Fall is here and Halloween is only days away, which means it’s time once again for All Hallows Read! That means “sharing the joy and spreading the terror” of giving and receiving some scary books this Halloween season.

As usual, my book-loving counterparts here at GoD, Olympus Athens and Waerloga69, helped me pull together some reading recommendations for this year’s list. We have titles from Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, and many more, along with some Audiobook picks as well.

See below for our All Hallows Read: Halloween 2017 Book Recommendations…

Neverwhere
Illustrated Edition – Hardcover
By Neil Gaiman, Illustrations by Chris Riddell
Publisher: William Morrow | HarperCollins
Release date: September 26, 2017

It wouldn’t be a proper All Hallows Read without something from the originator himself, Neil Gaiman. This year, a new illustrated hardcover edition of his 1996 novelization Neverwhere was released in the U.S. with gorgeous artwork by Chris Riddell. The novel follows Richard Mayhew, an average Londoner whose world is turned upside down after he rescues a mysterious young girl named Door. After his good deed renders him invisible and unable to go back to his normal life, Richard must find Door in London Below, a dark bizarre hidden underworld populated by angels, monsters, assassins, supernatural beings, and more. Read more about the book in our Book Spotlight.

Paperbacks From Hell
The Twisted History of ’70s and ’80s Horror Fiction
Paperback | Kindle
By Grady Hendrix
Publisher: Quirk Books
Release date: September 19, 2017

With a name like Paperbacks From Hell, you know it has to be good! Grady Hendrix pulls together a visual collection of 1970’s and 80’s horror paperback covers — some gorgeous, some ridiculous, and plenty in between — along with detailed information on the novels that you seriously will not find anywhere else. For more on Paperbacks From Hell: The Twisted History of ’70s and ’80s Horror Fiction, see our full review.

My Best Friend’s Exorcism
Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle | Kindle With Audio | Audiobook
By Grady Hendrix
Publisher: Quirk Books
Release Date: May 17, 2016 (Paperback release: July 11, 2017)

Before author Grady Hendrix delved into the twisted world of 1970’s & 80’s horror paperbacks with Paperbacks From Hell, he tackled the unique mix of friendship and demonic possession in 2016’s My Best Friend’s Exorcism. In her full review of the book, which was released in paperback this summer, Olympus Athens called this story a “high school drama a la John Hughes meets Carrie” that includes “everything you’ve ever loved about the brat pack…with a bunch of vomit and blood for good measure.” Currently, the enhanced digital edition Kindle With Audio version of the book is on sale for only $2.99, and includes bonus material, like Satanic Panic educational pamphlets, a do-it-yourself exorcism cheat sheet, a Spotify playlist of awesome 80’s tunes, animated cover artwork, and more.

Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children Boxed Set
Paperback
By Ransom Riggs
Publisher: Quirk Books
Release date: October 3, 2017

Previously released as a hardcover set, Ransom Riggs’ popular Miss Peregrine trilogy is now available from Quirk Books as a paperback box-set collection. Included are the three novels — Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Hollow City, Library of Souls — along with a collectible postcard, all housed in a slipcase. As with the hardcover set, this box set contains new photographs that were not in the original printing.

Devil’s Call
Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook
By J. Danielle Dorn
Publisher: Inkshares
Release date: August 8, 2017

Set in 1859 on the America Great Plains, Devil’s Call follows Li Liana, a pregnant member of a witch clan who embarks on treacherous journey to enact revenge on her husband’s killer, an evil powerful man bent on destruction. J. Danielle Dorn’s has a hit with her debut novel, which is a fast-paced read that will hold your interest throughout.

Strange Weather: Four Short Novels
Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook
By Joe Hill
Publisher: William Morrow | HarperCollins
Release Date: October 24, 2017

Recommended by Olympus Athens…

In Joe Hill’s Strange Weather, there’s four short stories: there’s a Polaroid camera that erases memories; a parachute jump gone wrong; a deadly rain; and a mass shooting. This new release from the Horns author proves that he is as much a master of the shorter novella as he is with his full-length novels with these creep-tastic juicy stories.

Sleeping Beauties
Hardcover | Kindle | Audiobook
By Stephen King and Owen King
Publisher: Scribner | Simon & Schuster
Release Date: September 26, 2017

Recommended by Dr. Zaius…

It wouldn’t be Halloween without a new Stephen King offering for your collection. 2017 has been the year of King with It breaking box office records and both Gerald’s Game and 1922 drawing critical acclaim on Netflix. If that all wasn’t good enough, he also published his 57th (!) novel, co-written with his son Owen King. Sleeping Beauties showcases a near future where a sleeping disease affects all women but one, leaving a male-only society to devolve into war and violence. Who is the mysterious Eve Black who remains the lone woman with immunity? Is she the cure… or a curse?

