Books
Six Halloween-Themed Horror Novels to Read This Month
I have fond memories of begging my parents to drive me to the library as soon as the first autumn leaves began to hit the ground. And while I’ve since grown out of R.L. Stine and Lemony Snicket, I still think there’s nothing better to welcome the Halloween season than a warm drink accompanied by a spooky book.
And with October finally upon us, I thought that this might be a good time to start a creepy book club and recommend six Halloween-themed novels that are perfect for All Hallow’s Eve reading lists. After all, there’s something to be said for the quiet terror of finding yourself engrossed by a good horror novel in between scary movie marathons and candy shopping.
As usual, this list is based on personal opinion, but we’ll only be considering novels that at least feature the Halloween season as a vital part of the plot and/or setting. This means no horror books that only feel Halloween appropriate but are set during some other time. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own Samhain favorites if you think we missed a particularly spooky book.
Now, onto the list…
6. All Hallows (2023)
Suburban trick ‘r treating may be a familiar trope in horror fiction, but leave it to Christopher Golden to transform what could have been a cliché-ridden nostalgia-fest into a genuinely chilling tale about childhood innocence and small-town secrets. Chronicling the events of a strange Halloween in 1984 where displaced children seek help in escaping from an entity known as “The Cunning Man,” this is a great start for your seasonal scares.
While the book is clearly meant to appeal to fans of retro media like Stranger Things – containing plenty of ’80s references and more than a couple of familiar character archetypes- I think All Hallows stands on its own as a solid piece of Halloween-themed fiction.
5. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820)
While it’s technically a novella, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include Washington Irvin’s seasonal classic on this list purely due to its influence on nearly every subsequent piece of Halloween-themed media. From the author’s gothic prose to one of the very first depictions of a Jack O’Lantern-themed antagonist, there’s a reason why every horror fan has heard of this story even if they’ve never read the book before.
To be honest, I don’t think any adaptation has ever done this moody story justice, though that might be because the atmospheric build-up here works much better on the page than it does on the screen. Either way, I’m glad that the tale is still easily available for horror fans over two centuries after it was first published.
4. Scary Bastard (2019)
Known for his reliance on shock value and graphic descriptions of violence coupled with surprisingly resilient protagonists, Aron Beauregard’s books definitely aren’t for everyone. However, his 2019 novel about a heinous collection of maniacs crossing paths during Halloween night is certainly one of his more digestible endeavors if only because it feels like the literary equivalent to an extremely violent slasher flick.
Featuring serial killers, mutants and enough brutal gore to make a Troma fan blush, I’d recommend this one to fans of no-holds-barred schlock-fests who don’t mind a bit of taboo ultraviolence alongside their spooky season shenanigans. Just make sure to avoid consuming snacks while reading this one!
3. Something Wicked This Way Comes (1966)
You can’t discuss genre fiction without bringing up the late great Ray Bradbury, and what better way to welcome the Halloween season than revisiting his classic dark fantasy fable Something Wicked This Way Comes? Taking place during late October and following a couple of friends who were born on All Hallow’s Eve, the book tells the story of a nightmarish travelling carnival run by the devious Mr. Dark.
While Bradbury’s foray into atmospheric thrills isn’t quite as disturbing as some of the other titles on this list, there’s no denying the book’s staying power as a timeless parable about good, evil and the horrors of growing older. Just don’t be surprised if you find yourself spotting frequent references to this classic story in popular culture once you’re done reading.
2. Halloween (1979)
While some of the younger readers out there may find it hard to imagine a time when movies were almost exclusively seen in theaters, this was actually the case for the majority of the film industry’s existence. That being said, even before the rise of affordable home video, there were still a couple of ways to continue having fun with a movie at home. Naturally, the most easily accessible of these cinematic tie-ins were paperback novelizations which allowed you to revisit your favorite movies even after they left cinema screens.
