Halloween for me is above all atmosphere. I don't do anything in particular but I love immersing myself in my beloved books by choosing themed readings. What do you think of a Halloween in front of the fireplace with a lamp with warm light, candles scattered here and there, some roast and a glass of good wine and an equally good book to spark the imagination?
I have compiled a short list of books that I have read and that seem to me to be perfect for the occasion, I chose stories that are suitable for Halloween but not exaggeratedly Horror, stories where above all the atmosphere is the protagonist.
I would really like if you add the readings you love suitable for the occasion in the comments, so we will create a place where those who enter can be inspired and choose a quality reading.
Novels
- Dracula, Bram Stoker (1897)
A classic in letter form not to be missed.
- Frankestein, Mary Shelley (1818)
A novel of great Gothic atmosphere, decadent, in epistolary form.
- And then there where none, Agatha Christie (1939)
Many guests in a house on an island where only the servants are waiting for them. Thus begins one of the best cime novel ever written and undoubtedly the most sold in the world.
- Diary, Chuck Palahniuk (2003)
a dark story with the minimalist, scientific and dry style of the American writer.
- Affinity, Sarah Waters (1999)
Victorian atmospheres and spiritism from a teacher of suspense and beautiful writing, Sarah Waters.
Short novels
- The legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving (1820)
hence the famous Tim Burton's movie.
- Carmilla, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1872)
the charming vampire.
- The Vampire, John William Polidori (1819)
born from the bet made with Lord Byron, this same bet gave birth to Frankestein the masterpiece of Mary Shelley.
I made a doll inspired by these stories, you can see it HERE and read some incipit.
For young and old kids
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Coraline, Neil Gaiman (2002)
one of my favorite books, the other mother is an unforgettable character.
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The Graveyard book, Neil Gaiman (2008)
always from the great Neil Gaiman a dark and sweet story.
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Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children, Ransom Riggs (2011)
besides the strange and scary story the photos inside are really beautiful.
One of the first dolls I made, so don't be scared if it's a bit raw, it was the one inspired by Coraline that you can see HERE
Short Stories
- E.A. Poe's tales (1845)
Among the best stories ever written. - The boutique of the mistery, Dino Buzzati (1968)
a true master of the story perhaps little known abroad, magnificent. - Lovecraft's tales (1917-1935)
a controversial and innovative author, especially some titles really deserve to be read for Halloween.
I made a lot of Edgar Allan dolls, go HERE, this is one of the first I've done.
Fairy tales
- Bluebeard, Charles Perrault (1697)
- The Pied Piper of Hamelin, a German legend transcribed by the Brothers Grimm in 1916
- Hansel e Gretel a German legend transcribed by the Brothers Grimm in 1812
- The old skinned woman of Gaimbattista Basile (1634, day I, fairy tale X, The tale of the tales)
- Lisabetta da Messina, Giovanni Boccaccio (1350-1353, day IV, novel 5, the Decameron)
Waiting for your reading lists!
Scrivi commento
Katy Poenaru (mercoledì, 30 ottobre 2019 12:58)
Ray Bradbury-"October Country" and " From the Dust Returned". I recommend them both because these are incredibly poetic, yet hauntingly chilling. True masterpieces from Halloween... and not only.
Here's a fragment from the second one:
" "Let it begin,"Mother cried. Begin!"
And the wind began.
It swarmed the world like a great beast unseen, and the whole world heard it pass in a season of grief and lamentation, a dark celebration of the stuffs it carried to disperse, and all of it funneling upper Illinois. In tidal sweeps and swoons of sound, it robbed the graves of dust from stone angels' eyes, vacuumed the tombs of spectral flesh, seized funeral flowers with no names, shucked druid trees to toss the leave-harvest high in a dry downpour, a battalion of shorn skins and fiery eyes that burned crazily in oceans of ravening clouds that tore themselves to flags of welcome to pace the occupants of space as they grew in numbers to sound the sky with such melancholy eruptions of lost years that a million farmyard sleepers waked with tears on their faces wondering if it had rained in the night and no one had foretold, and on the storm-river across the sea which roiled at this gravity of leave-taking and arrival until, with a flurry of leaves and dust commingled, it hovered in circles over the hill and the House and the welcoming party and Cecy above all, who in her attic, a slumberous totem on her sands, beckoned with her mind and breathed permission."
My favorite character in this book is Uncle Einar and I won't say more, to incite you all to read. You might also remember the TV series "Twilight Zone" and "The Ray Bradbury Theater".
I love your reading list! I remember myself reading Frankenstein in my youth and being captivated and feeling sorry for the creature. I will look for Dino Buzzati's work, he's an author translated in both Romanian and Hungarian language. As for the Decameron, that was great reading for me in my youth so I have to go back and find the story you are talking about.
Coraline is one of my favorite movies and I love Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas" too.
Have a wonderful Halloween with fun, light and pleasantly chilling stories!
Gioconda (mercoledì, 30 ottobre 2019 13:43)
Thank you Kathy! Your advice is really interesting, I will surely read what you syggested � Have a wonderful Halloween you too, full of magic and books!