Halloween is right around the corner and that means trick-or-treating, jack-o-lanterns, scary stories, and of course, candy.
As you sneak tiny candy bars from your kids’ hard-earned Halloween stash, be sure to also sink your teeth into some bite-sized reads, perfect for the scary season. These short story collections give you a perfect treat without much effort or time required to devour them. You can find these, and so many other short fiction books, at the Library District.
| Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders by Neil Gaiman | A collection of more than twenty-five short fictional works includes a novella featuring the hero from his best-selling American Gods, in a volume that follows a theme of the intersections between life and death, perception and reality, and darkness and light. (audiobook/CD) |
| Poe: Stories and Poems, a Graphic Novel Adaptation by Gareth Hinds | A volume of graphic novel renderings of some of Edgar Allan Poe’s best-known works includes “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Raven.” By the creator of the graphic novels Macbeth and Beowulf and many other classics. (graphic novel) |
| Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell | A collection of stories features a pair of centuries-old vampires whose relationship is tested by a sudden fear of flying, a dejected teen who communicates with the universe, and a massage therapist who heals a tattooed veteran by manipulating the images on his body. (eAudiobook) |
| The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H.P. Lovecraft | A selection of the master’s fiction, from the early tales of nightmares and madness such as “The Outsider” to the overpowering cosmic terror of “The Call of Cthulhu.” Other story collections by H.P. Lovecraft are also available. |
| Urban Horrors: Stories edited by William F. Nolan and Martin H. Greenberg | A legion of gifted writers created 18 powerful nightmare visions that will have you double-locking your doors at night and checking under their beds to make sure that no unexpected beings have taken up residence. Includes chillers by Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, Joyce Carol Oates, and more. |
| Dis mem ber and Other Stories of Mystery and Suspense by Joyce Carol Oates | At the heart of this meticulously crafted, deeply disquieting collection are girls and women confronting the danger around them, and the danger hidden inside their turbulent selves. (also available in large type format and eBook) |
| The Best Horror Stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle edited by Frank D. McSherry | These horror stories — never before compiled in one volume — are carefully crafted, compelling and believable. Written in about the same decade as the Sherlock Holmes series, they will convince you that Arthur Conan Doyle was a master of more than just the detective story. (eBook) |
| Ghostly: A Collection of Ghost Stories edited by Audrey Niffenegger | A collection of the best ghost stories of all time surveys the evolution of the ghost story genre from the eighteenth century to the modern era and includes works from Edgar Allen Poe, Kelly Link, M.R. James, and Neil Gaiman. |
| The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King | Magnificent, eerie, utterly compelling, these stories comprise one of King’s finest gifts to his constant fan — “I made them especially for you,” says King. “Feel free to examine them, but please be careful. The best of them have teeth.” (audiobook/CD; also available in other formats) |
| Rudyard Kipling’s Tales of Horror & Fantasy edited by Stephen Jones | A complete volume of the Nobel Prize-winning writer’s fantastical pieces ranges from traditional ghost stories to works of psychological horror and includes the works “The Phantom Rickshaw,” “The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes,” and “The Mark of the Beast.” |
| Classic Campfire Stories: Forty Spooky Tales edited by William W. Forgey | Nothing goes better with gooey s’mores and a glowing campfire than a good ghost story, and this collection of Doc Forgey’s best scary classics and frightening folktales will send shivers up anyone’s spine. |
| Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman | A collection of short fiction that includes previously published stories, verses and a 50th anniversary Doctor Who tale, as well as an original short story |
| The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe | A comprehensive collection of the author’s works, including such classics as “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Raven” and lesser-known works such as “Loss of Breath” and “Spirits of the Dead.” 73 short stories and 48 poems. |
Have a wonderfully spooky Halloween!