The Shining
chilling stories have been a Halloween tradition since the days of the ancient Druid . How often have multitude gather around a campfire , a Jack - o - lantern , or a flashlight to hear shivery narration and urban caption ? It ’s an action as Halloween as carving a pumpkin , watch over a repulsion flick , or putting on a costume .
But supposing certain booklover require something a little longer than a campfire narration , and maybe a lilliputian chilling than an urban caption ? Fret not , dear lecturer . The literary world is rife with novel and repugnance compilations perfect for the flighty season . order from mildly creepy-crawly to downright horrifying , there ’s a book for every taste in scourge .
Clown in a Cornfield (by Adam Cesare)
The most recent novel on this list , Clown in a Cornfieldis likea modern ' 80 slasher but in literary variant . It features a stamp of teen victim , an unsettling little town , and a drown victim that possibly arouse a death torment .
While Frendo the Clown might not be as celebrated as Derry ’s dancing killer buffoon , he ’s got a major creep ingredient that will definitely give readers a upright case of the willies .
Herbert West-Reanimator (by H.P. Lovecraft)
Of course , one ca n’t have a beneficial Halloween without a smattering of zombies . While it might be easy to go toWorld War zee , it might be better to pick up an quondam classic first .
It may not beCall of Cthulhu , but this novella by the fabled H.P. Lovecraft is a disgusting and unsettling submission into the snake god musical style . Illegal experiments , reanimated corpse , and deeds done in the dead of night – what more could a reader desire ?
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (by Alvin Schwartz)
There ’s a expression that child like to be frightened ; they just do n’t know it yet . Millions of minor were fright out of their midnight reading thanks to the tall tales and urban legends cultivated by Alvin Schwartz , and that ’s not even bring up the nightmare - inducing artwork .
Thanks to the film adaptation that was produce byGuillermo del Toro , this classic book series has seen a revitalisation in relevance and popularity . Even adult are rediscovering them and experiencing the horrors one more time .
The Shining (by Stephen King)
If there is only one haunt firm novel readers must intrepidly dive into this Halloween , it has to be Stephen King’sThe shin . Haunted residence and houses are a dime a dozen , but a taken up hotel ? Now that ’s a story !
With psychic kids , malevolent spirits , and a drunken pappa who go bad on a homicidal violent disorder , it checks a lot of box for traditional , hardcore horror . No Stanley Kubrick require .
Night Shift (by Stephen King)
IfThe Shiningisn’t your glass of redrum , why not pick up something more digestible?Night Shiftis a collection of King ’s creepy short story , featuring several that later became full - length feature picture .
report likeChildren of the Corn , Trucks , The Lawnmower Man , andThe Manglerall make frightening appearances here , and no buff of the source should be without this textual matter . creepy-crawly child , demonic possessions , and gruesome mutilation practically hemorrhage through the page .
Coraline (by Neil Gaiman)
AlthoughThe Graveyard Bookis also an first-class choice from the genius that is Neil Gaiman , Coralineis the much scarier work . For a children ’s book , it ’s a piece of glum fantasy that amaze uncomfortably creepy at time .
There ’s no ancestry and gore by any substance but through his natural endowment for the written password , theSandmanscribe create a chilling tarradiddle with preternatural beingness , black cats , and growing pains . If the kids only understand one work from the man , it should in spades beCoraline .
Dracula (by Bram Stoker)
For the hard-core literary enthusiast out there , there ’s nothing like the classic . No Halloween could ever be complete without a sojourn fromCount Draculahimself , who first appeared in Bram Stoker ’s immortal Gothic horror novel .
Draculahas all the trimmings and trappings for a perfect Halloween nighttime : creepy-crawly castle , insane mental home , and vampires galore festoonery this dreadful Transylvanian story . Only one other piece of work could perchance hold a candle to it , and that would be …
Frankenstein (by Mary Shelley)
Mary Shelley’sFrankensteindidn’t just give audiences the ground of one of the most dear / fear Classic Universal Monsters , but her novel is also responsible for giving birth to modern science - fabrication as it ’s have intercourse today . While it lack any vampire and insane asylums , Frankensteindoes feature one of the most famous monsters ever to grace the page .
The tale of Dr. Frankenstein and his reanimated creature is as tragic and terrific as can be , and is the one revulsion novel that has spawned possibly the most film adaptations to date … next to Dracula , of course of study .
Something Wicked This Way Comes (by Ray Bradbury)
He might be better known for works likeThe Martian ChroniclesorFahrenheit 451,but Ray Bradbury ’s beautifully ghost horror novel that shines shiny than any Jack - atomic number 8 - lantern .
Something This Way Comesis a foreign and frequently scary novel where no one dies or even gets mortally wounded , but the ominous nature of amysterious circusthat blows into townsfolk is enough to give more than a few chills . Bradbury ’s gift for the written Holy Writ really shines and create a deliciously mephistophelean tale .
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (by Washington Irving)
The Headless Horseman ’s legend is , without a dubiety , one of the most famous ghost narrative in all American lit , if not all sentence . Washington Irving ’s story of Ichabod Crane ’s encounter with the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow is the most iconic tale told around this time of year .
It ’s been read , reread , repeated around campfires , performed on stage , and even has a fistful of movie . To date , the most famous and influential interlingual rendition of the tale is the one animate by Disney inThe Adventures of Ichabod Crane & Mr. Toad(1949 ) . If there ’s one story that unfeignedly entrance the Halloween spirit , it ’s this ghostly classic .
NEXT:10 Darkest Fan Theories About Tim Burton Films
