Halloween Reads: My October Reading Picks
It's that time of year again, the time when pumpkins start sporting toothy grins and fights break out over whether candy corn is a respectable candy or an abomination to all things confectionary. (For the record, I am #teamcandycorn. My husband is decidedly NOT. We still love each other.)
I'm going to tell you a little something about myself: I love halloween costumes and I love treats, but I don't like to be scared.
I hate horror movies. I know they aren't real, but my subconscious mind cannot be reasoned with at 2:30 in the morning and I always end up having crazy dreams. When I was in sixth grade I went to a sleepover with friends, and they wanted to watch Scream. I did not, but I pretended to be okay with it. I had nightmares about that stupid stretched-out scream-face mask for years afterward. They were very cinematic dreams and made for great short story writing while I was awake, but I like to sleep peacefully through the night, thank you very much, so I Just Say No to horror movies these days.
It's not just movies that get me, though. I'm a scaredy cat when it comes to books, too. There were these super popular scary story books when I was young that everyone was reading. Once again I succumbed to peer pressure, and I checked one out of the library. I read one story about a girl turning on the light in her closet to find that her friends had tied a severed hand onto it, and for a while after that I was cautious about turning on the light in my own closet. I know. I'm a wimp.
So what's a girl to read if it's October and she wants some seasonal reads, but nothing scary will do? Here are my recommendations for books that go easy on the scary but still scream Halloween.
The Pigman, by Paul Zindel.
If you're the kind of person who loves to put the "trick" in trick-or-treat, you might appreciate The Pigman.Best friends John and Lorraine love practical jokes, but when one joke gets out of hand they start to have regrets. The Pigman is told from their alternating points of view as they give an account of their prank gone wrong and their attempt to manage the fallout, all while juggling tricky parent/child relationships, school and friends. Set on Staten Island in the late 1960s, it has a bit of an old school flavor, but the themes of mortality, family, and teenage angst are timeless.
Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier.
If you're looking for a beautifully written book with plenty of classic British charm and intrigue but just a splash of creepiness, this is the book for you. It's also one of my all-time favorites.Rebecca tells the story of Mrs. de Winter, the new wife of a mysterious widower whose first wife, Rebecca, died in a boating accident. You'll follow along as the new Mrs. de Winter tries to find her place in the workings of her new home at the Cornwall mansion known as Manderley, and ends up uncovering the truth about the woman whose place she has taken. And of course, there is the wonderfully sinister housekeeper Mrs. Danvers.
Coraline, by Neil Gaiman.
This is the creepiest pick of the three, and even this one is probably considered extremely tame by true horror fans.Coraline is frustrated that her parents won't pay her as much attention as she would like, so she is delighted when she discovers an alternate world through a mysterious door in the parlor, where there is an "other mother" who is always glad to see her. That is, until this "other mother" makes known her plan to capture Coraline and keep her forever. Coraline must use all her wits and the help of a snarky cat to escape and return home.