Halloween is not just for youngsters anymore. Grown-ups may not go door-to-door "trick or treating", but they like to dress up in costumes, don masks and attend masquerade parties. Halloween conjures up thoughts of haunted houses, graveyards, witches, ghosts and magic tricks. Reader Advisor Ginny Ryan has stirred up a potent mixture of books with these themes for your Halloween reading.
The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson.
A chilling true story of a haunted house. George and Kathleen Lutz and their three children move into a home in Amityville, Long Island in 1975, although they knew it had been the scene of a mass murder. Amityville Horror series, Book 1. RC 11121.
Beau Guest by Judith Nelson.
The three Farthington girls, Elizabeth, Katherine, and Chloe, are in danger of losing the family estate when their wicked uncle, Edward Farthington, decides to sell it. Nicholas Markham and the Duke of Bellingham, prospective buyers, visit the property and are confronted by outlandish ghosts and mysterious hauntings. The ghoul looks suspiciously like the high-spirited Katherine. RC 32088, BR 8402.
Black Light by Elizabeth Hand.
At age twelve, Lit observed a grotesque painting at the mansion of her godfather, Axel Kern. Now seventeen, Lit anticipates attending a lavish Halloween party at Kern's, but she is unprepared for the dark forces that will be at work there. Strong language, some explicit descriptions of sex, and some violence. RC 50493.
Blue Dahlia by Nora Roberts.
Widow Stella Rothchild returns to Tennessee with her two sons to run a nursery business on Roz Harper's ancestral estate. Stella falls in love with landscape designer Logan Kitridge, but the ghost haunting the manor disapproves. In the Garden series, book 1. Strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. RC 59460.
Cat with an Emerald Eye by Carole Nelson Douglas.
Temple Barr, public relations expert for the Crystal Phoenix in Las Vegas, attends a Halloween night seance, intended to resurrect the spirit of Harry Houdini. Before the event is over, one of the psychics is dead. With the help of her cat, Midnight Louie, Temple finds herself investigating a murder that may involve her ex-boyfriend, Max Kinsella. Midnight Louie series, book 6. RC 47845.
Ghosts by Noel Hynd.
Actress Annette Carlson has moved to Nantucket Island to be alone. But she is awakened one night by a transparent woman in white who warns her that everyone on the island is in danger. Then an evil looking shape slithers into her cellar. Detective Brooks, an adamant nonbeliever in ghosts, changes his mind quickly as he witnesses the cruel actions of whatever is haunting the island. Strong language, some violence, and some descriptions of sex. RC 39787, BR 9961.
Ghosts of the Old West: Desert Spirits, Haunted Cabins, Lost Trails, and Other Strange Encounters by Earl Murray.
A collection of purportedly true stories about paranormal occurrences relating to historic locations in the American West: the phantoms and spirits that haunt old forts, battlefields, hotels, mansions, lost trails, and ghost towns. Native American spiritualism is also recognized in these personal stories about visions and strange experiences. RC 29228.
A Graveyard for Lunatics: Another Tale of Two Cities by Ray Bradbury.
Hollywood in the 1950s. A stone wall separates a graveyard from a movies studio. It is Halloween, and a science fiction screenwriter is invited to the graveyard at midnight. Curious, he accepts, finds a corpse, and is plunged into a twenty-year-old mystery. A satirical account of his adventures follows, amid the world of studio characters and through the backlots to a fantastic climax. Strong language. RC 33543.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.
During his scientific investigation of the ghosts in an old abandoned house, Dr. Montague invites a young man and two women to participate in his experiments. RC 21679.
Long Time No See by Susan Isaacs.
Despite her policeman lover's admonitions, amateur sleuth Judith Singer searches for clues to the murder of a neighbor. Courtney Logan disappeared on Halloween night, and now in May her body has been found in her own pool. Judith Singer series, book 2. Strong language and some descriptions of sex. RC 53058, BR 13709.
Masquerade by Janet Dailey.
