On this very dawn of All Hallow’s Eve
Where ghost and ghouls; the horrors you conceive
Come out, come play, do some trick or treating
For that joyous time that’s oh so fleeting
It’s the spooky season: great October
Macabre machinations are in order
And what’s more in spirit of the season
Terrifying ourselves, within reason
A tradition as old as time itself
Only a little hazardous to health
Some scary stories to tell in the dark
Are you afraid? With goosebumps you embark
Into the twilight zone, where you will find
The Cryptkeeper telling tales most unkind
What better a place for the short story
Bound to an end that’s doomed to be gory
A pinprick of fear, or if you have guts
Torment yourself with a thousand papercuts
So gather ’round the fire, go dim the lights
And prepare yourself for a world of frights
Skin and other stories / Dahl, Roald
“”Who could imagine that a woman would kill her husband with a frozen leg of lamb – and then feed it to the police investigating the murder? Or that a greedy group of art dealers would stop at nothing to separate a poor man from a valuable picture – that’s tattooed on this back?” (Adapted from Catalogue)
Hometown haunts : #LoveOzYA horror tales
“One bite of an apple from a family shrine unearths hungry ghosts. A poison garden unfurls a polite boy’s deepest, darkest desires. Interfering with an Indigenous burial site unleashes ancestral revenge, to a metal soundtrack. An underground dance party during Covid threatens to turn lethal. And on the edge of a coastal rainforest, a grieving sister waits to witness a mysterious ‘unravelling’. The stories in this wide-ranging collection dig deep and go hard. From body horror to the supernatural, hauntings to transformations, and the everyday evil of humans to menacing outside forces, Hometown Haunts will have you glued to your chair … until you leap out of it!” (Adapted from Catalogue)
Extremities : stories of death, murder, and revenge / Lubar, David
“A group of high school girls takes revenge on their sadistic gym teacher in the most fitting way possible. Two stowaways find themselves on a ship for the dead. An ancient predator stalks the wrong victim. Here are thirteen tales of death, murder, and revenge”– Provided by publisher.” (Catalogue)
The Dark-Thirty / McKissack, Patricia
“In that special half-hour of twilight–the dark-thirty–there are stories to be told. Mesmerizing, suspenseful, and breathtakingly original, these tales make up a heart-stopping collection of lasting value, a book not quickly forgotten. From the Trade Paperback edition.” (Catalogue)
Monstrous affections : an anthology of beastly tales
“An anthology of stories explores the intersection of fear and romance, ambition and sacrifice, loneliness and rage, love requited and avenged, and the boundless potential for connection, even across extreme borders.” (Catalogue)
NEvermore! : tales of murder, mystery & the macabre : neo-gothic fiction inspired by the imagination of Edgar Allan Poe
“22 original, modern stories, many by New York Times bestselling mystery and dark fantasy authors, recreating Poe’s genius and atmospheric brilliance through riffs on his classic tales.”–Back cover,” (Catalogue)
Teeth : vampire tales
“The first bite is only the beginning. Twenty of today’s favorite writers explore the intersections between the living, dead, and undead. Their vampire tales range from romantic to chilling to gleeful–and touch on nearly every emotion in between. Drawn from folk traditions around the world, popular culture, and original interpretations, the vampires in this collection are enticingly diverse. But reader beware: The one thing they have in common is their desire for blood… ” (Catalogue)
The complete stories / Poe, Edgar Allan
“Edgar Allan Poe’s gift for the macabre influenced Baudelaire and French symbolism, Freudian analysis, the detective novel and the Hollywood film. His psychologically profound stories, which comprise this book, represent the darker side of the 19th-century American sensibility.” (Catalogue)
Uncle Montague’s tales of terror / Priestley, Chris
“Uncle Montague lives alone in a big house and his regular visits from his nephew give him the opportunity to relive some of the most frightening stories he knows. But as the stories unfold, a newer and more surprising narrative emerges, one that is perhaps the most frightening of all.” (Catalogue)
Man made monsters / Rogers, Andrea L.
“Haunting illustrations are woven throughout these horror stories that follow one extended Cherokee family across the centuries and well into the future as they encounter predators of all kinds in each time period.” (Catalogue)
Slasher girls & monster boys
“Inspired by classic tales and films, a collection of fourteen short stories ranging from bloody horror, to psychological thrillers, to supernatural creatures, to unsettling, all-too-possible realism, by acclaimed YA authors of every genre”– Provided by publisher.” (Catalogue)
Red Spikes / Lanagan, Margo
“Ten stabs to the heart. Ten tales to jab and poke – at your darkest fears, your secret desires. Margo Lanagan’s short stories take place in worlds not quite our own, and yet each one illuminates what it is to be human. They are stories of yearning for more, and learning to live with what you have. Stories that show the imprint love leaves on us all. For anyone who likes to be surprised, touched, unsettled, intrigued, or scared, prepare to be dazzled by what a master storyteller can do in a few short pages.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
The ghosts of heaven / Sedgwick, Marcus
“The spiral has existed as long as time has existed. It’s there when a girl walks through the forest, the moist green air clinging to her skin. There centuries later in a pleasant green dale, hiding the treacherous waters of Golden Beck that take Anna, who they call a witch. There on the other side of the world, where a mad poet watches the waves and knows the horrors they hide, and far into the future as Keir Bowman realises his destiny. Each takes their next step in life. None will ever go back to the same place. And so their journeys begin…”–Book jacket” (Catalogue)
