Strong Sense of Place: Halloween

Oh, Halloween! The gleefully macabre celebration of all things ghoulish: ghosts and goblins, witches and werewolves, vampires and zombies, and haunted houses that creak and groan with the crushing weight of anguished and angry spirits.

It’s no surprise that most Halloween stories delve into the dark corners and shadows of life. That premise is in the very name of the holiday. Originally known as All Hallows’ Eve, it’s celebrated just before All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day — two holidays meant to honor the dead. For thousands of years, people all over the world have remembered the lost with candles, rituals, costumes, and revelry.

Historians have also linked Halloween to the Celtic festival of Samhain, an acknowledgment of summer’s end in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. According to the mythology, the veil between our world and the Other becomes thinner on this date, allowing spirits from the other side to revisit their earthly haunts.

The best Halloween stories produce tingles up the back of the neck, while also, maybe, breaking one’s heart just a little bit. After all, good scares and sorrow often go hand-in-ghostly-hand.

our podcast

In this episode, we get curious about Halloween traditions and explore the lore that swirls around classic creepy creatures. Then we recommend books that celebrate the spirit (and spirits) of Halloween, including stories for self-proclaimed scaredy-cats, titles that should come with a ‘don’t read this at night’ warning label, and a few in-between. Trick or treat! (show notes / transcript)

recommended books

Top image courtesy of Ehud Neuhaus/Unsplash.

Want to keep up with our book-related adventures? Sign up for our newsletter!

featured posts

Get in the Mood for Mayhem with our Halloween Playlist

We get it: No one, including us, needs to listen to 'Master Mash' again. Tune into this playlist for 13 unusual, atmospheric, and super-fun Halloween-inspired songs that will put you in the mood for candy and costumes.

For the Love of Fangs: 6 of Our Favorite Literary Vampires

We've selected our favorite literary vampires according to a very sharply honed list of criteria. They're all remarkable versions of this ancient creature, and they populate stories worthy of their dangerous charms.

7 Eerie Audiobooks to Fill Your Ears with Spooky Halloween Fun

The only thing better than reading a scary story is when someone TELLS you a scary story. Light a candle, grab someone you trust to share the terror, and let these stories creep you out in the very best way.

7 Dark Academia Novels to Get You Read(y) for a Perfectly Eerie Halloween

Writer Elizabeth Held has great taste in books. Her newsletter 'What To Read If' is a welcome arrival in our email each week. In this post, she recommends novels that combine boarding school with creepy happenings.

SSoP Podcast Ep. 17 — Halloween: Costumed Revelry, Voices From Beyond, and YAY, Candy!

In this episode, we revel in that delicious tingle up the back of the neck, courtesy of the undead, that reminds us we're alive. Plus, candy, bonfires, costumes, and books. SO MANY BOOKS that celebrate Halloween.

Are you a Witch? Read this Poem by Elizabeth Willis and Find Out

For centuries, witches were painted with a black brush, punished for being all a woman shouldn't be: powerful, mysterious, untamed, seductive. But aren't those words really a compliment of the highest order?

Vampire-Fighting Pork Stew Inspired By Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'

Stoker's Dracula is the OG vampire: intelligent, cunning, and even a little sexy. But you do not want that bad boy visiting your bed chamber! Simmer a big pot of this delicious, vampire-repelling magic.

Shepherd's Breakfast Bake Inspired by the Gothic Classic 'Frankenstein'

Poor Frankenstein! (The 'monster,' not the doctor.) The poor creature deserves kindness and a hot breakfast to start the day. Like this savory bread pudding from 'A Gothic Cookbook.' It's monstrously delicious.

Speak to the Spirit World with 'Haunted Houses' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The poet's atmospheric poem blurs the divide between memories and haunting. He casts the 'harmless phantoms' — who glide by our sides and sit at our fires — as silent visitors, forging our connection to the beyond.

Pumpkin Cake Roll with Cream Cheese Filling Inspired by 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'

In addition to social-climbing tendencies, scarecrow-like appearance, and ability to annoy the dead and undead, Ichabod Crane is also known for gluttony. With a sweet-and-spicy cake like this, who can blame him?!

Take the Train to Transylvania to Re-Enact the Romance and Drama of 'Dracula'

This weekend, indulge in all things Dracula. Read the novel! Listen to the audio dramatization! Put on the play! Along the way, you'll armchair travel to Romania, Hungary, Whitby, London, and more with a fanged friend.

Travel to Styria and Be Seduced by the Perilously Alluring 'Carmilla'

Oh, Carmilla! She's beautiful and slinky and, perhaps, not as innocent as she seems. Which makes this vampire story a suspenseful, atmospheric romp through dark bedrooms, chilly drawing rooms, and misty mountains.

6 Short Story Collections That Are Appropriately Eerie for Halloween

These brilliant short story collections are brimming with delightfully eerie tales of ghosts, goblins, demons, witches, vampires, and the other dark things that come to visit us in the nightmare deep of the night.

Pumpkin-Spiced Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Inspired by the Novel 'Small Spaces'

Roasted pumpkin seeds are a rite of passage at Halloween time, and this recipe elevates the seasonal standard to something truly spectacular. The perfect crunchy go-along to this delightfully creepy horror novel.

Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven' was Published Today in 1845

Poe's shadowy view of the world is as irresistible as it is spooky, due to his ability to weave a dark spell of words. In this poem, the winged messenger of the title is the only solace for our broken-hearted narrator.

