10-19-2026 Kerry E.B. Black Binges Books!
Winds blowing cooler. Glamourously decaying leaves hiss archain messages. Nights overtake days with a bit more authority and depart with reluctance, fogs thick with mystery obscuring the dawn. October arrived, and with it, a spooky season dying for an autumnal reading list.
Every year, I reread a favorite Ray Bradbury. The nostalgia puts me in the mood for bonfires and heady pumpkin spice. Sometimes, it’s The Halloween Tree that pulls me under its spell. Other times, October Country or Something Wicked This Way Comes hold sway. With these works, the man speaks to my spooky little soul.
Every year, I also embrace something new to me. Horror has so many options, but I try for something seasonal. I recently finished a Kealan Patrick Burke novella while away for a family beach trip, The Widows of Winding Gale. I chose it because of the island setting, not realizing its action occurs at Samhain, when the veil between the worlds thins. It’s a creepy mashup of folk, sea side, and cosmic horror that would scratch the seasonal itch if I hadn’t already enjoyed it when summer waned. Another year for Halloween, I enjoyed his collection of shorts, Dead Leaves, with which he guides readers through nine tales from the witching season.
This year, I’ve selected The Samhanach and Other Halloween Treats which is a collection of fourteen short stories by Lisa Morton (who's, incidentally, the acknowledge Halloween expert. Check out her non-fiction explorations of the history of the holiday!) and October Blood, which is an anthology of fourteen Halloween treats edited by Marcus Hawke. Of course, after I’ve finished, I’ll review them, as ever. I love sharing my enthusiasm!
What Halloween treats will tickle your fancy this season? Send me your recommendations. As you probably know, I always enjoy enlarging my TBR.
Kerry E.B. Black, crazy cat mom of felines named for great authors and nearly grown children who are not, writes an eclectic collection of tales from an itty, bitty house (which is for sale, if you’re interested) outside of the city of steel, three rivers, and zombies. This author of two paranormal thrillers (Awakening at Equinox and Spring of Spirits), four collections of short scares (Herd of Nightmares, Carousel of Nightmares, Nightmares on Holidays, and Fairy Herds and Mythscapes), two poetry collections (Poetic Nightmares and Witches in the Air) and a pseudo-historical novella (Wolves at Bay) is a member of the HWA.
Please follow her social media, including her website https://www.KerryEBBlack.com
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