Ghastly greetings, dear reader! I am pumped because its finally October, the spookiest month of the year, and I am all about spooky. Since last year’s Halloween Fun List was such a spook-tacular success, I decided to create another eerie-sistible list for this year which will include thematic clothing and accessories, fang-tastic food and drink, bone-chilling books, montrous movies, and so much more.
My work wardrobe will be accessorized from head to toe with Halloween/Fall earrings, pins, infinity scarves, and socks. I may even acquire a Halloween t-shirt or two for my creepy collection. Additionally, I will be adding some Halloween decorations in the reading area of my bedroom and on my front porch, mixing them in with the fall decorations already on display. Kelsi and I have planned a couple of days to hang out together, so I am hoping we will conjure up a thrilling treat or two while celebrating this enchanted month.
BOOKS/SHORT STORIES
This Halloween, Kelsi and I are participating in a Readathon that we created together. It is the first time that we are doing this type of reading activity. Our book and short story selections are based on horror movies. I have listed my terrifying TBR choices for the month below.
- Cabal by Clive Barker
- Thinner by Richard Bachman
- Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King
- My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
- Night of the Living Dummy by R.L. Stine
- Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh
- Fear Zone 2 by K.R. Alexander
- The Widow’s Broom by Chris Van Allsburg
- ”The Mangler” by Stephen King (Night Shift)
- ”Jerusalem’s Lot” by Stephen King (Night Shift)
- “Sometimes They Come Back” by Stephen King (Night Shift)
- “The Magic Ball” by Charles J. Finger (A Newbery Halloween)
- ”The Man of Influence” by Paul Fleishman (A Newbery Halloween)
In addition to the Halloween Readathon, I will be reading The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury which was chosen by the mesmerizing members of the Chills, Thrills, and Kills Book Club (book club that Kelsi and I started back in May 2021). Also, I will be finishing up the spine-tingling short story collection AutumnCrow by Cameron Chaney which I started on the first day of fall.
MOVIES
October would be totally boring if it did not include a few hair-raising movies, so I decided on 20 movies for the Halloween season. A couple will provide lighthearted entertainment while others are guaranteed to raise goosebumps and inspire nightmares. Two of my movie choices are based on books, which will be enjoyable to compare/contrast and to discuss with Kelsi. Nightbreed is based on Cabal by Clive Barker, and Silver Bullet is based on Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King.
EERIE EXTRAS
There are two additional aah-inspiring activities that I would love to include on my list if my schedule allows, weather permits, and COVID restrictions relax. First, I would love to see the play, The House on Haunted Hill, I auditioned for at the Columbia Theatre back in August. Second, Barry and I would enjoy shuffling in the 2021 New Orleans Zombie Run. It is a two-mile run/walk/crawl that begins and ends at Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar & Restaurant on Tchoupitoulas Street. Of course, in the event any other Halloween or fall-related activities are lurking in the shadows this month, I will add them to my already unBOOlieveable list. Lastly, if the weather is pleasant on Halloween night, I will be handing out candy to trick-or-treaters.
There was a certain crispness to the early morning air today, dear reader. October has arrived and is making sure we take notice. What are your plans for the month of October? Whatever you decide, have a howling good time. Happiness!
“There is a child in everyone of us who is still a trick-or-treater looking for a brightly-lit porch.” ~ Robert Brault
The Kat Files 
AMAZING blog post, Kat! Reading this has me extra excited for all of our fun plans! And, oh my goodness, “eerie-sistible” LOVE IT hahaha. All your words choices are spook-tacular! This post made me smile so much! Happy October 🎃
Thanks so much, Kelsi! This was a fun post to write. October is going to be awesome with all the stuff we have planned to do individually and together.
I have read some Ray Bradbury, ‘Fahrenheit 451’ and ‘The Illustrated Man’, both are excellent. If I can dare to be brave enough to read ‘The Halloween Tree’ then I might chase it down at the library!
With your play, I got mixed up with another title that is similar, ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ by Shirley Jackson. I’ve read the book which is scary enough, and then Anne made me go and see a play of it in Liverpool one year (I had to use my coat as my hide behind cushion!).
You have a jam packed month of goodies lined up. Enjoy!
HA! I would have loved seeing you hiding behind your coat in the theatre. I’ve heard The Haunting of Hill House is spooky. The House on Haunted Hill (1959 film), on the other hand, seems kind of campy which could be quite fun to see on stage.
I hope you’ll consider reading The Halloween Tree. It would be nice to compare notes. Andrew, my son, ordered my copy today from Amazon. I should get it in a couple of days.
[…] I went back to living my life. As far as the play was concerned, it was an eerie extra on my Halloween Fun List. I was hoping to attend one of the shows, preferably the Friday night performance (opening night) […]
[…] wrapping up the spooky season which was a HUGE success. The only activity I was unable to do on my Halloween Fun List was the New Orleans Zombie Run which was an extra activity that I thought would be fun to do if my […]