It's funny... I wasn't planning to read anything for Halloween, and then suddenly Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber appeared at the top of my to-be-read list! I'm almost done with it by now - it's been a good Halloween read, creepy without being too "horror". A good, short read - I plan to finish it tonight.

Jim wrote: "...One lady used to hide yards of lace in her vagina, pulling it out to 'create' ectoplasm. <shudder>...."

I will double that "shudder"!

I did Exorcisms and Ecstasies by Karl Edward Wagner. Great set of stories.

I'm glad I read Spook Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach before I started Hell House. I was ignorant of a lot of the seance stuff before I did so. Now I understand a lot more about what they're talking about - like ectoplasm & such.

Of course, my mind is flashing back to how much of this was actually done & it isn't always pretty. One lady used to hide yards of lace in her vagina, pulling it out to 'create' ectoplasm. <shudder> Mary Roach explained that very well & humorously.

I loved Heart Shped Box. It was one of the creepiest reads I have found in a long time.

Jim wrote: "I'm reading Hell House by Richard Matheson right now."

I think "Hell House" may be one of the scariest books I've read. Of course, I was in my teens when I read it. Other books that scared the heck out of me:

The Omen by David Selzer

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

and

The Shining by Stephen King

I've always loved suspenseful, scary ghost stories. However, I rarely read horror because I really don't have patience for gore. I prefer psychological horror.

I'm reading Hell House by Richard Matheson right now.

Honestly, I never usually read anything for Halloween, but this year I have a few things I'm going to give a shot.

The October Country
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories

I really wanted to find something good for this Halloween, but never really found anything that peaked my interest. I will be reading 'Those Who Hunt the Night' for group, though, so maybe that'll do.

Maybe I'll dig into the next Dresden Files novel. I think I'm up to Proven Guilty.

A Night in the Lonesome October is my main read - one chapter per night to go with the day.

Never read anything special for any holiday. I suspect I will be still strolling through Rome around 44BC (Reading a biography about Caesar)

I go overboard on Gothics at Halloween. I've already this month put some Victorian gothics behind me. I'm currently in the middle of Poppy Z. Brite's edition of vampire stories from various authors, Love in Vein, as well as A Winter Haunting by Dan Simmons. And if that's not enough for one month I just got in the mail Ghost Hunters William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death which they say is nonfiction -- I suppose it really did happen that the founder of American pragmatic philosophy was obsessed with ghosts and the paranormal. ---but i've got some sci-fi to finish before I get into it.

I've fulfilled my annual Hallowe'en 'horror' novel by reading Those Who Hunt the Night. That's it for me as I don't normally read paranormal, horror, ghost stories, etc.

I like to try to read at least one book every year that help put me in the mood for Halloween.

Last year it was Neil Gaiman's Coraline which does very well on the creepy-o-meter for a YA book. I listened to the audio book and the music between sections and the singing mice added to the creepy factor oh so very well.

When I was a kid my mom picked up this old book from a library sale called Ghosts and Goblins. Its a collection of old short stories and we would ready it every Halloween. I still remember some of them almost by heart, such as "The Shadow People" http://www.bartleby.com/250/71.html

Anyway, I was wondering if any of you have any Halloween reading traditions you might like to share. For those who don't really have a tradition, what books might you recommend for Halloween reading?