Essential October Reading

[ensignoftheunit]

Okay so I'm gearing up early for the Halloween season this year by getting all the books and movies I want to read lined up.

My question is what do you consider to be essential October reading fare? Adult books, children's books, short stories, I'd like to hear it all!

For me, the Halloween Tree is the quintessential Halloween book. Additionally, Dracula, certain poems by Poe, and some of the short stories by Lovecraft (The Unnamable and The Outsider) exemplify the season for me.

 

[beniowa]

One book I often hear bandied around at this time of year is Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge. It's supposed to be quite good. I haven't read it myself, but I plan to fix that in time for Halloween.

 

[Bastard]

I think Rob or Hobbit have a thread around with a lot of Halloween suggestions, it should be of interest.

 

[Rob B]

Hobbit Towers Halloween resurrected is that thread.

I would also suggest The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

 

[Evil Agent]

I usually just watch a bunch of Simpsons Halloween episodes (from the earlier seasons).

I also like to watch the Disney special (with the Headless Horseman).

I don't usually end up reading anything Halloween-specific, however, as I'm always busy with other books.

 

[Randy M.]

Essential October Reading, indeed

Okay so I'm gearing up early for the Halloween season this year by getting all the books and movies I want to read lined up.

My question is what do you consider to be essential October reading fare? Adult books, children's books, short stories, I'd like to hear it all!

For me, the Halloween Tree is the quintessential Halloween book. Additionally, Dracula, certain poems by Poe, and some of the short stories by Lovecraft (The Unnamable and The Outsider) exemplify the season for me.

This struck me funny because you sort of anticipated me.

Before logging into the forum today, I started a list of lists of readings for October that I thought I'd post here.

I did something similar years ago for a general writing listserv (told you it was years ago), most of whose members probably thought I was nuts, and I thought I'd do something similar here at sffforum, most of whose members ...

One list for each weekday in October, if I can come up with that many lists.

Which I can. I'm proficient at lists.


Randy M.

 

[Siberian]

A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny perhaps?

 

[Hobbit]

That one's been mentioned before, Siberian, as you know!

But very hard to get hold of these days.

Go Randy: would love to see your list. Think we might need a new thread.

Me, I'm really tempted to reread Bradbury's Something Wicked this Way Comes: really in a Bradbury mood this year, I think.

I'm also aiming to read Butcher's latest Dresden: Changes.

AND I still love to dip into The Vampire Archive, edited by Otto Penzler, not to mention the Peter Straub edited American Supernatural Tales I read last year.

Mark

 

[Siberian]

That one's been mentioned before, Siberian, as you know!

But not in this thread

 

[Hobbit]

LOL. Quite right!

Mark

 

[Luke_B]

Looking forward to Randy M.'s list.

I think I'll go back to Horns by Joe Hill, which I started earlier in the year but didn't finish.

I also think I'll pick up A Dark Matter by Peter Straub.

 

[AndyLavigne]

I'd like to tackle House on Haunted Hill myself this year, it's been on my "to read" list for almost a decade (and now I feel old).

For recommendations, I'd like to suggest you check out Hell House by Richard Matheson and some of Dan Simmons' work (namely Summer of Endless Night and The Terror since I haven't read most of his other horror novels.)

 

[Randy M.]

That one's been mentioned before, Siberian, as you know!

But very hard to get hold of these days.

I second (third?) the Zelazny ... it's a likely candidate for one of the lists.

Go Randy: would love to see your list. Think we might need a new thread.

Thanks, Hobbit. I'll keep working on them. I hope they can live up to your expectations.

Me, I'm really tempted to reread Bradbury's Something Wicked this Way Comes: really in a Bradbury mood this year, I think.

[...]

Yup. I get that urge every few years, when memory has been blunted enough that I can't quite recall the details. I did reread it a couple of years ago, and a similar urge has gotten me to reread Tom Reamy's Blind Voices, which is strongly influenced by, even as it's different from, the Bradbury novel.

AND I still love to dip into The Vampire Archive, edited by Otto Penzler, not to mention the Peter Straub edited American Supernatural Tales I read last year.

Mark

I had been planning on a couple of novels for October, but now I'm not so sure. I usually dive into some collection or anthology for the 'quick hit,' the immediate gratification of atmosphere, mood and plot compression that a short story or novella can bring. The Vampire Archive is one of the anthologies I've been looking at, or maybe finally catching up on the stories I haven't already read in Alan Ryan's The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories. Between those two volumes, I think vampires are pretty well covered.


Randy M.

 

[Randy M.]

