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When you write scary stories for a living, everyone assumes that Halloween must be your favorite holiday. But when I think about Halloween, I often remember it as a day of heartbreaking disappointment.
My family was quite poor. I grew up in a tiny house in an Ohio suburb three doors down from the railroad tracks. We couldn’t afford any fancy, expensive Halloween costumes.
When I was 8 or 9, my parents went to the five-and-dime to buy a cheap costume for me. I was desperate to be something scary. A vampire or a monster. A mummy or a skeleton. Even a pirate.
My parents returned and handed me the box. My hands actually trembled as I lifted the lid. I was so excited … until I gazed at the costume they had bought.
It was a feathery yellow duck costume, with a fuzzy white cottontail.
When my friends saw me on trick-or-treating night, they burst out in cold, cruel laughter. I was mortified. And since we couldn’t afford a new costume, I remained a feathery yellow duck for the next three years.
Halloween is a terrible time to be mortified. That is why I’ve put together this list of Halloween books for all ages. I can’t pick your costume for you, but if you include these books in your Halloween celebration, I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
The Halloween Tree
By Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury is a hero of mine: I always recommend his novel “Something Wicked This Way Comes” to kids looking for a scary read. In “The Halloween Tree,” it’s Halloween night, and eight costumed boys run to meet their friend in the haunted house outside town. A shivery start to the holiday. (Ages 8 and up)
The Witches
By Roald Dahl; illustrated by Quentin Blake
Not a Halloween book, but a classic of scary fun for all ages. What could be creepier and funnier than real witches who hate children? (Ages 8 and up)
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
By Charles M. Schultz
This one really needs no introduction. Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin to rise up and bring presents to all the children in the world. Sure, he may end up disappointed. But you’ll be disappointed if you don’t have this warm, fuzzy, funny classic on your reading list. (Ages 4 to 8)
Creepy Pair of Underwear!
By Aaron Reynolds; illustrated by Peter Brown
This hilarious picture book has nothing to do with Halloween, but you always need underwear on a book list for kids. My grandson made me read it to him 100 times. (Ages 4 to 8)
Howl’s Moving Castle
By Diana Wynne Jones
This brilliant fantasy novel takes place in the mythical land of Ingary, where a witch has cast a spell on young Sophie, turning her into an old lady. Sophie’s only chance of removing the spell is to brave the enormous black castle on the hill. (Yes, it moves!) There, she must confront the evil Wizard Howl. (Ages 8 and up)
House of Stairs
By William Sleator
Sleator wrote wickedly inventive horror and sci-fi novels in the 1970s and ’80s. I was a big fan. This book, in which a group of orphans are trapped in a house with no walls, ceilings or floors — a house built only of stairs — has lingered with me over the years. The idea still gives me the deep shudders. (Ages 10 and up)
The Black Girl Survives in this One
Edited by Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell
A wildly imaginative and frightening Y.A. collection of horror stories in which the Black girl isn’t the first to die. This scary new take on popular horror tropes showcases a talented new set of authors. Save these for late Halloween night! (Ages 12 and up)
Bunnicula
By Deborah and James Howe; illustrated by Alan Daniel
Don’t leave the vampire rabbit alone in the carrot patch on Halloween! Kids love the wry, irrepressible bunny cum Dracula — and I do, too. (Ages 8 to 12)
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