Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature/meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is a Halloween freebie topic.
Halloween Reading That Won’t Give You Nightmares
I don’t like horror, and I don’t like being frightened, but I do enjoy a nice atmospheric book now and then. Here are some wonderful books for the Halloween season that won’t scare your socks off.
A Discovery of Witches (Deborah Harkness) Witches, vampires, and daemons; intrigue, romance, and danger; alchemy and a missing medieval manuscript – Harkness’s trilogy is modern fantasy for adults. The series opener takes place in September and October, and culminates in something of a cliffhanger on Halloween. (my review)
The Perilous Gard (Elizabeth Marie Pope) Outspoken Kate Sutton, exiled to a remote castle, is taken by “the People of the Hill” in this YA novel that blends legends of the Fair Folk and the sacrifice of the sacred king, the stories of Tam Lin and Thomas the Rhymer, and Tudor political intrigue. The climax comes, appropriately enough, on All Hallows Eve.
The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) Darkmoor provides a grim and atmospheric setting for Doyle’s suspenseful masterpiece. Holmes and Watson investigate the death of Sir Charles Baskerville, apparently killed by a gigantic, ghostly hound.
Macbeth (William Shakespeare) “Double double, toil and trouble. . .” Shakespeare’s witches are creepy, but the real evil in this classic play is in the ambition of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, who will stop at nothing–including regicide–to attain their goals.
Light Thickens (Ngaio Marsh) Macbeth is so notorious as an “unlucky” play that many theatre folk refuse to call it by name, let alone quote from it. But Peregrine Jay’s West End production is a huge success, despite some rather unpleasant practical jokes backstage. . . until an actor turns up dead onstage, and Inspector Alleyn, watching the play with his young son, is called upon to investigate.
Hallowe’en Party (Agatha Christie) When a nasty teenager announces that she witnessed a murder and is then drowned in the bobbing-for-apples barrel at a Halloween party, it’s up to Poirot to find the murderer–or double murderer.
The Grey King (Susan Cooper) “On the day of the dead, when the year too dies // Must the youngest open the oldest hills. . .” Will Stanton is only twelve, but he is also the youngest of the Old Ones, sworn to serve the Light. And as the day of the dead–All Hallows Eve–approaches, he must battle one of the Dark’s greatest servants, the Grey King, to find the harp which will awaken the Sleepers. Drawing on Welsh legend and Arthurian myth, this novel is perhaps the best in the Dark is Rising series; it won the 1976 Newbery Medal.
The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern) Beautifully written, The Night Circus tells the tale of two young magicians, bound by their teachers to a game of wits and skill only one can survive. The Circus des Reves is their dueling field, as magical as the book itself. (I’m listening to this now, and it’s wonderful.)
I’m always looking for more books to add to this list, books which embody the feeling and mystery of Halloween without being gruesome or terrifying. Any suggestions?
Lory @ Emerald City Book Review
Yay for all of these! I totally forgot about The Grey King as a Halloween book when I made my list. And I had 2 other Tam Lin books on there already so I didn’t choose The Perilous Gard (but as you know, I love it to bits.) Have a look for my picks.
Lory @ Emerald City Book Review recently posted…Top Ten Halloween Books
Literary Feline
These are great picks and probably more up my alley than most horror novels. I love the trilogy by Harkness. A Discovery of Witches was good. I liked The Hound of Baskervilles too. I’m so glad you are enjoying listening to Night Circus. I listened to the audio version too and just loved it.
Literary Feline recently posted…Bookish Thoughts: Three Lilith Saintcrow Novels
Bea @Bea's Book Nook
Nice mix of books and much more my speed than horror stories. I *think* I may have read The Grey King but I can’t remember. I haven’t read any of the others but there are a couple I want to.
Bea @Bea’s Book Nook recently posted…Bea Reviews I’ll Never Let You Go by Mary Burton