HALLOWEEN SUGGESTED READING LIST XII (2024)

Greetings from the ghoul-haunted halls of Horror Delve. The twelfth annual Halloween Suggested Reading List now looms before us. As with each year’s list, these stories don’t necessarily take place during Halloween but do evoke the feel of the season and are, of course, very spooky. I hope reading them helps increase your enjoyment of the season.

THE STORIES (Listed by Order of Publication):

1. “The Spook House” by Ambrose Bierce (1889) – A man and his friend take refuge in an abandoned plantation house during a storm. Inside, they come across a room full of corpses. The room has been trapped to lock anyone who enters inside with the bodies. The question is, does the house actually even exist? You can listen here for free: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6WNUDWHF6qOAv7cpDQmfnU

2. “The Fireplace” by Harry S. Whitehead (1925) – A traveler staying at an inn is given a room with a vast fireplace. While there he hears a knock at the door late at night but finds no one there. However, when he turns around he finds a spectral man sitting in a chair inside the room. The ghost is genial and tells the man of how he was betrayed and murdered in that very room ten years ago by three prominent men. He also directs him to where he can find evidence proving their crime. Later, having failed to bring the murderers to justice, the man encounters the ghost again, but its demeanor is no longer pleasant. I really enjoyed this story which starts off quaint but has a vicious finale. You can listen to a reading for free here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=S54Sjx246XE

3. “One Who Saw” by A. M. Burrage (1931) – While staying in Rouen, France to research Joan of Arc, a man spies a woman sitting on bench in the garden while looking out his hotel window. He can’t make out her face but feels intensely drawn to her nonetheless. When he sees her again, he tries to go down for a better look but is forcefully restrained by the waiter who tells him of her bleak history and of what happened to other men who have fallen similarly under her spell. This is a good, spooky story of a malevolent spirit. You can listen to a reading here for free: https://hauntedwalk.com/podcasts/episode-78-one-who-saw/

4. “The Curse of the House” by Robert Bloch (1939) – An American man tells how he traveled to Edinburgh years ago in order to research occultism. While there, he gets to examine a house which once belonged to a demonic cult. He is granted access by a giant man named Droom. The American manages to sneak away to explore the network of cellars which descend deep into the earth beneath it, finding all sorts of horrible things there. Later, after escaping the house, he begins to notice it appearing off in the distance no matter where he goes, as if the house has begun haunting him. This is a unique take on the haunted house tale. You can listen here for free: https://horrorbabble.podbean.com/e/the-curse-of-the-house-by-robert-bloch/

5. “Welcomeland” by Ramsey Campbell (1988) – A man returns to visit his hometown where he had invested in a project to reinvigorate the area by transforming it into an amusement resort. Unfortunately, things went bad, and it was never completed. It has instead become part-carnival, part-deteriorating town. The townspeople are slow-moving and locked into their repetitive tasks. He witnesses disturbing scenes inside several of the houses. This is a wonderfully atmospheric tale done by the master of crafting scenes of terror and unease.

6. “Piano Bar Blues” by Melanie Tem (2001) – A group of amateur singers follow a piano lounge player named Fiona to the places she performs four nights a week. They are each drawn and tied to her and her music in a peculiar way. This is a very well-written, eerie tale which does a superb job encapsulating the coexistent camaraderie of the lounge player’s loyal patrons. The tale is set in winter, but I still get a Halloween-vibe from it which has stuck with me ever since my original reading of it.

7. “We’re Never Inviting Amber Again” by S. P. Miskowski (2017) – A man is displeased upon learning his wife’s sister Amber has been invited to attend the small Halloween party they are hosting for their friends. He’s even more upset to learn this sister is unwilling to read the guests’ palms like she had planned because of a recent traumatic experience. When he attempts to force the issue, something horrifying begins approaching the house.

8. “Fragile Masks” by Richard Gavin (2018) – A couple travel to a secluded bed and breakfast situated deep off the main road. The hostess asks if they are there for the Halloween Ball, to which they say they are not. The husband is angry to discover his wife’s ex-husband is also staying there. The night becomes tense when the husband receives some disturbing information regarding his wife. Moments later, he witnesses a hideous, full-body apparition entering the house. This is an intriguing, spooky tale with an ambiguous ending.

9. “Mummy Miya” by Anna Taborska (2024) – This story is split between two timelines. It begins in 837 BC Egypt where a twelve year old priestess named Miya is forcibly removed from her temple and made to marry the region’s prince against her will. When she is brutalized by the prince and his men, she calls down curses upon them from her goddess. The other parts of the story take place in modern times, 1975 – 2024 A.D. with the discovery of Miya’s mummy and later attempts to replicate her legendary voice through advanced scientific means. A series of horrific murders soon follow, particularly to evil men. This is a superbly written and paced tale of supernatural horror!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

PREVIOUS HALLOWEEN READING LIST

2023: https://horrordelve.com/2023/10/10/halloween-suggested-reading-list-xi-2023/

2022: https://horrordelve.com/2022/10/03/halloween-suggested-reading-list-x-2022/

2021: https://horrordelve.com/2021/10/11/halloween-suggested-reading-list-ix-2021/

2020: https://horrordelve.com/2020/10/04/halloween-suggested-reading-list-viii-2020/

2019: https://horrordelve.com/2019/10/14/halloween-suggested-reading-list-vii-2019/

2018: https://horrordelve.com/2018/10/07/halloween-reading-list-vi-2018/

2017: https://horrordelve.com/2017/10/07/halloween-reading-list-v-2017/

2016: https://horrordelve.com/2016/10/10/halloween-reading-list-4-2016/

2015: https://horrordelve.com/2015/10/07/halloween-reading-list-2015/

2014: https://horrordelve.com/2014/10/15/horror-delves-second-annual-halloween-reading-list/