Brian C. Poole, click
here to update your pages on AuthorsDen.
Blogs by Brian C. Poole
Halloween Books 10/28/2014 5:26:41 AM
[A version of this post originally appeared on thunderalleybcp.com]
As we hurl toward the end of October, some recommendations for Halloween books come to mind (you know, besides my shamelessly self-promoting suggestion).
I’m not a fan of gore, to be honest. I much prefer the “things that go bump in the night” approach to scary stories. I also appreciate a creative spin on narrative ground that’s been covered elsewhere that casts a familiar plot in a new light. I also tend to gravitate more toward older stories that are more about atmosphere and casting a narrative spell that works on both your brain and your dread instincts. So, in no particular order, here are my suggestions for some Halloween books to complement your season.
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
This classic of psychological horror rarely raises its voice, as it were, but by the end of this novella, you’ll feel the deep paranoia that grips its characters. Deliberately ambiguous, you’ll never quite be sure if the something sinister gripping a British manor is supernatural or human. Either way, it’s clear why this story has spawned the phrase that embodies the genre of psychological horror.
Dreams of Terror and Death by H.P. Lovecraft
The collection of the horror pioneer’s epic “Dream Cycle” will certainly leave a reader unsettled. Lovecraft subtly pushes his characters across an invisible border and it’s not until they’re too far across it to turn back that they realize how far from “normal” they’ve gone. Packed with a feverish imagination that inspired generations of writers to follow, this is one of those books that will make you hesitate to turn off the light if you read it before bed.
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
As much a story about fathers and sons and the conflict of age and youth, Wicked still packs an unsettling punch. Bradbury builds up to the most unnerving aspects of his story and explores all the subtle ways that darkness can ensnare the unsuspecting.
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Proving that real life monsters can be every bit as frightening as their fictional counterparts, this tale of a serial killer stalking the Chicago World’s Fair might be more unsettling because it’s non-fiction. Larson did some amazing research that he uses to build a vivid and disturbing profile of a deranged pleasure killer.
Gotham by Gaslight by Brian Augustyn, Mike Mignola and P. Craig Russell
Augustyn’s story transports the Batman tale to the Victorian Era, pairing young Bruce Wayne’s return to Gotham City with the arrival in town of Jack the Ripper. The inventive transposition of the Batman mythos is matched by the spectacular art from Mignola and Russell, drenched in shadow and mood. It all comes together to constitute one of the best “imaginary” Batman stories ever.
Dracula by Bram Stoker
While this well-known story has been worked over countless times in popular culture, there’s something arresting about going back to the original and experiencing the steady tightening of the web of horror and dread that Stoker spun. Other interpretations of this tale rarely get Mina Murray right, reading the true intention behind the character is illuminating.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
Again, modern interpretations have piled a lot of adornments on what was originally a fairly short and tidy story. Seek out the original to experience Irving’s evocation of the primal terror of being alone in the woods strikes a chord with anyone who ever felt silly having their heart jump because you could hear a small critter running nearby in the dark.
Mister Slaughter by Robert McCammon
McCammon’s “Matthew Corbett” series covers a lot of stylistic ground, but the third novel may be its most unsettling. It features Matthew’s conflict with a vicious serial killer he and his partner transport through untamed country in the colonial era, before things go horribly, terrifyingly wrong. Many parts of it are not for the squeamish, but the psychological battering Matthew takes is just as punishing as the physical torments visited on several characters.
Pretty Deadly by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios
DeConnick’s inventive story about the daughter of Death splices supernatural horror into a revisionist western, brought to vivid life by Rios’s gorgeous, evocative artwork. There’s a reason this series got so much attention recently. DeConnick and Rios may be the most inventive women in the comic book world right now.
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
Another familiar story that’s been overworked in its various adaptations, the trim, economical original is a perfect distillation of Victorian horror and fantasy themes. Wells knew that uncertainty created a more powerful sense of dread than constantly showing alien ships descending from the sky and uses the aliens sparingly, for maximum impact.
