Halloween Reading List
I was planning to do this eventually anyway, but with many Halloween events canceled and many people staying home for the holiday due to the coronavirus pandemic, I've begun setting up a Halloween reading list for people of all ages to help you keep the Halloween feeling going during quiet evenings in your own home. Turn down the lights, pull up the covers, grab a flashlight and some snacks, and curl up with some spooky stories!
Just a word about my categories. I have a nostalgic children's book blog (always under construction, like all of my projects) where I've created a master list of books about Halloween. Those books are sorted by genre. In this page, I've sorted them partly by genre and partly by the general mood of the story. I've also included some stories that aren't specifically for or about Halloween but would be appropriate for the holiday. There are a lot of kids' books here, but there are adult books further down the page and some links to other people's reading lists. I recommend kids' books even for adults because nostalgia can be very calming during uncertain times and also because these books are generally a lot of fun. It's also a good idea to read to kids, especially if they're not going to be going out trick-or-treating this year. Halloween stories can range from tame and non-scary, even for little kids, to truly terrifying. So, why not spend the afternoon making your favorite Halloween treats with your kids and follow it up with a family story night?
In the tables below, the links to from the book titls are to my reviews about the books, and the links from the format of the book are to copies that are available for you to borrow and read the books for free through Internet Archive, so there is no need for you to buy any of these, unless you really like them and would like to own a copy. I've used Internet Archive a lot, and they have a large selection of books. You do need to create an account to borrow books, but the account is free. Books simply disappear from your loan list when your alloted time is up, so there are no late fees involved. It's basically a virtual library, and you read the books directly in your browser, no need to download anything.
Children's Books
Non-Scary Stories for Kids
These are stories that you can safely read even to small children that give off a seasonal vibe but nothing that would give the children nightmares. They would be fine for bedtime reading. Of course, it's always a good idea to keep the individual child in mind and not read anything that might bother them personally. You can read my reviews of each of these books by clicking on the title before you decide. The link on the format will lead to a copy on Internet Archive.
| Name of Book | Author | Format/Age Group | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halloween Treats | Carolyn Haywood | Short Story Collection | Carolyn Haywood wrote a series of books about a group of neighborhood children, especially Betsy and Eddie and their friends. In this book, there are short stories that focus on how the children spend their Halloweens. There are Halloween parties, costumes, pranks, and some mild slice-of-life adventures. |
| The Best Halloween Ever | Barbara Robinson | Chapter Book | This is a humorous story that's part of the same series as The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. The mayor has decided that he’s had enough of the chaos the Herdman kids cause on Halloween, so he’s just going to cancel trick-or-treating altogether this year. Instead, there will a safe, well-supervised (boring), school Halloween party. The kids are disappointed because, as every kid knows, running wild in the streets is really the heart of Halloween. They think there isn’t going to be anything surprising or magical or even really scary about Halloween at the school, where all the "monsters" are their own parents in costume. The only real benefit that they see to the event is that the Herdmans won’t be there because they say it sounds too boring. But, with the Herdmans, nothing is ever what anyone would expect, and they not only show up but find a way to turn the event into something that brings back some of the surprises and real Halloween spirit that were missing from a party that was too well-organized and predictable. In real life, kids like the Herdmans would be a total pain, but in their stories, they have a way of turning situations on their head and even helping the people they ordinarily pick on. In one weird Halloween, they help redeem themselves from past pranks and return at least some of the candy that they'd stolen from others. |
| The Blue-Nosed Witch | Margaret Embry | Short Chapter Book | Blanche, a young witch with a glowing blue nose, is always late to her meetings with the other witches, but when both she and her best friend set her clock ahead to give her extra time on Halloween, she wakes up unexpectedly early. She meets up with a group of trick-or-treaters, who teach her about Halloween treats and fun and play a prank on the meanest man in town. The book was originally written in the 1950s, so the kids get the kind of homemade treats that most people don't hand out anymore, like apples and donuts. |
