Scary Stories for Halloween Season

Book Buzz is a blog produced in collaboration with neighborhood librarians from Houston Public Library, Harris County Public Library and the Bellaire Library.

Halloween memories of my youth involve home-made costumes, trick-or-treating, lots and lots of candy followed by sorting the candy into piles of favorites and hiding it all from my dad (sharing the lest-favored candy). There were neighborhood haunted houses (garages transformed into mad-scientist laboratories) and my mom would decorate the house inside and out, celebrating the spookiness of Halloween yet in a way that still made me feel safe.

I love Halloween, even though I do not watch horror films, visit commercial haunted house or particularly enjoy reading Stephen King. I am drawn to Edgar Alan Poe stories, some psychological thrillers and have fond memories of the urban legend tales told around the camp fire at Girl Scout campouts.

True crime stories published throughout the year captures reader’s attention and psychologists have varying explanations as to why we read and watch stories about serial killers and mass murders. Ted Bundy and Charles Manson are names that are now common in our conversations.

Looking for some excellent titles to satisfy the lust for terror? There are five titles from excellent authors that are recommended for you to consider:

• In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Capote’s account of the brutal murders Holcomb, Kansas, is one of the finest examples of investigative journalism out there.
• Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi. As prosecutor in the case, Bugliosi offers a lively storytelling of the motives, characters and trial itself.
• The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shocking Inside Story by Ann Rule. Rule, a most prolific true-crime author writes of her friendship with the serial killer.
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. A spelling-binding story set in Charleston. Murder or self-defense?
• The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson. A rich story of a master builder, a killer and the great fair.