The October RandomCat -- Tis the Season...

Halloween is, admittedly, my favorite holiday, and this is my favorite season that we've got coming! And while not everyone loves a creepy haunted house or all those tricker treaters, I figure we all have a favorite memory related to Halloween OR being spooked, and this month, I'm asking everyone to dig into your memories and be inspired. Choose a memory of a time when you were thoroughly creeped out (no matter the time of the year!) or a favorite memory from Halloween, and let that guide you toward an October RandomCat read!

For example? My favorite spooky-season memories revolve around time with my dad, so in thinking of that, I might choose a book revolving around a father/daughter relationship or one of my favorite memories of him and me around Halloween. Or since he spent one memorable Halloween building me a swingset, maybe I'd search out a book with a swingset on the cover!

On the other hand, one of my scariest nights was in mid-summer, when I was sitting by the river with a good friend talking, and we were suddenly distracted by unexplainable lights in the sky. We kept talking, growing more and more creeped out as we occasionally commented on how erratic they were and not knowing what they were...until we finally totally freaked out at how close they were coming and got back into the car, and drove out of there as fast as he could get us away. Were we approaching an alien encounter? I have no idea, but I have no other explanation, and we were two pretty level-headed twenty-year-olds who'll forever remember how terrified we were. So, thinking of that, maybe I'd choose a book about two best friends who accidentally encounter something terrifying/dangerous, or maybe I'd just swallow my skepticism and choose a book about aliens with that night in mind...

I hope you'll have fund choosing your own book based on a spooky season memory or a memory that had you shivering in your boots! Tell us about the memory and the book if you're willing!

One of my favorite memories is carving jack-o-lanterns with my dad. We always spread out newspapers on our kitchen table for the sticky pumpkin mess. I remember sticking my hands into the ooey gooey insides of the pumpkin to hollow it out before my dad carved the jack-o-lantern face. I also loved the scent of the pumpkin with its candle glowing inside on our front porch at night. I will probably re-read Pumpkin Eye by Denise Fleming.

My memories of Halloween are primarily about trick or treat. It was a big event in our neighborhood and we got lots of good candy. Sandy and I went together every year. My parents moved into our house when I was an infant and Sandy's moved next door when I was 5. Basically I moved out of the neighborhood when I went to college and she moved out 2 years later when she got married. We still live in the city we grew up in and have lunch together regularly and I hate to say it...see each other at funerals. We're both in our seventies.

The only girlfriends book I find in my TBR is Firefly Lane by Kristen Hannah, so that's what I'll read unless I stumble onto something else.

I remember my favourite costume when I was a kid: Wonder Woman! LOL! I'm not sure I have a book to fit that, or even a superhero book, but I'll check. If not, I'll come up with something else.

ETA: Or spreading out and trading candy with a friend is another good memory.

I don't have any Halloween memories because Halloween was not at all a thing where I grew up. A fun fact is that Bremerhaven, where I live now, is probably one of the German cities where it is celebrated most, because lots of US military personnel were stationed here until the 1990s and the citizens still celebrate Halloween.

I do have one memory though that is the most creepy thing that ever happened to me. It was when I was backpacking around Australia in 2010. I was traveling to Winton, a tiny town in the outback of Queensland. For lack of other options, I decided to stay in a hotel, the North Gregory Hotel, which allegedly was the location of the first ever recital of Waltzing Mathilda.
I had read that the hotel had burned to the ground and had been rebuilt, and I already thought that this was a little creepy. When I arrived, I noticed that I was the only one staying there, there were no other guests at all in this huge hotel, so that was even more creepy.
In the evening, around 10pm, I was reading in bed when suddenly power broke down, so now I was all alone in the huge hotel without any power, and when I looked out of the window it was pitch black. I was so frightened! And then someone knocked at my door! I nearly screamed! It was only the manager of the hotel holding a flashlight, asking if I was alright or if I needed anything, but I nearly freaked out. It was like straight from a Gothic novel.

So in honor of that I will probably read something from Australia, maybe even a novel by Tim Winton. The second option would be something set in a hotel.

There was no Halloween in my young days, either, so I will have to rack my memory for something spooky. But it may prove difficult, my life has been rather bland...if all fails, I'll resort to a ghost story.

>5 MissBrangwen: Now that's what I call a scary story!