Kill Creek
Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook
By Scott Thomas
Publisher: Inkshares
Release Date: October 31, 2017

In Scott Thomas’s Kill Creek, a group of best-selling horror writers team up for a publicity stunt at an infamous abandoned haunted house in the Kansas countryside, and guess what happens? Shit gets real!!! They end up awakening an entity that comes after them. That is creepy and crazy and it has a vibe like, hey guys, you kind of had it coming. Oh, and it all goes down ON Halloween night. Yeah, this is an obvious All Hallows Read selection.

The X-Files: Earth Children Are Weird: A Picture Book
Pop Classics
Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle
By Kim Smith
Publisher: Quirk Books
Release Date: August 15, 2017

Here’s a fun one for the kiddies: an X-Files picturebook! In The X-Files: Earth Children Are Weird: A Picture Book, writer and illustrator Kim Smith turns TV’s Mulder and Scully into little children for in a bedtime story that sees the duo have a campout in the backyard that gets a little scary… but not too scary. This is for the little ones, after all. Seriously, this one is super-adorable.

Catacombs of Terror!: A Novel
Hardcover | Kindle | Kindle
By Stanley Donwood
Publisher: Gallery Books | Simon & Schuster
Paperback Release Date: October 2, 2017

Catacombs of Terror!: A Novel is a horror-tinged noir detective story featuring downtrodden private investigator Martin Valpolicella. After the PI gets framed for murder, he heads out on a drug-fueled journey into the catacombs of Bath, England, in an effort to clear his name, and that’s where the “terror” comes in. This quick read from Stanley Donwood, who’s best known as Radiohead’s resident artist, is a bit rough around the edges (it was reportedly written in about a month), but it’s pretty cool. Plus, the kickass pulpy cover for this new edition of the book (it’s been out of print for a decade) gives it a nice touch.

Deadlands: Boneyard
Deadlands Book 3
Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook
By Seanan McGuire
Publisher: Tor Books | Macmillan
Release Date: October 17, 2017

Recommended by Waerloga69…

The third book set in the Weird West RPG Deadlands, Deadlands: Boneyard is the quintessential read for those who like their holidays darker and better dressed. Any tale that features a Mistress of Oddities who herself is an enigmatic being that fears nothing and no one must be a story worth reading. Add to that creepy circus children, patrons with evil in their hearts, and the mere fact that the cover has an evil-looking Pumpkin-headed Corn Stalker on it. Keep in mind, though, this is the Weird West and in the Deadlands not everything that looks evil actually is. But many innocuous things are most definitely not! Read our full book review.

It Devours!: A Welcome to Night Vale Novel
Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook
By Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor
Publisher: Harper Perennial | HarperCollins
Release Date: October 17, 2017

It Devours! is a new Night Vale book from Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor that spins off from their popular podcast Welcome to Night Vale. The new novel takes us back to the strange Southwestern U.S. desert town populated with ghosts, angels, aliens, and more, including plain old regular people. The mystery this time around centers around the Joyous Congregation of the Smiling God, and tackles the struggle between science and religion in a scenario that could put everyone in town in danger. You can check out more about the series from our review of the previous novel, Welcome To Night Vale.

The Devil Crept In: A Novel
Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook
by Ania Ahlborn
Publisher: Gallery Books | Simon & Schuster
Release date: February 7, 2017

You need a scary book for All Hallows Read? Here it is… Ania Ahlborn’s newest novel The Devil Crept In, which sees the disappearance of a young boy in a small town, but when he returns, he’s just not the same. What really happened to the boy? This is an eerie, creepy, terrifying tale for sure.

One Death at a Time
Twelve Stakes Volume 1
Paperback | Kindle
By Thomas M. Hewlett
Publisher: Twelve Stakes Publishing
Release Date: August 5th, 2016

Thomas M. Hewlett’s One Death at a Time, which is the first book in the Twelve Stakes series, centers on Jack Strayhorn, a detective turned vampire working as a private investigator on a missing person’s case turned murder. To solve his case, the PI ends up facing outlaw biker werewolves, pixie-dust-taking Fae, and an underground order of vampires with their sights set on world domination. Oh, and in this world, Alcoholics Anonymous is actually really a support group for the real drinkers… the blood drinkers. Read our full book review.

A God In The Shed
Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook
By J-F. Dubeau
Publisher: Inkshares
Release Date: June 13, 2017

“Gods and ghosts, possession and resurrection, death and strewn intestines – everything you want in a horror-mystery is in this novel,” writes Olympus Athens in our review of J-F. Dubeau’s A God In The Shed. The story takes place in Saint-Ferdinand, a seemingly quiet village that’s been terrorized for two decades by an elusive serial killer, and, as it turns out, a dark spirit.

Nights of the Living Dead: An Anthology
Paperback | Digital Book | Audiobook | Audio CD
Edited by Jonathan Maberry & George A. Romero
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin | Macmillan
Release Date: July 11th, 2017

Nights of the Living Dead is a short-story anthology of original zombie tales all set in the Living Dead world created by George A. Romero built. Put together by Romero and Jonathan Maberry, who both contribute their own stories, this collection also includes fiction from the likes of Joe R. Lansdale (Bubba Ho-Tep), Mira Grant (The Newsflesh Trilogy), Mike Carey (Lucifer), Chuck Wendig (Star Wars: Aftermath), and more. Read more about Nights of the Living Dead in our Book Spotlight.

