 Like many writers and fans of horror, Halloween has always been my favorite time of the year. For me, the season conjures up memories of my childhood spent in the haunted Hudson Valley, New York. As the leaves fall from trees, so do ghost stories drift from the mouths of children along the Hudson. There are certain books that I often revisit this time of year, because they remind me of the imaginative magick that makes Halloween so special. Here are five of them. The Complete Stories and Poems by Edgar Allan PoeYou can’t go wrong with the master of the macabre. “The Raven” was the first poem I ever read that was truly scary, and I haven’t seen it done better since. Some literature is considered classic for good reasons. Poe’s ghost stories and gothic poems are fantastic bite-sized morsels that satisfy my Halloween craving every time.  The Amityville Horror by Jay AnsonMaybe it’s a New York thing, but this is one of my favorite horror stories claimed to be based on true events. The movie frightened me as a kid, and the book is just as freaky. It reminds me of all the supposed haunted houses in the neighborhoods I grew up in. There would always be a disturbing story of how the people who used to live there got murdered. Scared the crap out of us as kids, but we loved telling the stories. I still do. Scary Stories Treasury by Alvin SchwartzThis book brings back memories of telling tales around the campfire or in the dark when the power goes out. That’s because it is actually a collection of folk tales and urban legends. I did not realize that as a kid; I was simply enthralled by the creepy stories and wicked artwork. As an adult who studies folklore, this book still fascinates me, especially around this time of year. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington IrvingOf course I would love a classic ghost story about the Dutch settlers of the Hudson Valley, from whom my name descends. Irving also created one of the most iconic figures in supernatural fiction: The Headless Horseman. His writing is a bit heavy on description (what do you expect from 1820?), but the autumn setting and spooky tale are perfect for Halloween. The Halloween Tree by Ray BradburyThe epitome of what our favorite season is all about. It’s the tale of a group of trick-or-treaters that traverses space and time to learn the history and true meaning of Halloween. Much like a Tim Burton film, it mixes the whimsical and the morbid into something fitting for kids and adults alike. The prose is so beautifully poetic that you may forget you are reading a story and just get sucked into the thought-provoking yet childlike Halloween spell that Bradbury casts with his writing.  Joseph VanBuren is a multimedia storyteller, horror lover, old school RPG fan, survivor, and the scrambled brains behind Sykophunk Productions. His poetry and fiction have been published in the anthologies Untimely Frost and Life on a Tightrope as well as the literary magazines Confluence and Ink Cloud; he has written, performed, and/or produced hundreds of globally distributed songs; opened up for national acts such as Rehab, Anybody Killa, Liquid Assassin, Razakel, Lil Wyte, Scum, and 2 Live Crew; and had one of his tracks played on The Colbert Report. Spawned from the Hudson Valley, New York, he now lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana with his beloved wife and adorably neurotic dog. His current projects include creating a multi-media post-apocalyptic horror experience, which is woven through the Masks series: a trilogy of poetry books with soundtracks. He also posts at least 6 new things every month on his Patreon page. Find out more about Joseph by following these links Official website: http://josephvanburen.com/ Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-VanBuren/e/B074MJCLVF/ Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/josephvanburen333/overview
  As we head into the autumn here are ten of the best young adult horror and dark fiction novels to catch my eye over the recent months. They are not necessarily brand new, but if you’re looking to buy a present for a deserving niece or nephew then they’re worth a look. A number of these authors are making their debut on Ginger Nuts of Horror. They are listed alphabetically by srname: “THE HAZEL WOOD” BY MELISSA ALBERT As good, old fashioned, straight horror novels are thin on the ground at the moment here’s a top-notch dark fantasy which is aimed at older teens. Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice's life on the road travelling from place to place, always a step ahead of the strange bad luck which seems to follow them everywhere. There is something uncanny about the level of ill-fortune which is connected to the dark past of her family. Alice’s grandmother was a reclusive, somewhat of a cult writer, semi-famous for a collection of frightening fairy-tales which for some unknown reason is incredibly difficult to buy or find anywhere online no matter how much cash you have. After the disappearance of her mother, Alice suspects she has been kidnapped by a character who claims to come from the cruel supernatural world of her grandmother's stories which are set in the Hazel Wood. This was an excellent fantasy novel which expertly blended two worlds together, some of the fantasy characters which seeped into ours were totally terrific. It was eerie, compelling and a fine mix of light romance, teen stuff, great characters and fantasy mystery. A challenging dark fantasy for teens aged 13+. “The