>
Something Wicked This Way Comes is a classic work of horror by Ray Bradbury that occurs in the small town of Green Town, Illinois. Halloween arrives a week early with the arrival of a dark carnival that destroys the lives of the townspeople it touches.
Dracula’s Guest is a collection of early vampire stories ranging in publication date from 1738-1890. The vampires in these stories do not sparkle, nor are they brooding and sexy. If you’re looking for horror stories where vampires truly are scary and can only- be kept at bay with Christian symbols or garlic, these tales will not disappoint.
One well-known author who has been writing in the horror genre for years is Stephen King. In Under the Dome an entire town is suddenly trapped by a dome that unexpectedly springs up around its edges. The petty arguments of small town life are magnified and factions develop as some seek to take advantage of the captive town.
Joe Hill (son of Stephen King) is also an author of horror fiction. His first novel, Heart Shaped Box, features metal band musician and collector of occult paraphernelia Judas Coyne. Coyne is unable to resist purchasing a ghost when he sees one for sale online. It turns out he has purchased the angry spirit of his late girlfriend’s stepfather. Hill is also the author of the horror graphic novel series Locke & Key.
Hell House by Richard Matheson is written in the tradition of the great horror novels and is one of the scariest haunted house books ever written. Matheson, like King, is one of those horror authors who has developed a cult following (he also wrote the truly scary I Am Legend) and he is a favorite among horror connoisseurs.
In a creative break from the slew of recently published zombie novels, Steven Schlozman’s debut, The Zombie Autopsies: Secret Notebooks from the Apocalypse, is presented as the gorily illustrated, hand-written diary of a neuroscientist investigating the causes of zombiism before he himself can succumb to the disease that causes it.
For horror leavened with a (large) dose of humor, try Christopher Moore’s Vampire Love Stories series, the most recent of which is Bite Me. With his normal large and totally weird cast of characters, Moore sets a vampire cat loose on San Francisco.
Halloween wouldn’t be complete without horror movies, and Let Me In is a disturbing but bittersweet film based on a book by the same title. Owen is a young boy who is bullied at school who befriends his young neighbor, Abby, a young girl only goes outside at night. Owen must confront the idea that his young, introverted friend may be connected to a string of grisly murders rocking their community.