Suggested Halloween Reading: Part 1

As I might have mentioned once or twice (and as you can see by the rarely updated library widget to the right of this text), I own a lot of books. With the evenings getting darker, the air getting colder and the mood getting spookier, I thought I'd offer up a few ideas for seasonal reading. Heck, it's gotta be better than sitting through whatever chopped-up, ad-filled horror movie AMC is showing at the moment.


Weep for yourself my fellow horror fan, because unless you're a lot older than what I'm guessing the demographic is for this blog, you've never attended a spook show. I know I never have, and after reading Mark Walker's fascinating book, that's all I want to do as soon as I invent a time machine. And, in the unlikely event I don't break the laws of physics, Walker's book is the next best thing.

With vivid descriptions of the shows, profiles of the major players and, most importantly, hundreds of vintage images, Walker takes us back to the first half of the 20th century, when mysterious men with names like Card Mondor, Francisco and Ray-Mond would take to the stage, make some monsters appear, do a few magic tricks and make way for an all-night marathon of vintage monster movies.

In this age of digital projection, stadium seating and slick suburban megaplexes, it's unlikely you or I will ever experience the glory of a genuine spook show. About the closest we can come is by watching "Monsters Crash the Pajama Party," a curious little DVD from the fine folks at Something Weird. Unlike virtually every other disc they offer, this one is suitable for all ages, meaning that, with that DVD and Walker's book, we can share the thrills of a good ol' American spook show with the generations to come. Maybe they'll figure out a way to revive the damned things.

Up next: How much do you know about the history of Halloween? Not as much as you think.