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The Essentials of Halloween

post #1 of 14
10/2/08 at 1:27pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked this Way Comes"
Beware the autumn people...For some, autumn comes early, stays late, through life, where October follows September and November touches October and then instead of December and Christ’s birth there is no Bethlehem Star, no rejoicing, but September comes again and old October and so on down the years, with no winter, spring or revivifying summer.
For these beings, fall is the only normal season, the only weather, there be no choice beyond.
Each October, as the year winds its way down, I find myself reaching for certain movies and books that put me in a Halloween state of mind (or more so than usual). For my part, the most essential reading is the above-referenced Bradbury classic. In fact, to my mind, Something Wicked This Way Comes, in conjunction with The October Country and The Halloween Tree, proves that no single author has given voice to Autumn, to October, to Halloween and the joys/terrors of being a child during that dark month as well as Ray Bradbury. In addition to Bradbury, I generally do a reread of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (which I've loved since I was a wee tyke watching the Disney classic).

So, how about my fellow Chewers? What are your Halloween essentials (or am I the only nutter that does this)? Failing that, what are your favorite (to borrow from Lovecraft) bloodcurdling tales of horror and the macabre?* And recommendations are always welcome.






*I know there have been some previous threads discussing the horror novel, but I thought this would be a more pointed, or differently pointed, discussion than "Is the Horror Novel Dead?"
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post #2 of 14
10/3/08 at 1:00pm
Thread Starter 
Hmmm, apparently I AM the only nutter.

This is the sound of one hand clapping and no one in the forest to hear it.

Oh, well.
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post #3 of 14
10/3/08 at 1:12pm
There is something great about reading a classic horror novel in October. Been doing that since I was a child. Everything just seems to work better. The perfect mood.

For a long stretch, my novel of choice was "IT" or "'Salem's Lot". Now my tradition includes "The Keep", "I, Am Legend", "Dracula", and "Something Wicked This Way Come" (Agree, pretty perfect, Matt!). Comfortable old shoes perhaps, but they still work for me.
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post #4 of 14
10/3/08 at 1:16pm
I'm kinda re-working my way through the Michael Slade series of serial killer novels. Does that count?
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post #5 of 14
10/4/08 at 2:22am
Damn, I need to read "Something Wicked This Way Comes" again.

Also, 'Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark.'
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post #6 of 14
10/4/08 at 3:18am
I love Halloween time for TCM or AMC or whatever. All the horror films come out to play for me.
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post #7 of 14
10/4/08 at 12:10pm
Frankenstein.

Edgar Allan Poe.

Sherlock Holmes.

Those are what I like to read come October.

And no, you are not the the only one who does this. I do it with books and music and movies, so I know how you feel.
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post #8 of 14
10/5/08 at 4:10pm
Mattioli, you're far from being the only October "nutter"! LOL

Being an October baby who's birthday on the 10th of the month is, of course, always precisely three weeks before the REAL special day of it's 31, there are many books & DVDs that I make sure to revisit & enjoy during it's all too short span.
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post #9 of 14
10/6/08 at 4:05am
gonna start the books of blood by barker this week
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post #10 of 14
10/6/08 at 4:24am
I've been listening to the Poltergeist soundtrack a lot lately. Horror scores are one of my big primes for this season.

And I echo Casey's Frankenstein. Still one of my all-time favorite horror novels.
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post #11 of 14
10/6/08 at 1:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by RathBandu View Post
Also, 'Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark.'
I'll second that. It's worth it for the creepy-ass artwork alone. As an added bonus, Waldenbooks usually carries a hardcover collection of the entire series for, about, 6 bucks.
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post #12 of 14
10/23/08 at 5:15pm
"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Poe
Clive Barker's "The Yattering and Jack" (more funny than scary but I love it)
"Night Shift" by Steven King (so sue me)
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post #13 of 14
10/23/08 at 5:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianM View Post
Clive Barker's "The Yattering and Jack" (more funny than scary but I love it)
See, to me, that's what Halloween is about. There should be an element of fun. The movies that legitimately frighten or disturb me aren't the ones I would watch on Halloween. I'm not whipping out Videodrome. Creepshow, however, is a standard.
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post #14 of 14
10/23/08 at 9:13pm
I'm reading Stephen King's "The Stand"(complete and Uncut edition) for the very first time.
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