No Tricks; Only Treats

Halloween has arrived.   Since those reading my posts are much too far away to give candy to, I’d like to share a few of my favorite stories and movies that befit this self-proclaimed ‘American holiday.’  As you wait for wicked witches, fanciful fairy princesses,  ghastly ghouls, and truculent trolls to land on your stoop and utter that famous phrase, either peruse these stories or observe these movies.  It will most assuredly help you stay in the spirit of the season.

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“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson (makes me never want to participate in any form of gambling)

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (a haunted house and children?  That’s telling enough.)

“The Eyes” by Edith Wharton (not the typical description of a ghost, for sure)

“The Withered Arm” by Thomas Hardy (a jilted lover usually leads to a deluge of catastrophe)

“The Tell-Tale Heart” (anything from Poe is worthy of a read, but this one is my favorite)

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The Shining (Jack Nicholson at his most memorable)

Fallen (To this day I shiver when people ‘accidentally’ bump into me)

The Sixth Sense (I had to watch this a second time to figure out how I didn’t figure it out the first time)

Jennifer 8 (what the film industry calls a sleeper)

Night of the Living Dead (A classic B&W film made in 1968 that frightens me each time I watch it)