FIVE SCARY BOOKS TO READ FOR HALLOWEEN BY ERIN AL-MEHAIRI

By Erin Al-Mehairi, Author of Breathe. Breathe.

Of course, for any horror reader and writer, it can be very hard to narrow a list of Halloween reading choices down to five. While I sat outside at dusk with a spiked cider in hand, watching the trees reach toward the twilight sky and feeling the chill of an early autumn breeze, I pondered where I’d begin to focus the expansive list coursing through my mind.
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Since Halloween for me is all about memories, fun, spooks, and even ambiance, I finally decided to share a book from my childhood, a book I like to read every year that’s great for adult and YA readers, a book I decided to read for the first time this year (not a more perfect time than now), one of my favorite horror books ever that’s ripe reading for these dark nights, and a short story that I also like to read each year.

Don’t worry, I won’t make you guess which title matches each description above. You’ll find out below. However, it could have been a good idea for a contest, and I could have given candy corn as a prize, but unfortunately, I couldn’t resist eating it all!

​Tilly the Witch by Don Freeman

This is one of my overall favorite childhood books and I loved to share it with my kids when they were younger too as the Halloween season came around. I probably was a witch one to many times for Halloween when I was growing up due to this book, too! I love that she rides a surf board!
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The Halloween Tree BY  Ray Bradbury

This is an October must-read and I’m sure any bibliophile can agree. It’s more a fantasy read than horror, but the mere fact there is a quest to discover the history of Samhain and Halloween makes it a read for any horror fanatic. ​

‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
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After listening to all my horror friends talk for years about this being one of their favorite books ever, I decided to stop being a scaredy-cat, and dive in. I’ve been doing my own Twitter buddy read over September and October – basically anyone who wants to join in can (follow me at @ErinAlMehairi).

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
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Shirley Jackson is a great inspiration to me as a reader and a writer. All her stories and books are brilliant reads for this season (or otherwise), but I’m planning to try to re-read this one myself in anticipation of the new Netflix show set to drop mid-October!
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​The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

​Finally, I decided to put a short story on the list. My daughters, 14 and 11, enjoy reading it with me now each year! Something about the atmosphere of this novel just makes the darkening season ever more real, and the side roads of the country where I live, the click-clack of Amish buggies racing in the pitch-black lit with a solitary lantern, ten times more frightening!
I can’t wait to hear what YOUR favorite reads are during the Halloween season. Though we all have our perennial lists, there are always amazing traditional and indie books launching during the autumn season each year, so be sure to pick up a new book as well. You never know, it might make your seasonal re-read list in the future!

Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi, Biography 
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Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi has Bachelor of Arts degrees in English, Journalism, and History. She has 20 years of experience in the communication, editing, and marketing fields and is currently a writer, a journalist, an editor, a publicist, and a consultant among many other things. 

BREATHE. BREATHE., published by Unnerving, is her collection and a mix of dark poetry and short stories and has been an Amazon best-selling paid title, debuting at #2 in Women’s Poetry behind NYT best-selling poet, Rupi Kaur, and in the top ten of horror short stories, consistently for three months past publication and off and on for 2018. She’s been a contributor of poems and stories to several successful anthologies and magazines. This year, she also worked on a project as the guest editor for an anthology of Gothic poetry and short called HAUNTED ARE THESE HOUSES.

As an entrepreneur, she owns two businesses: Addison’s Compass Public Relations and Hook of a Book Media, is an editor at Sinister Grin Press, and handles PR duties at Raw Dog Screaming Press.

A past Business and Professional Women Young Careerist of Ohio and Woman of Achievement Award winner in her community, she volunteers her time to many causes and is the chairwoman on the board of directors for a local mental health center and rape crisis and domestic violence safe haven. 

She is the mother of three children and a cat. She lives with her family in rural Ohio nestled in the forest—a place just ripe for nightmares. 
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You can e-mail her at hookofabook (at) hotmail (dot) com and find her easily at www.hookofabook.wordpress.com. You’ll also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and her Amazon or GoodReads pages.