Carnival time in France. Remy Jardin is enjoying the festivities when she sees him across the room. But why is he here, half a world away from New Orleans? Shortly after hearing that her life is in danger, Remy is knocked unconscious, only to awaken with amnesia. Who is this faintly familiar Cole Buchanan who has come to take her home to New Orleans? The more she remembers, the more danger she is in. Some descriptions of sex. RC 32013, BR 8433.
Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts.
Declan Fitzgerald, tired of being a Boston lawyer, buys Manet Hall near New Orleans with plans to restore the old plantation. But he does not expect to find his house haunted by rape, murder, and betrayal. Strong language, some explicit descriptions of sex, and some violence. RC 53204, BR 13763.
Moths by Rosalind Ashe.
Bewitched by an old haunted house and by its equally enchanting mistress, a bachelor professor watches with jealousy and horror as his beloved, possessed by the lusty and vindictive ghost of a Regency actress, seduces and murders her lovers. Some explicit descriptions of sex. RC 13450.
Paradise County by Karen Robards.
Alexandra Haywood inherits a Kentucky horse farm from her bankrupt father, following his suicide. Along with trouble from a trainer who refuses to be fired, her rebellious teenage half-sister, and ghosts in the mansion, she finds herself targeted by a serial killer. Some explicit descriptions of sex, some violence, and some strong language. RC 52227.
Resort to Murder by Carolyn G. Hart.
Retired journalist Henrie O travels to Bermuda to support her grandchildren Diana and Neal when their father remarries a wealthy widow: beautiful, flirtatious Connor Bailey. Henrie investigates when the hotel is plagued with ghosts and murders and the wedding guests become endangered. Henrie O series, book 6. Some violence and some strong language. RC 52104.
Shadowland by Peter Straub.
At an Arizona prep school in 1958, Tom Flanagan and Del Nightingale, both intrigued by magic, become fast friends. Del's uncle, master magician Coleman Collins, selects Tom as his apprentice and tests him by leading him into the nine levels of black magic. Some strong language. RC 53957.
Spirit Lost by Nancy Thayer.
When Willy Constable and her husband, John, purchase an old house on Nantucket far from their friends and John's former employer, they plan to launch John's career as a serious painter. But they do not anticipate his near-fatal love affair with a ghost. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. RC 28826.
Strange Brew by Kathy Hogan Trocheck.
On a stormy Halloween night, Atlanta cleaning lady and part-time private investigator Callahan Garrity discovers the body of prospective microbrewery owner Jackson Poole. An aging flower child named "Wuvvy," recently evicted by Poole, is the main suspect. But she contacts Garrity for help, then also turns up dead. Julia Callahan Garrity series, book 6. Strong language. RC 58149.
Tricks by Ed McBain.
On Halloween night in the 87th Precinct, a liquor store owner is shot by costumed children, a headless torso is discovered, and Detective First Class Eileen Burke, disguised as a hooker, hopes to trap a serial killer. Some strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. 87th Precinct series, book 40. RC 27051.
Witch by Barbara Michaels.
Hoping to put a failed marriage behind her and begin a new life, Ellen, with her teenage daughter, moves into an old house in the Virginia backcountry, only to find it may be haunted by an eighteenth century witch. RC 43688.
Women and Ghosts by Alison Lurie.
Nine short stories of the supernatural in which haunting is not always performed by traditional ghosts. A dieter mysteriously finds herself beset by monstrously obese people, a poet is followed by a double who finally precedes her to a reading, and a woman sees apparitions of her fiance's former wife, who is still alive. Some strong language. RC 40537.
The Vanished Man by Jeffery Deaver.
Quadriplegic criminologist Lincoln Rhyme and his assistant, Amelia Sachs, pursue a diabolical serial killer who is trained as a magician and mysteriously vanishes after each crime. They turn to Kara, an aspiring practitioner of magic, to help them figure out the murderer's tricks. Lincoln Rhyme series, book 5. Violence and strong language. RC 56247.