Booksology Grab a couple of candies from your trick-or-treat bowl and indulge in these reading materials, whether they’re full-fledged novels or short stories.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Thomas’ debut novel, set between Halloween and Indefinite Death, follows Yadriel, who is determined to prove herself to be a powerful brujo despite the gendered expectations of her traditional Latinx family. With the help of two friends, he performs a ritual to find and free the ghost of his murdered cousin.
This was a lot of fun, and at the same time it was packed with really interesting things about gender, Brujeria and how it’s gendered, family, and a sweet and humorous romance.
Harvest House by Cynthia Leach Smith
Huey is excited to volunteer this Halloween season at Harvest House, a country destination for horror enthusiasts. That is, he was excited until he learned that the actor playing the role of a vengeful “Indian maiden” would be starring in the show. This is a local legend to the Native community, and combined with a series of strange events around the Harvest House, Huey is at a loss as to where and how to speak out. Is he pointing to the problem of such legends being used – problematically – to sell attractions? And how do they do it while investigating strange occurrences?
harvest house is a countdown to Halloween, so it doesn’t necessarily center around the legendary day, but considering how important Halloween is to the story, it’s worth including.
with leading color
A weekly newsletter focused on literature by and about people of color.
“The First Insult” by Mindy McGinniss
Torres lost his entire family seven years ago in a terrible accident. Her family was well-respected, but after the accident, she lives with her grandfather in what the locals call the “White Trash Zoo” (which is a loose, loose interpretation of a zoo).
Meanwhile, Felicity is at the top of society and has been hiding the truth about what happened the night Torres’ parents died. She was the other person in the car with them.
But Torres wants the truth, and she has a plan. He invites Felicity to a Halloween party and slowly extracts the truth from her while trapping her in a coal chute.
…and a leopard is on the loose.
Maricia by Steven Dos Santos
Ray’s mother and brother are killed in a mass murder at Marisia, an abandoned theme park in the Dominican Republic. Over Halloween weekend, Ray convinces three of his friends to join him in filming a documentary in the park.
It’s supposed to be a simple trip, but each of the four teenagers has different thoughts. Rey wants to understand what happened with Malicia, but Joaquín is well aware of what happened and is keen to betray Rey in order to appease the cause of the mass murder. Then there’s Isabella, who is eager to create her own art during the trip, and Sofia, the most cooperative participant who wants to make this trip a memorable one before leaving the group to go to school.
But a hurricane is about to hit, and the intentions of everyone present are becoming clear. However, no one was prepared for anything except for the first attack of an ancient evil lurking in the park.
Night of the Living Queers, edited by Shelley Page and Alex Brown
This anthology is something I’ve been wanting to get my hands on for a while and plan on getting it soon. This is a collection of stories set around Halloween, written by and featuring queer people and people of color. The story takes classic tropes and horror themes, but gives them an update and refresh.
The list of contributors is also impressive and includes Alex Brown, Shelley Page, Karyn Bailon, Ryan Douglas, Sara Farizan, Maya Gittelman, Kosoko Jackson, Em Liu, Vanessa Montalban, Ida Shonibar, Tara Sim, Tran Tan Tran, and Rebecca Kim Wells.
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Lowell and Faith Erin Hicks
Deja and Josiah reunite each fall when they return to their workplace in Omaha’s pumpkin patch. Their time from September 1st to Halloween is always magical. However, this year feels completely different as they are both seniors and this will be their last year on the patch.
Josiah wants to go on a rant on Halloween, but Deja won’t let him. Instead, they’re spending this last Halloween shift going all out and adventuring at work.
“Shades of Rust and Ruin” by AG Howard
The Nix family has a Halloween curse. Something bad happens to them and it’s always that day. Her parents died on Halloween when she was three years old, and her younger sister Lark died on Halloween 11 years later.
Nix and Lark’s ex-boyfriend, Craley, share a special bond over their shared grief, but it’s difficult for Nix to lean into that bond as she develops deeper feelings for Craley than she’s willing to admit. There she pours her heart and soul into her paintings and the world of magical beings she calls Mystikel.
Then her uncle goes missing. Of course it’s Halloween. Nix and Clary must find him, and as they follow him to where they think he disappeared, they find themselves stepping through a portal into the world of Mystikel. Yes, that’s what the Knicks were painting.
Once inside, they find themselves in a bind. Nyx and Clary must make it through the Goblin King’s maze before Halloween is over…or else.
Jessica Lacy’s “Taste Like Candy”
Violet Warren and her best friend have been selected to participate in their high school’s annual Senior Scavenge event. Violet knows how lucky they are because everyone wants an invitation. The girls are granted after-hours admission to the Poison Apple Carnival, where they take part in a treasure hunt to begin a wonderfully magical senior year.