Devil You Know” by MC Atwood MC Atwood’s debut novel is a solid and traditional horror novel, a good old-fashioned haunted house yarn with a contemporary setting with five teenagers visiting the infamous Boulder House in the Whispering Bluffs area of Wisconsin. Seen from five teen points of view, I found this chatty novel to be very entertaining which bounced along at a decent pace with a fast paced flow. Violet, Paul, Ashley, Dylan, and Gretchen have all chosen to visit the house for different reasons and before long we head into familiar haunted house territory, but the author throws in plenty of spooky curve-balls including sinister dolls, miniature centaurs, clowns, evil angels, killer unicorns, and reanimated sharks around and some nasty villains. There are plenty of twists and turns but, ultimately, it’s about the five kids, their secrets, and how they deal with each other which is the strength of the book. A successful balance of teen drama and supernatural fiction. A good read for teens 13+. “THE FANDOM” BY ANNA DAY This novel was a very quirky read and should be dedicated to geeks everywhere, who are also the crowd most likely to enjoy this entertaining and original dark fantasy. Moments after meeting their TV screen idol at a huge comic convention, Violet and her friends are transported to the world of the ‘The Gallows Dance’ the location of the show and book. You’d think this was a dream come true for the nerds, far from it, because when they arrive they accidently kill the main character and hero mistakenly changing the direction of the original plot. Neither to the kids know the very strange rules of this new world who try to figure out who the ‘lessee humans’ are, what you can be hanged for and who are the ‘imps’? There really is a lot going on, and a lot of fun to be had by the reader. Their presence in this strange land doesn't go unnoticed, especially when they begin to change the original story of ‘The Gallows Dance’ and risk being trapped forever. Together with the original characters, they have to reach the end of the 'canon' story to get back home, which proves harder than they initially thought. An enjoyable read for young teens aged 13-14. “The Wicked Deep” by Shea Ernshaw “The Wicked Deep” is another entertaining debut which blends dark fantasy, horror and a taste of teen romance. Ernshaw’s novel deserves to be a hit, probably with a young teen female audience who enjoy the supernatural mixed with convincing teen drama. The plot is centred around a local myth… Two centuries ago in a small town in Oregon, three sisters were drowned in the ocean who were suspected of being witches. According to folklore, every summer since, they've emerged from the shadowy depths, temporarily possessing the bodies of drunk or stupid teenage girls and using them to lure boys to the harbour where they will meet their deaths. Something like sirens from Greek mythology. Over the years there have been a number of suspicious deaths which has fed the myth, and the town makes great tourist trade from the summer festival which celebrates its colourful history around the witches. Penny Talbot’s mother owns a local bed and breakfast and after she gives a summer job to Bo Carter, who she thinks is really cute, is sucked into the old town mystery and might even be the next victim. It’s definitely aimed at girls, and had a great mix of folklore, magic, witchcraft, the paranormal with young love blossoming in the background. A good read for teens aged 13+. “Phantom” by Leo Hunt We have both reviewed and interviewed Leo Hunt previously on Ginger Nuts in connection with his excellent supernatural trilogy “Thirteen Days of Midnight”. Now that series is done and dusted Leo returns with a top-notch dystopian thriller, which features strong elements of cyberpunk, highlighting his versatility as a writer which is a cut above most others in an overcrowded dystopian marketplace. “Phantom” is told in the first-person present tense by a spunky teenage girl with attitude, Nova. In her world, a city with greedy corporations controlling everything with massive differences and injustices between rich and poor, who are left to rot. To survive Nova works as a hacker and is sucked into a dangerous conspiracy when a job goes south. Sure, “Phantom” will remind you of lots of other things, but considering it is over 400-pages it jogs along at a fair old pace, is never dull and I think kids who life sci-fi and dystopia will find much to enjoy. Hunt creates a well-developed landscape where the downtrodden live at the bottom of 400-storey buildings, but Nova has her sights on the stars. You’ll have fun joining her on the ride. A top read for kids aged 12+. “A Taste for Monsters” by Matthew Kirby This historical fiction title blends horror with mystery is a real one-off. It has to be the only teen novel EVER WRITTEN which features both Jack the Ripper and John Merrick, better known as the Elephant Man. Set in London 1888, this wonderfully gritty and atmospheric novel has a superb main character, Evelyn Fallows, a young woman horribly disfigured by an accident in a match factory. To hide herself away, Evelyn gets a job working in a hospital, a job nobody else wants… being the nurse to the Elephant Man. Much of this very clever novel is about the friendship which develops between Evelyn and Merrick. Evelyn loves her job and hopes never to return to the streets where she was shunned, however, a second supernatural strand to the story add a level of mystery which sends her back to