| The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything | Linda Williams | Picture Book | This is a cute picture book based on word and sound repetition. A brave lady ventures out into the woods one day, and as she makes her way home again when it gets dark, she begins to encounter some strange things. Cute ending! |
| The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat | Stan and Jan Berenstain | Picture Book | Brother and Sister Bear are looking forward to trick-or-treating with their friends, but they’re nervous about the strange woman who lives down the street and might be a witch. |
| We’re Going on a Ghost Hunt | Marcia Vaughan | Picture Book | Two kids go on a ghost hunt and are very brave, right up to the moment when they find a "ghost"! |
| A Woggle of Witches | Adrienne Adams | Picture Book | Witches live in a dark forest, sleeping in hammocks in trees, until it’s time for their flight on Halloween. |
Mildly Spooky Books for Kids
These books may have some minor spookiness for young children, but nothing truly scary. They make it clear that all the spooky stuff is harmless or imaginary. Of course, it's always a good idea to keep the individual child in mind and not read anything that might bother them personally. You can read my reviews of each of these books by clicking on the title before you decide. The link on the format will lead to a copy on Internet Archive.
| Name of Book | Author | Format/Age Group | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aunt Eater’s Mystery Halloween | Doug Cushman | Short Story Collection | Aunt Eater encounters a series of spooky mysteries when she goes to a party on Halloween. These four short mystery stories are only slightly spooky, and nothing scary happens. The characters in the stories are all animals. |
| The Spooky Halloween Party | Annabelle Prager | Picture Book | Albert thinks that it will be easy to guess his friends’ identities at Nicky’s Halloween party, but it turns out to be harder than he thinks, and he’s in for a few scares and some big surprises before the night is over! |
| No More Magic | Avi | Chapter Book | When Chris’s bike disappears on Halloween night, he and the new girl in town think that it may have been stolen by a mysterious warlock. |
| Scare Yourself to Sleep | Rose Impey | Picture Book | Two cousins tell each other scary stories while camping out in the backyard. It’s a contest between the two of them. Who will end up scaring who the most? Part of the Creepies series. |
| Jumble Joan | Rose Impey | Picture Book | A boy and his friend take his little sister upstairs, to their grandmother’s attic and tell her scary stories, trying to frighten her. Imagination is a powerful thing, and they may be surprised at who ends up being the most scared. Part of the Creepies series. |
Spooky Mystery Stories
Some of these are specifically set at Halloween, and others just have a kind of spooky or Halloween feel to them. Most are very mildly spooky. I've marked ones with more serious scares in the descriptions.
| Name of Book | Author | Format/Age Group | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aunt Eater’s Mystery Halloween | Doug Cushman | Short Story Collection | Aunt Eater encounters a series of spooky mysteries when she goes to a party on Halloween. These four short mystery stories are only slightly spooky, and nothing scary happens. The characters in the stories are all animals. |
| The Spooky Halloween Party | Annabelle Prager | Picture Book | Albert thinks that it will be easy to guess his friends’ identities at Nicky’s Halloween party, but it turns out to be harder than he thinks, and he’s in for a few scares and some big surprises before the night is over! |
| Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt | Marjorie Weinman Sharmat | Picture Book | Nate the Great is spending Halloween helping to find Rosamond’s missing cat. |
| The Mystery on October Road | Alison Cragin Herzig and Jane Lawrence Mali | Short Chapter Book | A girl and her friends investigate the mysterious man who moved in next door, who keeps to himself and whose face is always covered by a bandana. My favorite part of the book was always the descriptions of the fantastic jack o'lanterns at the end. |
| The Egypt Game | Zilpha Keatley Snyder | Middle School Level | A young girl goes to live with her grandmother and starts a game of pretend with new friends that takes on a life of its own. In the process, she almost becomes the victim of a murderer. This book is not for young children! |
| Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man | Wendelin Van Draanen | Middle School Level | A series of strange events on Halloween night point to a crime. Part of the Sammy Keyes mystery series. |
| Susannah and the Poison Green Halloween | Patricia Elmore | Chapter Book | When two of their friends are poisoned by something they ate after trick-or-treating at an apartment house, Susannah and Lucy try to find the source of the poison and the poisoner’s motives. Part of the Susannah Higgins series. |
| Terror on Cemetery Hill | Drew Stevenson | Chapter Book | Randall, a new boy in town whose mother is the new cemetery caretaker, asks Sarah and her friends to help him investigate the monster that he saw in the cemetery one night. Part of the Sarah Capshaw mystery series. |
Serious Scares and Children's Horror
These are the scarier stories in children's literature. There are "real" supernatural events, ghosts, and monsters in these stories.