Yes Trespassing
Paperback
By Erik T. Johnson
Publisher: Written Backwards
Release Date: April 11, 2017

Yes Trespassing collects previously published short stories by Erik T. Johnson into one handsome anthology, complete with the author’s handwritten notes, doodles, and sketches, giving us some insight into the Brooklyn native’s mind and creative process. One of my favorite stories of the bunch centers on a subject we’ve covered here many times at GoD: Norwegian black metal and the true crimes associated with it.

The Best American Mystery Stories 2017
The Best American Series Anthology
Paperback | Kindle
Edited by John Sandford, Otto Penzler
Publisher: Mariner Books | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Release date: October 3, 2017

This month, Mariner Books put out the 21st annual edition of their series The Best American Mystery Stories, which is guest-edited this year by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and novelist John Sandford, and contains 20 stories of mystery, psychological suspense, and crime from writers like Joyce Carol Oates, Peter Straub, and C.J. Box.

Muppets Meet the Classics: The Phantom of the Opera
Paperback
By Gaston Leroux, Erik Forrest Jackson; Illustrations by Owen Richardson
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Release date: October 17, 2017

First of all, HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! Oh, The Muppets, they are so awesome. In this new book from Penguin Workshop, the Muppets are inserted into the Gaston Leroux classic The Phantom of the Opera. This installment of Muppets Meet The Classics is good for kids ages 9 – 12 years, as it gives them familiar characters like Miss Piggy and Kermit while introducing them to a classic Gothic horror story.

Graveyard Shakes
Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle
By Laura Terry
Publisher: Scholastic Graphix
Release date: September 26, 2017

In Graveyard Shakes, Katia runs away from her new boarding school, and when her sister and fellow student Victoria goes to find her, she comes upon an underworld in a graveyard filled with ghosts and ghouls where a little ghost and a reanimated boy help her. In the meantime, there’s an evil threat lurking that could be a real danger to Katia if she’s not found soon. Graphic novel good for ages 8 – 12 years.

The Witch Boy
Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle
By Molly Knox Ostertag
Publisher: Scholastic Graphix
Release date: October 31, 2017

In 13-year-old Aster’s family, the girls become witches, while the boys are shapeshifters, no exceptions. Anyone who goes against this tradition is exiled. But Aster hasn’t shifted yet and is more interested in witchery, and wants to use what he knows to help save others when they’re put in danger. The Witch Boy tackles the constraints of conformity and rigid traditions, and explores having the courage to be true to one’s self. Graphic novel good for ages 8 – 12 years.

Audiobook Spotlight

– The X-Files: Cold Cases
Audiobook
By Joe Harris, narrated by X-Files stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, along with a full cast.

– It
Audiobook
By Stephen King, narrated by Steven Weber
With the big-screen adaptation out in theaters, now’s the perfect time to revisit King’s original novel, which you can listen to with this 2016 audiobook narrated by Steven Weber.

– Dracula
Audiobook
By Bram Stoker, narrated by Alan Cumming & Tim Curry, and a full cast
Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel is the classic horror tale, and makes a perfect story to listen to, especially in this Unabridged audiobook performed by an all-star cast, including Alan Cumming and Tim Curry.

– Carmilla
Audiobook
By J. Sheridan Le Fanu, narrated by a David Tennant, Rose Leslie, and a full cast
Continuing the gothic horror picks is Carmilla, a vampire novel that actually pre-dates Dracula. Doctor Who‘s David Tennant leads a full cast narration as Dr. Hesselius with Game Of Thrones‘ Rose Leslie as Laura.

– 30 Days of Night
Audiobook
By Steve Niles, full cast narration
This week, Audible Studios released a full-cast dramatization of the popular Steve Niles graphic novel 30 Days of Night, which sees vampires invading the small town of Barrow, Alaska, just as it’s about to enter into its season of full darkness.

– The Handmaid’s Tale: Special Edition
Audiobook
By Margaret Atwood, narrated by Claire Danes
While Margaret Atwood’s 1986 novel is not a traditional horror, its depiction of a dystopian future is truly horrifying and terrifying, especially in today’s political climate. This audiobook is narrated by actress Claire Danes (Homeland) and was the winner of the 2013 Audie Award.

– You can gift Kindle books and set your gift to be delivered whenever you want to anyone with an email address. On the Product Page (on the top right side), click the button that reads “Give as a Gift.” From there you enter the recipient’s email address and note the date you’d like your gift to be delivered via email, and also include a personalized message. There’s also the option to have the gift emailed right to you that you can forward the gift email to the recipient yourself or print it out and personally deliver it to the recipient.

– You don’t actually need a Kindle device to read these ebooks. Books can be read on a Kindle or one of Amazon’s free reading apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows PC, Mac, Blackberry, and Windows Phone 7.

Feel free to let us know YOUR picks for favorite Halloween reads this year!

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