Read A Spooky Book At Halloween, Even If You Don't Like Horror
As I've mentioned before (I won't stop talking about it), I LOVE Halloween! While I know not everyone reaches the same level of enthusiasm that I have, you have to admit that Autumn is a really great time of year.
One of my favorite ways to get into the spirit of the season is to read something spooky! This is the moment where, for the first time, I will publicly admit that while I am a Halloween maniac, I am not the biggest fan of horror. (Oh, the shame!)
When I was younger, I was actually super into horror movies. As I got older, the more and more freaked out I would get after I watched them. Eventually I decided that if I ever wanted to get another night's sleep, I would have to give up my horror movie habit.
For the longest time, I wouldn't even attempt a horror book - until last year, that is!
The first book I started with was a Stephen King book; if you're going to do something, you might as well start with the best!
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King is a collection of short stories by the undisputed master of the horror genre.
Some of these stories were seriously scary, while others were more odd or unsettling. If you're nervous about getting into something that will be too scary for you, this is a good starting point. If one story is too much, you can easily skip ahead a few pages and find something that is more to your liking. The book is close to 500 pages, so even if you skip a few stories, you will still have plenty of reading to do!
Another book I read last year and really enjoyed was The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Jackson is considered to be a master of horror writing - Stephen King notes her as an inspiration - and The Haunting of Hill House is considered an all-time classic by people who like the genre. What's great about this book is that much of it is open to interpretation. I don't want to give anything away, but the ending leaves you a lot of room to decide what happens, so this is really only as scary as you want it to be.
I am currently working on two books, a paper copy of The Witches of New York and an e-book of American Witches, and both of them are the perfect level of spooky for me! I'd say in general, books about witches are usually much more creepy or spooky than scary. I'd say that's a great place to start if you want something to put you in the Halloween mood without giving you nightmares.
On the same note, novels about dystopian futures are often unsettling without being frightening. My favorites are The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and 1984 by George Orwell.
If none of these books work for you, my last suggestion is to read some Edgar Allan Poe.
He has so many poems and short stories to choose from, and they are all written in the style of language that was used during Poe's time. I don't know about you, but I find that writing style to be a bit silly, so it's hard for me to really be scared by it!
I hope this list helps you find your perfect Halloween read! If I missed anything, let me know in the comments!
One of my favorite ways to get into the spirit of the season is to read something spooky! This is the moment where, for the first time, I will publicly admit that while I am a Halloween maniac, I am not the biggest fan of horror. (Oh, the shame!)
When I was younger, I was actually super into horror movies. As I got older, the more and more freaked out I would get after I watched them. Eventually I decided that if I ever wanted to get another night's sleep, I would have to give up my horror movie habit.
For the longest time, I wouldn't even attempt a horror book - until last year, that is!
The first book I started with was a Stephen King book; if you're going to do something, you might as well start with the best!
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King is a collection of short stories by the undisputed master of the horror genre.
Some of these stories were seriously scary, while others were more odd or unsettling. If you're nervous about getting into something that will be too scary for you, this is a good starting point. If one story is too much, you can easily skip ahead a few pages and find something that is more to your liking. The book is close to 500 pages, so even if you skip a few stories, you will still have plenty of reading to do!
Another book I read last year and really enjoyed was The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Jackson is considered to be a master of horror writing - Stephen King notes her as an inspiration - and The Haunting of Hill House is considered an all-time classic by people who like the genre. What's great about this book is that much of it is open to interpretation. I don't want to give anything away, but the ending leaves you a lot of room to decide what happens, so this is really only as scary as you want it to be.
On the same note, novels about dystopian futures are often unsettling without being frightening. My favorites are The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and 1984 by George Orwell.
If none of these books work for you, my last suggestion is to read some Edgar Allan Poe.
He has so many poems and short stories to choose from, and they are all written in the style of language that was used during Poe's time. I don't know about you, but I find that writing style to be a bit silly, so it's hard for me to really be scared by it!
I hope this list helps you find your perfect Halloween read! If I missed anything, let me know in the comments!
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