Spooky season is in full swing at Cromaine, and we're counting down the days till Halloween! The horror fans on staff at Cromaine have compiled a fantastic reading and viewing list of spooky books and films for you to enjoy as we get closer to Halloween. Whether you prefer mild horror that isn't too scary, or want to go all out this year, your Cromaine staff have a book or movie that's perfect for you!
Visit Cromaine to search the shelves for a variety of spooky books and movies to get you in the Halloween spirit-- and don't hesitate to stop by the Reference desk for suggestions!
Here are some staff picks for horror novels:
"I'm not generally much of a horror/spooky reader, and I am definitely not a horror movie person, but I recently discovered T. Kingfisher's books-- they're a little bit fantasy, a little bit horror, and not too over the top for me while still being creepy. I enjoyed A Sorceress Comes to Call, Nettle and Bone, House With Good Bones, The Hollow Places, and Thorn Hedge, and I've got The Twisted Ones and What Moves the Dead on my to-be-read pile. If you're a bit of a wimp like me, but want just a touch of creepy, definitely check them out!"
-Adult Services' Erin
"I'm currently reading The Blonde Dies First by Joelle Wellington. It's a spooky little read that plays on classic horror movie tropes, and it features demons, a Ouija board, and the quintessential Final Girl.
I'll Be Waiting for You by Mariko Turk also gives me a spooky vibe. This book is perfect for folks who are interested in psychics, be they skeptics or believers, and have always dreamed of going on a ghost hunt."
-Youth Services' Heather
"I really enjoyed Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison."
-Circulation's Mary
"Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin is a beautifully written, atmospheric scary story featuring an amazing cast of complex characters. I read this book in early September and still think of it often!
They Lurk by Ronald Damien Malfi is a fantastic collection of five horror novellas. Each story takes on a different setting, cast of characters, and scenario, but they also refer to one another in a way that was both sweet and disconcerting. Each story begins with a very everyday situation that becomes more unsettling as it progresses. I highly recommend this book if you want a few spooky stories to enjoy before Halloween!"
-Community Relations' Shelby
"The Cassidy Blake Series by V.E. Schwab - V.E. Schwab is one of my new favorite authors. The Cassidy Blake series focuses on Cassidy Blake (duh), the daughter of a ghosthunting team who travels around the world filming their tv show about the world's most haunted cities. Cassidy has been keeping a secret: ever since her own near death experience, she has been able to cross over the Veil, the hidden barrier that separates the world of the living from the world of the dead. Oh, and her best friend is a ghost named Jacob. Each book takes place in a different city and Cassidy finds herself having to solve all kinds of problems, both ghostly and material, while trying to keep her parents oblivious to her strange gifts. This is a really fun three book series that I thoroughly enjoyed and might even be a fun read for families with older children or teens. All three books in the series are available in the Tween Fiction section at Cromaine.
My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix- If you like the 80s nostalgia wave and are a fan of Stephen King, have I got the book for you! Abby and Gretchen are best friends. One night, at a sleepover (because of course), they decide to go skinny dipping because that's what teens did in the 80s, I guess. What they normally didn't do was disappear for hours on end only to reappear...changed. But that's exactly what happened to Gretchen. As Abby tries to figure out what went wrong with her friend that night, she comes to some truly unsettling conclusions and has to find a way to save her. My Best Friend's Exorcism is a story about the lengths friends will go to in order to keep each other safe in the face of horrible tragedy. In this case, the horrible tragedy just happens to be demonic possession. You can find this book in Cromaine's Adult Fiction collection.
The Gates by John Connolly - The Gates is the first book in the Samuel Johnson series. Samuel Johnson is just like any other young boy. He loves Halloween and his dachshund. However, when his neighbors accidentally open a portal to hell in their basement, only Samuel seems to know that the monsters causing havoc around town aren't simply hooligans in elaborate costumes, but actual demons and other emissaries of the damned trying to allow an even greater evil to escape into our world. Can a small child and his dachshund save the world from the ultimate evil? You can find out by requesting The Gates through interlibrary loan today!'
-Adult Services' Erik
Your Cromaine staff also love a scary movie now and again-- here's our staff picks for horror movies!
