Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
I’ve always loved fantasy, and while I don’t always say I’m a horror fan, fantasy and horror are pretty similar genres. I practically grew up on Stephen King novels — the old ones like Firestarter and The Dead Zone. I think some of the best children’s books, like The Wizard of Oz, are the scariest ones. I think that’s because in a well-written book, fear is a journey. It’s not just ghosts and goblins, it’s facing challenges and building strength and finding out something new about yourself. Scary stories take us out of our own lives and let us experience fear in a non-threatening way.
So, here’s to Halloween, and here are ten books (or authors) to put you in a Halloween kind of mood.
- Anything by Stephen King. My own favorite is The Stand, but some of the creepiest are It, Salem’s Lot, Pet Sematary, and The Shining. King’s short stories and novellas are great, and I just finished reading Joyland, which I loved.
- The Harry Potter series. Wizards, magic, good versus evil, and the terrors of high school. What’s not to love?
- Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. Because carnivals are creepy, and this book shows you why. And no one writes like Bradbury. I’ll never look at a carousel the same way.
- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I just read this, and it’s a fascinating, eerie read that will have you thinking about it long after you finish.
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane, or anything else by Neil Gaiman. I’ve read Coraline, Ocean, The Graveyard Book, and Stardust, and loved every one.
- The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett – Book One in the Tiffany Aching series. In this hilarious YA series, you get all the witchcraft and wizardry you could ask for, plus you get the Nac Mac Feagle, a clan of six-inch high blue Highlanders who swear, drink, and fight.
- Moon Called by Patricia Briggs – Book One in the Mercy Thompson series. Ignore the horrible cover, this is my absolute favorite urban fantasy series. Vampires, werewolves, witches and more. And none of them sparkle.
- The Princess Bride by William Goldman. Halloween isn’t just about horror – with this book you get princes and sword fighting and true love. It’s also one of the best book-movie pairings.
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Also not horror, this is more of a creepy-by-atmosphere kind of story. One of my all-time favorites.
- You can’t go wrong with the classics: Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, and Jekyll and Hyde, to start with. All classic books for a reason.
I’m sure I’ve missed some good ones! What are your favorite Halloween reads?
Happy Halloween and please join me this weekend for the Literary Giveaway Blog Hop! I’ll be giving away a couple of new or nearly new books I’ve recently reviewed.