I'd like to tackle House on Haunted Hill myself this year, it's been on my "to read" list for almost a decade (and now I feel old)./QUOTE]

If you mean The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, I highly recommend it.

For recommendations, I'd like to suggest you check out Hell House by Richard Matheson and some of Dan Simmons' work (namely Summer of Endless Night and The Terror since I haven't read most of his other horror novels.)

I haven't read any of his horror novels, but the short stories I've read by him (as well as passages in Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion) have been very, very good.

Randy M.

 

[ensignoftheunit]

Thus far I've added Dark Harvest and assorted stories of M.R. James. I've also added my seasonal favorites by Lovecraft to the queue, despite reading some of his other short fiction at the moment.

I need to pick up Something Wicked this Way Comes as well. And I'll devote the last couple of days to savoring my yearly read of the Halloween Tree.

Got a lot of blank space to fill though!

I don't shy away from typical horror genre fodder, however it's not what I typically associate with the Halloween season. It's like my seasonal viewing tastes; I'm looking forward to the monster movies from the 30s & 40s, the old Addams Family, and the original House on Haunted Hill & The Haunting.

My Halloween tastes are more…old fashioned & traditional (and perhaps even archaic to many)

 

[Randy M.]

Thus far I've added Dark Harvest and assorted stories of M.R. James. I've also added my seasonal favorites by Lovecraft to the queue, despite reading some of his other short fiction at the moment.

I need to pick up Something Wicked this Way Comes as well. And I'll devote the last couple of days to savoring my yearly read of the Halloween Tree.

Got a lot of blank space to fill though!

I don't shy away from typical horror genre fodder, however it's not what I typically associate with the Halloween season. It's like my seasonal viewing tastes; I'm looking forward to the monster movies from the 30s & 40s, the old Addams Family, and the original House on Haunted Hill & The Haunting.

My Halloween tastes are more…old fashioned & traditional (and perhaps even archaic to many)

Actually, you'll find my tastes are similar. I do read some modern horror; there are some very good writers out there like Caitlin Kiernan and Glen Hirshberg, among others, but while I enjoy the macabre, the outre, and the weird, I have an abiding appreciation of the quietly spooky, creepy and compelling.

From what you say above, I think, if you can find it, you'd really like Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October. It seems brushed by Bradbury's influence, without being a full-on pastiche.

And you can't go wrong with M. R. James. "Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad," is one of the most effective ghost stories I've ever read. "Count Magnus" and "Casting the Runes," among others, are scarcely less so. And that latter is the basis for one of the great horror movies of the 1950s, Curse of the Demon (which sometimes has an alternate title I'm blanking on at the moment).

Randy M.

 

[Hobbit]

Can't disagree with any of that.

Randy: the alternate title is Night of the Demon; one of them is a couple of minutes longer than the other (can't remember whether its the UK or the US version). Recommend both, though: I have them on DVD.

I'm also thinking Night of the Eagle too: an underrated version of Fritz Leiber's 'Conjure, Wife!'.

Nice to see these details resurrected: I'm looking forward to October already!

Mark

 

[Banger]

For recommendations, I'd like to suggest you check out Hell House by Richard Matheson and some of Dan Simmons' work (namely Summer of Endless Night and The Terror since I haven't read most of his other horror novels.)

Summer of Night, which was the November 2007 BOTM and which I loved. Very similar to - but in my opinion better than - Stephen King's It.

Someone mentioned Something Wicked This Way Comes, which we read as a BOTM in October 2006 and which is one of my all-time favorites. Another Bradbury book perfect for October is his short story collection The October Country.

I'll have a review for a supernatural horror short story anthology called Haunted Legends up on the site within the next few days.

 

[Hobbit]

Cool: thank you, Banger. The cover to that one looks very good.

For those who fancy a mega Bradbury experience, Everyman Library published a huge Collected Stories earlier this year.

It's a great read or dip in.

Mark

 

[ensignoftheunit]

I have an abiding appreciation of the quietly spooky, creepy and compelling.

Wholeheartedly agreed.

I've seen it around in bookstores and maybe the Amazon description doesn't do it justice, but A Night in the Lonesome October never caught my eye until you mentioned it.

The October Country seems a good fit. Added to the list.

Can anyone comment on From the Dust Returned (Bradbury)? I remember seeing it on the bookshelves for the first time when I graduated High School but in the rush of heading out to boot camp I lost track of it.

Also, what's the name of the collection of horror stories that came out in the 30s or 40s? I remember seeing it on the forum but can't find it for the life of me...