I found the new 2010 edition of Jules Verne's The Castle in Transylvania (originally published as The Castle in the Carpathians in 1893) to be exactly what I was looking for when I sought out ideal Halloween reading. I'll let the cover speak for itself: "In its first new translation in over 100 years, this is the first book to set a gothic horror story, featuring people who may or may not be dead, in Transylvania."

As you'd expect from Verne, the descriptions are lush and detailed and well researched. You feel you are there in the humble village of Werst in the shadow of the crumbling castle in the Carpathians. Here, too, is the classic gothic formula: overwrought emotion, inexplicable events, wild coincidences, supernatural terror, and, finally, sober explanation. The plot includes the politics of simple village folk (some sympathetic, others farcical), the alliance of an eccentric Baron and a shady scientist-inventor, and the tragic love story between a young nobleman and a famed opera singer. What's not to love? It's fascinating to see how Verne turns his considerable talents to this kind of tale, and at 223 pages, it's also a quick as well as entertaining read.