The Haunting of Lit House’s Official 2021 October Recommendations

Halloween 2021 is almost here! No matter what kind of horror you like, the following list has a recommendation to get you ready for Halloween:

• I love slashers: If you like slasher movies/books, you have to read My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones. It follows the story of a high school senior named Jade Daniels, who’s probably more obsessed with slasher movies than you. She’s convinced a slasher is terrorizing her town, but because of her encyclopedic knowledge of slashers, she knows how the slasher can be stopped. But will those in charge actually believe her? The previous post on this blog has a full review of My Heart Is a Chainsaw.

• I want something creepy with heart: The Changeling by Victor LaValle is creepy, full of heart, and incredibly well written. It follows Apollo Kagawa’s journey into fatherhood. Soon after becoming parents, Apollo’s wife commits a terrible crime, and Apollo has to begin an exhausting search for his wife and son. The Changeling is a beautiful story about how far people will go to protect their families. LaValle’s writing style is incredibly immersive, and readers will feel like they’re joining Apollo on his journey. (Also, anything by Victor LaValle is going to have a lot of heart, so if this doesn’t seem like your jam, try anything else he’s written.)
• I’m a big chicken. I want something Halloween adjacent that isn’t too scary: The Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris is easily one of the best vampire series ever. The first book, Dead Until Dark, explores the ramifications of vampires “coming out of the coffin” and the havoc they wreak on a small town in Louisiana. Sookie, the main character who happens to be a telepath, finds herself enmeshed in vampire politics, which can have deadly consequences. This is a book about vampires, so it does have blood and murder, but it really isn’t horror. It’s more of a mystery with some romance thrown in. It’s the series that the show True Blood is based on. (And if you haven’t watched True Blood, you should. At least the first season.)
• Trees are beautiful this time of year. I hate that. I want to be afraid of them: The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson tells the story of Immanuelle Moore, a young woman living in a puritanical town. Immanuelle finds herself venturing into the Darkwood, a forbidden forest near her town, where she finds a journal of her deceased mother. Naturally, terrible things begin to happen to the town after Immanuelle finds the journal. The Year of the Witching is the perfect feminist, witchy story for this time of year.
• I like to watch horror movies through my fingers. I want a book that will make me do that: Coyote Songs by Gabino Iglesias has one of the creepiest scenes in a book I have ever read. I won’t give it away, but I audibly said “no, no, oh this can’t be good…no, no, no, no, OH S$!T” while reading it. Coyote Songs tells a few different stories, and each is incredibly well written and gets pretty creepy. Iglesias has the ability to give characters a thorough and in-depth backstory while progressing the plot. Coyote Songs is nearly impossible to put down, and Iglesias truly exemplifies showing, not telling.
• I don’t know much about horror. I want a primer on horror fiction: Monster, She Wrote by Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson walks you through the women who shaped horror into the genre it is today. This book also contains information on different types of horror and is a must-read for anyone whose blood boils when people say only men write good horror. It’s one of the few books that will leave you with a longer to-be-read list when you finish it than when you began.
• I’m interested in diversifying my reading. Anything on here by women or BIPOC? You’re in luck! Everything on this list to this point has been by a woman author and/or BIPOC author. Enjoy.
• I want to get in the Halloween spirit, but I don’t have time to finish a book before Halloween: You’re probably already familiar with his work, but nothing gets you in the spooky spirit like Edgar Allan Poe. His poems are fairly short and will get you primed for Halloween. And his work is in the public domain, so no need to buy a new book or wait for the library to get it in stock! And if you hate reading but somehow stumbled onto this blog and made it this far, watch The Simpsons season 2 “Treehouse of Horror” episode. It doesn’t include the full text of “The Raven,” but it has James Earl Jones, and that’s a plus.

• I don’t like scary things or Halloween. I’m reading this post to support you: Thank you for your support! It means the world to me. As a token of my appreciation, I’d like to recommend that you read Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s a guide on how to take small steps daily to build habits that will change your life. Every day you take action, it’s like putting money in a bank where it is growing interest. And a little bit of something daily is better than doing a lot of that something occasionally. Proof Clear’s method works: I have spent most of my life wanting to exercise regularly, but I could never get the habit to stick. After applying the habit-building concepts detailed in Atomic Habits, I am coming up on one year of exercising at least 4 times per week. (Ok, I took a one-week break when I moved and another one-week break when studying for a certification exam. Still, that’s not too bad!) Take notes while reading this so you can easily reference Clear’s habit-building tips.