into a creepy movie starring Dan Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame, and before that the 1980s version starred Adrian Rawlins, who plays Harry's father James in the movies. Believe me, watching either or both of those movies will not diminish the pleasurable creepiness of the original novel. Nor will it give away the ending, since both movies based on her work are somewhat different thanks to poetic license of the filmmakers. Susan Hill is an old-fashioned mistress of the macabre, and this is a great atmospheric short read for a cool autumn night.



The late author John Keel writes in The Mothman Prophecies : "The universe does not exist as we think it exists. We do not exist as we think we exist." And that sets the stage for one of the creepiest stories of the late 20th century, the tale of an alleged flying creature that haunted an area of West Virginia, of people convinced they had met a harbinger of doom, of people driven almost to madness. There are hints of UFO's and Men in Black as well as a local curse by a dead warrior named Chief Cornstalk. The most chilling parts are the phone calls from an "entity" named "Indrid Cold," and some bizarre happenings at Keel's New York apartment surrounding his telephone. The movie with Richard Gere is merely based on this book and not a thorough telling - you really need the original to appreciate all the intricate coincidences and weird details. And hopefully this won't give you the heebie-jeebies about driving over large bridges.



Like most of Ray Bradbury's books, Something Wicked This Way Comes
is set in a midwestern town where life is slowly boring everyone to despair until something happens . . . Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show rolls into town and rattles everyone down to their bones. You have to love a book with names like "Jim Nightshade" - a boy who is definitely an American cousin of Harry Potter. But all the magic, except for love, is definitely from the Dark Side. Yes, it's a little over-the-top, but there's so much depth also, as Bradbury changes point of view between the children and the adults that you don't care. And for fans of the author you will notice recurring characters like the Illustrated Man, from the book of stories by that same name. In fact all of Bradbury's books are a little dark and great to read this time of year - The October Country and The Halloween Tree to name a few. But this book is Bradbury at his wicked best.

Of Rockets and Dandelion Wine ~ RIP Ray Bradbury

I'm so sad to hear that Ray Bradbury, great American writer, has passed. Bradbury had a huge impact on all of us who grew up in the seventies. As a teenager you couldn't walk down the hall in school without seeing someone carrying around a dog-eared and beloved Ray Bradbury book - and I was one of them, a huge fan. The science-fiction may seem dated or naive to kids today, but the language and poetry of Ray Bradbury will live on forever, like that taste of dandelion wine lingering on your tongue or the feel of those Cream-Sponge Para-Litefoot tennis shoes.

He loved libraries and many of his plotlines are a litany of book titles and literary quotes.

"Libraries raised me. I don't believe in colleges and universities. I believe in libraries because most students don't have any money. When I graduated from high school, it was during the Depression and we had no money. I couldn't go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years."

That is obviously why he found the idea of censorship to the point of burning books to be the most dangerous idea, and he expresses that in his ironicaly but often-banned Fahrenheit 451. It is one of the classics of the 20th century, right up there with Catch-22 in capturing the hypocrisy and anti-intellectualism of modern life, and is still being taught in high schools around the world. We may forget how political it is. In the following quote the character could be talking about attitudes of this election year, the Tea Party versus the Liberals.

With school turning out more runners, jumpers, racers, tinkerers, grabbers, snatchers, fliers, and swimmers instead of examiners, critics, knowers, and imaginative creators, the word `intellectual,' of course, became the swear word it deserved to be. You always dread the unfamiliar.  
... There you have it, Montag. It didn’t come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God. We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against. So! A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach man’s mind.
...If you don't want a man unhappy politically, don't give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none. Let him forget there is such a thing as war.

Bradbury was the master of the short story as well, thrilling readers with such masterpieces as "The Veldt" or "The April Witch," or "Fog Horn." Bradbury certainly had a way with titles from "The Wonderful Ice-Cream Suit" to "A Medicine for Meloncholy," to "Boys Raise Giant Mushrooms in YOUR Cellar." He was like a cross between John-Boy Walton and Rod Serling, one minute wallowing in homespun nostalgia, the next dragging you into a Mexican cemetery to confront a row of death heads and the Grim Reaper.

The picture above is Bradbury's own painting of The Halloween Tree

He did what every great writer does - writing from his own experiences then expanding out to the universe, and that leap into the unknown was Bradbury's gift. He was that boy who ran like a gazelle through the wheat fields and ravines of rural Green Town, Illinois, under the shade of a million trees - the boy fascinated by lightning rods, carnival barkers, dusty books, and the history and mysteries of Halloween. But he is also the "Rocket Man" who channeled the Martian landscape to the point that we could taste that red dust. The boy heard the train whistle at night and wondered what his life would become. The adult writer imagined a lonely train stop where no one got off except himself, and then only for the strangest of reasons. RIP, Sir, in your October Country or out among the stars in your "Million Year Picnic."