Happy October, dear friends and readers! I’m so excited for this month, because I love Hallowe’en and spooky things. If you don’t believe me, zip over to my About page and check out the lead photo. See what I mean? Haha. Love it!
And since this is the month of creepy good things, I decided to share some of my favorite scary stories, both written and on film. Time for a little levity in my blog, right?
While writing this post, I stopped for a moment to try to figure out why my Hallowe’en fascination has persisted over the years. I always loved dressing up and spooking for candy as a kid, and I still love the holiday today. And you know what? I didn’t come up with a good answer. Regardless, I love Hallowe’en and scary stories very much.
The one thought I had, though, was this: I’m no psychologist, but I gather there’s something to be said for enjoying a good scare while knowing you’re safe and that what you read or watched was fiction. Unless, of course, you’re into non-fiction!!! BOO!
And thinking about it, not everybody enjoys a good scare the way others do. My hub included; he does not like scary movies. And while I sure do enjoy many, I fully admit there are certain tales I don’t like and won’t read or watch. For example, I don’t watch torture movies (I’ve seen a couple, and not cool IMHO). I’m also not a fan of sad-scaries. And, ghoulish movies and stories that could possibly happen do sort of freak me out. 😉
But that said, there are scores of other well-crafted spooky stories I enjoy. Most of them of the suspenseful-thriller-moody-tension variety.
And so, I look forward to October every year, and this time’s no different. And just to set the tone, as I write, the sky has darkened to soot, flashes of lightning streak beyond the towering pines, thunder rolls almost as loudly as the drowning rain. I have the big house to myself. The doors are locked. So … here we go. In no particular order, here are some of my favorite scary stories! Happy Creeps!
Books:
- Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
- The Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allan Poe
- The Turn of the Screw, Henry James
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson
- The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
- Ghost Story, Peter Straub* caveat, currently reading
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving
- Heart-Shaped Box, Joe Hill
- The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red, Joyce Reardon
- Dracula, Bram Stoker
To read: The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson
Movies:
- The Uninvited, 1944
- Psycho, 1960
- Scream, 1996
- Halloween, 1978
- Poltergeist, 1982
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956
- The Shining, 1980
- Silence of the Lambs, 1991
- Nightmare on Elm Street, 1984
- The Thing from Another World, 1951
- Jaws, 1975
- Rosemary’s Baby, 1968
- Alien, 1979
- The Birds, 1963
- Ghost Story, 1981 *quite different than the book
- The Changeling, 1980
- The Fog, 1980
- Them, 1954
- Carrie, 1976
- The Blob, 1958
- The Amityville Horror, 1979
To see: Get Out; A Quiet Place
So, reader friends, what do you think? Which is your favorite scary story, and did it make my list? Which ones are you going to read or watch next? Mwuaaah-ah-ah-ahhhh! Hahaha. Let me know in the comments section. And try not to be too scared! BOO!!
PS–If any of you want to hear something truly scary, yesterday at one of the local stores, I walked past a humongous display of Christmas trees!!! True horror!!
PPS–Also, looking over the lists, you might notice I tend toward older stories. Reading-wise, I typically stick to the mystery genre in which I write, and movie-wise, I guess I just don’t get out that much. 😉 At least, not with the hub for a scary movie! Haha. Happy Hallowe’en!
