Frightening Reads for Halloween

When we were very young, teachers and school librarians sat us in circles around this time of year and read to us from festively illustrated Halloween books, most of them more silly than scary. When we got a bit older, we would get slightly more chilling tales like "The Green Ribbon" that actually spooked us a little before our trick or treating. Then, somewhere in between those mildly fright-inducing stories and the grown-up gore fests that dominate most horror movies of today, we read stories that built on suspense, mystery and true terror. With less than a week before Halloween, we’ve rounded up a few favorite late October reads that kids, young adults and even hardened grown-ups can enjoy.

• In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories

The compilation from which I first heard The Green Ribbon (also known as The Velvet Ribbon), this collection of ghost stories is perfect Halloween reading for kids six and up. Its stories contain just the right amount of truly scary elements but are still lighthearted enough to startle kids into laughter.

• Something Wicked This Way Comes

Ray Bradbury’s 1962 classic is a perfect autumnal read for everyone from pre-teens to adults. Part coming of age novel, part dark fantasy and part nightmare, the tale chronicles two early teen boys who encounter a series of mysterious and terrifying elements at a carnival that visits their town just before Halloween. Seasonal themes resonate strongly, as well as overarching tones of good versus evil.

• Boy’s Life

In a similar vein to Bradbury’s novel, this Robert McCammon tale uses themes of good and evil to illustrate a story of growing up and the things we lose with our youth. Mysterious circumstances lead the story’s narrator on a quest to help his father overcome a vision that has changed his life. One of my personal favorites, this novel is full of dark elements (some fantastical and many easily relatable) that remain haunting to me to this day and only become more affecting each time I read this book.

• Frankenstein

Though the plot is known to all, and its main character has become one of the most popular Halloween caricatures, Mary Shelley’s original 19th century work remains a masterpiece for its horrific imagery of life created in a laboratory and the moral lessons it conveys. The horror of Dr. Frankenstein’s creation is humanely balanced with the monster’s own despair at its inability to live like the “real” people. Frankenstein’s creature acts out because of its own alienation and teaches its creator the dangers of trying to exact control over human life.

• Murder on the Orient Express

One of Agatha Christie’s most famous mysteries, this tale sees Poirot in the middle of the crime scene, attempting to solve the murder of a man responsible for multiple atrocities. Christie’s dark style and roundabout storytelling abilities make the details of the crimes in this story all the more chilling, while leading up to a surprising conclusion.

• The Tell-Tale Heart (or other Poe stories)

There are many collections of the work of Edgar Allen Poe, and most of them are sure to do the trick for macabre Halloween reading. The Tell-Tale Heart is one of his best known spooky short stories, but a great deal of his stories and poems use dark, gothic imagery to convey disturbing messages. Reading Poe alone on a dark, quiet night will surely get you in the Halloween spirit.