The Delightful and Diabolical World of Edward Gorey

In honor of what would have been American artist Edward Gorey's 95th birthday, we invite you to creep into his gleefully macabre world of Victorian manor houses, elegant characters, with plenty of murder and mayhem.

Salem is Bewitching and Beguiling in 'The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane'

Who could possibly resist the allure of secret family history, a crumbling mansion, a hidden 17th-century book, and an antique key?! Certainly not our heroine Connie Goodwin, which makes for a great story, indeed.

Grab a Candelabra and Your Courage to Visit the Haunted Manor House of 'Mexican Gothic'

This weekend, take an unsettling but stylish adventure to an isolated mansion in 1950s Mexico. Yes, the Doyle family is creepy and the house is quite sinister, but our heroine Noemí is a charming and feisty companion.

Walk on the Beach and Confront Your Fears with Stephen King's 'Joyland'

This story has the ideal elements for a King horror tale — a creepy carny, a haunted ride, a fortune teller, and an unsolved murder — it's really a coming-of-age story that captures that breathless ache of summer.

What is Going on at the Eerie Blackwood School in the YA Classic 'Down a Dark Hall'?!

An isolated school, a frustrated and misunderstood teenager, a rash of unsettling and inexplicable experiences. This novel from Louis Duncan, the queen of YA horror, is a timely, thrilling tale for readers of any age.

Fall is the Perfect Time for the Dark Academia of 'Special Topics in Calamity Physics'

Donna Tartt's 'The Secret History' may be the OG pick for fans of dark academia. But we're partial to this one. Marisha Pessl gives us a slippery heroine, indeed, in Blue van Meer, and the syllabus conceit? Genius.

Real life and fiction collide in the modern Gothic mystery 'The Stranger Diaries'

This novel has all the elements of an ideal escapist read: Gothic atmosphere on a school campus, a mysterious diary, a creepy 19th-century story, possible ghosts, an intrepid detective, and an unreliable heroine. Yes.

Determine the Right and Righteous Path with the Verse Novel 'Long Way Down'

Hauntings are usually reserved for people who's had time to develop regrets. In this gripping verse novel, the ghosts arrive in plenty of time to help a young hero make a good, difficult choice before it's too late.

Get Caught Up in Vampire Gang Warfare in Mexico City with 'Certain Dark Things'

This fantasy-adventure-with-heart from Silvia Moreno-Garcia has been out of print — we're thrilled about this new, updated edition. You'll be transported to gritty Mexico City with unusual, unforgettable heroes.

Take a Stroll Through the Spookier Side of Edinburgh in 'City of Ghosts'

Edinburgh, Scotland, offers so many atmospheric sights: the Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle, Mary King's Close, Greyfriars Kirkyard, and lots of cobbled alleys. This fun ghost story will transport you to all of them.

Libraries, Archives, and Diaries... Oh, My. Fall is the Ideal Time For 'The Historian'

This might very well be the ideal book to read in the fall. It's made for shorter days, eerie twilights, crunchy leaves, and a nip in the air — a thrilling tour of Eastern Europe, libraries, history, and legend.

Mysterious Locked Doors and Ghostly Apparitions in the Scottish Highlands of 'Pine'

Ghost stories are a combination of melancholy and euphoria, vividly contrasting the joy of being alive with the grief and permanence of loss. The best ones, like 'Pine,' deliver genuine emotion along with the scares.

Tender and Eerie: 'Death Comes to Me Again, A Girl' by American Poet Dorianne Laux

The American poet Dorianne Laux weaves a spell with her word witchery, infusing this poem with humanity, light, and sorrow. Forget jump scares and unwelcome things that go bump in the night. This is a gentle ghost.

What is Gothic? and Two New Books — 27 October 2023

In this show, we're excited about two books: The Murders at Fleat House by Lucinda Riley and Starter Villain by John Scalzi. Then Mel explains what she means when she says the magic word 'Gothic.'

Spooky & Sublime: 43 Gothic Novels with a Strong Sense of Place

If you love tormented characters, crumbling mansions, mysterious happenings, and weather that almost seems to be sentient, congratulations! You are officially invited to join our 'Give Us All the Gothic Novels' club.

sharing is caring!

Can you help us? If you like this article, share it your friends!

our mission

Strong Sense of Place is a website and podcast dedicated to literary travel and books we love. Reading good books increases empathy. Empathy is good for all of us and the amazing world we inhabit.

our patreon

Strong Sense of Place is a listener-supported podcast. If you like the work we do, you can help make it happen by joining our Patreon! That'll unlock bonus content for you, too — including Mel's secret book reviews and Dave's behind-the-scenes notes for the latest Two Truths and a Lie.

get our newsletter

Join our Substack to get our FREE newsletter with podcast updates and behind-the-scenes info — and join in fun chats about books and travel with other lovely readers.

no spoilers. ever.

We'll share enough detail to help you decide if a book is for you, but we'll never ruin plot twists or give away the ending.

super-cool reading fun

This 30-page Reading Atlas takes you around the world with dozens of excellent books and gorgeous travel photos. Get your free copy when you subscribe to our newsletter.

Armchair travel around the world!

Start your reading adventures with our FREE Reading Atlas.

Halloween

our podcast

recommended books

featured posts

sharing is caring!

our mission

our patreon

get our newsletter

no spoilers. ever.

super-cool reading fun

get our newsletter

follow us

write to us

about us

legal stuff