| Name of Book | Author | Format/Age Group | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Halloween Tree | Ray Bradbury | Middle School/Young Adult | A group of friends tries to save their friend’s life on Halloween by following his spirit through time and around the world and learns some of the secrets behind the holiday. |
| The Red Room Riddle | Scott Corbett | Chapter Book | Two boys in the 1920s investigate a local haunted house on a frightening Halloween night. |
| The Ghost Belonged to Me | Richard Peck | Chapter Book | The ghost of a young girl who died in an accident is haunting Alexander’s barn. She needs his help in order for her body to be found and returned to her family’s crypt in New Orleans. Part of the Blossom Culp series. This is not specifically a Halloween story, but the Disney movie version, Child of Glass is. |
| The Dollhouse Murders | Betty Ren Wright | Middle School/Young Adult | The dolls in an old dollhouse seem to be reenacting the unsolved murder of Amy’s grandparents years ago. Not specifically a Halloween story, but the themes are appropriate. |
| Scared Stiff | Jahnna N. Malcolm | Chapter Book | Kelly’s parents are morticians, and their family lives over the mortuary. Their work always gives Kelly the creeps, and one night, a dead body comes to life, bent on revenge against the people who sent him to prison. Not specifically a Halloween story, but the themes are appropriate. |
| The House on Hackman’s Hill | Joan Lowery Nixon | Chapter Book | A pair of cousins are fascinated by the story of an old house that may be inhabited by a cursed mummy and decide to try to find the mummy and claim the reward. Not specifically a Halloween story, but the themes are appropriate. |
| Jane-Emily | Patricia Clapp | Middle School/Young Adult | A young woman takes her niece to visit her grandmother and uncovers the disturbing truth about the niece’s other aunt, Emily, whose ghost haunts the gazing globe in the garden. Not specifically a Halloween story, but the themes are appropriate. |
| In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories | Alvin Schwartz | Short Story Collection | A collection of classic scary stories based on folktales from around the world. |
| Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark | Alvin Schwartz | Short Story Collection | A collection of creepy stories collected from American folklore and urban legends. Part of a series. |
Nonfiction Children's Books
These are nonfiction books for children about Halloween and related topics.
| Name of Book | Author | Format/Age Group | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghosts, Witches, and Things Like | Roderick Hunt | Picture Book | Children’s book about Halloween and folklore and related games, crafts, recipes, and poems. |
| How to Haunt a House for Halloween | Friedhoffer, the Madman of Magic | Picture Book | This book was written by a magician to provide tips for setting up a haunted house for a party, either in your house with friends or in a more public setting, like a school, camp, or church party or carnival. |
| The Little Witch’s Halloween Book | Linda Glovach | Picture Book | Halloween-themed crafts, games, and party ideas. Part of the Little Witch Craft Books series. |
| Monster Manual | Erich Ballinger | Picture Book | An encyclopedia of monsters and other creatures from folklore, literature, and movies. |
| The Spookster’s Handbook | Peter Eldin | Picture Book | A fun kids’ book of jokes and tricks for Halloween or just having some spooky fun with friends. |
Adult Books
Classic Books and Stories
These are pieces of classic literature that are great for Halloween!
