I love Halloween. I think a lot of it comes down to my love for creepy, suspenseful stories. There’s also just the atmosphere in general–colder weather (or for us Southern Californians, basically the first even slightly cold days of the year :( ), classier clothes (sweaters, etc.), a chance to dress up as favorite characters and see others. . . . It’s just a cool time. So here’s a list of more bookish things to celebrate Halloween (aka what I plan on doing =P):
Top Ten Things to do on Halloween
- Read something by Edgar Allen Poe. He’s definitely one of my favorite authors, and completely perfect for Halloween. Even if it’s just one short story or a poem or two, no Halloween should go by without him!
- Read A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness. Basically a repeat of #1–Patrick Ness is an amazing author, and this is one of my all-time favorite books, quite perfect for Halloween. I’m trying to make a yearly tradition of reading it every Halloween.
- Read a novel or short story of The Dresden Files, by Jim Butcher. This was the most Halloween-y-ish book series I could think of, but maybe that’s just because I’m currently re-reading them and it’s one of my favorite series. Either way, each book definitely does have a very Halloween-like feel to it, what with wizards, fairytale monsters, etc. The title character’s birthday is Halloween, too, so why not celebrate his birthday?
- Watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon. Like The Dresden Files, this show has a very Halloween-like quality to it, since vampires and other monsters are the focus. Or hey, maybe just catch up on The Walking Dead, if you haven’t (either the comics or the TV show). Zombies are very Halloween-y, right?
- Read something from Tales of Terror, by Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock is the master of horror and suspense, and there are some great short story collections with his name on them.
- Read anything horror-ish or suspenseful. No need to stop at just Poe or Hitchcock, but what about some of the other great horror authors (or any horror author) like H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, and others?
- Watch The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, starring Don Knotts. Actually, I probably won’t do this one, just because of time restraints and whatnot, but this was kind of a family tradition when I was really young. I can remember watching this movie around Halloween a lot, and I always loved it (it is Don Knotts, after all). Or watch any classic.
- Write a Halloween-themed short story, poem, or flash fiction piece. If you’re a writer, what better way to celebrate Halloween?
- Read Crooked Ways, the new collection from The Ambage. That’s right! My writers’ group, The Ambage, recently published a new collection: 10 Halloween-themed stories and poems! Please consider purchasing it and giving it a read. ^^
- Do last-minute prep for NaNoWriMo. This is the #1 thing I’ll be doing, actually. NaNo tomorrow! Writers rejoice! And of course, get that last minute prep in.
(I swear I’ll update this blog more . . .)
A. Page in the Stacks 
I read Crooked Ways in one go. I couldn’t put it down, actually. It has a little something for everyone, no matter how you choose to celebrate Hallowe’en.
What’s your favorite Poe story/poem?
Hmm, that’s a really hard choice. I’m tempted to say “everything,” but if I had to choose, I’d probably say “The Raven” is my favorite poem, just because not only is it really amazingly written, but it’s just iconically Poe. As for story, again an impossible choice. “The Cask of Amontillado” was my first Poe story, so that’s definitely one of my favorites. I also quite love “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.”