And if you’re hoping to get into the October spirit, tracking down a used copy of Curtis Richards’s infamous take on John Carpenter’s Halloween seems like a no-brainer. Featuring fascinating additions like Michael’s initial trial and Loomis’ troubled home life, this is a must-read for fans of Carpenter’s classic if you’re lucky enough to run into it at a yard sale.
Fortunately for fans, it was recently announced that the novel would be seeing its first-ever reprinting in early 2024, so you might want to include this on next year’s reading list instead.
1. Dark Harvest (2006)
Halloween means something different for everyone, but if any author ever came close to writing a definitive story about the holiday, it has to be Norman Partridge in Dark Harvest. Following a couple of small-town teenagers who find themselves caught up in the yearly hunt for a pumpkin monster named Sawtooth Jack (also known as “the October Boy”), this brief-yet-memorable experience will likely find its way onto your spooky season reading list for years to come.
And the best part is that the book’s long-awaited film adaptation is finally coming out in late October, giving you just enough time to dive into this eerie yarn about a town with more tricks than treats up its sleeve when Halloween comes around.
Books
‘Halloween: Illustrated’ Review: Original Novelization of John Carpenter’s Classic Gets an Upgrade
Film novelizations have existed for over 100 years, dating back to the silent era, but they peaked in popularity in the ’70s and ’80s, following the advent of the modern blockbuster but prior to the rise of home video. Despite many beloved properties receiving novelizations upon release, a perceived lack of interest have left a majority of them out of print for decades, with desirable titles attracting three figures on the secondary market.
Once such highly sought-after novelization is that of Halloween by Richard Curtis (under the pen name Curtis Richards), based on the screenplay by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. Originally published in 1979 by Bantam Books, the mass market paperback was reissued in the early ’80s but has been out of print for over 40 years.
But even in book form, you can’t kill the boogeyman. While a simple reprint would have satisfied the fanbase, boutique publisher Printed in Blood has gone above and beyond by turning the Halloween novelization into a coffee table book. Curtis’ unabridged original text is accompanied by nearly 100 new pieces of artwork by Orlando Arocena to create Halloween: Illustrated.
One of the reasons that The Shape is so scary is because he is, as Dr. Loomis eloquently puts it, “purely and simply evil.” Like the film sequels that would follow, the novelization attempts to give reason to the malevolence. More ambiguous than his sister or a cult, Curtis’ prologue ties Michael’s preternatural abilities to an ancient Celtic curse.
Jumping to 1963, the first few chapters delve into Michael’s childhood. Curtis hints at a familial history of evil by introducing a dogmatic grandmother, a concerned mother, and a 6-year-old boy plagued by violent nightmares and voices. The author also provides glimpses at Michael’s trial and his time at Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, which not only strengthens Loomis’ motivation for keeping him institutionalized but also provides a more concrete theory on how Michael learned to drive.
Aside from a handful of minor discrepancies, including Laurie stabbing Michael in his manhood, the rest of the book essentially follows the film’s depiction of that fateful Halloween night in 1978 beat for beat. Some of the writing is dated — like a smutty fixation on every female character’s breasts and a casual use of the R-word — but it otherwise possesses a timelessness similar to its film counterpart. The written version benefits from expanded detail and enriched characters.
The addition of Arocena’s stunning illustrations, some of which are integrated into the text, creates a unique reading experience. The artwork has a painterly quality to it but is made digitally using vectors. He faithfully reproduces many of Halloween‘s most memorable moments, down to actor likeness, but his more expressionistic pieces are particularly striking.
The 224-page hardcover tome also includes an introduction by Curtis — who details the challenges of translating a script into a novel and explains the reasoning behind his decisions to occasionally subvert the source material — and a brief afterword from Arocena.
Novelizations allow readers to revisit worlds they love from a different perspective. It’s impossible to divorce Halloween from the film’s iconography — Carpenter’s atmospheric direction and score, Dean Cundey’s anamorphic cinematography, Michael’s expressionless mask, Jamie Lee Curtis’ star-making performance — but Halloween: Illustrated paints a vivid picture in the mind’s eye through Curtis’ writing and Arocena’s artwork.
Halloween: Illustrated is available now.
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