All Hallows Eve

Christopher Lee as Dracula in the 1972 movie.

All Hallows Eve or more commonly known these days as Halloween. It's when the veil between the living and the dead weakens and spirits walk amongst us. Or so it's said. You never know for sure. Perhaps this All Hallows Eve you should leave an offering for the departed to partake in the festivities. Celebrated on the 31st October, it's become in many countries more a celebration of how much candy children can collect, hasn't it? There seems to be a part of us that is attracted to the ghoulish and the scary. One year I naively, (remember I'm the woman who can't read or watch horror. Which begs the question why am I doing this post?) thought that I would take two of my children plus a friend and his two children to Olde Hallows Eve celebrated at Motat. I thought to myself, how scary can this be? Yeah the most freaked out person was the mother. When I screamed going through one of the attractions the children thought it was hilarious. I could hardly see anything and then something grabbed my shoulder. Ahhhhh.

So I thought, lets see what scary, creepy stories the other Wenches enjoyed. You might not be surprised by what books and authors came to light. 


Let's see below what books the Wenches like to read when they want a fright. Except for Anne and Zee. They breathe the horror genre. Zee, you should be proud. I did at least read Chapelwood by Cherie Priest. 

Wench Kathi

I discovered Stephen King when he wrote Salems Lot, and I devoured everything he wrote, the instant it was released, until he quit writing horror after It. My favorites were Salems Lot, The Shining, The Stand, and It. Yet somehow it was the chilling description of the family’s pet cat after it returned from the nearby Pet Sematary that has most haunted me all these decades since. 

I was devastated when King announced that he wanted to write other kinds of books, yet somehow I moved on and now I don’t usually read horror. I’ve read a few of his newer books over the years and still love his writing, but Real Life seems to be scary enough for me lately. Still, I always know who to turn to when I want a good case of the spooks!

Wench Anne

I love horror!! Watching it, reading it, I'll take it all! I've only ever put down two books because I was scared. Stephen King's Misery when she's.... I'll say incapacitating him. And, James Patterson's Kiss the Girls, which isn't actually horror but thriller. It's about a man who kidnaps women who live alone from their homes and holds them prisoner and rapes and torturers them. When I was at a particularly harrowing bit of the book, I realized I was home alone at night in my tiny and not terribly secure college apartment.

I also love anything by Stephen King, but my personal favorites are The Shining, It, and Carrie. I really liked the first couple of Odd Thomas books, though I haven't read them in years. I adored all four Hannibal Lecter books, especially Red Dragon, the Dexter books, American Psycho, I could go on, but I won't. And, I read all of the Fear Street books when I was younger and Goosebumps even younger than that. And, I devoured all of Lois Duncan's books which are technically categorized as suspense. She wrote I Know What You Did Last Summer and Killing Mr. Griffin (which turned into a movie called Teaching Mrs Tingle). Now I kind of want to go back and reread Fear Street and Lois Duncan..

Wench Zee

I'm with Anne. Horror and thrillers have ALWAYS been my main genre in movies and books. When I was younger, that's ALL I read for a long time. And I was obsessed with horror movies. I love them all. The scarier the better. My fave thing to do is watch or read horror when I'm alone at home.

Wench Barb

I haven't read horror in a while, but that was all I read in high school and college. And before that it was all the Fear Street and Christopher Pike I could get my hands on. My high school and college pleasure reading was all about Dean Koontz, with me buying and reading paperbacks of most of his back list and buying new releases as soon as possible. I loved his creepy, scary, disturbing tales the best and The Bad Place was my creepy favorite. Lightning is my favorite Koontz book, but it isn't as scary as The Bad Place, a story that is suspenseful, creepy, disgusting, and ultimately hopeful. If you're looking to be frightened this Halloween, pick up an early Dean Koontz. And make sure your lights don't go out.

Wench Care

House of Thunder, Dean Koontz

Wench Natalie

Patricia Cornwall and I have issues. I was reading one of her Kay Scarpetta books when my mailman knocked on the door and made me scream bloody murder.

This tells me Wench Anne and Zee might be a match made in book heaven! I'd love to recommend you a few books to read for All Hallows Eve, but I fear while I did read Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris, I'm just not made for being scared out of my wits. That being said, it doesn't stop my kids trying to scare the bejesus out of me by jumping out behind doors. Ugh they know my weakness.

Let us know below what books you plan to read this All Hallows Eve or any personal favourites you have that make you need to leave the lights on.