| Title | Author | Format | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frankenstein | Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley | Novel | A young scientist gives life to a creature he can't control. Even the story of how this novel was created is famous and has spooky vibes. It was the result of an informal ghost story contest involving Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley, and John Polidori – a rather scandalous group of young creatives in the early 19th century who were like the celebutantes of their day. Most of them lived fast and wild lives, dying relatively young. They were all friends, and they were staying in a Swiss villa one summer when a fierce storm caused them to have to stay indoors, so they started writing and telling ghost stories to pass the time. Some members of the group, like Mary Shelley, published their stories later. |
| The Legend of Sleepy Hollow | Washington Irving | Short Story | A famous example of early American gothic literature. A schoolteacher is frightened by the legendary headless ghost of a Hessian soldier who was killed in the American Revolution, but it remains ambiguous what he really saw. I like this story because it shows something of the development of folklore and culture in the United States while the country was still fairly young. |
| Dracula | Bram Stoker | Novel | Count Dracula comes to England from Transylvania, and his new neighbors slowly come to realize that he is a vampire. |
| The Fall of the House of Usher | Edgar Allan Poe | Short Story | A man goes to visit his friend, Roderick Usher, and he learns strange and disturbing things about the Usher family and their home. |
| The Raven | Edgar Allan Poe | Poem | A spooky poem about a raven that appears to a man mourning the loss of his wife. (Although this will totally spoil the spooky mood, it's also fun to sing this poem to the tune of the Christmas song Deck the Halls.) |
| The Murders in the Rue Morgue | Edgar Allan Poe | Short Story | C. Auguste Dupin investigates the murders of two women in Paris. This story is considered the first modern detective story. |
| The Hound of the Baskervilles | Arthur Conan Doyle | Novel | The famous detective Sherlock Holmes investgates the case of a supernatural hound. This spooky mystery has been made into movies multiple times. |
| Hallowe'en Party | Agatha Christie | Novel | Poirot helps mystery author Ariadne Oliver investigate the murder of a 13-year-old girl at a Halloween party. This was made into an episode of the tv Poirot series with David Suchet, and the tv movie is also available online through Internet Archive. |
Mystery Books
These are lists of Halloween-themed mystery books for adults. Most of them are cozy mysteries.
11 Eerie Mystery Books to Put You in the Halloween Spirit
It's a good list, although I would argue that some of them are more ghost story or horror, like The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. From Woman's World.
19 Creepy Halloween Thriller Books to Read Now
From Beyond the Bookends.
Halloween and Autumn Cozy Mysteries
From Goodreads.
From Cozy Mystery List.
From Cozy Mysteries Unlimited
Have Yourself A Cozy Halloween With These Spooktacular Mysteries
From CrimeReads.
Scary, Spooky, and Sleuth-y: A List of Crime Books Set On or Around Halloween
From CrimeReads.
Horror Books
These are lists of books for adults with frightening and supernatural themes.
The 60 Most Popular Horror Books of the Past Five Years
From Goodreads.
25 Halloween Books So Scary, They'll Keep You Up For the Rest of the Year
From House Beautiful.
33 Best Halloween Books That'll Give You All the Goosebumps
From The Pioneer Woman.
From Goodreads.
New Gothic Tales from the Past Four Years
From Goodreads.
Scary Reading Recommendations Based on Classic Horror Novels
These recommended horror novels are arranged in collections based on which classic horror novels readers like. They are not vintage classic horror novels themselves, but they are an assortment of modern classics and books that are continuations or take-offs or read-alikes to vintage classic horror fiction, grouped by which classic horror novels they reference or resemble. From Goodreads.
Terror Knows No Boundaries with These Translated Horror Novels
A collection of recommended horror novels that are from and take place in different countries around the world. They have all been translated into English from their original languages. From Goodreads.