Many people have their own special traditions for Halloween night,
like taking their kids trick or treating, going to Halloween parties, or
watching a horror movie marathon. One of my traditions is to read at
least one new scary short story. Even if you have other things to do,
reading a truly well-crafted short horror story can get you in the
Halloween mood like nothing else.
I’ve always thought that the short story is a better literary medium
for horror than the novel because, being short and compact, they can be
more viscerally scary. In just a few pages drawing you in and leading
you into a shocking revelation or a terrifying twist ending.
I want to keep it short for this post so I’m sharing just a few
selected recommendations for Halloween short stories, both classic and
new, that you can read on Halloween night for a terrifying thrill.
I’ll start with Edgar Allen Poe, who is of course well-known as the
nineteenth-century American master of short horror stories. If you’ve
never read “The Fall of the House of Usher” or “The Tell-Tale Heart”,
you’ll be surprised by how you are drawn in by the foreboding Gothic
atmosphere of these tales.
The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Tales is a good place to start as it contains both of
these stories and more.
H.P. Lovecraft is perhaps the best-known horror short story writer of
the early 20
th century.
The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft: Beyond
Arkham contains some his best shorter
stories including “Cool Air,” “Pickman’s Model” and “The Music of Eric
Zann.” Lovecraft’s stories are notable for their weird and unearthly
atmosphere, as well as their shocking endings. You may start reading one
and then stay up the whole night to read them all.
If you’re more of a graphic novel fan, you can read Junji Ito’s short
stories which are in graphic form.
Tombs: Junji Ito Short Story
Collection is a good introduction to this master
storyteller, featuring a collection of nine horror tales featuring
mysterious tombs that pop up in unexpected places. This is a fast and
shocking read and guaranteed to keep you up on a Halloween night.
Steven King is best known as a master of the horror novel, but he has
also written a lot of great short stories. I would recommend “1408”
which is a truly mind-bending story about a haunted hotel room that will
draw you in and make you want to finish it before you do anything else
on Halloween. You can find it in the short story collection
Everything’s Eventual: 14 Dark
Tales.
Less well-known than these authors is Bentley Little, but I think he
writes some of the creepiest stories I’ve ever read. I would highly
recommend his short story collection Walking Alone. A couple of standout stories are “Jorgensen’s
Fence” and “The Maid.”
If you only know Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” you may want to
read something even darker from her story collection Dark Tales. These stories are a treasure-trove of
psychological horror. “Paranoia,” about a commuter who thinks someone is
following him home, is a real standout.
If you’re really pressed for time on Halloween night, why not read a
tale from the collection
Tiny Nightmares?
This collection features dozens of horror tales that are just a few
pages long.
So, as you can see, you have plenty to choose from if you want to
make reading a part of your Halloween Night traditions.
-Michael, West Windsor Branch
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