Since October starts tomorrow, I decided I’d like to read some scary books. I like a good spooky/scary story — Stephen King is one of my favorite authors, after all.
I can go into October reading what I am reading now, which is Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. It is its own kind of scary, trust me. (And don’t order fish on Mondays.)
I just put I Am Legend by Richard Matheson on my request list at the library. I am very much looking forward to reading that.
It’s the perfect time of year for some ghost stories! What would you suggest?
Red Pen Mama 
I recommend “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman if you haven’t read it yet. It probably isn’t as scary as you are asking for (since it is for kids), but it’s an excellent story.
I love Neil Gaiman. When you say “kids” do you mean young adult? or something I can read with my girls? Either way I will probably check it out.
Thanks for the recommendation!
ciao,
rpm
I guess it’s young adult, but I’m not an expert on the designations (yet). It’s a bigger book (although not as big as even the first Harry Potter). It won a Newbery award, but I don’t know if there is an age range on that. Some reviews online, however, suggest “ages 10 and up” or “grades 5-8.”
I should also note that the book starts out with a family being murdered. The only survivor is a toddler around whom the rest of the story revolves. Since there have been problems with nightmares in your house, this may not be the best choice to share with the girls. At minimum, I suggest you read the first chapter yourself before you decide.
The Newbery award is for books for older kids (older than my girls) so this is one I will read myself! If my girls end up having the same tastes as I do (in literature, anyway), they’ll get around to this when they are ready.
It’s funny, because when we do TV on demand, a preview of Coraline comes up, and both my girls are like “Coraline! we want to watch Coraline!” But I read the graphic novel, and it scared ME. No way are they watching Coraline. They’ll never sleep in their own beds again!
thanks, again, for all the feedback. Now I just need to hear from the library.
ciao,
rpm
My recommendation is not going to satisfy your desire to be scared, but I am going to mention it nonetheless because of the title. It is a (small) book length poem in 10 parts called The Book of Nightmares by Galway Kinnell. This was a life-changing book for me; and when I re-visit it now it manages to be even richer than my memory of it. The author is struggling with the knowledge of mortality for not only himself, but his two children. It does haunt.
This is timely, actually, because I have been longing to get back into poetry, too. Galway Kinnell is excellent — I met him once! At Duquesne; I’m sure he does not remember it.
Thanks for the recommendation!
ciao,
rpm
I recommend a series of classics H.P. Lovecraft’s Book of Horror. It has several different writers including Mr. Poe and Mr. Bierce. It’s a book with short stories in it, so they can be put down and opened at a more opportune time as needed.
I completely forgot about Lovecraft! He will be a new author for me.
Thanks for the recommendation!
ciao,
rpm
I was fooled by I am Legend. Yes, great story and much better than the movie (obviously) but I bought the “book” only to find out that IAL is only a short story. Rest is other of his stories. Worth the read, but you’ll plow through IAL in a night or a few days.
I still say “The Prestige” by Christopher Priest, even though it’s far from scary for the most part.
Well that’s even better, because I have like six books to read this month now. Are the other stories scary?
And, yes, I have The Prestige on my list. I actually really enjoyed the movie, so I will be curious to see how the book differs.
ciao,
rpm
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