13 Texts to Get in the Halloween Spirit
As Halloween approaches, many of us will be reaching for works involving ghosts, witches, and mysteries. Here are some classics, as well as stories that approach these themes from a different angle.
1. Daemonologie by King James VI of Scotland.
More historical than purely fiction, this text shows an official viewpoint of various occult beliefs and practices during James VI’s reign, as well as prevalent religious opinion.
2. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Macbeth may seem more obvious for Halloween, but Hamlet has its fair share of ghosts, as well as Hamlet’s equally scary youthful angst.
3. The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan
A classic suspense story, with a Hitchcock adaptation. Suspense, adventure, and faked deaths.
4.The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
The story we all know from the film, with a number of sequels. (David Lynch says he thinks about it every day)
5. The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie’s beloved spinster Miss Marple solving mysteries again.
6. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Another Hitchcock adapted story, another terrifying novel, where somehow the main subject is never even alive.
7. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Frightening in a way one would not expect, Murata brings the gothic back to show the horrors of modern loneliness.
8. Fledgling by Octavia Butler
Butler’s final novel blurs science fiction and the vampire novel by showing us something entirely different.
9. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
The vampire series before Twilight, and with many fewer uses of the phrase “he chuckled”.
10. The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Witches, courtroom drama, and political allusions. What could be scarier?
11. Beloved by Toni Morrison
Ghosts, guilt, and the psychological repercussions of having been enslaved.
12. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Jackson’s minimal description of the lottery in the beginning is what makes the story. No need for spoilers.
13. Karen’s Christmas by Amalie Skram
Not a Halloween story at all, but certainly one of the most frightening ones I’ve read.
