I’m a little disappointed I haven’t been able to get in the Halloween spirit as much as I usually do, but unlike normal people I also celebrate Halloween pretty much until Thanksgiving, and then it’s finally time to think about Christmas. So I still have some time left to indulge in horror.
So in case you’re still looking for something to get in the horror spirit here’s a list of my top 10 favorite Halloween movies and books depending on how you feel like spending your final week of October (in no particular order).
Movies
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The Addams Family (and/or Addams Family Values). Whether you’re watching the movie or the t.v. show you’ve got a show you can watch even with little ones in the house. Casper. The second (and last) child appropriate movie on the list. It’s Casper. The friendly ghost. In a movie! Yay! Creepshow (original or 2). Seriously. Skip Creepshow 3. There’s a reason Romero and King skipped that one. Rosemary’s Baby. It’s both a movie and a book. Where could you go wrong? Spawn of the devil, warlock neighbors, and a husband who’s an…actor? Well…it doesn’t sound like much, but that’s jus because you haven’t seen it. The Collector. Is this a good horror movie? No. Does it do anything particularly interesting or creative? No. Will you never want to hire an exterminator for your house again ever? Yes. Screw rats, they don’t hide people in chase in steam trunks in your closet to foreshadow the fact that you are going to die in a very painful way. Willard. Because now that you thought rats were safe. No. The Strangers. This movie did the “serial killers coming to your house because they just want to kill you for no reason” really well. So stop making other movies trying to top it. This one’s fine. We really don’t need more. Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Because it’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Who cares if it doesn’t actually follow the book well. That’s never been important in film adaptations before. Night of the Living Dead. No horror movie list is complete without a zombie movie. And this Romero flick starting them all. Nightmare on Elm Street. This is my favorite horror movie. No Holloween celebration is compete without Freddy Kruger. Especially if you fall asleep early…dundunda….
There were a lot more movies I wanted to add to the list but couldn’t because its a list of ten. If you have movies to recommend leave them in the comments. If you want more titles in a genre, leave a comment and I’ll send you a few more.
Books
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The Shining. Now with a shiny new sequel. It’s good. You know because it’s by Stephen King. NOS4A2. I didn’t intentionally put a Joe Hill novel by a King novel…I’m just listing things I see on my bookshelf and it was there. I can’t vouch for the greatness of this one (yet) because I’m reading it for the first time myself this Halloween. But its got an awesome cover. Varney the Vampire. Because I love myself a penny dreadful. Sweeny Todd and the String of Pearls. See above comment. Or watch the movie (which is nothing like the book, seriously, stop acting like you know what its about just cause you saw Johnny Depp do it). The Daylight Gate. This book got mixed reviews, but I loved it and this is my list. Dexter is Delicious. This was not a good book. But socialite cannibals is a little too fun to ignore. The Hangman’s Daughter. Apparently this is a series. Who knew? Not really horror, but it is fun to read and there’s enough “supposed” supernatural suspicion to make it interesting. Before I Go To Sleep. For those of you like your horror of the suspense variety. The Never List. For those of you who like your horror of the true crime-never leaving my house again variety. Memnoch the Devil. For those of you who like your horror of the Anne Rice variety (a book that isn’t Interview with a Vampire)
Again. There are good books not on this list because there are only 10 books on this list. Leave your recommendations in the comments section.
Have a fantastic Halloween, readers. I’ll be drinking my Zombie coffee for at least another week