There’s more to Halloween season than B-rated horror movies, candy that rots your teeth and costumes that in the simplest terms are ?offensive.
The original traditions of Halloween began with All Hallows’ Eve, a night dedicated to warding off dark spirits.
The true spirit of Halloween is the scare.
To say I have a taste for the macabre would be an ?understatement.
I’ve seen horror movies with blood so fake it could have its own reality TV show.
I collected scary novels I had swiped from inattentive adults who told me they were too frightening for a young girl like myself.
I think my parents recognized my problem when I wanted to rent “The Nightmare Before Christmas” from Blockbuster in the middle of summer.
But after over-consuming everything that even hinted at scary, I’ve unknowingly built a resistance to fear.
I can’t walk through festive haunted houses without feeling bored, and I haven’t been scared of a movie since I secretly watched “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” in sixth grade.
Books are my way out of the dull, fear-free haze.
Because scary movies aren’t for everyone, and many would rather not waste half the night waiting in line for a haunted house, a horror novel may be your salvation to a spooky Halloween.
First, I’d like to clear the air about the genre.
Yes, we’ve all heard of ?Stephen King. He is the King, literally and symbolically, of horror.
But, surprise! Stephen King is not the only horror author in the world, and if he’s the only one you can name, you need to reevaluate your bookshelf.
There are plenty of other powerhouses in the horror community.
Forgetting the fathers of fear, like Edgar Allen Poe and H.P. Lovecraft, is not only a shame but also a sin for terror groupies.
“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley and “Dracula” by Bram Stoker were books long before their premiere on the big screen. They’re considered masterpieces for a ?reason.
Neil Gaiman, author of scary hits such as “Coraline” and “The Graveyard Book,” has helped campaign a movement called All Hallows Read. He even filmed a YouTube video in a graveyard explaining the hopes of beginning a new tradition of giving someone a scary book for Halloween.
Around this time of year, I usually return to creepypasta.wikia.com , a forum website where users post their original short scary stories.
Creepypasta has recently come under fire after a 12-year-old Wisconsin girl was stabbed 19 times. The culprits, two of the victim’s school friends, claimed to have committed the ?brutal crime after reading a Creepypasta story about Slender Man. They had hoped their wrongdoing would pay homage to the ominous entity.
As someone who’s enjoyed reading a number of scary stories on the web, my heart went out to not only the girl who bravely survived the attack, but to the Creepypasta community.
The site clearly states the posts are stories, and for years it has provided a medium for writers to share their work and receive critical feedback.
My hope is that contributors to the site will continue to publish their works and that no one will attribute their violence to fiction.
This year, I will be sticking to the traditional forms of horror reading.
My friend has plagued me for years to read “House of Leaves” by Mark Z. Danielewski, a novel that instantly became a bestseller after its release in 2000. I plan to devour it the week of Halloween along with a packet of Reese’s peanut butter cups.
In preparation for the upcoming eerie holiday, pick up a horror novel or send one to a friend.
Explore the dark, ominous section of the bookstore and find your worst nightmares written in the pages of a new book.
Remember, it’s only a book.
