around this time of year i get the urge to read spooky books, watch tim burton movies, and listen to
music fit for a new orleans funeral. there's something about the creepiness factor of halloween that i find thrilling and fun. over the past week i turned my attention to some of my favorite books for the season. i'm drawn more to the macabre than the typical horror story. even though my favorites don't involve murderers or demons, they still possess the eeriness necessary for a good halloween read. i find it's best to turn the lights down low, listen to the wind howl out your window, and curl up with a blanket big enough to
hide under with your flashlight.
music fit for a new orleans funeral. there's something about the creepiness factor of halloween that i find thrilling and fun. over the past week i turned my attention to some of my favorite books for the season. i'm drawn more to the macabre than the typical horror story. even though my favorites don't involve murderers or demons, they still possess the eeriness necessary for a good halloween read. i find it's best to turn the lights down low, listen to the wind howl out your window, and curl up with a blanket big enough to
hide under with your flashlight.
my top picks...
st. lucy's home for girls raised by wolves by karen russell
this collection of short stories is equal parts creepy and beautiful. the stories are magical, mystical, and at times, heartbreaking. mostly, though, they make you feel like you're wandering through a sparkling swamp surrounded by ghostly spirits {which is actually the case in one of the stories}.
miss peregrine's home for peculiar children by ransom riggs
this book is in no way connected to the st. lucy's book, despite the similar sounding titles. miss peregrine's is a fantastical coming of age tale full of peculiar children with special powers and mysterious monsters who hide in the shadows. it's a simple story, easy to read in a short amount of time, but intriguing all the same.
the melancholy death of oyster boy & other stories by tim burton
original short {and i mean short} stories and drawings from the brilliant mind of tim burton. some are funny in a devilish way, while others are tender and emotional, but all completely dark and creepy.
the gashlycrumb tinies {or anything really} by edward gorey
edward gorey is the master of macabre and i've always been a huge fan. the gashlycrumb tinies walks the reader through the abc's of how children die - amazing! any of his other books, really, would be just as appropriate for halloween as well.
those are my picks.
do you have any favorite halloween reads?
do you have any favorite halloween reads?
The Legend of Sleepy Hallow is one of my childhood reads. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat! that Tim Burton book is in my To-Read list. I'm just looking for a copy here. And i read Edward Gorey although i haven't read Gashlycrumb yet. :)
I enjoyed Miss Peregrine's when I read it a couple months ago. St. Lucy's sounds really interesting! I may have to pick it up.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorites is The Thirteenth Tale. It is a very spooky ghost story, and it is beautifully written. It is somewhat of a tribute to Jane Eyre. I highly recommend it!
I am the worst scardy pants ever. Seriously. I cannot handle anything scary and would probably not sleep for nights if I did.
ReplyDeleteThat's so interesting that you get the mood to start reading scary books! I've never timed my reading that way...I usually just end up reading whatever I feel like, regardless of what time of year it is. But I think that will have to change - I love this idea! :)
ReplyDeleteI definitely don't do anything remotely scary. Spooky, though, is pretty fun. I might have to check out either of the "home for..." titles. They sound just right for the season!
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ReplyDeleteooh, spooky reads...fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the book ideas. :)
Oh, I have never heard of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and I have been looking for some new reads, I will have to check it out!
ReplyDeleteI love the Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy. I used to always want that pincushion heart tattooed on me, but I held myself back and I think it is a common tattoo too. Maybe I will give in and finally get it, so tragic and cool.
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Ohh books:) I wish I had more time for reading... I thought that being on maternity leave would give me plenty of time to read, but I thought wrong!
ReplyDeleteI love this post! I've been hearing about Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and I'm intrigued! Most of all, this reminds me that I need to shut off everything else and READ for a while. I get so behind on reading during the school year . . . I think because my brain is so overworked during the day, all I want to do is watch mindless tv and stuff when I finally have free time. But I miss reading, and I have lots of books on my list!
ReplyDeleteFun, I may have to check these out!
ReplyDeleteI can't really handle anything scary either! Like at all - I don't even like to be creeped out (hocus pocus scared the bejesus out of me as a child!).
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of these! Thanks for the tips! That last one sounds particularly creepy. I love the idea of reading something scary, rather than just popping in a movie!!
ReplyDeleteI've never really read any spooky books - I'm not sure why now! Thanks so much for all the suggestions, I'm definitely going to pick them up :)
ReplyDeleteI read St Lucy's because you recommended it to me and I LOVED it. I mean, those stories were like... the best stories I've ever read. Did you read her novel, Swamplandia?
ReplyDeleteWow I wish I had a halloween read! Maybe some Edgar Allan Poe! I read the tell tale heart and it was so dark and creepy! :)
ReplyDeletehttp://annawalker1992.blogspot.com/
These are great recommendations! Thanks so much for your comment, by the way - I'm so glad you found my blog, and I'm so glad I found yours - it's wonderful! Subscribing now!
ReplyDeleteOoh, fun picks (I like that photo!). I don't have any spooky reads to recommend but I do love the idea of reading under the covers : )
ReplyDeletekaren russell expanded the short story about ghosts in the swamp (in st. lucy's home. . . .) into a novel called swamplandia!
ReplyDeletei'm reading it now and it's WONDERFUL! just creepy enough, and i'm totally absorbed.
You're the third person to mention "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" this week. I'll have to check it out.
ReplyDeletePoe is always a favorite this time of year :)
As much as I love Halloween and a good scare now and then, I've never read a scary book! I've heard other bloggers mention the Miss Peregrine's book several times. Maybe I need to bite the bullet and scare the crap out of myself with a good read :)
ReplyDeletethese all look really good. I have been want to read the ransom rigg book for a while.
ReplyDeleteI want them all! I've never thought about reading scary books for Halloween. Frankly, I love ghost stories year-round, especially when I was younger. Then, I used to read the ghost stories of whatever city my family and I vacationed in. I didn't always sleep well at night, but it was fun. I feel like it's been so long since I've read a good scary story.
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