"I've been watching the Scream movies -for the first time ever!- this month. These absolute classics are spooky and hilarious, and filled to the brim with horror tropes. I'm really enjoying the characters, setting, and the mystery present in each movie. Check them out!"
-Community Relations' Shelby
"Can you believe that The Blair Witch Project came out 25 years ago? As the story goes, in 1994, three college students went off into the Maryland woods to film a documentary about The Blair Witch. They were never heard from again. Until now. Er, until 1999, anyway, when the equipment they were using to film their documentary was recovered in the woods, cut together, and sent out to movie theatres as a testament to their last harried days on the planet. Or so the intensely viral marketing campaign would lead audiences to believe. Were we watching real footage of actual missing persons, or is this just a movie? We somehow legitimately did not know at the time, which really added to the creepy factor of the movie. The Blair Witch is a harrowing masterclass in how to create tension and truly frightful ambience without ever actually showing anything scary. While it may not have been the first found footage film, The Blair Witch popularized the medium and ushered in an era of the genre that saw a massive proliferation in the early 2000s. If there was no Blair Witch, there likely never would have been a Paranormal Activity or V/H/S or REC or Cloverfield or.... I think you get the point. Whether you love them or hate them, The Blair Witch is responsible for bringing that style of film to the forefront of our collective zeitgeist for a brief shining moment in film history and it still holds up today. We sadly no longer own a copy at Cromaine, but it is available through Interlibrary Loan.
The Sixth Sense is another film that is somehow 25 years old this year, and another really important film, as it introduced the world to Master of the Twist himself, M. Night Shyamalan. Regardless of what you may think of Shyamalan's latter works, The Sixth Sense really showcases his talents as a writer and director. The film is about a child psychologist attempting to help a boy who claims to be able to see and speak to dead people. Exploring this power leads to one of the greatest twists in the history of film, which I won't ruin on the off chance someone reading this has just been reanimated from a cryogenic freezing experiment after missing the last 25 years of pop culture references. It's a tactic Shyamalan has tried and failed to replicate again and again, but in this one case, it really works to create a mindbending experience that perfectly blends the horror and psychological thriller genres.
Available on Kanopy, Evil Dead 2 is a classic horror comedy that really solidified the Cabin in the Woods trope's place in the horrorsphere. Bruce Campbell and his prodigious chin star in this early Sam Raimi flick about a man trapped in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately for him, a demonic spirit infests the cabin and the surrounding area, making his survival questionable at best. Luckily, there's a chainsaw and you know what they say: where there's a will and a chainsaw, there's a way. I think it's something like that, anyway. This movie has a little bit of everything from practical claymation effects to first person demoncam to chainsaws. Have I mentioned this movie has a chainsaw? If not, it has a chainsaw and it's AWESOME and so much fun.
Also notable is Cemetery Man (Dellamorte Dellamore). It's been a long, long time since I've watched this 1994 masterpiece, but it's available on Kanopy now and I can't wait to check it out again. Dellamorte Dellamore is a surreal fantasy horror starring Rupert Everett as Francesco Dellamorte, a cemetery watchman who has to lay the dead to rest again and again when they just don't seem to want to stay dead. This is all well and good, if a bit exhausting, until he falls in love with a recent widow and possible corpse played by Anna Falchi. Will Francesco Dellamore continue his crusade against the undead, or will he succumb to love? Which allegiance will win out? Dellamorte Dellamore is a horror movie with a heart and if you can handle some surrealist fantasy elements, is a really fun, off-beat movie."
-Adult Services' Erik
Don't forget to dive into some Halloween fun with upcoming programs at Cromaine! Join us for a Spooky Movie at the Music Hall on Monday, October 21 @ 6:30 pm, where we're watching the classic film House on Haunted Hill. Or, bring the little ones to the Youth Program Room for some Halloween fun at 4:30 pm, when we're hosting a kindergarten readiness program called How to Catch a Monster and Witch: Storytime & Crafts! There are also just a few spaces open for Librarian Carolyn's well-loved Haunted Hartland History Tour for Saturday, October 26 @ 12:00 pm. However you celebrate the sooky season, we hope you have a fun and safe Halloween!