But this year doesn’t promise any magical experiences. Shortly thereafter, a masked figure wanders around the carnival, killing Violet’s friends one after another. Violet must find out if she can catch the masked killer, or if she will be the next to be killed.
This isn’t exactly set on Halloween, but since Carnival is Halloween themed, I felt it was worth including.
I Can’t Die First by Lisa Springer
17-year-old Noel loves horror. That’s her personality. her brand. She intends to throw the biggest Halloween party of the year and invites all her popular classmates as possible. It helps increase her popularity and is very helpful for the brand’s chances as an influencer.
But once the party gets underway, her low-budget It impersonation starts to go wild, and suddenly Noelle may find herself playing the role of Final Girl.
“Three Kisses, One Midnight” by Roshani Chokshi, Sandhya Menon, and Evelyn Skye
For best friends Oney, True, and Ash (better known as Coven), there’s no better night than Halloween to try out Oney’s grandmother’s aphrodisiac. Each of them is ready to find what is most true for themselves.
But as the clock nears midnight, the coven begins to realize that it may not just be a love potion. They need to embrace their magic in multiple ways to capture that emotion.
“They Call Her Regret” by Channel Desamours (February 17)
It’s a bit cheating to include upcoming titles on this list, but Halloween lovers don’t care what the calendar says. You can enjoy Halloween any time of the year.
Simone Washington loves Halloween, and this year, in honor of her 18th birthday, her annual epic Halloween party is going to be taken up a notch. She and her party will be the talk of the school. Stay overnight at Doll’s Head Lake and enjoy lots of campfire stories. One of the participants? A witch named Regret.
At the party, Simone’s best friend dies under mysterious circumstances and some of Simone’s secrets begin to bubble up. The witch Regret appears. Regret makes Simone a pretty big offer. If Simone can break the curse that binds Regret and Doll’s Head Lake within two weeks, Kira will be brought back to life. If Simone fails, Kira will be killed again and no one will mistake the killer for anyone other than Simone.
“Through Our Teeth” by Pamela N. Harris
Everyone thinks Hope took her own life, but her best friend Liv refuses to believe it. Hope was dating Brendan, and not only does Liv wonder if he had something to do with her death, but so does the town.
Liv teams up with two other friends to find out what happened to Hope and make sure Brendan gets the punishment he deserves.
However, the more Liv investigates, the more she begins to suspect Brendan is innocent. Is she actually teaming up with someone who is trying to use her to cover some tracks?
One of the most important scenes in the novel takes place during a Halloween bonfire (not a spoiler!).
LC Rosen’s “You’ve Goth My Heart”
Gary received a text message from the wrong number. He slightly believes it could be a serial killer or his ex-lover. However, after a little texting, the person on the other end of the phone seems to share many interests with Gary. It greatly piques Gary’s interest and now they are finally going to meet. This could be Gary’s perfect goth partner. They ultimately plan to do it on Halloween, the night of the town’s big house decorating contest.
Until then, however, things are difficult. Gary’s ex-girlfriend appears to be making a reappearance as the super-eager goth kid tries to win a home decorating contest. Oh, and maybe there’s a serial killer targeting gay teens? It remains to be seen whether Gary will meet the boyfriend of his dreams on Halloween.
Yes, this work aims to be the perfect combination of being a little scary, funny, and romantic at the same time.
You can also dig into it. paper girls The comic by Brian K. Vaughn, Cliff Chiang, Jared K. Fletcher, and Matthew Wilson takes place just after Halloween night in 1986.
short story
Have you delved into the ultimate guide to YA short stories that I’ve been updating over the years? If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that it’s hard to find a specific short story about a topic or theme, or a specific setting, if it’s not the broader topic, theme, or setting of the anthology as a whole. But you’re in luck! Here are some great short stories set on Halloween and where to find them.
- “Ghost Town” by Malinda Law, originally published in Anthology Defy the Dark Edited by Sandra Miller. This story is published in full Uncanny Magazine.
- The Ghost of Goon Creek by Francesca Zappia Up All Night: 13 Stories from Sunset to Sunriseis the story of Sidney, a high school ghost hunter, who teams up with his school newspaper to search for the ghosts of Goon Creek. The newspaper has a Halloween special, and the story is about the power of friendship.
- “The First Job” by Yamir Said Mendez, published in Firsts and Lasts: 16 Stories from Our World…and Beyond! It takes place on Halloween night in a haunted forest.
Another great addition to the short story stack from our extensive backlist is Vivian Vande Velde’s All Hallows’ Eve: 13 Stories, where all the stories are set on Halloween.
Want more fear? Read some recently released YA horror books.
