Halloween Novels

[The Shape of Fear]

Hey guys,
I always love reading a good Halloween novel this time of year.....any suggestions?

Ive read Marbury's Pine Deep Trilogy
Once upon a Halloween and Dark Harvest as well as the October cycle by Al Sarrantonio.....if anyone has any other good ones, please post it here!!

thanks

mark

[Murfreesboro]

Ooh, interesting. I didn't realize there were "Halloween novels."

The only thing I know that maybe comes close is a children's book series called The Dark Is Rising. There are four or five books in it, the second one actually being named The Dark Is Rising. It relies on an underlying knowledge of Celtic lore. It's a good read, aimed at middle-school-aged and up, sort of like Harry Potter (in audience), only written in the '60s, IIRC. Susan Cooper is the author.

I read a horror novel called The Birthing House a few months ago. I didn't like the way it ended, but it held my attention.

[MacPhantom]

I haven't read it yet, but I'd imagine Rick Perry's book is a terrifying work of fiction sure to tingle the spine and chill the blood!

You know what's fun to do? Hunt down the novels that some of the old horror movie classics are based on. Dracula and Frankenstein if you wanna go way back, or Stephen King books if you've got a hankering for something cheesier.

[Pumpkin56]

This isn't necessarily based around Halloween, but The Wolfman by Nicholas Pekearo is a pretty good one if you like werewolf stories.

And I agree with MacPhantom--Dracula is an excellent read, especially for the atmosphere

[Hallow]

The Exorcist is scary. So is Pet Cemetery, Salem's Lot and The Shining. There aren't too many novels that center around the Halloween atmosphere alone. (There need to be more!) Ray Bradbury's novel The Halloween Tree is a good read. There are a set of graphic novels called I Luv Halloween, but they are a little vulgar for black and white comics. I am looking into reading, as cheesy as it sounds, JAWS.
I am trying to write a novel about Halloween. Not a romance, just the right touch of thrill and chill for all audiences, and I don't want to go heavy on the historical (there are a ton of those books out there )

[Pumpkin56]

Oh I forgot about The Exorcist! Such a good read--I couldn't put it down. Salem's Lot and Pet Sematary are also good ones. I'll have to look into the Halloween Tree.

[Murfreesboro]

I haven't read Dracula since I was 12. I think I want to get hold of that one again. When I read it the first time, I had never even heard of an epistolary novel. I recall being surprised by the format.

Frankenstein I read in college or grad school. It is interesting, but not my favorite.

I tell you one you all might like, and that's The Monk by Matthew Lewis. It was written in the 1790s, and the author was a teenager when he wrote it. It was a huge best-seller, and he was known as "Monk" Lewis for the rest of his life. It's a pot boiler, but a surprisingly brisk read. About this monk who sells his soul to the devil and goes after the lovely young ladies, if you get my drift. Not pornographic, just very suggestive. It's really fun. It is also easy to get hold of, even though it is so old, because it gets taught in college novel courses a lot.

[Pumpkin56]

I thought Frankenstein was alright. It took me a while to get into it because it's so slow in the beginning. But once it got going, it really had me. The ending left a bad taste in my mouth though. It's really not even in the same league as Dracula. If I ever became obscenely rich, I would try and track down a first edition copy of that one.

[EternalDarkness]

I think that I can be of a little help here.

As mentioned many times above, Dracula is an excellent read, though few people realize that it is an inversion of the christian Gospels, with Dracula taking the role of the Anti-christ, Renfield being a profane John the Baptist and Mina the archetype of the Virgin Mary. I'll leave it to the reader to discern the other characters.

A forgotten jewel of 19th century English literature is Thomas Preskett Prest's "Varney the Vampyre". Originally a series of "Penny Dreadfuls", Varney was first published in novel form in 1847 (The year of Bram Stoker's birth, incidentally)and features an austere nobleman vampire who terrorizes a family in an attempt to gain possession of their hereditary estate. Though there are dozens of holes in the plot and a good bit of inconsistency in the writing that lead one to believe that more than one author penned "Varney", one finds in it the origins of much of our modern vampire lore. It's is highly entertaining and well worth the time.


For a quick fix, Oscar Wilde's "The Canterbury Ghost" is among the most entertaining stories ever written. It is a series of misadventures of, again, an austere British ghost, whose home becomes occupied by an uncouth American family with no respect for British specters. This one can be read in an hour or so and is filled with laugh out loud moments.

One cannot discuss horror literature without invoking the sainted name of Poe. I would recommend his writing highly as, once you get past the hype, he really was very talented.

Those, then, are my humble recommendations, for good or ill. Enjoy your reading and, of course, Happy Halloween. -E.D.

[ChaosChick]

Pick up some Dickens.... that should be scary enough for you! ^.^

Any Stephen King.... as mentioned, Pet Semetary is AMAZING!!!

[Murfreesboro]

Very interesting post, Eternal Darkness! I don't know how I missed it a few weeks ago.

I had never thought of Dracula as an inversion of the Christian gospels. Rosemary's Baby, yes, but Dracula, no. That is an interesting take.

I have heard of Varney but have never read it. Perhaps I should look it up sometime.

I haven't read The Canterbury Ghost, either, although of course I know The Picture of Dorian Gray by Wilde. That is a Halloweenish read.

[mgmilam]

Hello, and September is upon us. I'd like to recommend my Halloween novel for interesting reading: "The Haunted House Kid" by Matthew Gary Milam--Amazon, B&N, Xlibris. Check out synopsis and more: wix.com/thehauntedhousekid/matthew-gary-milam. It's a young adult novel, but I've had positive reaction from both older and younger folks. The book is a story celebrating those who love Halloween with a passion--and much, much more!
Check it out. It's available for cheap as a Kindle or Nook, as well as a paperback or hardcover.
Happy Haunting!

[ScarecrowJack]

A forgotten jewel of 19th century English literature is Thomas Preskett Prest's "Varney the Vampyre". Originally a series of "Penny Dreadfuls", Varney was first published in novel form in 1847 (The year of Bram Stoker's birth, incidentally)and features an austere nobleman vampire who terrorizes a family in an attempt to gain possession of their hereditary estate. Though there are dozens of holes in the plot and a good bit of inconsistency in the writing that lead one to believe that more than one author penned "Varney", one finds in it the origins of much of our modern vampire lore. It's is highly entertaining and well worth the time.

I've always wanted to read this, as well as Wagner the Werewolf which appeared around the same time. I've found both of them on Amazon, just have to pick them up.

As for Halloween reads, I love Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and "October Country". The first one is a full length novel and the second one is a collection of short stories. I love the description from the intro describing the the October Country as being the domain of the Autumn People. I try to use some variant of that moniker on my Halloween invitations every year.

If you looking for something non-fiction on the holiday itself "Halloween Nation" by Lesley Pratt Bannatyne is a nice overview of the modern celebration of Halloween.

[Nostalgiascape]

While it's not what you're asking for cause you're speaking of novels in which the theme of Halloween exists, I will say I am a huge fan of Dean Koontz novels. Hidden treasures.

[NeverMore]

Just finished reading 'The Face'. Wasn't half bad atall.