Classic Spooky Stories for Halloween

From the queen of mystery Christie comes a story about a girl who drowned in a tub of bobbing apples on All Hallows’ Eve. Detective Hercule Poirot is on the case to determine who killed the young teen and why.

Count Dracula has been the most portrayed character on stage and screen, with more than 200 versions frightening and tantalizing audiences over the years. But his first appearance in Stoker’s horror novel is still the best. Read the classic for yourself and find out why.

Legend has it that the plot for this horror classic came to Stevenson during a particularly productive nightmare. Ironically, this novella, the vanguard of split personality stories, has been the cause of nightmares since it first shocked Victorian-era readers upon its 1886 publication.

James’ classic horror novella is a supernatural thriller. When a new nanny moves into an isolated estate to take care of two strangely silent kids, spooky secrets begin to unravel about the family and their home.

What the book does better than the film is capture the interiors of its characters. The fear creeps in slowly, so that when the time comes to decide between life and death, you too are left with your core beliefs shaken up.

The Headless Horseman. Ichabod Crane. These iconic characters have been sending chills down readers’ spines for over 200 years. This Halloween, revisit Sleepy Hollow in one of the first great American horror stories.

From being buried alive to a murderer who is haunted by the beating heart of his victim, and madness to a masquerade ball in the midst of a plague, master of horror Poe’s short stories are sure to make your spine tingle. If you haven’t read these since your school years, you’re in for a terrifying treat.

Gilman’s short but powerful novella explores the depths of postpartum depression and the harmful attitudes of the 19th century towards women’s mental health. “The Yellow Wallpaper” consists of secret diary passages from Jane, a woman whose patronizing husband controls her every move and insists she lives in isolation for her own good. It’s a different kind of horror, as Jane is slowly pushed to the brink of madness as her every movement, action, and decision is monitored by her husband.

Bradbury influenced so many of today’s great spooky story writers, including Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and R.L. Stine. Stine even calls “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” “the scariest book I ever read.” Experience the frights for yourself in this classic mashup of fantasy and horror about an evil traveling carnival.

This is the novel that has been scaring the pants off generations since it first hit the shelves in 1967. Bestselling author Levin tells the story of a young married couple who, after moving into a gothic New York apartment building, discovers their new neighbors might be Satanists.

King captures the magic of childhood and lifts the reader’s spirit high with his depiction of the shielding power of friendship in the face of evil for a group of grammar school kids. The book breaks your heart, too, floating to the surface the pain kids suffer as they grow aware of the failures of their would-be adult protectors. “It” will terrify you. But read it. It’s worth losing a couple nights of sleep. It’s gotten several movie adaptations for a reason.

Gothic horror meets unexpected comedy in McDowell’s supernatural tale set along the sunny shores of the Gulf Coast. The Savages and the McCrays are long-time summer vacationers at Beldame, an isolated retreat that hosts three Victorian mansions. One mansion sits abandoned, slowly filling with sand. However, it’s not as abandoned as the two families would like to believe, but rather home to a creepy and vicious spirit.

This early horror novel from the master Barker remains one of his scariest — and therefore best — novels to date. The movie “Hellraiser” is based on this story, so if you found the movie delightfully terrifying, you definitely have to read the book.

The mystery kicks off on Halloween in this installment of Hillerman’s “Leaphorn & Chee” series. A decade after the person died, their skeleton is found, and Hillerman’s legendary detectives must solve the case.

This tale about Harold the dog and Chester the cat investigating the new family pet, a bunny with fangs, is likely many a child’s introduction to the mystery genre. A cute and comedic take on “Dracula.”

First published in 1981, “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” endures as a timeless spooky classic. The collection was written for kids, but adults will likewise get a chill out of the intensely creepy short stories and haunting illustrations to match.

The tension builds unbelievably in this cult classic in which a dying millionaire offers $100,000 to whoever can prove or disprove the existence of the afterlife. Easy, right? All investigators have to do is survive the night in the dwelling ominously known as the Mount Everest of haunted houses. Matheson doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to using disturbing and gruesome imagery to describe acts of violence and horror.