I so enjoyed reading these memories, and it's already got me more in the mood for Halloween! I hope everyone else is enjoying these peaks into our pasts just as much--I'd hoped it would provide options for even those folks who didn't celebrate Halloween or didn't like spooky stories!

At least one year when I was growing up, we went out on Halloween collecting money for UNICEF. We had special containers (cans) with slots in the top for the donations to be placed in.

>7 whitewavedarling: "I'd hoped it would provide options for even those folks who didn't celebrate Halloween"
I appreciate that! Thank you for this wonderful topic. It's a beautiful idea!
I'm looking forward to more stories to come.

>8 sallylou61: I had forgotten about collecting for UNICEF, we did that too at least one year. I don't hear much about it anymore.

My earliest memories of Halloween are about my sister and I going out to Trick or Treat. She was the older of us and so, was supposed to be in charge. Looking back, I now feel very sorry for her having to rein me in. I've chosen to read Long Lankin which features both sisters and, in honor of Halloween, ghosts.

Another one for whom Halloween doesn't hold any childhood memories. I knew about it from books, which mentioned apple bobbing as a traditional Halloween activity, but I don't remember anyone actually doing it. There might have been a few spooky stories on TV but if there were they didn't make enough of an impact for me to remember now.

I have a memory as an adult as I was home handing out candy. I might use this...

History Channel used to air historical shows. :-) This one Halloween, they had a special on H.H. Holmes, a serial killer in Chicago during the World's Fair in the last 1800s. Every Halloween since, I looked for some similar historical scary thing to watch on tv, but that's been my favourite. Many years, it's just "traditional" horror movies, but I liked watching the true crime.

So, I might just read a true crime book.

>5 MissBrangwen: That's the spookiest hotel story ever!

>6 MissWatson: me three. And I don’t really like creepy either.
Too bad I finished the Lockwood & co series a couple of months ago, it would have been a good fit, and as close to scary as I’d like

>15 amberwitch:, I hope you'll find something--it doesn't have to be a creepy/scary book! I tried to go out of my way to make sure I wouldn't be leaving anyone out based on their not liking scary books!

I didn’t celebrate Halloween as a child due to religious reasons, and I still uphold that tradition. My kids also didn’t participate. My neighbor, who has since become a good friend, thought it was a bit “cruel” that my boys weren’t going trick-or-treating, so she generously brought them bags of leftover candy the next day! They were thrilled! While I don’t typically read fantasy or ghost stories, I do enjoy a few works by Wilkie Collins and Stephen King. The scariest I usually get is true crime, so I’ll be on the lookout for something in that genre.

>15 amberwitch: I was browsing one of my usual bookstores and just found an anthology of 19th century ghost stories, written by Dickens, Gaskell, Collins et. al. I'm thinking they won't be too scary, and they're among my favourite authors, so that's an added bonus. What a lucky find!

Failing to find a spooky memory, I read Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich
Stephanie Plum’s ribald humour is always good for a few hoots of laughter and this was no exception. Strange yes, spooky no. However, the title fits the category prompt.

>18 MissWatson: great idea!
I think I’ll go with something like ‘ghosts stories of danish manors’. Spøgelser og sagn fra danske herregårde
Getting my creepiness folklore style :)

I have finished by read of Long Lankin. This horror story is very dark and tense. The pacing is very slow until the last few chapters of the book when the action really takes off.

Just finished the 13th in the Jack Taylor series, although my memories of Ireland are nothing like this.

The Ghosts of Galway by Ken Bruen
In his unique writing style, Bruen gives us another dark, tragic episode in Jack Taylor’s life. This is a series that needs to be read in order. Although I don’t think this one was Bruen’s best, I’ll read whatever he writes. Not for the faint-hearted.

The November thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/364954#n8646076

So, I'm a complete chicken when it comes to horror...slightly spooky mystery novels are about as close as I'll come! With that in mind, I read Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None for this KIT. Most of her books aren't scary at all, but this one is very tense and atmospheric, and the first time I read it I was definitely creeped out! Even upon rereading, certain parts (especially the nursery rhyme) gave me a slight shudder, and I made sure to finish the book long before I had to go to sleep!

I have set up the 2025 group here: https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/24518/2025-Category-Challenge. Feel free to stop by anytime, start suggesting CATs and KITs, and post your threads for the 2025 challenge!

(I'm posting this notification to a bunch of threads, so sorry if you see it multiple times!)

