Hallo-Reads 🎃

In high school, I read Dracula for the first time. I was deep into my Victorian obsession, largely fueled by my love of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (the movie) (I’m sorry). Everything I wrote at that time was set in the Victorian era, full of high-necked dresses hiding heaving bosoms full of passion. There were also usually vampires.

Anyhow, I read Dracula and, in addition to my sixteen-ish-year-old feeling of superiority, I was surprised to realize that I genuinely loved that book. The adventure! The melodrama! Quincey Morris the cowboy!! I was hooked.

And I started an annual tradition. For the next few years, every October, I’d reread Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and I would usually skip the part about the boat (I’m sorry——I’ll read it again one day). I’m not a big re-reader, but I liked checking in with the gang every year. Their story never changed, but they inspired and excited me in entirely different ways each time.

Despite this, I’m not very well-versed in horror fiction. I’ve read a few Stephen King novels——mostly the ones that were made into movies——and I love Grady Hendrix, but I haven’t sought much more than that. I didn’t think I was really a horror movie person either until I discovered ’90s slashers in junior high.

As with most of my hyperfixations, watching horror movies lead to reading as much as I could about horror movies. I have a “pop culture” section of my bookshelves and most of the books there are horror-related. So I figured I’d round those up for you all on this, the spookiest night of the year (other than election night, amirite?), in case you find yourself in need of something to read by candlelight.

Wasteland by W. Scott Poole

This book starts with some of the earliest horror movies, delving into the ways in which World War I influenced horror.

Shock Value by Jason Zinoman

1970s and 1980s horror. I added so many movies to my to-watch list thanks to this one.

The Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mallory O’Meara

I’ll admit that this wasn’t one of my favorite books, as I felt we still didn’t get enough about Milicent Patrick, but it’s still a good look at 1950s Hollywood.

It Came From the Closet, edited by Joe Vallese

My currently reading! A collection of essays by queer writers on the horror that moved, shaped, and scared the shit out of them.

Men, Women, and Chainsaws by Carol J. Clover

Another admission: I haven’t yet read this one. But it’s the text I’ve seen come up most often in horror film discussions, especially around gender in those movies.

Behind the Horror by Dr. Lee Mellor

Exactly as the subtitle says, this book looks at well-known scary movies and the stories that inspired them. (This was an unexpected but very much enjoyed Christmas present from my friend Alyssa. [Hi and thank you, Alyssa!])