the streets. The Elephant Man is haunted by apparitions, ghosts, whom he thinks are the victims of Jack the Ripper. With every murder, Merrick becomes weaker, but Evelyn will do anything to help him. This was a strange novel, but there was a lot going on, with the descriptions of the London streets so vivid you can smell them. Historical fiction is often avoided by the majority of kids, and I can hardly think of anything less mainstream than this, so the author should be applauded for coming up with something genuinely different. Challenging and compelling read for kids 12+. “Shell” by Paula Rawsthorne This is Rawthorne’s third YA novel, the other two were great thrillers also, but as this one is the darkest yet and so she makes her first appearance on Ginger Nuts. The story opens with Lucy dying with cancer, her parents are wealthy and will stop at nothing to find any cure. Keeping the story cleverly shrouded, Lucy wakes up feeling remarkably healthy and it is slowly revealed that her brain has been transplanted into the healthy body of a teenager who she is told died of an aneurism. Psychologically this is horrific for Lucy, she’s alive, but doesn’t feel like herself, and none of her old friends recognise her. Before long she finds out that the operation was not legal and can not tell anyone she really is Lucy. This was a top-notch thriller, which balanced science, teen emotions, murder, conspiracy and family drama. Highly recommended for kids 12+. “Twice Dead” (Necromancer's Song book 1) by Caitlin Seal "Twice Dead" is a compelling teen fantasy novel, with some horror and thriller elements merged into it. The story revolves around a girl called Naya who dies whilst completing a routine errand for her father but is later resurrected being brought back to life. After her revival Naya is enlisted by an influential politician working with her father to spy on the citizens of Ceramor for Talmir (her home country). In this complex world the dead can be resurrected as 'Wraiths' and can live relatively normal lives by sucking the life force from living humans, their only means of surviving. They can do this without causing much in the way to the humans they unwittingly 'borrow' their life-force from as long as they do not take too much. Naya, does not want to do this and struggles with her new life as a 'wraith'. This was a really cool idea and I liked the way the novel portrayed the internal conflicts Naya went through after her death. Although I enjoyed this book I have a feeling many teens will struggle getting into this rather complex novel, as it takes a while getting going, setting the scene in a well-drawn fantasy world. It promises a sequel, so I will be interested to see whether it develops an audience to merit it. Recommended for teens 14+. “City of Ghosts” by Victoria Schwab The multi-talented Victoria Schwab who writes for both adults and teens returns with a new fantasy ghost story for slightly younger children. When Cass was younger she had a near-death-experience which resulted in her having the ability to see ghosts. Her best friend, Jacob, is a ghost, whom her parents believe is just an invisible friend she will grow out of. After her parents get a new job presenting a TV programme about true supernatural hauntings her family relocate from America to Edinburgh in Scotland. Once in Edinburgh the ‘City of Ghosts’ Cass begins to see even more ghosts and even meets another little girl who has the same gift as her who teaches her to use it properly. This was a very easy read, quite gently written, with no real level of threat and would be a pleasant introduction for children beginning to develop an interest in ghost stories. Recommended for kids aged 8-11. “Scythe” (Arc of a Scythe Series) by Neal Shusterman Neal Shusterman writes prolifically for all age groups and the excellent (kind of) dystopian fantasy novel “Scythe” which crosses into science fiction already has a sequel called “Scythe: Thunder Head”. The setting is a world where medical and scientific advances are so great people can live forever, unless they get run over by a bus or some other unfortunate accidents. However, due to population overcrowding there are other ways in which people can be killed off, which is the core plot of the novel. Anyone can be randomly killed (‘gleaned’) by beings known as ‘Scythes’. These are individuals whom have been appointed judge and jury to effectively kill or cull a certain amount of people every year, meeting their own quota, which might be around 300 people. Obviously, they are feared by the rest of the population who never know when a Scythe may come knocking on their door. A Scythe could quite literary turn up on your doorstep and invite himself to dinner, they have that kind of power and authority! The main drive of the story concerns Citra and Rowan, two teenagers who are selected to be apprentices to a Scythe, and despite wanting nothing to do with the vocation, they must learn the art of killing and understand the necessity of what they do. Ultimately though the Scythe will only choose one of them, and so in a way they are in competition with each other. The Scythe himself was a great character, although technically a mass murderer, he was a likable and humane sort. I was a huge fan of this book and was quickly drawn into the mystery and conspiracy which develops with the superb world-building we have come to expect with Shusterman. An excellent read for kids 12+. Tony Jones 
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