Read The library of the dead, about a teenage ghost talker, investigating a child’s disappearance on behalf of a dead parent, and getting into all sorts of metaphysical trouble as a result.
Seems very inspired by Lockwood & Co, but not nearly as good.

>18 MissWatson: I have finished my book, Classic Ghost Stories, and it was a very pleasant and gentle read. A wide range of styles and themes, and none of them too scary. Wilkie Collins was not included, but I met quite a few interesting new names. Each author is introduced with a brief bio, and I was surprised to learn that the wife of HG Wells also wrote ghost stories.

My Halloween memory is a more recent one. My friend from work used to throw a big Halloween party every year. The first time I went, I ended up winning the costume contest dressed as a ghost. So I decided to read a ghost story, I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. This was more of a mystery/thriller than horror ghost story, set in Iceland.

I don't know if/when I'll get back to my book. I started it on OpenLibrary, but they've since had a cyberattack and are currently shut down. I still hope I can get back to it and finish it!

I read The Secret Guests by Benjamin Black. One of the characters is Princess Elizabeth, later to become Queen Elizabeth II of Britain. Why this book? Because one Halloween I dressed up as Queen Elizabeth II, with the garter sash and everything. It makes me laugh now to think of it.

Another for whom Halloween was never really a thing. So I picked The Ghost Cat by Alex Howard. Dreadful, but it's read and that's also filled my BingoDog card with the Read a Cat square. Which I have filled with a Cat about a cat.

I loved Halloween, but one of my creepiest memories is a night when one of my best friends and I had a strange experience that we simply couldn't explain then and still can't. So, with that night in mind, I chose Alien Artifacts to read this month. There were some gems in the anthology, and I've written a full review. Obviously more on the sci-fi side than the spooky side, despite the memory that drew me to choose it!

>32 whitewavedarling: Okay, now you got my attention! Do you mind describing that strange experience?

>33 LadyoftheLodge:, lol, I described it in the opening post trying to give folks ideas! So, you probably already read it, but I'm copy-pasting it here:

One of my scariest nights was in mid-summer, when I was sitting by the river with a good friend talking, and we were suddenly distracted by unexplainable lights in the sky. We kept talking, growing more and more creeped out as we occasionally commented on how erratic they were and not knowing what they were...until we finally totally freaked out at how close they were coming and got back into the car, and drove out of there as fast as he could get us away. Were we approaching an alien encounter? I have no idea, but I have no other explanation, and we were two pretty level-headed twenty-year-olds who'll forever remember how terrified we were.

(I still remember that night vividly, though it was more than twenty years ago. We were in a small parking lot by a boat ramp, the only ones there, and on a part of the James River where there's no business--or at least there didn't used to be, at the time we were there--and homes are few and far between.)

My memory is watching History Channel on Halloween while handing out candy (when History Channel actually had history programming!). I think I watched true crime a few years in a row on Halloween on History Channel; the specific one I remember is a show about H.H. Holmes, who was a serial killer in Chicago during the World's Fair in 18...97 (ish)? The late 1800s, anyway. So, I chose to read true crime.

The Nomadic Devil / Genoveva Ortiz
3.5 stars

Israel Keyes was a serial killer. This short story/novella delves into his home life and the crimes he committed (and some that he may have committed). It is part of a true crime series that is meant to be an easy style of reading to make it more accessible to more people.

I have not heard of this guy before, but I always find these books interesting. I dislike how short they are, though. It would be nice if they could go into more detail in these books, but at the same time, I “get” what they are trying to do. These books also include a bit of a biography, as well, but I also like reading biographies, so I’m ok with that.

>34 whitewavedarling: Thank you for reposting! I probably read it when you first posted it, but it was fun to read it again.

Due to CPTSD, I don't have a lot of childhood memories, but I remember for years the tradition was to come home from school, feed my sister's the chili from the crockpot, and get them ready so I could take them trick-or-treating once Dad got home. Then we would rush back home in time for It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.
So I read a 50th Anniversary novelization of It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown for this month.

>37 lowelibrary: I read the same book as you did! It was just as much fun as watching the TV version when I was a child.

>38 LadyoftheLodge: I got it in a set with A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas. I think of all the specials, the Thanksgiving one is my favorite.

>5 MissBrangwen: I went for the second option after all and read The Body in the Annex by Diana Xarissa, which is a cosy mystery set in a hotel. Although overall it is not a creepy book, I am quite happy that my hotel stay didn't turn out like that :-)